Indian Vernacular Houses around Bangalore

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Mahadev Ittina

Architects: R.L.
Kumar, Center for Vernacular Architecture
Resources: Born of this Land, Breaking Conventional Barriers.
Vernacular Architecture is a branch of architecture which deals with using minimal amounts of
natural building materials, using local skills, based on old architectural designs and sensitive to
local culture. These designs are not universal and are specific to certain regions. The basic
elements of a modern building like cement, steel, glass, ceramic, plastic, synthetic fiber are not
connected to nature in the same way mud, brick, lime, thatch, timber and grass are, says
Architect R.L. Kumar. He is an Aga Khan award for Architecture nominee known for his
pioneering work in this field of architecture.

Have you ever heard of bricks being made with straw and mud from your own basement? Or
mortar being made exclusively of sand? You may have seen such houses in quaint little villages
and it is no surprise that its making a comeback in this age of cost-effectiveness and climatic and
socio cultural sensitivity.

Vernacular Architecture, is a growing (albeit after a huge downfall) design philosophy that
integrates Architect and the builder or contractor. Ar. Kumar designs and builds all of the houses
himself reducing the cost by about 25-30%. The term is often confused with Sustainable design
or architecture. While Sustainable design is the use of new methodologies or industrial
techniques, Vernacular architecture is the use of least industrially processed materials and time

tested methodologies that do not need modern resources like electricity or chemicals. Although
Sustainable design and Vernacular architecture both focus on cost-effective, the latter is costeffective for the long-term and the former is cost-effective both for long and short-term.

Look and Materials: So what Vernacular Architecture look like? Although Vernacular
Architecture may look good and rustic, it does not focus at all on it. Architects of this subject
tend to focus on climate and cultural needs. The use of locally available material like stone,
exposed brick, laterite or mud tend to reduce the over all foot print of the project.
Construction Methodologies: The foundation is dug before the rainy season so as to allow rain
water to naturally compact the soil in the rainy season. Other techniques which have been used
for centuries is making bricks in summer or mining for rocks before the rain. Labour is also
arranged considering the harvest seasons, since most of the labour are also farmers. Such
practices tend to interfere less with the environment and social factors.

Due to the lack of literature for Vernacular Architecture, R.L. Kumar has taken it upon himself to
produce literature and research papers. You can have a look at some of them here.
You can see another well compiled article about South Indian Vernacular styles here.