CLIMATIC ARCHITECTURAL TRADITION OF INDIA

ABSTRACT
MOST ARCHITECTS WHO VISITED INDIA HAD EXPIRIENCED THE
SENSITIVITY OF THE TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE TO THE REQUIREMENTS
OF VARIED CLIMATIC COMFORT. THIS ARCHITECTURAL SKILL HAS ALWAYS
ACHIEVED AN AESTHETIC UNDER THE CLIMATIC SENSITIVE FORMS.
INTRODUCTION
THIS INDIAN ARCHITECTURE IS BASED ON DEFINED INSTRUCTION, IN
OTHER ASPECTS KNOWN AS VAASTU SHILPA SHASTRAS, VAASTU MAINLY
ADDRESS ENERGY AND BUILDINGS.MANSARA AND MAYAMATAM,
IMPORTANT TEXTS ARE A RESULT OF AN IN DEPTH PERUSAL AND
PRACTICE OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CONSTUCTION TECHNIQUES WHICH
DEFINE THESE PRINCIPLES. VAASTU COMES UNDER THE ATHARVANA
VEDA, SCRIPTURE FOR ENGINEERING. THE ENTIRE TOWN OF HARAPPA
AND MOHENJADARO ARE THE BEST EXAMPLES. THE ARCHITECT WAS
SENSITIVE TO THE LIFETYLE AND DAY-NIGHT ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF THE
USERS. SPACES WERE ALSO DESIGNED CONSIDERING THE FIVE ELEMENTS
OF EARTH, WIND, WATER, FIRE AND SPACE.
CLIMATIC PRINCIPLE
THE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF THE VAASTU APPROACH ARE:
SITE SELECTION AND ANALYSIS- CONTEXT AND SITE FROM THE FIRST
STEPS TOWARDS THE BUILDING DESIGN PROCESS. TESTS ARE
REPRESENT TO DISCOVER WHETHER THE SITE IS OF ‘GIVING’ OR ‘TAKING’
NATURE (ECONOMICALLY).THE RELIGIOUS RULES FOLLOWED ON SITE
SELECTION CONFIRM THE AVAILABILITY OF WATER, AMPLE SUNSHINE(BY
THE ORIENTATION) AND FRESH DEVOID OF ANY OFFENSIVE SMELL. THE
SITE SHOULD HAVE WATER BODY IN THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE
PLOT BEFORE BUILDING A TEMPLE.
ORIENTATION-THE BUILDINGS ARE ALWAYS ORIENTED BY: NORTH, SOUTH,
WEST, EAST AND COMBINATION OF THESE FOUR DIRECTIONS. MOSTLY THE
WALLS WERE OPENEND TOWARDS EAST AND NORTH TO LIGHT. AS THE
WEST IS HEAT GAINING SIDE IN INDIA. THE PLACEMENT IS FIRST STEP TO
FORMING THE GRID FOR INTERNAL PLANNING. EXCEPT THE TEMPLE, THE
OTHER WERE NOT ACTUALLY PLACED ON CENTRE OF THE SITE. THE
TEMPLES DOMINATE THE CENTRE OF THE SITE. ALSO CONSIDER ACCESS
AND ROAD FRONTAGE JUST TO MAKE SUFFICIENT CROSS VENT FOR
ROOMS.
THE GRID AND THE COURTYARD- THE GRID WAS MADE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH
TO ACCOMMODATE ANY SITE CONDITION AND TOPOGRAPHY, IS MORE
SUSTAINABLE UNDER ECONOMY AND CONSTRUCTION SPEED.
PREFABRICATION FAVORS THE GRID. IT WAS NOT ALWAYS
SIMPLE/SYMMETRY, COMPLEX GEOMETRY AND CURVILINIEAR GRIDS ALSO
ADOPTED. THE GRID OF DWELLING UNIT CALLED THE VAASTU PURUSHA
MANDALA. GRID IS NOT STATIC; MAN REVOLVES AROUND THE SQUARE AND
COMPLETES A FULL CIRCLE IN ONE YEAR, REPRESENTS EARTH AROUND
THE SUN.THE LINEAR GRIDS ARE YUGMA/EVEN GRID AND AYUGMA/ODD
GRID. YUGMA IS MAINLY USED FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS (ALSO MONUMENTS)
WHERE USAGE IS ONLY DURING DAY TIME (SHADED OPRN SPACES ARE
VERY WELL USED). AYUGMA IS USED FOR DWELLINGS AND LARGE SCALE
HOUSING PROJECTS. THE CENTRE OF THE HOUSE IS NEVER BUILT UP AND
IS CALLED THE BRAHMASTANA.
ENERGY AXES AND CROSS VENTILATION- ENERGY AXIS IS A ROW OF
WINDOWS OR DOOR OR VENTILATORS ALIGNED IN THE SAME LINE. THE
NORTH SOUTH ENERGY AXIS IS SOMASUTRA. THE EAST WEST ENERGY
AXIS IS BRAHMASUTRA. IDEALLY THE SOMASUTRA AND BRAHMASUTRA
SHOULD MEET PERPENDICULARLY IN THE CENTRE OF THE COURTYARD/
BRAHMASUTRA. IN MOST HOUSES, THERE IS AN UNINTERRUPTED
PASSAGE OF DOORS FROM MAIN TO BACK DOOR.
BUILT FORM AND CONSTRUCTION- THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOUSES
WAS MOSTLY WITH VERNACULAR MATERIALS AND MATERIAL DECIDED THE
FORM OF THE BUILDING.THE GENIUS OF THE ARCHITECT LAY IN
STRETCHING THE MATERIAL TO ITS LIMITS. SINCE STONE WAS PRINCIPLE
MATERIAL IN TEMPLE. IT KEEPING THERMAL COMFORT. DURING THE NIGHT
RELEASED FROM THERMAL MASS.
CLIMATIE SPECIFIC SPACES
APART FROM THE GENERAL BUILDING PRINCIPLES WHICH
INCORPORATE CLIMATE AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF IT THERE ARE SOME
VERY CLIMATE SPECIFIC STRUCTURE, A FEW EXAMPLES ARE STEPPED
WELLS OF GUJARAT, HAVELIS OF RAJASTHAN, THE THINNAI OR OUTDOOR
DRAWING ROOMS OF TAMILNADU.
THE FOUR GOLDEN PRINCIPLES
THE STORY OF LORD RAMA SUMMARISE INDIAN ARCHITECTURE AS A
WHOLE. THEY ARE FUNCTION OR BHOGADAYAM, AESTHETICS OR SUKHA
DARSHAM, HARMONY OR RAMYAM AND THE ‘ALL ENCOMPASSING’ OR
POORNAM.
CONCLUSION
DUE TO THIS SRCHITECTURE WAS NOT JUST A DISCIPLINE OR A
BUSINESS AS IT HAS BECOME NOW. IT WAS CONSIDERED HOLY AND ITS
PRACTICE SACRED. HENCE WE GOT TOTAL DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT
TO EXCELLENCE WHICH IS WHY THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS IN INDIA ARE
NOT ONLY CLIMATIC MASTERPIECES BUT ALSO ‘ALL ENCOM- PASSING’
TRUTHS OF ARCHITECTURE.