Architecture in Pre-Modern

India

Divya
Nishant Goyal
Anurag Arora
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Shivansh Agarwal

Vernacular architecture
Latin word Vernaculus means domestic,
native, indigenous.
Vernacular architecture is a category of
architecture based on localized needs and
construction materials, and reflecting local
traditions.

Vernacular architecture is
influenced by:
Localized needs
Local construction material
Local traditions
Hence, varies from area to area.

It is an epitome of place to which it belongs.

Can not be imported from elsewhere.
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Factors influencing
vernacular architecture

Climate

Season wise

The material should remain hot in winter and cold

in summer

Rainfall

Example: Slanting roof and construct dwelling on

stilts in areas with high level of rainfall.

Winds

Orientation of buildings such that they have

minimal area to the direction of prevailing winds.
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Effect of Culture on
Architecture
Size of family unit- Joint family or
nuclear family?
How is food prepared and eaten?
How do people interact?
Local customs and beliefs.

Materials

Availability of forests implies high preference

to wood for construction purposes. And
mud/stone otherwise.

Material used will depend upon the physical

condition of that area. The area prone to
earthquake would have different architecture
than the one with floods.

Vernacular is sustainable and doesnt exhaust

local resources. Only those resources are used
which are found in abundance and are non7
exhaustive.

Architecture in
Himachal Pradesh
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Reasons to choose
Himachal

Architecture in HP is highly evolved and functional.

It is a clich example of Vernacular Architecture. (Grown
out of the land, fulfilled local needs, uses local materials, drew on
local culture)

Over the centuries, building methods had successfully

discharged domestic, temporal and religious
requirements.
The most elementary form of hill architecture is still
found in the old temples. These temples are widely scattered
everywhere all along the mountain slopes and in thevalleys.

Layout plans and construction of buildings is much

more complicated in hills is much more complicated
than in plains.
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Major Challenges
Frequent and Seismic Tremors.
Problems of soil erosion and land slides.
Suitable orientation on the hill slopes.
Existence of tall shoddy trees and dense forest
area, which obstruct the winter sun required
for the buildings.
Limitations on the height of the building due
to earthquake risk.
High cost involved in the site development due
to the cuttingand the filling process.
Non-availability and transportation problems
of construction materials
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Building Materials

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Deodar Wood
Easily available, one of the strongest indian
conifers.
Imparts stability to tall structures.
This wood is insect and termite resistant and
even when untreated, can withstand long
periods of weather corrosion.
Used in making posts, beams, window and
door frames, shutters, roofs etc.
Soft wood, easy to work in absence of high tech
tools.
Its properties were understood early and its
texture and scent have been prized
for ages.
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Mud & Stone

Easy availability.
Good insulation.
Good binding properties.
Either mud is filled into the wooden forms and
rammed into the place slowly building up the wall
or sun dried mud blocks are used in the
construction of the wall.
Hard Stone: Obtained from local quarries and used in
building foundation and walls.

Slate Tiles: Metamorphic rock. Used in roofs of

buildings. Has high quartz content, frost resistant,

absorbs heat and provides moisture barrier.
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Traditional Builders
Traditional Artisans are employed.
There knowledge is transferred orally
from master artisan to apprentice.
Mostly people procure materials from
their surroundings and build houses
with the help of relatives and
neighbors. This has fostered an
empirical knowledge of construction
material, tools and technology and all
of these are reflected in traditional
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building techniques.

Planning Techniques

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Planning Techniques

Factors that govern the planning are

climatic conditions,
cultural influences,
topography(heights),

More: orientation, traffic movement, available

usable spaces, sources of water supply, natural
drains and paths.
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Climate Influence

Due to the cold climate, the

southern slopes are preferred.
The orientation of the houses is
to maximize the penetration of
the sun rays.
The path of the sun, controls the
height of building, as the sun is
needed for each dwelling unit.

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Small window size and low ceiling height

to prevent heat loss and keep the
interiors warmer.
Site susceptible to high winds, storms,
floods and landslides should be
avoided.
Terrace in all around the building
should have proper slope for efficient
drainage, in heavy rain fall and snow
fall areas.
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Cultural influence

The house which constitutes many stores has been

built for storage of grains which formed the back
bone of the agrarian family.
Generally cow-shed and kitchen forms a separate
unit.
The Indian calendar months of Baisakh, Poh, Magh
and Phalgun are regarded as auspicious for the start
of construction.
Ideally, the main aspect of the house should face
east and the rising sun.
As a general rule the houses do not have a
boundary wall.
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Topography
State falls in the region of high to very
high seismic hazard.
Unlike plains, here a new dimension
or a height variation to the ground
poses additional problem.

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Mitigating Earthquake

To counter the seismic forces, the traditional

structures usually stand on a high solid plinth,
made up of dry dressed stone masonry. The huge
mass serves as a dampener pad to the earthquake forces
and the dry construction allows for vibration and hence
faster dissipation of the energy.

In higher levels layers of wood and

stone cage are constructed with
rubble in between. It is non rigid
and allows the building to flex with
seismic waves and quickly dissipate
destructive energy of earthquake.
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Slope of the ground should not be more

than 30 as far as possible even in rocky
reaches to avoid instability problems.

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Topography

In the steep hilly zones, the stepped terraces will

be much beneficial environmentally and
economically, as they result in the least hill cutting
and disturbance to the hill stability.
Minimum clearance of 1.0 m to 1.5 m should be
given between the hill face and the building wall
to avoid dampness and also for proper light and
ventilation.
Top hill surfaces near the buildings should be
properly treated to make it impervious as far as
possible, possibly by thickvegetation or stone
pitching.
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Constructing a house
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Statistics
Agrarian family.
Double storey house.
Southern orientation (Reduce heat
loss).
Linear arrangement of rooms,
connected by verandah/balcony in
both the floors.
Timber and stone used, both have high
thermal capacity and low conductivity.

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Plan

Ground floor: Cattle shed and storage area are

provided.
First Floor: Living Area along with kitchen.
Low Height of the rooms (2.1 2.4 m), keeps
interiors warmer from heat released by
individuals, also low surface to volume ratio
reducing heat loss from surfaces.
Plinth area is 5m x (13.8+0.45)m
Inner walls thickness is 4 inch and outer wall
thickness is 9 inch.

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Plan

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Walls

Made of alternate courses of

dry stone masonry and wood
without any cementing mortar.
This Kath-khuni style of layering
and inter locking timber and
stone provides strength,
stability and flexibility
(Earthquake resistant).
These heavy walls allow a very
good thermal insulation by
providing high time-lag of
more than 8 hours. This makes
the interior of the house cooler
in summer and warm in winter
for maximum part of the year.
Clich example of Kath-khuni style.
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Walls (continued)

Above the plinth walls are strong with alternating

stone layer, as the wall rises up it is only the wood
frame that is stacked above another wood frame.
This distributes mass optimally.
Interiors of wall are finished with mud plaster and
lined with wood on account of its good insulation
and binding properties.
Resist sliding or overturning during land
movement.
Dry masonry construction allow stones to
undulate within a flexible wooden frame work to
allow energy of earthquake to disperse.
Tapering in buildings as they rise which prevents
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toppling during earthquake.

Flooring
In the ground level mud & cow-dung
were used for flooring above the plinth
made of random rubble masonry. The
upper floors are made of timber planks
and timber-joists.

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Roofing

Pitched roof with locally available timber. Slate

used for roof covering. Below the roof a ceiling
is constructed with timber. This attic is used as
a storage space and abode of the god.

The light-weight roof construction and the air

between the roofing and attic-floor provided a
very good thermal insulation against the
passage of heat.

Low pitched roof provides a good solution to

drain off the rain-water from the dwellings.
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Pitched slate roof with Attic

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more

Balconies: provide a good sun-space

or solarium.

Sunny courtyard to perform various

activities during day time.

Kitchen made of mud, placed at

center which helps in keeping the
indoor warm.
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References
1.

2.
3.

Adaptive Climate Responsive

Vernacular Construction in High
Altitude. Ar. Amitava Sarkar.
Traditional Architecture and Planning
Techniques in HP. By M. Jain.
Details of Resistance. Indigenous
Construction System in HP by Bharat
Dave, Jay Thakkar and Mansi Shah
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Thank you!

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