VERNACULAR

ARCHITECTURE (VA) OF
TSUNAMI PRONE AREAS OF
TAMIL NADU(TN)

Ar. M.Femil
17RMAR007
Ist M.Arch (2017-2019)
Faculty of Architecture, Karpagam Academy of higher education
What is Vernacular Architecture?
• Vernacular Architecture is a term used to categorize methods of
construction which use locally available resources to address local
needs.
• Vernacular Architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the
environmental, cultural and historical context in which it exists.
• Vernacular Architecture can perhaps be defined as architecture born
out of local building materials and technologies, an architecture that is
climate-responsive and a reflection of the customs and lifestyles of a
community.
• It is different from traditional architecture in that contemporary
architecture can also be “vernacular” if it is generated from an
understanding of local materials and indigenous methods of building.
• Vernacular does not aim at good aesthetics, it aims at comfort and in
its use of natural materials to achieve that comfort, it comes about to
be also an aesthetically sound architecture.
TSUNAMI PRONE AREAS IN TN
• Vernacular houses in coastal regions of TN are successful examples
of building constructed in the tsunami prone area.
• The climatic aspect of this region is warm humid.
• The coastal belt of TN can be segregated into 3 parts; the first part
is the coast from Chennai to Pondicherry, the second coast is from
Pondicherry to Rameswaram and the third coast is from
Rameswaram to Kanyakumari.
• In the coastal stretch, i.e., from Chennai to Pondicherry, the
settlements were found to be temporary and fragile in nature and
there is no evidence of traditional or vernacular settlements.
• But in second part, the vernacular settlements are found in
Parangaipettai of Cuddalore district, and Tharangampadi and
Nagore of Nagappattinam district.
• Subsequently in third part, the vernacular settlements were found
in the Thoothukkudi district of Tamil Nadu.
 • While tracing such houses, we can find that these towns were very
ancient (around 150 to 200 years old) and was old port (harbour)
towns.
• By keeping the age in mind, the houses are classified into four
major categories and with respect to the climate designed elements
they posses like courtyards, ventilating systems, thickness and
materials of walls, etc,.
Typology Place of house House description View of the house
Type – 1 Nagapattinam Vernacular houses with country
made tile in sloped roof with wind
catcher.
Type – 2 Tharangampadi Vernacular houses with country
made tiles in sloped roof with
courtyard.
Type – 3 Thoothukkudi Vernacular houses with country
made tiles in sloped roof with sky
vent (clear storey window) and sky
lighting.
Type – 4 Parangaipettai Vernacular houses with country
made tiles in sloped roof without
Wind Catcher House @
Nagappattinam
 Basic Form and Planning Principles

• Vernacular settlement pattern of Nagappattinam has narrow streets

and common wall structures which forms a dense urban fabric that
breathes through the smaller indoor open spaces like courtyards.
• The overall urban form is very compact with a combination of flat and
slopping roof forms.
• These houses were built on a linear rectangular plot, which forms a
linear pattern alone the coastline.
• These houses were generally oriented towards east-west directions.
• A floor plan of a typical vernacular house illustrates with an outside
veranda for guests in the front of the house, which leads to courtyard(s)
that is mainly used for carrying out their day-to-day activities and
ceremonial functions.
PLAN

SECTION
• These linearly designed houses form a dominant axis from the front entrance door
connecting the courtyards and corridors which finally ends in the rear door.
• This axis is mainly to allow the sun and air to enter into the house and to facilitate
better air flow throughout the house.

• As we enter the house through the veranda, the raised platform (thinnai) becomes
the front sit out for the occupiers and the guests.
• The thinnai marks the transition space, with wooden pillars as a decorative
architectural element, after which the house is entered through a finely carved
wooden door and a vestibule.
• At the end of the vestibule, the mutram (open courtyard) becomes the central
space around which various other private spaces like bed rooms, store rooms, etc.,
are functionally arranged.
• The wind catcher is located at the top of the courtyard, thereby bringing ventilation
(air movement) in to the house.
 Materials in Construction
• The common building materials used for vernacular construction in the
coastal regions of Nagappatinam are mud, brick, lime mortar, thatch
roofing, country roof tiles, timber, bamboo, etc,.
• The wall thickness is normally 450 to 600 mm thick for mud walls (cavity
walls) and 230 to 300 mm for brick walls.
• Brick lintels are seen in most of the houses over the ventilators and
windows.
• Mud walls are usually built in course to a maximum of 4500 mm height.
• Local mud is thoroughly mixed with water and straw, there are
sometimes reinforced with rods.
• The soft mud (raw clay 70-75%) and sand (25-30%) are mixed and used
as the binding material (mortar) and also used as plastering material
(mortar).
• Mud plastering is the most commonly used technique.
• Sand is mixed with clay to reduce shrinkage cracks.
• Lime is yet another locally available material and most economical too and is
sometimes used as binding material (mortar) in brick masonry.

• The walls are white washed with liquid lime.

• The interior walls are mostly plastered in mortar (mud/lime) and lime washed. The
inclusion of lime in a mortar promotes more intimate contact between the mortar
and the masonry units.
• Lime mortar generally leads to improved water resistance.
• For roof frames (mostly sloped roofs) normally country timber or bamboo are used
and for roof covering hand-made burnt country tiles are commonly used.
• The thermo physical specifications of these materials are the important factors in
warm humid regions. These materials have thermal resistance, high heat capacity
and they absorb the sun radiation by their external surfaces.
 Activity Areas
• A typical house consists of a veranda (thalvaram) which is the
benevolent social extension of the house and it provides shade and
protection for the passers. It protects the building wall from sun and
rain. It acts as a transition space between house and street.
• The steps lead to the raised platform (thinnai) which is shaded by the
roof overhand that is used to sit and relax.
• The roof overhang of the thinnai shades the walls and windows from
harsh radiations, therefore reducing the heat gain into the building.
• A typical house has a courtyard mostly covered with wind catchers
(kaatru pandhal) located above the courtyard.
• The courtyard plays the major role in the entire house; they are used as
the place for worshipping, socializing activities, etc,.
• The courtyard is surrounded with a corridor which leads to various
other private spaces like bed rooms, kitchen, store rooms, etc,.
• The verandah at the rear side is used for utility.
 Qualitative Analysis
• The vernacular residential buildings nearby the sea experience high
humidity and high solar radiation which makes the thermal condition
uncomfortable during summers.
• The general orientation of this urban setting is based on the coastline
and wind direction.
• The main principle used in these buildings here is to reduce heat and
humidity by using natural ventilation.
• The buildings were designed to achieve cross ventilation through
courtyards, wind catchers, etc,.
• These buildings are usually designed by arranging the spaces around a
courtyard and the building materials used are of low thermal capacity.
• The houses also have large overhangs above windows which will
considerably reduce the sunlight entering inside the building.
 Orientation of Building

• In these buildings more than the orientation of the

buildings, the orientation of the wind catchers are
more important.
• These residences are strictly oriented towards
east-west axis.
• The longer side of the building faces the North and
south, hence the walls are less exposed to direct sun.
• Therefore, there is lot of air movement into the
building, which is required in a warm humid climate.
 Internal Courtyard
• A courtyard primarily provides light and is used as an open space for number of
other activities like cooking, sleeping, working, playing, gardening and worshipping.
• It is typically encircled with high (3m) and thick (450mm) brick walls with mud
mortar and mud plaster.
• During the summer day time, when the sun is at peak (April to May), the courtyard
is fully shaded and thus delaying the heat gain, keeping the interior cooler.
• The heat gain from the sun is more in the upper part of the courtyard; this makes
the air in the upper part of courtyard warmer and lighter, causing the air to move
upwards.
• However, due to the presence of the wind catchers above these courtyards, the
wind movement causes a peculiar effect.
• Thus, due to the principle of buoyancy, low pressure develops in the courtyard and
it included an air movement from inside that flows towards the surrounding spaces
so as to move out through the opening (doors, windows and ventilators) in the
leeward end.
• During the night times the same courtyard
becomes a heat sink and by natural
Openings and
convective cooling, this courtyard allows
the hot air to move up and thereby acts as Use of
an excellent thermal regulator and creates a
comfortable living environment. Natural
• Most of the vernacular houses in these areas have
huge openings above the courtyards which are
Ventilation
oriented towards the south direction so as to receive
the breeze inside their home and these are called as wind catchers which are
typical of its kind in India.
 WIND CATCHERS

• WIND CATCHERS FROM PERSIAN ARCHITECTURE ACTS AS EVIDENCE.

• Wind-catcher is one of the important elements of hot and humid architecture
which is used for cooling and ventilation of internal spaces.
• It acts both as sucking and pulling agent, the basis of the action is that wind
blowing is used to suck the cold air to the inside of the building and the reaction of
it is used for sending out the hot and pollutant air from inside the building.
• Its function in these regions is to pull wind from external air stream and induce it to
the building and courtyard in order to cool the occupant directly by increasing the
convective and evaporative heat transfer from the body surface.
• It cools the occupant indirectly by remove the heat stored in the building structure.
• When wind is blowing towards the catcher and the building it serves; a wind
pressure develops on various apertures.
WIND CATCHERS
• Air enters from the windward openings, with positive wind pressure
coefficient, and leave the leeward openings, with negative or lower
values of the pressure coefficients.
• They are designed to pull and drive airflow
through top opening which usually faces the
prevailing wind. During day time the
operation mechanism of the wind catcher is
dependent on the wind effect due to air
pressure difference across inlet and outlet.

• The catcher traps and channels down air at

higher velocity and lower pressure than
ambient air. This is known as Venturi effect.

• During night time, the relatively lower

outdoor air temperature helps to cool the
building.
• If there is no wind then the heat released by the wind catcher heat up the air inside
it and sucks it outside the building and the rooms are replaced by the cool air from
the courtyard (stalk ventilation).
• In wind catcher, the driving forces for the airflow are all natural.
• When wind catcher is placed on the roof of a building, a blowing wind will generate
a high pressure on the windward side of the wind catcher and lower pressures
inside the building and on the leeward side of the wind catcher.
• These pressure differences are often enough to drive the fresh air from the wind in
to the building and extract the stale air out through windows and ventilators
(reverse stalk ventilation) and again all the rooms will get cool air from the
courtyard.
• When moving air strikes an obstacle such as building, this will slow down the air
flow but the air flow will exert a pressure on the obstructing surface.
• The material used in the wind catcher also plays an important role.
• The texture of wind towers is polished with natural color of tiles and other sides
are painted with white color, which also ensures that the wind towers do not
absorb rays.
• They trap the desired wind currents and transport these to the interior spaces.
• It serves it function effectively through appropriate utilization of wind currents, the
ration of its length and its width to height is important.

• This slowing down process effects a roughly wedge shaped mass of air on the
windward side of the building, which in turn diverts the rest of the airflow upwards
and sideways.
• A separation layer is formed between stagnant air and the building on one hand
and the laminar air flow on the other hand.
• Due to its momentum, the laminar air tends to maintain a straight path after it has
been diverted, therefore it will take some time to return to the ground surface
after the obstacle.
• Thus a stagnant mass of air is formed on the leeward side at reduced pressure. This
is not stagnant and a vortex is formed, the movement is light and variable and it is
often referred to as wind shadow.
• Lots of survey on wind catchers shows that 60% of all wind catchers are less than
3m high above the roof parapet wall.
• If the wind current is at lower level, wind catchers may receive it in lower height.

• The fundamental function of a window is to provide natural ventilation, light and

views depending on the activity being performed inside the room.
• Small ventilators are provided high on the gable wall. They provide diffused,
externally and internally reflected daylight to the interior.
• The small grills or cement jallis fitted to the ventilators eliminates most of the
externally reflected light.
 Walls and Roofs
• Thickness of the walls vary from 0.60-0.70m and it is made of mud or brick which
has a low U-Value (U=1.02); hence it serves as a good insulator.

• It works in the principle of thermal mass where the thickness of the brick wall
delays the heat gain.
• The requirement of high thermal mass to maintain higher time lag so as to provide
capacitive insulation was well understood by the local builders.
• The time lags of these walls are high, they store heat during the day time and
radiate it into the room at night, when the outside temperature is below the
comfort range.
• The light colored surfaces of the façade are used as a mechanism for the protection
of the high thermal mass walls against solar radiation as they absorb less heat in
summer, thus preventing the rise of internal temperatures.
• The interior walls are painted in white allowing good internal reflection and results
in high levels of indoor illumination.
• The roofs are most often single pitched (slope < 30°) and supported on wooden
trusses or rafters.
• The gable walls are plain and often have a small ventilator near the ridge.
• Many varieties of local timbers are used for roof trusses, which are built by local
carpenters.
• Thick stone wall plates receive the roof trusses, which are often supported on the
courses of brick on edge. These brick on edge courses through spring action,
providing resistance against lateral thrust, often found in walls supporting the
sloped roofs.
• In order to increase the heat capacity of the roof, tiled roofs are provided with air
gaps (200mm thick), these country tiles are fixed to the wooden purlins. These tiles
are laid to a very gentle slope in battens supported by wooden purlins.
• The pitched roofs give adequate protection from rain and sun.
• The triangular space below the pitched roof is sometimes used for storage
facilities.
• Therefore, higher volume of air is available for circulation, while hot air is
accumulated near the ceiling and exits from the ventilators provided at a much
higher level than the occupant’s body level.
 Thermal Insulation
• The sloping roof is made of timber or bamboo.
• Timber being a bad conductor of heat does not allow the horizontal
surface to gain any heat throughout the day.
• The horizontal surface insulated the inside from outside creating a
temperature zone helping the courtyard to become a heat sink.
• The flat roof is made of timber.
• The sun path during the summer shows the percentage of walls which is
shaded during peak summer.
 Day lighting
• The day lighting required for the entire house is achieved through the
wind catcher.
• The wind catcher prevents sun’s radiation to enter into the building
directly whereas the open courtyard does not allow it. But it traps the
wind as it is oriented against the wind movement inside the building.
• The day lighting through the wind catcher spreads evenly within the
building sufficiently for carrying out various activities.
• Other than wind catcher, ventilators at the side, the openings at the
front and back façade provides additional day lighting within the
building.