Vernacular architecture T2

Goreme cones, Cappadocia

• In the uplands of Turkey’s Anatolian heartland lies the ancient region of
Cappadocia.
• Riven with valleys and dotted with extinct volcanoes, the Cappadocian plateau was
once a major trading crossroads, traversed by merchant caravans and warring
armies alike.
• South of the city of Kayseri, capital of the province of the same name, is a broad
territory of strange, haunting landscapes dominated by rock cones sculpted by
driving wind.

• The process that shaped this unique landscape began when the volcanoes of
Cappadocia erupted about eight million years ago.
• They deposited countless layers of ash, lava and debris, raising the altitude of the
land by more than 1000ft (300m) to form a prominent plateau. Millions of years of
compression turned the volcanic ash into a soft, pale rock called tuff.
• This was overlaid by a thinner layer of dark, hardened lava known as basalt. As the
basalt cooled, it contracted and split, laying itself open to the erosive action of the
weather. Streams and floods criss-crossed the plateau, cutting ever deeper, and
earthquake shocks and winter frosts helped break up the layers of tuff and basalt.
spaces are generated by carving out valley slopes or
fairy chimneys. The houses carved into valley slopes
reproduce with new spaces by again carving out the
rock mass horizontally or vertically. The houses,
constructed in the mixed technique of rock-carving
and masonry are generated by addition of a wall, an
aiwan (a rectangular space of which one side is
open while the other three sides are enclosed by
walls) or a masonry room in front of the main
rock-cut space.
Terraced mountains, Longji, China
• The Longsheng Longji Terraces are built along the sleep slopes with small plots, forming series of
sharp successively receding flat surfaces or platforms. The localm landforms are variable,
crisscrossed by high mountains and gullies and thereby dotted with many independent hills. The
cyclic basin landscapes of various sizes are thus formed, with animated alternated presentations of
mountain ridges, mountain tops, coiling terrace lines, etc, when seen from far or near, horizontal or
vertical angles and at different heights.
• The terraced fields are built along the slope winding from the riverside up to the mountain top,
between 600 to 800 metres (2,000 to 2,600 ft) above sea level. A coiling terrace line that starts
from the mountain foot up to the mountain top divides the mountain into layers of water in spring,
layers of green rice shoots in summer, layers of rice in fall, and layers of frost in winter. The terraced
fields were mostly built about 650 years ago.

• Longji (Dragon's Backbone) Terraced Rice Fields received their name because the rice terraces
resemble a dragon's scales, while the summit of the mountain range looks like the backbone of the
dragon.

• In early June, water is pumped over the rice paddies and young plants are transferred to the main
terraces.
Settlement in Cyclades, Greece
• Santorini is the southern island of the Cyclades, with a
surface of 75 sq. km and is part of a volcanic basin
composed by three islands (Thera, Therassia and
Aspronnisi).
• The islands form a spectacular ‘caldera’ which is the
result of the submersion of part of the ancient island
Strogili after an explosion of the volcano.
• Their ground is composed by successive layers of
fragments and lava.
• Its upper layer consists of pumice stone and a sub-
white ash called “theraic earth” which is in fact a very
good quality of cement.
• The peculiarity of the easily excavated theraic earth in the ‘caldera’ slopes
and the bents of torrents (which protected inhabitants from strong winds)
gave birth to an underground cave habitation pattern with vault-like
spaces receiving light from small openings on a built front.
• The first settlements in the Cyclades were coastal. During the Mycenaean
period barricaded settlements took their place. This happened once again
when the pirate raids forced the residents to abandon their coastal
settlements and build fortified ones during the Venetian rule. Some of
them were built around a castle with their houses actually forming a
second wall
• In others, the lack of space usually led to the building of two-storey
houses with a narrow façade and small openings that were next to one
another and formed the fortification wall of the settlement
• The roads were narrow –one to two and a half meters in width- paved and
white-washed for sanitary reasons and had stairs. The corners of the
buildings in tight turns of the road were curved to allow mules and
donkeys loaded with supplies and materials to pass.
• Some excavated into the rock, others balancing
right at the edge of the caldera, the buildings
coexist so harmoniously that it is difficult to see
where one property begins and the other ends.
• The very notion of private property acquired a
different definition.
• The courtyard of one house is the terrace of
another; below one field lies the home of a
different owner.
• Private and public space are fluid concepts.
• Santorini’s key architectural feature is its “yposkafa” (excavated into the
rock). These can be homes, a canava (where grapes are pressed), storage
rooms, stables and even churches. They are built along the caldera as well
as on the sloping banks of dried-up rivers of settlements in the island’s
interior, such as Finikia, Vothonas, Gonia, Karterados and Pyrgos. The
materials used in their construction are red and black stone, and “Theran
earth,” which when mixed with water and lime creates an incredibly
strong mortar.

• The structures are dug into the soft earth, either entirely or with added
extensions. These extensions are roofed with vaults or cross-vaults using a
type of casting method. A typical excavated house has a narrow facade
and goes deep into the rock. The living room is at the front and the
bedroom at the back. The kitchen occupies a small corner with a low
ceiling, usually vaulted and connected to the living room. The bathroom is
set apart, in the yard. Each dwelling has a cistern for collecting rainwater.
Meteora, Trikala, Greece
• During the 14th century, the great monk Athanasios Koinovitis brought a group of
devout followers from Mount Athos to Meteora, in search of a group of ascetic
hermits that had developed a religious stronghold in the region. He was
mesmerized by the hermits' free-climbing skills that had allowed them to live in
the caves and fissures high above the ground, and saw an opportunity to create a
convent where his flock could meditate and worship in peace. Employing the
hermits as climbing mentors, the new visitors conquered the surrounding
mountains and set about creating their own holy haven. It was then, from 1356 to
1372, that the first Great Meteoron Monastery was born.
• Meteora means "suspended in the air," and the way the religious house clung
dangerously to the formidable peak quickly gave its name to the entire district.
Years later when the Turks advanced on northern Greece, more monks escaped
persecution by climbing the mountains to safety. Over time 24 monasteries were
built, with the steep pillars providing protection from the warriors below. A
network of ropes, pulleys, baskets and ladders were used to lift worshipers and
supplies into the monasteries, and these were raised in times of danger to deny
access to anyone who posed a threat.
 STORAGE
Kabaw, Libya
FORTRESS

KABAW, LIBYA
Berber communities of Qasr al-Haj, Nalut, and Kabaw (aka Kabao). All of these are
essentially a community bank vault, food storage facility, and architectural wonder in
mud brick. Each was built in the best defensive position in the area – high up over the
town, or backing onto a cliff edge. They all possess a great sense of humanity in their
design – clay smoothed back by human hands, based entirely on human proportions,
unadorned and rough at the edges but beautiful for their simplicity, purpose, and the
nature of their materials.

The Qasr al-Haj is arguably the most stunning piece of Berber architecture in Libya.
Other than its name suggests (literally translated: Fortress of al-Haj), the structure is
neither a fortress, nor a fortified village. The building is a storage facility, created to
store the harvests of the semi-nomadic and partly settled people of the region.

It is a circular building, featureless from the outside, with a main gate that leads to
the large courtyard inside. Surrounding the courtyard are 114 cave-like storage
rooms, arranged in several levels. The lowest level, which partially lies underground,
is used to store olive oil, while the upper levels are mainly used for barley and wheat.
At the side of the main gate, a staircase leads to the top, where a walk completes a
full circle around the top of the structure.
 FERTILIZATION
PLANTS

Pigeon towers
near Isfahan, Iran
• Pigeons were found in human settlements in Egypt and the
Middle East since the dawn of agriculture, probably
attracted to seeds people planted for their crops.
• In the Middle East, wild rock pigeons found safe havens in
nest holes in the earliest human houses.
• Initially, humans found utility in their food and eggs, but
soon realized that their rich, dry droppings made for
valuable fertilizer.
• Hence, special pigeon towers were built so that thousands
of pigeons could breed in them, their droppings
accumulating at their base.
• Dovecotes represent one of the most remarkable examples
of eccentricity
• In the 17th century, a European traveler counted up to 3000
dovecotes in the Isfahan area of Persia
• Today, over 300 historic dovecotes have been identified in Isfahan
Province and a total of 65 have
• been registered on the National Heritage List
• Dovecotes were constructed to produce large quantities of high-
quality organic fertilizer for Isfahan’s rich market gardens.
• The largest dovecotes coul house 14,000 birds, and were decorated
in distinctive red bands so as to be easily recognizable to the
pigeons.
• The larger towers are free-standing, but many smaller ones are built
into the walls of gardens, roofs of village houses.
• Their practical purpose was to collect pigeon manure that had
been found to be beneficial in melon fields
• Iran's Pigeon towers often covered with a mix of
straw and mud to protect pigeons from the cold
in the winter and the heat in the summer.
• The upper parts of the towers were covered with
a glossy surface plaster, which prevented snakes
from entering the tower.
• These structures also had a door for the farmers
and smaller openings for pigeons.
• Farmers used to open the door once a year to
gather pigeon droppings for their fields.
• Each tower essentially consists of an outer drum battered for
stability and buttressed internally to prevent collapse, with lateral
support provided by an inner drum that raises half as high.
• The main drum is divided vertically by the galleries that interrupt
the buttresses, and are connected by a circular staircase.The
galleries are further supported on barrel vaults and saucer domes.
• Between the buttresses, which look like the spokes of a wheel on
plan, the domes are pierced to allow the birds to fly up and down;
similarly, the inner and outer drums are connected by open arches
at every level.
• The pigeons enter only through the domed cupolas or "pepper-
pots" with holes in lateral walls, not superiorly, of honeycomb
brickwork at roof level
 Bhungas
• Bhungas are closely linked to the identity of Kutch desert areas. They are single
cylindrical structures put close to each other to form a house. In common
terminology, each bhunga would be equivalent to a room in a house
• Bhungas are mainly found in desert islands (fertile land in the middle of the
desert) in the northern parts of Kutch region of Gujarat- specially Banni and
Pachham (literally meaning pashchim- west).
• The climatic changes are extreme and rain is sparse but very intense during the
rainy season.2 The scarcity of water is such that every three years there is a
famine.3

• Banni is a flat plain area with silty clay soil type. There are no stones or aggregates
available for construction. Hence mud and thatch are most commonly used locally
available construction materials. Local wood available are Lai, Pilu, Desi Baval,
Kher, Khijdo, Kerad and now Gando Baval. Khip, Shan/Shaniyo (Fibers from reeds),
Ikal, Aakdo4 and various grasses of 18-20 types are found in the region, which are
also used for construction.
• Housing/ Settlement Typology
• The villages in Banni and Pachham, as in other desert areas of Rajasthan, are conglomerations of
different vandhs. Each vandh is constituted of a few vaases. A Vaas is a united-family unit where
entire family is staying and sharing one or more common open space/s.

• A vaas starts by a single family by constructing a large plinth on an empty plot. This plinth usually
covers the future expansion of the vaas. In the beginning a randhaniu for cooking and two bhungas
for living/ sleeping, are constructed. Sometimes an open pavilion is also added as a sitting area or
for receiving guests. All the structures in a vaas share a common plinth. As the family grows, more
bhungas are added surrounding the intial units. This units are added depending on the requirement
of the family in random fashion, yet forming central spaces for each small family unit. Along with
the bhunga, there is a rectangular hut, often smaller and less important and is called choki. There
are size variations in chokis, the larger ones being used for living space and smaller ones for cooking
space

• Usually it is seen that human settlements are formed by building houses next to each other, but in
desert areas of Kutch (and also Rajasthan), the vaases are located at farther distance from each
other. This can be attributed to the scarcity of water, pasture and other resources. A family needs
certain area and resources within its reach in order to survive, and hence to avoid sharing the
scarce resources, the other family would start its vaas at a distance. Most of their daily activities
happen in the open spaces outside of the built structures, so constructing the vaas at distances
provides them privacy
• Disaster Resistance/ Structural System
• Earthquake imparts lateral forces on the structure. Due to the circular plan of a bhunga, one half part of a bhunga
always reacts as an arch against the forces applied from any direction that the earthquake waves hit the
structure6. Thus, bhunga uses a circular shape for its maximum advantage against lateral forces of an earthquake.

• Corners are the weaker parts against lateral forces of an earthquake. Since there are no corners in a bhunga, it
makes the structure more stable in earthquake situation.

• The walls of a bhunga are very low. This helps the stability of the structure during the earthquake. This is possible
due to the conical shape of the roof of bhunga, which comes quite low at the periphery while still forming high
ceiling near the central usable space.

• Roof of the bhunga is made out of thatch and is light weight. Lightweight roof is also very helpful against the
lateral forces of the earthquake and causes less damage.

• Bhungas are independent circular structures and do not share common walls with any structures. Thus there is no
impact of load of one structure on the other. They react independently to the lateral forces of the earthquake.

• Its circular shape helps during the cyclones too. There is no obstruction to the wind movement. The circular shape
does not create big pressure difference between two sides of the structure.
• Climate response
• In mud or stone construction of bhungas, the walls are thick. This makes
the surface less penetrative for the heat. The lipan done on the walls is
also less conductive which adds to the thermal comfort inside the
bhunga.7

• Bhungas have small openings, this helps in extreme climate of the region.

• Thatch roof is a weak conductor of heat and adds to the thermal comfort.

• The roof overhang of a bhunga comes quite low casts shadows on the
walls and protects the walls from the direct sunrays.
• Due to its circular shape, there is only one line which is directly
perpendicular to the sunrays hitting the surface of the structure at a time.
Hence, most of the heat is reflected away, making it more comfortable
during the hot season.
• The villagers of Banni build circular houses of
mud, roofed with thatch – materials eminently
suited to their hostile desert environment. The
clustering of huts and the arrangement of open
spaces reflect their life-styles and social structure.
Faintly discernible – in many many different ways,
from painted wall decorations to jewellery
designs – is an underpinning of other aspirations,
intimations of deeper and more primordial myths
and images. For like thousands of other Indian
villages, Banni represents both time present as
well as time past.
Mirror-studded clay decoration, embroidered cloths and painted
earthenware contribute to the rich ambience of a Banni interior
Though essentially unchanged, a few homes have tiled roofs instead of
thatch. Platform drains off water which gathers because of the
impervious soil, even though the rainfall is meagre.
The vistāra through a Banni doorway. Woman sewing in foreground
typifies the area’s strong crafts tradition, especially noted for its fine and
delicate embroidery.
In the most crowded areas of the old textile city of Ahmedabad, we find
these pols. They are a legacy of Gujarat’s history of successive invasions. To
ensure security, the point of entry to each pol is through restricted gates.
Within the pol, the tightly-packed conglomeration of houses is articulated by
a complex system of open spaces – sensitively reflecting the cultural and
religious needs of the community.

THE ‘POLS’ OF AHMEDABAD

Aerial view shows long dark areas which constitute the pols. Very high population densities
prevail here, with 10,000 people in Mandvi Pol alone.
Street scenes in the pols: a hawker peddling his wares.The lanes in the
pols are too narrow for vehicular traffic
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Founded in 1156, the city of Jaisalmer rises like
an ocean liner from the sands of the desert.
It was one of the great trading posts along the
camel caravan routes, and its rich merchant
community created for itself an environment
of extraordinary architectural value. Within its
buttressed walls, tall houses cling together,
their facades a collage of intricately-carved
jharookhas, eaves and terraces. Even the
smallest detail seems to have received as much
attention as the overall conceptual plan.
Jaisalmer, Hot and Dry

Very high daytime temperatures, with very little precipitation and a short and mild winter
season characterize this climate. Another important characteristic is a high diurnal temperature
variation. You can be boiling during the day and cold at night. This is due to the rapid radiative
heat loss from the ground or the building to the clear night sky.

The desert town of Jaisalmer deals with this by building homes that abut against each other,
with the inner rooms opening towards small courtyards and the front rooms opening through
screened openings towards narrow shaded streets. This pattern minimizes the exposure of
building surfaces to the outside.

The buildings are of heavy mass and the windows small, because of which the indoor
temperature changes very little through the day or night, staying close to a more comfortable
daily mean temperature.

In summers, even though the day is hot, nights are cool, and people spend time out on the roof
terrace. Because humidity is low, if water was available, cooling by evaporation of water would
be an easy and effective way of obtaining thermal comfort.
Plan of the triangular hill which
forms the upper section and focus
of Jaisalmer town, showing
arrangement of streets and squares.
Semi-circular bastions
of fort once guarded Jaisalmer
against enemy attack, now shield its
citizens from sandstorms.
Jaisalmer’s splendid stone
mansions (or havelis) are
organised around a central
courtyard to shut out the
harsh desert light and heat.
This court, focus of the haveli,
is surrounded by interior
rooms and passageways which
lead via the otla in front
of each house to the
neighbourhood street – the
whole forming a seamless
continuum from private to
public realms.
Aba Tibetan Villages
• Geomorphologic Features
• Aba Autonomous Prefecture of Tibetan and Qiang Nationalities in Sichuan
Province is located in the southeast Tibetan Plateau.
• The plateau surface terrain is almost smooth, although the canyons are
more rugged.
• For the convenience of water acquisition and to avoid the danger of
flooding, the Tibetan villages are always located approximately 10 m
above ground level on the terraces by the sides of rivers
• Climatic Features
• Aba Autonomous Prefecture has a typical plateau climate, the features of
which include abundant sunshine, low levels of rainfall, dry weather, and
wide temperature differences from day to night, along with cold winters
and cool summers
• Architectural measures adaptive to such a climate include terrace roofs,
thick walls, small windows, and separate rooms for winter and summer
The area is plagued by frequent natural disasters such as
landslide activities and mudslides due to the location of the lifting section of the Tibetan Plateau.
To avoid this type of catastrophe, local inhabitants often choose ridge sites for their villages’
location. For the purpose of effectively utilizing the available arable land, and following traditional
principles that dictate long-cultivated land should lie fallow, the Aba Tibetan village settlements
are concentrated at the edge of cultivated land. Dwellings built on the slopes thus appear to be
relatively dispersed and scattered among the mountains.
traditional production technique of a
typical Tibetan village watchtower.
Most of the buildings in Aba Jiarong
Tibetan villages incorporate viscous
yellow mud, lumbers from local
trees, and stones from the
surrounding area as the main
construction materials, together with
yellow mud and rubble for the thick
walls. With the small windows
placed together, the thick walls are
used to defend against cold.
Hani Ethnic Villages: Home on a Mountainside
Terrace Field

Location: Yuanyang, Yunnan Province

Key Geographical Concept: Terrace field
culture
Terrace fields represent the core of the Hani
ethnic villages’ subsistence. Entire
villages are dependent on the terrace field
ecosystem.
Layers of paddy fields below the Hani ethnic villages. Because the mountains are high with steep
slopes, the fields themselves are usually narrow. There is a saying that “a frog jumps once across
three layers of fields”. The terrace fields can pile up to more than 1,000 layers.
Geomorphologic Features
Yuanyang County lies at the south edge of Ailao Mountain where the valleys cut
deeply and flat land is rarely observed. Reclamation of mountains into terrace fields
is a useful initiative for the purpose of conducting agricultural activities in hilly
terrain. Between the mountains sit layers of spectacular terrace fields (Fig. 2.12). To
ensure the maximum utilization of arable land, the Hani villages are located at the
tops of terrace field slopes.
Climatic Features
Yuanyang County is located in a subtropical monsoon climate area, which enjoys warm
winters and hot summers. Excessive rain without a clearly delineated dry season
means that these climatic conditions are suitable for rice production. Therefore, the
Hani terrace fields are devoted to layers of paddy fields
Vegetation Features
The subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest is a typical form of forest
vegetation in the humid subtropical region. The Hani people tend to build villages on
the hillside, so the dense forests above these villages can help in the conservation of
water and soil. Around the villages are usually planted palms, bamboos, pears,
peaches, persimmons, etc. Below the villages are layers of paddy fields dedicated to
rice cultivation and the breeding of fry. The rivers at the foot of the mountain are
used for the drainage of paddy fields . The agricultural ecosystem, including forest-
river-village-terrace field, thus ensures a beneficial circle
As the Hani villages are located on the slopes and confined by the terrain, village
architecture is generally linearly arranged and parallel to the contour line.

Similarly, due to the limitations of the terrain, Hani residential buildings usually
have no courtyard.

Winter on the mountain is humid and cold, so the Hani people usually build their
villages on the sunny slopes

The many gullies in the Honghe River valley region serve to separate the Hani
communities from each other. Therefore, there can be various forms of
architecture within a single ethnic group.

The Hani buildings in Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture are mainly

constructed with a bamboo framework; and buildings in Yuanyang of Honghe
Autonomous Prefecture are “mushroom houses”, named for their mushroom-like
appearance
The construction materials used in mushroom houses—adobe and thatch—are natural
and locally accessible. Their walls can be divided into two sections: above ground and
below ground. The first step in construction is to build the foundation of the walls
about half a meter under the ground with sand and earth. More sophisticated artisans
might use stone or brick instead.
The section above ground is also half a meter in height, mostly piled
up with splint-rammed earth The first floor of a mushroom house is used
for the storage of farm tools and livestock breeding. The second floor, usually drier
and warmer, is used for residence. Finally, the roof is covered by layers of thatches to
form four slopes with angles larger than 45°.
Part of a Hani mushroom house.
These walls are built with rammed
earth, and the roof is thatched.
Doors, beams and other structural
components are made of wood. S
LADAKH
A village mainly consists of several buildings in close proximity, either sharing
walls or separated by narrow paths The effect is that of a maze. In the village
the buildings are all made of mud bricks sealed by smooth mud cement. The
walls are thick and the mud is mixed with hay to provide insulation. The roof is
covered with a 2-3 ft layer of fodder and poplar branches. This not only helps to
insulate but also serves as a storage space for the winter months. The living
quarters typically consist of 2-3 rooms, of which one is a kitchen -- most daily
activities revolve around the main hearth. This provides heat in the winter
months and is fueled by the waste of the cattle. The cattle are kept in an
additional below-ground level. Through induction the heat generated by the
cattle helps warm the upper level. The dry pit toilet is built out to the side of
the main living space over the pig sty. The sty’s entry door has a small hole for
air intake. The sty is cool and dark, creating a low pressure zone under the toilet
pit which draws fresh air from the door opening and ventilates it out through an
air shaft thus keeping the area free of odors, flies and insects. The excrement
from the toilet and pig waste is collected and used as manure in the fields.
“Waste” is a modern phenomenon. The notion of waste is non existent in
traditional cultures like this one in Ladakh
Ladakh Climate:
Ladakh is a semi-autonomous region in the North-Indian
state of Jammu and Kashmir. Lying in the rain shadow of
the Himalayas, this high altitude desert is characterized by
a rugged landscape of mountain ranges rising up to
6500m. Ladakh is governed by its harsh climatic
conditions with short summers scorching the land with
temperatures of up to 40° C (104°F) while its long winters
can be bitterly cold with temperatures falling as low as -
40° C (-40°F).
The first problem is a choice of site; this should not be a lhu-sa (klu-
sa), that is a place sacred to a lhu (klu) or sadag (sa-bdag), from which
stems the necessity to consult the onpo (dbon-po) in the first place. If
the chosen spot is a lhusa it should either be given up, or a lama called
in to do pujas. Whoever fails to take these precautions exposes
himself to worse troubles. He will witness the loss of his wealth and
illness befall his family. If a lhu is hurt by the builders' pick axes the
result will be particularly serious. Most often a plan is not made. The
owner discussed the number of rooms he needs, their approximate
size and orientation, with the (r)tsikspon (architect). The (r)tsikspon
(rtsig-dpon) is left to trace the plan on the ground according to these
demands. The onpo (dbon-po) fixes the date for the work to begin.
Once the plan is made on the ground, the foundations are sunk. The
entire space to be occupied by the house is not dug up, only ditches
corresponding to the course of walls.
Symmetries in lay-out and façade design,

Slightly trapezoidal form, heavy at the bottom (stone foundations) and

light at the top, generally with battered walls,

flat roofs with parapets,

Detailed code for the decoration of doors, windows and parapets

(including painted black frames around doors and windows, and
complex wooden overhang decorations),

Intricately carved interior timber frame following standardized design

principles

Organic design – buildings appear to grow out of the landscape

CHATHISGARH

The climate of Chhattisgarh is tropical. It is hot and humid because of its

proximity to the Tropic of Cancer and its dependence on the monsoons for
rains. Summer temperatures in Chhattisgarh can reach 45 °C (113 °F). The
monsoon season is from late June to October and is a welcome respite from
the heat. Chhattisgarh receives an average of 1,292 millimetres (50.9 in) of
rain. Winter is from November to January. Winters are pleasant with low
temperatures and less humidity
• One very interesting characteristic of this architecture is- how they scale their
spaces.
• Construction, here, happens without yardstick and drawings. Design is decided
as people talk amongst themselves.
• The dimensions of the structure are decided with the help of their own body.
The measurement unit is one hand which is almost equal to one and a half feet.
The rural people of India consider one hand as the distance between wrists and
elbow only.
• The spaces are usually in multiple of one hand. In fact, hand is used for deciding
almost every measurement in the building- from foundations to thickness of the
walls and roof. For instance, the foundation of a house in Phulgoan village of
North India goes up to 6 feet (4 hands), width of the wall 3 feet (2 hands), and
height of wall 9 feet (6 hands) and so on.
• The locals undertake multiple responsibilities of visualizing, designing, material
procuring, and building. It is an all together different approach to design and
construction where design decisions are limited to talks between the family
members. Surprisingly, a few even allocate function to the spaces only after they
are built.
The houses in each region
of India follow some
underlying patterns. The
custom of building linearly
prevails in chattishgarh
state. As the need arises,
new spaces are added
eventually forming a
central courtyard. All the
houses of Chattishgarh
region have a few common
elements- like
the otla, kothi (granary).
Otla
Unlike the urban houses where privacy is the
prime consideration of design, the rural India
gladly bring a part of their private life at the
edge and let it blend with their social life. It is
not uncommon to find people interacting,
children playing, women cutting vegetables
at otla. The otla is a platform outside the
house. It is essentially present in every house
only in different scales. Sometimes, the goes
up to 2.1 meter that a person can easily sleep
in the space, sometimes it is as little as 0.3
meter- a space meant for sitting only. What
dictates this design is not known.
Kothi
Another element commonly found in
chattishgarhi houses are Kothi. Kothi is a
granary which is designed with suspended
floors for air circulation and protection from
rodents and insects. These are always
detached from the external walls to avoid
moisture penetration. A granary also acts as an
element to divide the space. Depending on its
placement, a granary separates the storage
area from the living area, or cooking area from
the living area. Small vents are also noticed in
the area below the granary
Windows are practically absent in the
chattishgarhi rural houses. The prime reason of
this lies in the climate of the region. Where
temperature goes as high as 45˚ C in summers,
it is advantageous to have thick walls without
windows. Ventilation happens through the
perforated roof and also the gap between the
roof and the wall.