Part I

Timber Temple Traditions - Kerala

December 2019

Lecture Presentation by Smruti Athalye

for Class 2A Semester IV

 Location
Three distinct topographic zones:

Source: http://www.archiestudio.in/de-mystifying_m_arch/monsoon_in_kerala_-_architectural_responses
 Climate
Monsoon: Twice a year

October to May June to September

Source: http://www.archiestudio.in/de-mystifying_m_arch/monsoon_in_kerala_-_architectural_responses
 Materials
• Stone (mostly restricted to plinth)
• Timber
• Bamboo
• Clay
• Palm leaves
• Laterite (not that common)
• Shell lime mortar (base for mural painting)
Mandala
 Characteristics

Ongallur Taliyil Shiva Temple, Palakkad Madhur Temple, Kasaragod

• Exquisite structural details

• Identity and Style
• Intricate craft works
Space Planning
Space Planning
 Courtyard or Naluketta
• Central open space
• Source of light to the
otherwise dark interiors
• Has a Tulsi pedestal hence
considered auspicious
• Semi open spaces around
becomes an active part
• Not for collecting water but
for draining the rain water

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Typical-plan-and-section-of-nalukettu-Dili-2010_fig5_320196063
 Semi open Verandah or Nalirayam
• Around the courtyard
• Drawing cool air through
the exterior window and
allowed the heated air
escape from central
open space

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Typical-plan-and-section-of-nalukettu-Dili-2010_fig5_320196063
 Other Semi Open Verandahs

At the entrance - Poomikhams

On the side - Kolah

• Protects the building from the hot sun and driving rain, yet
allowing wind movement from the sides.
• Space for social meetings, family interactions, informal
activities, as well as for household works
• Most effective for drying clothes, playing indoor games, etc
 Plinth or Adisthana
• Raised around 1 metre
• For protection against dampness
and insects in the tropical climate
• To avoid rain water seepage into the
interior spaces
• Different levels to demarcate
difference in social hierarchy
 Storage Chamber or Ara Nira

• Agrarian culture and need for well protected storage space

• Grains to be stored for months, protected from termites & humidity
• Underground chambers
• Panelled wooden boxes raised from ground
 Wells or Kinar & Tanks or Kulam
• Held percolated ground water
• Purpose: drinking, washing, household activities
• Plot slope to north-east and temple grove on southwest
• Dug by themselves or local workers
• Location: north, northeast and east
• Two to four and assigned for different purpose
 Openings
• A necessity to permit air flow through the inside spaces – high humidity levels.
• Earliest house - doors were small and windows were almost absent which made the
inside spaces totally dark and airless event during the day.
• Provision of tiny openings called soothram / soothradwaras along with the wind direction
to ensure air circulation within the space.
• In affluent and palatial buildings, advanced measures like wooden trellises were
introduced which cut off sun, yet provided ventilation.
 Roof

• Excellent protection against solar radiation and driving rain with its
deep and low overhangs
• Supported on pillars or load bearing walls erected on a high plinth.
• Regional variation seen in the roof
• Excellent protection against solar radiation and driving rain with its
deep and low overhangs
 Roof Framing - Anjili wood

Sustainability - Different members are assembled without pins but with wooden joins
and pegs so that they can be removed and re-used
Roof Framing - Bamboo, Karimpana
palm and coconut trunk
 Roof - Covering

Thatch – Palm leaf mats Mangalore Tiles Copper Plates

Overhangs and Slopes

• Thatch roof had steeper slopes 40-45 degrees to
facilitate complete seepage of rainwater
• Mangalore tile roofing: 30 to 35 degrees
• Deep overhangs – went below eye level – blocked the
sun glare
• Prevents the inclined rain, which hits almost 90 degrees
to the vertical
• Bracket or kuthukal for additional support
 Roof - Types

Eaves Board or Thoovanapalaka Gable end or Mughapu

Padmanabhapuram Palace Complex, Tamil Nadu
Zoning: Public to Private

Thai Kottaram
(Mothers Hall)

Zoning : Public to Private

Thai Kottaram
 Water tanks and wells
• One tank attached to bath house or kulapura for all general needs like bathing,
washing, etc and leads up to the temple on its east. This the act of bath
becomes part of the ritual
• Another tank on north east side, which is away from the centre of activities and
more private in nature. It adjoins the place of rituals or homapura and thus
considered to be part of holy activities.
• A well located near one of the side enteries to the complex is connected to the
Saraswati temple, navarathri mandapam or dance hall and the administrative
sections. It is therefore refereed as public in nature, used by visitors and non-
residents.
• A hierarchy division of water sources in terms of privacy and diversity in
function can be drawn
 The tradition of such wooden architecture
continued without distinction between religions

Temple
Mosque
Synagouge
Church
Vadakkunnatha Temple Complex, Thrissur
Theatre for religious drama or Kutambalam
Theatre for religious drama or Kutambalam

• 18th and 19th Century

• Stands in the precinct of a large Hindu temple for the performance of
religious drama
• Seen in Kerala region
• A great truss, hip roof covered with mostly copper or tile.
• Spanning large spans – unsual to Hindu temples
• A fixed stage has its own roof which is supported by round columns of
teak, as ‘a building within a building’
Mishkar Mosque, Kozhikode (Calicut)

• The largest wooden mosque in 17th century. The population of Muslims in this
town is the largest in Kerala and many wooden mosques are here.
• It well resembles Hindu wooden temples and palaces in tiled roof, gable design,
and latticed walls.
• Latticed walls to avoid the direct sunlight and let
a breeze blow through
• Their ceilings are often decorated with wooden
carvings
• Although it has not reached so high a degree of
perfection as wooden mosques Himalayas
• Multi-Tiered mosques with a gabled roof are very
rare even in the vast Islamic world.
• The essential design components of a mosque
are the Minaret, Dome (Qubba), prayer hall,
Mihrab (a recessed niche in the western wall),
Mimbar (raised Pulpit) and an ablution tank. The
medieval mosques in Kerala do not have the
minaret and the dome.
Paradesi Jewish Synagouge, Kochi

• 16th Century
• Today the Paradesi Synagogue is the
oldest functioning Jewish house of
prayer not only in Kerala but in the
whole of India and the rest of the British
Commonwealth.
• White washed and colored thick-walled
chunam (polished lime) over laterite
stone (quarried locally)
• Steeply pitched roofs covered
with clay tiles. Carved roof
edges, exposed rafters with
deep eaves (to avoid damage
from the annual monsoons).
• Wooden lattice or strutted
screens
• Shuttered windows and
clerestories
• Cusped arches at the azara’s
(anteroom) and sanctuary’s
entryway.
Christian Church of St.Francis, Kochi
15th to 16th Century
 Part II
Timber Temple Traditions
Himachal Pradesh
 Location and Climate
• The land rises from plains (350 meters)
from MSL on the southwest to an altitude of
6975 meters in the east towards the Tibetan
plateau. This causes huge variation in the
climatic condition.
• Hot and sub-humid tropical (350-900m) in
the southern low tracts
• Warm and temperate (900-1800m)
• Cool and temperate (1900-2400m)
• Cool glacial and alpine (2400-4800m)
in the northern and eastern high elevated
mountain ranges.
• The annual average rainfall is 1469mm.
 Climatic 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.
Ideally, the main aspect of the house should face east and the rising
sun.
• The path of the sun, controls the height of building, as the sun is
needed for each dwelling unit.
• As a general rule the houses do not have a boundary wall.
• The structure is a two storey building with an Attic.
• Low Height of the rooms (2.1 – 2.4 m) which results in low surface to
volume ratio reducing heat loss from surfaces
• Small window size and low ceiling height to prevent heat loss and keep
the interiors warmer.
• Terrace in all around the building should have proper slope for efficient
drainage, in heavy rain fall and snow fall areas.
 Materials
Deodar wood - One of the strongest Indian conifers. Imparts stability to tall
structures. Insect and termite resistant and even untreated can withstand long
periods of weather corrosion.

Mud - 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 - Mainly for foundation and walls

Stone Slate tiles - Metamorphic rock. Used in roofs of buildings. Has high
quartz content, frost resistant, absorbs heat and provides moisture barrier. Low
maintenance, Invulnerable to rot and insects.
 Natural Hazard
• Cloud bursts
• Flash floods
• landslides,
• snow avalanches
• Droughts
• Forest fires
• Earthquake
• Seismic zone IV and V
• Magnitude 8
 Kath-Khune

kath = wood, kuni = angle

The inherent stability, flexibility, and strength of indigenous kath-khuni (wood
and stone) buildings make them appropriate for this earthquake prone terrain.
 House Temple

• 1 to 3 storied house • 5 to 7 storied temple

• Lower floor for cattle Upper • More intricate details
floor for residing, storing and
kitchen
 Settlement pattern
Temple is the heart of most settlements and usually sited at the highest
spot. The surrounding areas of the temple is mainly used during festivals
and religious gathering by the inhabitants.

Source: https://www.slideshare.net/mansiarch/kath-khuni-of-himachal-pradesh-autosavedpdf-low
 Blends with the landscape

Source: https://www.slideshare.net/mansiarch/kath-khuni-of-himachal-pradesh-autosavedpdf-low
 Typical Components

Source: https://www.slideshare.net/mansiarch/kath-khuni-of-himachal-pradesh-autosavedpdf-low
 Construction Method
• Locals can construct their own house
• Time efficient: Wood and stone is not like slow setting
mortar
• Resource efficiency: Availability in the vicinity
• Resource re-use | Hardly any wastage | Don’t deteriorate
• Low maintenance
• Biodegradable materials

Foundation and Plinth

Walls, Roof, Floor
Misc Details
 Foundation and Plinths
• Stone plinth is filled up to 1 metre from the ground level.
• The trench is relative to height of structure.
• For a two-storey house, depth is 0.6-1 meter.
• In case of tower temple, its as deep as 3 meters.
• Stone is used only in temple’s foundations and roofs as
slabs and slate stone shingles similar to the independent
granaries.

Earthquake Mitigation: 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.
 Wall
Earthquake Mitigation
• The walls are constructed with alternate courses of dry
masonry & wood without any cement mortar.
• Wall courses: Two wooden wall beams are laid
longitudinally parallel to each other with a gap in between.
The space is filled with rubble stone & edge is secured with
kadil(wooden nail).
• Structural resilience: Non rigid construction helps to
dissipate the stresses developed.
• Wall punchers: Small openings in wall
• Infill traps air within the wall and creates insulation
 Cross bracing or Dhajji-diwari

Iron pins and wooden blocks to The loose mud masonry and plaster, which will
tie the bracing together firmly. absorb shocks during an earthquake.
Projecting Balconies
 Roof
Roof is constructed out of wooden beams followed by purlins & rafters,
topped with slates or wooden shingles. Slate stones also weighs down the
structure against strong winds.

Types
Shikhara style - Mainly stone
Pagoda style - Successive roofs
Pahari style - Mix of all other temple form
 Pagoda

Hadimba Temple (Manali)

Adi Brahma Temple (Khokhan) Tripura Sundri Temple (Naggar)

 Pahari

Bijli Mahadev Temple in Kullu

 Stone Slate

The Stone slates weigh down the structure against wind

Sarahan
Bhimakali Temple, Sarahan
Source: https://thinkmatter.in/2014/09/24/himalayan-cities-settlement-patterns-public-places-and-architecture/06-5/
 Part III
Vijayanagar Empire
• Rise of the empire - 1336 established by
Harihara I & Bhukka I
• Death of an empire - 1565 after being
attacked and plundered - Battle of Talikota

Four dynasties of Vijayanagar

1336-1485 1486-1503 1503-1542 1542-1565

Sangama Saluva Tuluva Araveedu
River Pampi
Tungabhadra River
 • Vijayanagara Empire or “ City of Victory”
• Hampi is a capital, earlier called Pampa from the local mother goddess, Pampadevi.
• The rulers of Vijayanagara, who called themselves Rayas, or Narapati (lord of Men) took
the Empire to greater heights.

The Vijayanagara Empire is considered to be the Landmark

in the Indian history because the traditional southern royal
dynasties like the Katiyas of Warangal, Pandyas of Madurai ,
Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Halevidu fell victims
to the invasions of Allah-ud-din Khiliji and Mohammad – Bin-
Tughluq. As a result every where peace was disturbed,
anarchy reigned and religious turmoil was evident. By this time
the Islamic invaders from middle-east had already gained
control in North India. In an endeavor to thwart their inroads to
the south, the southern kings came together to form this
splendid, most prosperous kingdom of the time – the
Vijayanagara empire. They shifted the capital here and ushered
the golden era of Hampi. Under these circumstances
Vijayanagara Empire helped the preservation of Hindu religion
and Indian culture, building techniques to the new heights.
Source: http://historyofindia-madhunimkar.blogspot.com/2009/09/vijaynagar-kingdom.html
Urban Zones
Sangamas, Saluvas and Tuluvas
Sacred Zone
 Royal Zone

Source: https://www.slideshare.net/sowjanyasuresh/hampi-documentation-and-experience
 Vitthala Temple

• Epicenter of Vijayanagara Empire

• King Devaraya II
• Vithal temple
• Dravidian style
• Construction in granite stone
 56 Musical Pillars

• Vittala Temple - large Ranga Mandapa

• SaReGaMa pillars produce musical tones when struck
with a thumb.
 Close link to Ramayana

It is believed to be the monkey kingdom Kiskinda, where Lord Ram met his loyal follower
Hanuman. The monkey army later helped Rama build a bridge of stones across the sea to help
him reach Lanka. The stories inspired so many temples and the stone carvings on them. The
Hemkunta hill is adorned with temples from the 7th to 14th century, mostly dedicated to Shiva
and Parvati. The Hanuman temple in North Hampi is dedicated to Lord Hanuman who is believed
to have lived here.
 International Trade Center at Virupaksha

• Spread over 4000 hectares

• Second largest city in the medieval world, next only to Beijing.
• One of the biggest international trade centers in the world in the 14th and
15th century.
 Mystical Rocks

• Geologically this region is in the Dharwar Craton – those rare parts of the land that has
remained unchanged by volcanic or tectonic movements for billions of years.
• Hindu mythology - According to Ramayana, the North Hampi is part of the erstwhile Kiskinda,
the monkey kingdom where Lord Ram met Hanuman. The rocks were apparently scattered all
over Hampi after a fierce war ensued between two monkey-brothers who fought for the throne
of this kingdom.
 The Mint

• Located inside the Zenana enclosure of Hampi.

• Believed to be the only place where coins were produced and circulated from.
• Inscriptions of Animal, birds and Hindu deities
• Material - copper, silver, and gold
 Virupaksha Temple

• One of the oldest living Hindu temples in the world

• Dedicated to Lord Shiva. It was created in the 7th century, after
which it was enhanced during the Chalukya era. The temple in its
current stature was built during the Vijayanagara era.
• Surprisingly this temple withstood the worst attacks of Hampi’s
history including the invasion that destroyed the city.
• The other name of this temple is Pampavathi temple referring to
Shiva’s wife Pampa.
The temple is also known for the cute elephant Hampi There is a small slit in the wall of
who blesses the pilgrims at the gate of the temple. the temple which exhibits a pin-hole
camera effect in the day when the
sun-rays pass through it creating
an inverted image of the main
tower.
The other famous active temple in
Hampi is the Hanuman temple
a.k.a.the Monkey temple.
 Destruction of Hampi

Krishna Temple Rama Temple Vitthala Temple Kings Balance

After 200 years of glory, the kingdom witnessed a dramatic fall at the hands of invaders
followed by destruction and loot. The Deccan sultans invaded Hampi in 1565 with alliance from

some local chieftains and plundered the city for six months. Historians are often baffled
by the rather abrupt downfall of such a powerful empire. The ongoing rebellions from local Hindu

Kings weakened the defence of Hampi. That’s why unlike Rajasthan, you will not see
palaces and castles in Hampi, all you see are the ruins of one of the most prosperous

empires that ever existed. This is also the answer to why most of the temples of Hampi are not
functional and do not have any idol inside.
 Part IV
Development of state and domestic
architecture in various parts of India
 As you know, later, during the 16th century, the
Europeans came to India through the sea route and thus
began the establishment of new port towns like Panaji in
Goa (1510), Bombay in Maharashtra (1532),
Machilipatnam (1605), Nagapattnam (1658), Madras
(1639) in the south and Calcutta (1690) in the east.
 Hall of 1000 Pillars
Hamankonda, Warangal
Jain Temple, Ranakpur Rajasthan
Bahmani Sultanate, Bishnupur, Vaishnavite, Bengal
The Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa
 Assignment No.1

Compare timber architecture

in Kerala and Himachal Pradesh

Mandatory: Sketches & terminologies

 Assignment No.2

Draw sketches of
any two structures in Hampi

Mandatory: Drawn to proportion and with nomenclature