Traditional Building Techniques...

Traditional Low Cost Materials and

Construction Techniques

Climatic Zones in India

Regions

Northern

Himalayan

Ladakh

Central

Rajasthan

Madhya Pradesh

North -East

Coastal Region

Introduction

Factors

Climate Geography Materials

Introduction

CLIMATE

Scorching sun in the Gangetic plains.

Tropical conditions of the south.

Dry cold climates in Spiti and Leh.

Perennially damp conditions in the northeast.

GEOGRAPHY

Hilly terrain of the Himalayas and Kashmir.

Flats of the Deccan and the south.

Damp ground of Assam and Bengal.

Dry earth of Punjab.

Introduction

MATERIALS

According to area:

North India ---- clayey soil makes sunburnt bricks and mud mortar.

Northeast ---- bamboo construction

South ---- red laterite stone

‘Mangalore’ tiles for roofs

Middle India ---- plethora of sandstone (eg: pink city)

According to caste:

Brahmins ---- white stone

Kshatriyas ---- red stone

Vaishyas ---- yellow stone

Shudras ---- black stone

NORTHERN

Himachal Pradesh

Climate

Topography

To protect the building from cold and winds in winter.

Penetration of maximum sunlight in living areas and generating

warmth.

Rain water disposal.

PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS :-

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:

RAMMED EARTH

KATHKUNI

LOG HOUSE

DHAJJI WALL

KATHKUNI OR KATHKUNDI STYLE :-

A mesh of interlocking horizontal cedar (locally, deodar) sleepers is created - and in this dressed or raw stone is packed.

A singular characteristic is the absence of vertical members.

The most common type of Kathkuni wall is made by laying apart two square section wooden wall beams longitudinally parallel to each other to define the width of the wall.

These are lap-jointed or nailed by the cross joist.

The whole frame work done is known as cheol.

With inherent elasticity, the design has an enormous seismic response.


KATHKUNI OR KATHKUNDI STYLE :-


CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE

KALPA

BADRINATH TEMPLE,

KAMRU FORT

SARAHAN TEMPLE


DHAJJI WALL CONSTRUCTION

Dhajji means quilt of patch work.

Timber and stone.

Presence of timber studs gives a sturdy framework and divides the

brickwork into small sections. As a result the individual sections resist shaking

and this prevents destruction of the wall

Used for walls of upper stories, especially for the gable portion.

Different patterns of dhajji wall


RAMMED EARTH CONSTRTUCTION:-

In this type earth is filled in-situ into vertical mounds in layers of one meter height.

Another common mud construction is consist of sun dried earthen bricks mixed with straw

chippings to decrease shrinkage cracks.

Surface of these walls are leveled by mud plaster which gives it property of proneness to

cracking and washing during rains.


LOG HOUSE

Walls ---- logs laid horizontally parallel to each other to define its width.

Over them, another course of logs, cut to a length equal to the width of the wall are

laid cross wise to cover the entire length of the wall.

Another method --- the wooden logs --- squared and the space between each

course filled with brick work and glazed tiles.


The positive points ---- solidity,

gravitational stability and lateral

rigidity.

Ladakh

It occupies western most extension of high n dry Tibetan plateau.

It is sandwiched between Khardungla and Zaskar ranges.

The entire region is snowbound with severe winter and mild summer.

Therefore the building construction

material is roughly dressed stones, sun baked mud bricks and clay.

Ladakh - Introduction

Built on flat land.

Entry to the main room after theportico is always through a small door.

Elevationally these buildings are simpleand follow the load bearing structuralsystem.

Often there bland facades are treatedwith marvelous surface decorationsthat include color application andcarvings which would highlight andgive prominence to their existence.

Mud and stone ---- base walls, flooringand roofs.

Ladakh - Monasteries

Load bearing wall were thicker of about 2 feet to 6 feet thick and at times tapering.

Wood --- load bearing agent such as beams and columns.

The roofs are flat --- made of mud that issupported over a mesh of willow twigs.


PLANNING

Ground floor --- storage for food and fodder, space for animals and a small room serving as a pit for collecting human waste.

The upper floors have habitable rooms, a small courtyard in the middle with rooms on the other three sides.

There is a large multipurpose room, a small prayer room and a segregated toilet block .

Raised plinth by a foot or two which is made of random rubble masonry.


Load bearing structure with a

stronger base and a lighter top.

The internal walls again plasteredwith mud for better insulation.

The roof are flat and have a smallparapet in edge.

buildings rests directly on the rockbelow.

The walls are 2-3 feet thick.

Ladakh - construction technique

The common features are :

Houses were built on twolevels where ground levelwas used for storage andanimal shelter and sometimesrooms for servants as theupper level have habitablespaces.

In most of the houses thereis only one single large roomand an oven in the cornerwhich is multipurpose infunction.

Ladakh - houses

Ladakh

NORTH-EASTERN STATES OF INDIA

INTRODUCTION

the north east comprises of the seven sisters states of

Aruanachal Pradesh,

Assam,

Manipur,

Meghalaya,

Mizoram,

Nagaland and

Tripura.

Characteristics

Rich bio-diversity

Heavy precipitation

High seismicity

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

Monuments in this region

belonging to the medieval

period i.e., 6th century A.D. To

19th century A.D.

It maintained cultural relation

with the main land. The

present Bangladesh and the

erstwhile west Pakistan was a

part of India before the

partition of the country and

hence the influence on north

eastern architecture from

outside.

PLATFORM DWELLINGS

The pile platform houses can be seen among the

hill tribes.

They were built on piles due to the uneven land,

even though they do built on even land but never

entirely without piles.

This kind of houses are seen to be built only by

the people from the hills.

The houses are generally known as bor muthun,

skull house or morang.

The centre line of posts projects through the

ridge, a custom of some tribes only, and this

posts were covered like the roof with toku palm

leaf, or with another palm called jengo.

The post projects so as to enable them to

be lowered as the part in the ground

decays.

The roof comes so far down as to hide the

walls of matted split bamboo, of which

also the platform and the floor are made;

these are supported by cross pieces borne

on saplings, post, and bamboo uprights.

Houses from 30 to 200 ft long and from

20 to 35 ft wide, are often built part on

the ground and part raised, with the fire

places built up of stones.

A notched log serves as a ladder, to get

on the platform or visitors end.

In no case, are the platform posts in

water, for all the changes or villages are

perched on hill tops.

KARBI HOUSES

House location and orientation:

slopes or hilltops are not favored by the karbis

for establishing a village, nor is the vicinity of

streams. For that reason flat areas are always

preferred.

The position of the house is not determined by any

fixed spatial orientation, however one usually find

dwellings oriented towards the village road or lane,

and preferably facing towards the east direction.

When houses are to be build on hilly ground, they

are oriented so that the front side faces the valley

and the rear part faces the upslope of the mountain.

In communities settled on rivers banks houses

usually stand facing the river.

THE DWELLING SPACE

Traditional karbi houses are made up

entirely of

wood,

bamboo and

thatch.

The whole construction is raised

several feet above the ground on a

bamboo platform supported by wooden

posts, under which domestic animals

run freely.

The floor rests on a layer of support

consisting of splintered and whole

bamboo grids to ensure appropriate

rigidity.

This platform is enclosed on four sides

by a fence of bamboo lattice, leaving

only one entry to which one accesses

by a bamboo ladder.

Remarkable is the absence of nails, wires or

metal clippings, as well as windows.

Bamboo splits as well as thongs extracted from

the bark of trees are used to tie structural and

non structural elements.

The eaves in the front and rear sides (more rarely

the overhanging of the gable when the roof is set

up perpendicularly) form two small porches.

Roofs are thatched by using an unidentified

species of grass (karbi : phelang) reaching a

height of 1.5 to 2 meters, available in the nearby

forests.

The eaves do not extend much further down than

fencing level.

It must be noted that karbi houses of important

people bear no special external decorations that

may advertise the status of their owner, as it is

often the case in neighbouring societies.

KHASI SETTLEMENT : Most of the houses are constructed in accordance with the people's

tastes.

Each dwelling structure has a compound and in some cases cattle shedsare occupied by each household irrespective of the number of membersand income

The old type of houses are oval shaped.

The foundation as well as the roof are oval shaped.

These buildings are usually raised on the plinths

THE HOUSE IS USUALLY DIVIDED INTO THREE ROOMS

The floor of the centre room and sleeping room are covered with planks.

The floor of these rooms are much higher than that of the porch .

The porch is used as the store room in which the inmates keep theiragricultural tools and implements and firewood.

The centre room serves as the kitchen as well as the sitting room.

The centre room is furnished with short wooden stools and higher caneor bamboo stools (mula). The sleeping compartments are alwaysprovided with wooden bed steeds and boxes where clothes are kept.

PORCH CENTRE ROOM

SLEEPING ROOM

Coastal regions

India

Type of coastal

Plain coastal area

Lagoon coastal

Cliff coastalLake and sea joints

Ground level-sea

Plain coastal

Boulders on the shore.

Coconut trees on

coastal edges.

Domestic entrepreneur

factories.

Domestic fishing.

House boats.

Wood refining.

Rocky land basins.

Domestic fishing.

Clear sea water.

Rich in coral.

Cultivation of shell

fish.

Lagoon coastal

Cliff coastal

High cliff.

Large density of coconut.

Plane basins.

Clear water.

High tides.

Some sites filled with

bamboo.

Rich pines on coastal

area.

Shell fish cultivation.

Good for sea fishing.

Ground level-sea

Lake and Sea joints

Narrow sand basins between lake and sea.

Low tides near edge of the basin.

Lake water is non-usable due to osmosis of salt from

sea.

Salmon fish in high quantity.

Good for house boats.

High growth of African fungi leading to depletion of fish

resources.

Local fishing.

TYPICAL HINDU HOUSE

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TYPICAL MUSLIM HOUSE

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