traditional building techniques
DESCRIPTION
low cost housingTRANSCRIPT
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.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:
KATHKUNI OR KATHKUNDI STYLE :-
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE
KALPA
BADRINATH TEMPLE,
KAMRU FORT
SARAHAN TEMPLE
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:
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
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:
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.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:
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.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE:
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.
Ladakh - Monasteries
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.
Ladakh - Monasteries
Ladakh - Monasteries
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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