Vernacular Architecture

It is a term used to categorise methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it exists. It has often been dismissed as crude and unrefined, but also has proponents who highlight its importance in current design.

Laurie Baker
The use of local materials with consideration to local climate and participation of the people leads to A Holistic Design Approach.

The use of local materials and the participation of the people leads to a holistic design approach

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

a building designed by an amateur without any training in design; the individual will have been guided by a series of conventions built up in his locality, paying little attention to what may be fashionable. The function of the building would be the dominant factor, aesthetic consderations, though present to some small degree, being quite minimal. Local materials would be used as a matter of course, other materials being chosen and imported quite exceptionally.

Our vernacular homes in Rajasthan In vernacular architecture, the conception of space begins with a single cell shelter. This is irrespective of the form and the material which may vary from one context to another.

Indian vernacular architecture

is the informal, functional architecture of structures, often in rural areas, of India, built of local materials and designed to meet the needs of the local people. The builders of these structures are unschooled in formal architectural design and their work reflects the rich diversity of India's climate, locally available building materials, and the intricate variations in local social customs and craftsmanship. It has been estimated that worldwide close to 90% of all building is vernacular, vernacular meaning that it is for daily use for ordinary, local people and built by local craftsmen

This architecture can be broadly divided into three

categories.

kachcha

A kachcha is a building made of natural materials such a mud, grass, bamboo, thatch or sticks and is therefore a short-lived structure. Since it is not made for endurance it requires constant maintenance and replacement.

Pukka
A pukka is a structure made from materials resistant to wear, such as forms of stone or brick, clay tiles , metal or other durable materials, sometimes using mortar to bind, that does not need to be constantly maintained or replaced. However, such structures are expensive to construct as the materials are costly and more labor is required. A pukka may be elaborately decorated in contrast to a kachcha.

Semi-pukka
A combination of the kachcha and pukka style, the semipukka, has evolved as villagers have acquired the resources to add elements constructed of the durable materials characteristic of a pukka. Architecture as always evolves organically as the needs and resources of people change.

 Regional variation

Building material depends on location. In hilly country where rocky rubble, ashlar, and pieces of stone are available, these can be patched together with a mud mortar to form walls. Finer stonework veneer covers the outside. Sometimes wood beams and rafters are used with slate tiles for roofing if available. Houses on hills usually have two stories, with the livestock living on the ground floor. Often a verandah runs along the side of the house. The roof is pitched to deal with the monsoon season and the house may sit on raised plinths or bamboo poles to cope with floods.

Traditional home, Manali

EARTH CONSTRUCTION In the flat lands, abodes are usually made of mud or sunbaked bricks, then plastered inside and out, sometimes with mud mixed with hay or even cow dung and whitewashed with lime.

Where bamboo is available (mainly in the north and northeastern states) it is widely used for all parts of the home as it is flexible and resilient. Also widely used is thatch from plants such as elephant grass, paddy, and coconut. In the south, clay tiles are used for pukka roofing while various plant material such as coconut palm is common for kachcha.

Roofs of the cottages at Ponmudi

Darjeeling Concrete/brick and timber hill houses

EARTH CONSTRUCTION

Auroville-Earth Construction

Auroville-Earth Construction

Chitra Vishwanath Architects-

Bangalore

Ms. Sushma's residence

Prof Rrajagopalan's house

Mr. Rustam Vania's house

Dinesh and Sarita's house

Kindergarten

Rammed earth wall

The prototype of this 23m2 AUM House, which is earthquake, cyclone and flood resistant, has been built during the India International Trade Fair 99 at New Delhi. The house was prefabricated at Auroville and transported in a single lorry. The house weighed around 22. 5 tons and the lorry took 5 days to cover 2,900 Km between Auroville, Tamil Nadu, and New Delhi.

The packing of the house was done in such a way that only 8 blocks arrived broken out of 2,280 blocks. Ferrocement pieces had only little hair cracks. The superstructure of the prototype house has been assembled in 66 hours by the 18-man team of the former AVBC/Earth Unit. This AUM House prototype was sponsored by HUDCO. The India Trade Promotion Organisation awarded this house a Gold Medal for the excellence of its special demonstration

BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION

Interlacing Bamboo for Walls and Fences

Methods of joining bamboo

In the villages of Assam, houses are built with bamboo. These houses are detailed out to combat the heavy monsoons. The floor of the house is a bamboo weave that allows the water of a flood to flow in, rather than keep it out. This is an important principle of sustainable development.

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

Estimated Cost Technique

45 lakhs Laterite and mud construction

Ar.Gerald DaCunhas Residence

Day Care Centre,GOA

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

15 lakhs Technique Exposed brick and random rubble

Estimated Cost Technique

6.5 lakhs Brick and Mud construction

12 lakhs Technique Exposed Brick Construction

30 lakhs Technique Laterite Construction

24 lakhs Technique Exposed Brick construction

16.6 lakhs Technique Exposed brick and random rubble

Estimated Cost Technique

75 lakhs

Random Rubble and mud construction

36 lakhs Technique Brick and Random Rubble with mud mortar construction

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

Zapurza Club House-Whispering Woods-Sangli. Ar Pramod Chaugule

Zapurza Club House-Whispering Woods-Sangli Ar Pramod Chaugule

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

42 lakhs Technique Exposed brick with mud mortar and random rubble

85 lakhs Technique Brick, random rubble and laterite construction

39 lakhs Technique Exposed brick with mud mortar and random rubble

65 lakhs Technique Laterite construction

23 lakhs Technique Brick and Laterite construction

25 lakhs Technique Exposed Brick construction

25 lakhs Technique Exposed Brick Construction

Stone and clay houses in rural Nepal

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

Toda hut

A village hut in West Midnapur district in West Bengal, India

House in Agumbe

House with verandah in Ettayapuram

Hill Station in Tamil Nadu

Courtesy-Dominic Sansoni

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

16 lakhs Technique Exposed Brick construction

25 lakhs Technique Exposed Brick and Random Rubble

Houses near Benares showing settlement patterns in harmony with the environment.

Aranya Housing, Indore, by BV Doshi. Village in Spiti.

.

(Courtesy-Dominic Sansoni.)

Thatched home on the East Coast of Tamil Nadu. A fishing village near Nagapattinam.

Vernacular Construction in Kerala.

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

STONE,EARTH AND TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

 STONE

CONSTRUCTION

GST Farm House,Tanang,Sangli

Affordable GreenAn Office Building-Ar Pramod Chaugule.

Technologies Recommended by CAPART

Barefoot College , Tilonia, Rajasthan. [since 1972 Social Work Research Centre The "Barefoot" (SWRC)] philosophy is based on the belief that village communities used to
develop and maintain their own store of knowledge, which has been devalued in recent times and is slowly dying as people migrate to the cities to look for jobs. To create a programme that respected local skills. Providing training and upgrading to help people help themselves.

local teachers, health-care providers, solar engineers and hand pump mechanics

fuses local labour and materials throughout illiterate farmers from Tilonia, along with twelve other Barefoot Architects, most of whom have no formal education

several village women who worked as labourers

to demonstrate that village knowledge, skills and practical wisdom could be used for people's development, without depending on paper - qualified urban 'experts' from 'outside'.

One- and two-storey structures covering a ground-floor area of around 2,800 square metres.

Administrative buildings Medical block Library and dining hall Amphitheatre Guesthouse and residential blocks Craft centre Workshops and workrooms Telephone exchange

THANK YOU
Presentation-Ar Suvarna Lele