Earthquake-safe Koti Banal architecture of

Uttarakhand
KOTI BANAL VILLAGE,UTTRAKHASHI
(1)THIS IS 1000 YR
OLD BUILDING.
(2)THIS IS
CONSTRUCTED IN
KOTI BANAL
ARCHITECTURE.
(3) THE AREA BEING IN
EARTHQUAKE ZONE 5
HAS UNDERGRONE A
NUMBER OF
POWERFUL SHOCKS
AND YET THE
HOUSES STAND
MAJESTIC.
(4) SMALL ENTRY AND
RELATIVLY SMALL
OPENINGS IN THIS

GROUND PLANE OF THE

BUILDING

1. THE STRUCTURE ARE OBSERVED TO BE CONSTRUCTED

ON A SIMPLE RECTANGULAR PLAN WITH LENGTH AND
WIDTH OF 6500 AND 8000 MM.
2. THE RATIO OF TWO SIDES OF STRUCTURE IS OBSERVED
1.1

GROUND PLAN OF
THE BUILDING

ISOMETRIC VIEW OF THE BUILDING

3. SYMMETRICAL BOTH SIDE WITH RESPECT TO

MASS AND RIGIDUTY, SO AS TO MINIMIZE TORTION
AND STRESS CONCENTRATION.

ELEVATION OF FIVE STORIES

STRUCTURE

SIDE
ELEVATION

FRONT ELEVATION

BACK SIDE ELEVATION

(1). ELEVATION OF A FIVE STORY STRUCTURE WITH INTERSTORY

HIGHTS BETWEEN 2.20 TO 2.50 M.
(2). IN THE LOWER PART THE WALL CONSISTOF A WOODEN CRIBBAGE
CONFIGURATION WITH ORTHOGONALLY ARRANGED WOODEN LOGS
INTERCONNECTED AT THE JUNCTIONS OF BY WOODEN TENONS.
(3). FOR BOTTOMMOST LAYERS SINGLE WOODEN LOGS ARE USED .

FOUNDATION OF THE
BUILDING

1. FOUNDATION TRENCH FILLED

WITH RUBBLE AND FIELD
STONE.
2. DETAILING OF THE
FOUNDATION PLATFORM MADE
OF DRY PACKED DRESSED
STONES.
3. IN SOME OTHER BUILDING ,IN CASE OF OUTERCROPPING ROCK AT
THE SURFACE, THE
PLATE FORM OUT OF DRY STONE MASONRY IN
DIRECTLY ERECTED ONTO GROUND WITHOUT ANY EMBEDDED
FOUNDATION.

ABOUT THE WALL

(1). THE FOUR WALLS OF
THE STRUCTURE ARE THUS
RAISED USING THE
WOODEN LOGS AND
DRESSED UP FLAT STONES.
(2). THE STRUCTURE IS
FRUTHER REINFORCED
WITH THE HELP OF
WOODEN BEAMS FIXED
ALTERNATELY, THAT RUN
FROM THE MIDDLE OF
WALLS ON ONE SIDE TO
THE OTHER, INTERSECTING
(3). THIS ARRENGMENT DIVIDES THE STRUCTURE
FOUR PARTS AND
THEINTO
CENTER.
PROVIDES FOR JOINTS SUPPORTING THE FLOORBOARDS IN EACH FLOOR
OF THE BUILDING.
(4). VERTICAL MEMBERS (SHEAR KEYS) ATTACHED TO THE OUTER
FAADE TO PRVENT OUT OF PLANE FAILURE OF THE WALLS.

SOME DETAILS OF WALL AND

BALCONY
HOUSED AND NAILED
JOINTS USED FOR FIXING
THE WOODEN
COMPONENTS .
IN KOTI BANAL HOSE
CONSTRUCTION.

DETAILING OF CHAJJAS OR
BALCONY. WHICH ARE
MADE BY WOODEN
CANTILIVERS.
ON THE FORTH FLOOR A BALCONY IS CONSTRUCTED WITH A
WOODEN RAILING RUNNING AROUND ON ALL THE FOUR SIDES.

DETAILING OF STAIR CASE

OUTER STAIR CASE

MADE BY LOCAL
TIMBER.

LADDERS MADE OF A
SINGLE TRUNK USED FOR
ACCESS TO UPPER LOORS.

DETAIL OF
SMALL OPENINGS

(1). IN THIS BUILDING HAVE A SINGLE,SMALL ENTRY AND RELATIVLY

SMALL OPENNINGS.
(2). WHICH IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE BUILDING
CODES5.
(3). STRONG WOODEN EMPANELMENT IS PROVIDED AROUND ALL
THEOPENINGS TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LOSS OF STRENGTH.

Banal
two

e filling
ressed
be

re

MATERIAL
STRUCTURAL MEMBER

BUILDING MATERIALS

FOUNDATION

FIELS AND RUBBEL

STONE

WALLS

WOODEN LOGS AND

DRESSED STONES

FRAME (BEAM AND

COLUMN)

DEVDAR(CEDAR)
TIMBER

ROOF AND FLOORING

DEVDAR(CEDAR) TIMER
AND STONE TILES

THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS OF THID BUILDING IS

BASICALLY CONSISTED OF TWO STEPS. FIRST THE
WOODEN CONSTRUCTION WAS ERECTED BEFORE FILLING
UP THE INTERVENING VOIDS WITH DRESSED STONE.

REFERENCE(S)
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) and
International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE)
Tom Schacher (SWITZERLAND)
Email:tom.schacher@adhoc.ch
Piyoosh Rautela* and Girish Chandra Joshi
Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, Department of
Disaster Management, Government of Uttarakhand,
Uttarakhand Secretariat,
Rajpur Road, Dehradun 248 001, India