TOPIC: VERNACULAR ARCHITECHTURE

Architecture is visual art and the buildings speak for themselves

`The buildings started to mushroom when the engineering sense of the brain and aesthetic sense of
mind started to work together. Even the primitive man started their engineering works in caves and
they modified it with the paintings and drawings, which is nothing other than the interior designing.
From the raw caves a shift happened to the huts and then to Pakka house, which reached finally to
the genre apartments and villas. Researching much about the architectural concepts of the former, it
may come under vernacular architecture. Vernacular architecture originated when mankind was
forced to make use of the natural resources around him, and provide himself shelter and comfort
which is responsive to the climate, a shield from the elements. It is a pure reaction to an individual
persons or societys building needs, and has allowed man, even before the architect, to construct
shelter according to his circumstance.
 INRODUCTION

Vernacular architecture characterizes houses made from local

available materials, shaped by local climate and reflects the regional culture and
traditions. It serves as a mirror of society and needs of human beings at certain
time. Vernacular buildings represent ingenious and considerable technical
innovations and perform spectacular handicraft work. The construction techniques
and forms were evolving over hundred years by generations to meet their
everyday's needs.
Sometimes can the terms folk or popular architecture make some confusion, but
vernacular, or traditional architecture is distinguished in the way how it is
produced. Stated in the report by Javier Ponce Valverde: With origins in folk
tradition, vernacular architecture results when tradesmen rather than family
members are employed for construction, as is the case in primitive architecture.1
This discipline of primitive architecture can be named as Bernard Rudofsky did in
his book, Architecture Without Architects.2 The concept of this architecture
includes venerable, anonymous and indigenous architecture. It is so little known
and little discussed so that we do not even have an exact name for it (Rudolfsky,
1964). This non-pedigreed architecture describes ancient architecture of old
civilizations, without any written specification. To this concept we can even
include the structures made not by human beings, marvellous structures made by
animals or just nature itself, which were built as perfect answer to the climate
conditions, for example. This dissertation work will reveal some of these
mentioned notions of architecture and analyze how they influenced each other over
the thousands years.
In conclusion, the crucial mark of vernacular buildings is , that there is actually
nothing superfluous about them. The solutions are just basic results of centuries of
empiricism.
With the words of Amos Rapoport we can describe vernacular architecture as lack
of theoretical or aesthetic pretentions, working with the site and micro-climate,
respect for the other people and their houses and hence for the total environment,
man-made as well as natural and working within an idiom with variations within a
given order.3
The traditional principles and techniques followed the system of exact settled rules
not just according to the user's needs, but according to the surrounding as well as
observers. And that is the crucial aspect, which lead to understand nowadays trends
in understanding the incompatibility and intolerance to modern settlements.
Pietro Belluschi defined architecture as " a communal art, not produced by a few
intellectuals or specialists but by the spontaneous and continuing activity of a
whole people with a common heritage, acting under a community of experience".4
These words are losing the sense a bit in modern raw society, but they were still
written to raise awareness and as a lesson so architecture does not need to be
completely lost to us.
Convinced, we can claim that there is so many things we can take as an inspiration
from architecture before it has came to just a tool to promote the human intellect.
We should take the example and act as the venerable protagonists - to take the
architecture and fit it into the surrounding as much as possible, instead of
"conquering" the nature.
 CHAPTER - 1
WHY THE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
Vernacular architecture is a category of architecture, based on localized needs and
construction material and reflecting local traditions. They are all built to meet
specific needs, accommodating values, economies and ways of the cultures that
produce them. It tends to evolve over time to reflect environmental, cultural,
technology and historical context I which it exists. Stone house in Scotland is built
with a specific need of protection from the heavy snowfall and mountain rolls.
Similar types of architecture can be found in Africa too. There the thatched hut,
mud construction in Talur, Bellary are some of the examples in and out of the
country. These all suggests that vernacular architecture is the simplest form for
addressing human needs. The other characteristic feature of such architecture was
that they use inexpensive materials and straightforwardly utilitarian design. They
use the available regional forms and materials at the particular place and time. It
reflects the everyday life. The architecture also portrays the experience of the
people within a culture or a region. That is the reason it is also called Ordinary
Architecture or Traditional Architecture. The powerful craftsmanship of the local
people is visible in this informal functional architecture of structures. These low-
tech methods of creating housing is perfectly adapted to its locale are brilliant.
 CHAPTER - 2
Elements influencing vernacular architecture
Climate:
The most significant influences is the macro climate of the area in which the
building is constructed. This influences are substantial and can be extremely
complex. The interaction between the raw materials and the climate determines the
factors affecting the comfort in the building. Light, heat, wind, humidity, storm etc
matters a lot. The effectiveness of climate responsive architecture is evident, in
lessened costs of utilities and maintenance. A poorly designed structure which
doesnt consider environmental or vernacular factors can ultimately cost the
occupant in addition to the environment more in resources than a properly
designed building. For instance, a structure with large windows on the south faade
in a hot, arid climate would lose most of its air conditioning efforts to the
pervading sun, ultimately increasing the cost of energy. By applying vernacular
strategies to modern design, a structure can ideally achieve net zero energy use,
and be a wholly self-sufficient building. All vernacular architects would consider
basic characteristic of climate and weather during the construction of public and
private building.. The houses were made from local materials, and they were
inspired by previous traditions and technics of local people to tackle the four major
climates: humid tropical, subtropical monsoon, dry tropical and alpine. Anakkara
vadakkath tharavdu of Palakkad district is a typical example of vernacular
architecture in local context.
The concept of sustainability

Worldwide building companies are nowadays competing in discovering newer and

newer sustainable techniques and methods. We do our dwellings hundred percent
airtight, we use big machineries to ventilate our abodes and we supply our houses
with an unnatural draft, because it is too old school to just open a window. We
store the natural waste from our kitchens, but then we use again just machineries to
deal with this garbage. We do learn about how to work with the orientation to gain
as much passive solar gains as possible, but more often we just orient and form
buildings to put solar panels on and gain as much energy as possible from them.
Even if these techniques are helping us to create houses with no need for an
external energy support, actually we create the dwellings which are producing the
energy so they can make more energy, than necessary.
These tendencies are all right and they are representing the human effort to
decrease the environmental traces we left after us. But we should still keep in our
minds the definition of the concept of sustainable architecture, which "refers not to
individual buildings but to whole process and life-cycle of building from design,
site selection,
Culture :
The way the building occupants and the way they use their shelter is of reat
influence on building forms. The tribal and folk traditions of the state are reflected
in the vernacular architecture. The state which are known for its visual and
performing arts, these art forms are closely associated with their beliefs, customs,
religion and values. Taking an example of Madhy Pradesh state, there singing and
dancing are part of their day to day life. It is a community activity performed each
day after the work to relax and enjoy. These activities have evolved the necessity
of a community space like a courtyard or chaupal. Each tribe has its own way of
settlement pattern on the basis of their culture and lifestyle like Saharia has
circular, Bhil has scattered and Korku has linear. The central space is chaupal
where grandparents chat and look after grandchildren while the parents are
working on fields. Madhya Pradesh is famous for its traditional crafts like bamboo,
wood, pottery, painting, metal casting, terracotta and textiles. The Laharia pattern
of textiles are also reflected in the vernacular architecture.. The clay figures are
prevalent to mark both auspicious as well as inauspicious occasions. The paneled
doors of single plank and wooden pillars are carved with the motifs of flora, fauna
and geometry designs. The figure of animals, birds, trees, flowers and god-goddess
are depicted on the interior walls. The trees are integral part of a house like a Tulsi
chura in middle of a Hindu house, they also have medicinal values.
Materials
The type of structure and materials used for dwelling vary depending on how
permanent it is. It depends on regions. In hilly areas rocky rubble, ashlar, mud
mortar available and hence used for the walls. 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. Wood beams and rafters are subject to availability. They are used
along with slate tiles for roofing purposes. On flat lands the houses are generally
made of mud or sun baked bricks and then plastered inside out. Bamboo is used for
the construction of all parts of the home and it is flexible and resilient. Areas rich
in trees will develop a wooden vernacular, while areas without much wood may
use mud or stone. Despite these variations, every building is subject to the same
laws of physics and hence will demonstrates significant similarities in structural
forms. The Haveli art of Rajasthan, and Colonial Era art work shows the best
examples for these with a change in the material used but following the structural
similarities. The material used in desert dwelling in Thar desrt and is not the same
as the igloo in Antarctica. From igloo to bamboo houses, from stone cottages to
terraced, from thatched to zulu huts people creates shelter and comfort in unique
structures in response to their location on the globe with change in materials.
 Theory of simple materials.

Usage of natural and local materials is the main identification sign of vernacular
architecture. These materials are used in their natural raw form or treated by
natural techniques or technological process (Borut Juvanec) 7. What is important
to keep in the mind is that even more complicated technological processes were
still using another natural materials and just wisdom of our forebears and their
hand what led to sustainable materials without any significant footprints.
Vernacular building materials were typical for their region. In the view on world-
wide architecture the most common materials are stone, clay wood, straw and
earth itself.
Stone, the oldest material best known for its strength and durability served as
construction basis since the first civilization occupied caves. The material, usually
found on-site was used world-wide, but was not treated in the same way, because
of its resistance. In mountainous and rough countries such Iceland, stones were
usually not treated at all, because of their hard workability. Compared to hot-arid
regions full of sandstone, which is easy to cut, the stone had to be used
considerably to its strength. In both cases stone served as the thermal mass,
accumulating the heat or coolness. Later crashed stone became an important
aggregate for another materials. The material gives not just durability to a
construction, but also a lifespan of thousands of years.
We can name wood as the most popular building material in vernacular
architecture, because of the easy treatment and relatively long lifespan. In the
forested regions wood was used to make a fire and temporary shelter, later on by
colonization the more accurate structures were developed in combination with
other materials, such as log-construction or in combination with masonry cruck-
framed houses. Even in regions with dry air and lack of wood, this material was
used to strengthen stone construction. Wood serves as a perfect thermal insulation
and if maintained correctly creates comfortable indoor climate.
In the countries where there was luck of wood, people were directed to use a
material, which was available literally everywhere, the clay. Usually used with
straw as a reinforcement could obtain very good strength and one of the biggest
advantage is the formability. Depending on region, various kinds of treatment were
used, for example rammed, kneaded or baked clay bricks. The daub, what is the
mixture of clay, aggregate and water was used as the exterior or interior finishing
and structural filling in all the different kinds of constructions, stone or wooden.
Straw as a kind of alternative material has quite big importance in vernacular
architecture. In most of cases it was used as the reinforcement for clay materials.
Because of great insulation properties, straw was applied as the covering or
insulating material for walls and roofs as well, mainly in Scandinavian countries.
Early elementary constructions.
At the beginning, there were shelters.
At the very beginning of any society, there were very primitive constructions
serving mainly just as temporary housing for primarily nomadic communities.
Surprisingly, these provisional shelters, or cave dwellings often bewitch us with
different primitive, but ingenious techniques and can be taken as examples for
different construction solutions. They were made by improvisation just from
primitive natural and assembled materials and when once abandoned, they became
part of the nature. However they served just as temporary fulfilment of human
needs, they often demonstrate the wisdom and years of empiricism.
Cave dwellings.
For the first sight cave dwellings evoke to us just prehistorically primitive
civilization. However in deeper researches quite complicated developed dwellings
are discovered in rough terrain, which demonstrate the depth of wisdom of
thousands years of civilization and its development. These cave dwellings are
typical for a lot of different regions worldwide from China, America to
Mediterranean Europe. Some of them were just shallow excavation serving as
temporary accommodation or protection from danger.
There are two different architectural kinds of these dwellings. The dwellings
formed by cave, excavated, or just incorporated into the rock mountains and
maintained, or even 7-storey dwellings in depth of 70-85m referring to horizontal
plane excavation with ramp entrance, as found in Derinkuyu in Cappadocia.
The key issue, why these types of housing give us advantages is the principle of
thermal accumulation and inertia. Energy performance analysis made by Givoni,
focused on the Spanish cave dwellings, which are nowadays rediscovered and in
some cases inhabited, concludes the data about comfort living in these houses. The
most critical temperatures are reached in the nights in the coldest months
(December, January and February) when conventional heating using the chimneys
is required. Even this can be reduced if the temperatures are increasing just to
January. The other months per year are procured by passive solar heating and
cooling, based on thermal accumulation. Natural ventilation is ensured by the
openings in the structure, namely in faade chimney and sometimes in different
rooms considering the levelling and slopes. The terrace layout of these dwellings
and closeness of rivers in valleys causes natural evaporation, which helps to cool
the spaces in June and September. 8
The weak point of this housing is the illumination and that caused main rejections.
This can be solved by fitting bigger sized windows, which would secure the
control of the gains and loss, but will not endanger the stability. By combining the
necessary modern techniques, cave dwellings can be retrofit and reused.
Earthen constructions.
The dugouts.
The Carpathian and Transalpine region is typical for the climate with changing
seasons, so the architecture was still dealing with extreme temperature differences.
Usual temperatures in winter can be lower than -25C in contrast with summer
temperatures in extremely hot days crossing +35C. That was the main factor our
forefathers were dealing with. From primitive shelters they moved slowly to more
civilized accommodation types very similar to the Icelandic turf houses.
The name of these houses, which are half-excavated into the earth is dugout. The
ground was excavated to 0,6-1m depth and depends on the region, with the wooden
log construction placed from inside. Rarely the wall construction was appeared
above ground level, just the roof construction. The roof was made from rafters
filled with rods or thatch.
The hearth was centrally positioned in square or rectangular plan. This opened
hearth has been later developed in the stone kiln and after wooden and loam kiln,
where wood and rods were used like armature for loam construction. By the
cosiness the interior walls were covered with daub as well.
This primitive but very economic solution of the half-earth houses perfectly
demonstrate wisdom of our forefathers, when they use natural local materials and
in the same time insulator to build durable accommodation as the response for
primary human needs to have a shelter and in same time protection from danger.
The earth around served as thermal mass, which was warmed in winter with the
hearth and in summer months create a pleasant cool space inside the hut.

Stone constructions.
The Blackhouses.
We can take blackhouses as a big leap from prehistory to modern age, which make
this kind of houses extremely cultured piece of traditional architecture in Scotland.
Even described in this report as the stone construction, it is the combination of
stone-work filled with earth. Longitudinal, at the ends rounded ground plan with an
approximate length of 15-20m and width 3,5-4m, a bit excavated floor ground and
dry-stone walls made from two separated layers with the cavity from 1,5-1,8m are
typical for this architectural concept. The construction of the roof made from
thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed was kept by wooden rafters. The roofs were
structured into the low rounded shapes, which resisted the strong northern wind
and the thick stone walls had static, as well as insulating feature.
Typical about the plan of the blackhouses was the central position of the hearth,
based on the floor from flagstones. The dwelling was shared by people as well as
animals, divided from thin and low partition wall made from stone. They used to
share same entrance. You can notice how human needs about the comfort have
been changing during years on different interior variations and extensions.
Sometimes the two extensions by both sides, with the separated roof construction
were added, to extent the storage space. Even if the late blackhouses were
equipped by electricity or cupboards and low racks, the women have been cooking
still on the hearth.
Even if the oldest blackouses on Lewis island (part of Hebridean islands, GB) are
over 1000 years old, there are some dwellings which were abandoned just about
150 years ago. The positive about these kind of dwellings is the fact that despite
they were inhabited for over 1000 years (and some of them still serve as the
tourists accommodation) they barely left any environmental footprints. Made just
from natural local materials and the thatch they do turn into the earth after it is not
kept and abandoned.
Very similar dwelling have been spread in Scotland, Great Britain and Denmark
and similar principles have been developed in the rest of England, with the
difference by using the pointed arch. The structure was changed into the wooden
and first primitive kind of cruck-frame houses were developed.
To vindicate sustainable potential of blackhouses I will use the conclusion by
Bruce Walker and Christopher McGregor, that this building, with its low, narrow
bodied, well insulated, aerodynamic form and in-built fungicidal, medical and
food-preserving properties - created and maintained by community co-operation
using biodegradable materials and worked without the need for specialist tools - is
an ideal model of the "green" home of future.
Classifications of Indian Vernacular Architecture:
Indian vernacular architecture can be classified into three broad categories despite
its rich diversity. The classification is based on the building materials used for
construction and the stability of the structure.

Kachcha
Pukka
Semi-pukka

In Kachcha houses, the natural materials such as mud, grass, bamboo, thatch or
sticks are used for construction. As the name suggests, Kachcha means non-
permanent. Because of the use of these natural materials, it requires constant
maintenance and replacement. The only advantage of Kachcha houses is that the
construction materials are cheap and available in abundance as well as it does not
require skilled labor.

Pukka houses are constructed from materials that are resistant to wear and tear
because of the natural conditions of the environment. The materials used for
construction are stone or brick, clay tiles, metal or other durable materials. Mortar
is used as the binding material. A pukka may be elaborated in contrast to a
kachcha. These structures are expensive to construct and also require skilled labor.

The third category of the classification is the semi-pukka house which is the
combination of the kachcha and pukka style. It evolved when the villagers started
acquiring the resources to add elements constructed of the durable materials giving
it a characteristic feature of a pukka house. In short, addition of pukka materials
elements to a kachcha house can be termed as semi-pukka house.
Conclusion:

Vernacular architecture adheres to basic green architectural principles of energy

efficiency and utilizing materials and resources in close proximity to the site.
These structures capitalize on the native knowledge of how buildings can be
effectively designed as well as how to take advantage of local materials and
resources. Even in an age where materials are available well beyond our region, it
is essential to take into account the embodied energy lost in the transportation of
these goods to the construction site. The effectiveness of climate responsive
architecture is evident over the course of its life, in lessened costs of utilities and
maintenance. A poorly designed structure which doesnt consider environmental or
vernacular factors can ultimately cost the occupant in addition to the
environment more in resources than a properly designed buildingIf anything is to
be taken from vernacular architecture, it provides a vital connection between
humans and the environment. It re-establishes us in our particular part of the world
and forces us to think in terms of pure survival architecture before the architect.
These structures present a climate-responsive approach to dwelling and are natural
and resource conscious solutions to a regional housing need. The benefits of
vernacular architecture have been realized throughout the large part of history,
diminished during the modern era, and are now making a return among green
architecture and architects. In order to progress in the future of architecture and
sustainable building, we must first gain knowledge of the past and employ these
strategies as a well-balanced, methodical whole to achieve optimum energy
efficiency.