LADAKH ECOLOGICAL

DEVELOPMENT
GROUP(LEDEG) HOSTEL,
LEH
BUILDING SCIENCE
INTRODUCTION
LOCATION- Leh,
Ladakh
CLIMATIC ZONE-cold
and sunny
ARCHITECTS- Sanjay
Prakash and associates
OWNER/CLIENT-
LEDeG
YEAR-1994-96
AREA-300sq.m
LOCATION
 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
TEMPERATURE-Below 30C (winters) , up to 20C
(summer)
SUNNY DAYS IN A YEAR- 320 days.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY-10-15%
PRECIPITATION- less than 200mm per year
SOLAR RADIATION-Generally intense with a low
percentage of diffuse radiation.
SKY CONDITION- Clear sky throughout the year.
LANDSCAPE AND VEGETATION-mountainous
region with very little vegetation.
 DESIGN TECHNIQUES
SIMPLE PASSIVE TECHNIQUES ADVANCED PASSIVE TECHNIQUES
South orientation Solarium
Plan form Trombe walls
Black painted walls Thermosiphonic Collector
Ladakhi toilets system
Low window to wall ratio Photovoltaic cells
Adobe wall
Earth berm
Daylighting
Site
 SIMPLE PASSIVE TECHNIQUES

South orientation
Plan form
Black painted walls
Ladakhi toilets
Low window to wall ratio
Glass facades
 PLANFORM
The two wings of room are slightly angled to each
other.
The building is compact with S/V ratio- 0.98 which
means heat loss would b minimum.
South facing windows are provided.
Air lock lobby at the entrance to reduce heat loss.
WWR is approximately 60%
PLAN
SECTIONS
 The building is
oriented towards
south.
ORIENTATION
Every room has
liberal south exposure.
Almost all winter
heating needs can be
met by the south
exposure.
Area of South facing
faade is large as
compared to north
side.
Building is placed
slightly sloping to
gain solar radiations
COLOUR AND TEXTURE
The external surfaces of
the walls are black and
maroon in colour having
high absorptivity to
facilitate heat gains.
External walls have
hard and rough surface
to absorb defuse
sunlight.
INSULATION
AND MASS
The thick earth in walls and
roofs provides both insulation
and mass.
LAND FORM
Landform- hard flat surface to
reflect sun rays towards the
building.
FENESTRATION
Maximum window area on the
southern side of the building
to facilitate direct heat gain.
Facades are of glass
 LADAKHI TOILETS
Traditional Ladakhi toilets are eco-friendly and
much better to use in Ladakh than the flush toilets
as water is a scarcity in the area.

The toilet consists of a hole in the floor, and there

is always a shovel and a heap of earth. After using
the toilet you must always throw some earth down
the hole, not only to cover your waste, but also to
reduce smell and help the composting. The
compost is later used on the fields.
MATERIALS
FOUNDATION- it is constructed
from locally available stone,
random rubble masonary.
WALLS- made of rammed earth,
trombe wall with use of glass.
ROOFS- spiti-mud-roof on
wooden frame & solarium.
FLOOR- wooden floor and mud
flooring is used.
PLASTER-mud
plastering(tooah) & lime wash.
 ADVANCED PASSIVE TECHNIQUES

Solarium
Trombe walls
Thermosiphonic Collector system
Photovoltaic cells
Adobe wall
Earth berm
Daylighting
SOLARIUM
Its has a small slope for
heat gain.
Glass roof tilted at 60
to horizontal.
TROMBE WALLS
A very thick solid wall with vents
provided at both upper and lower
parts.
The bedrooms have been provided
with a mix of windows and glazed
walls.
The wall is painted black to increase
its absorptive capacity and is placed
directly behind glazing with an air
gap in between.
Bedrooms provided with various
types of trombe walls ( half trombe,
unvented trombe, vented trombe).
Adobe Wall
Adobe wall is a natural
building material made from
earth, water and some kind
of fibrous or organic material
which is shape into bricks
and dry in the sun. Adobe
bricks are laid by course.
Each course is laid the whole
length of the wall,
overlapping at the corners on
a layer of adobe mortar.
Adobe walls usually never
rise above two stories
because they are load
bearing and have low
structural strength.
 DAYLIGHT
All the spaces in the building are properly lit
with natural light in the day.
WEATHER STRIPPING
All openings have cork-based weather-strips at
the edge to seal them tight.
 RENEWABLE ENERGY
RESOURCES
Solar hot water-
A flat-plate thermosiphonic collector system is
provided on the roof of the building. It provides year-
round hot water.
Future provision of photovoltaic charging
It is planned to fit the building with photovoltaic
cells to provide most of the night lighting.
WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Composting pit latrine
Two sets of sloping pits with vent pipes, attached to
the building, provide a dry latrine at the first-floor
level. Cleaning is possible at ground-floor level.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
MANUAL ON SOLAR PASSIVE ARCHITECTURE-SEC
ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS IN INDIA-MILLI MAZUNDAR
besharp.archidev.org (GREEN BUILDINGS (WEEA)- Daljit Parit(TERI)
SUSTAINALBLE HABITATS
THANK YOU
-ASTHA SINGH
-JASQUEEN BHATIA