ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOUR

Relationship between people and spaces

Submitted to
Mr. Anil Kumar C.
Assistant Professor
School of Planning and Architecture ,Vijayawada

Submitted by
Soumendra Roy
I YEAR , REG.NO- 1150500028

In partial requirement for fulfillment of the course of Master of Architecture

SUBMITTED ON: 11 January 2016

SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE, VIJAYAWADA

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 Soumendra Roy

Student (Master of Architecture)

School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada,
Andhra Pradesh, India

Email: soumendraroy.48@gmail.com

In this article the relationship between people and spaces has been outlined. Let us have a brief
understanding of the meaning of these two terms people and space. People refer to the human
beings who are the users of the space or environment or buildings. It includes the owner and his
relatives, the visitors and also the neighbours or other human beings living in proximity to the
space used by the owner. People shall also include the community as a whole who may have
some relation to the building or spatial confinement. People are like a sapling planted in a pot
where the pot along with the soil acts as the building. Space may refer to a continuous area or
expanse or volume which is free, available, or unoccupied. It can be moulded into desired form
and features to meet human requirements. The relationship between people and spaces has being
varying from place to place at any given period of time. For example, early humans beings
considered the environment to be dominant. They were afraid of lightning, thunder, dense
forests, wild animals, vast oceans, large rivers, to name a few. The climate and external factors of
site also determine the way of lifestyle of the people, culture and traditions.

The needs of the people are fulfilled by the space so there is a one way relation between space
and people with the former not influencing any factors in the life of the latter till it has been
constructed. But if the design is different from the requirements of the users then it may affect
the functional comfort and mood of the occupants. Thus People and Spaces are interlinked with
each other and are affected with the change in either of them at some stage of time. The relation
may be due to emotional attachment of the users, social and religious custom, or functional
requirements. These aspects are independent of each other and depend solely on the individual
judgement of the users.

Let us take the example of small village called Mukkollupadu in Andhra Pradesh where there is a
strong sense of vernacular architecture prevalent which is a reflection of the culture and lifestyle
of the people. Vernacular architecture is a manifestation and a physical representation of
the culture of a people. It comprises dwellings and all other buildings. All forms of
vernacular architecture are built to meet specific needs and to accommodate values and
economies (Lim 2007). The vernacular art, culture and lifestyle also gets iterated through the
typology , form, color, architectural elements, scale, proportion, orientation of the spaces. So
two houses has been studied one pucca house and one kutcha house for this purpose.
 As shown in the figure 1, the pucca house, the
dwelling unit comprised of a residence in a plot of
almost 300 square meters surrounded by a boundary
wall. The residence unit initially consisted of a
kitchen, a store, a verandah and two bedrooms. But
due to separation of families the house was divided
into separate units by adding walls and changing
doors and windows. A new room was added on the
western side to function as kitchen for one family
who would be visiting the house sometimes from the
city. The toilet is placed on the northern corner of
the compound and it is shared by both families. The
cattle shed was reduced in size than it used to be and
only goats and fowl birds are kept. There was a well
Figure 1 : pucca house plan on the eastern side of the compound which was
sealed due to the arrival of the municipal taps and
the diminishing ground water level. It is interesting to observe that the granary was also removed
from its place as the farm products were directly bought by the traders from the fields due to the
high demands of the quality of rice. The stone grinder where rice batter used to be prepared by
the women folk for idly, dosa, etc. has been replaced by a small stone mortar and plaster which is
used only to grind spices.

The pucca houses were modified just in terms of space

arrangements due to change in family structure.
Within the boundaries of houses some structures like
granary and toilets were modified and removed. Thus
the spatial arrangement as well as the spaces changed
according to the needs of the people. However same
change was not observed in the kutcha houses. The
male folk sleep in the verandah on woven cots and the
female folk sleep in the only bedroom at night. Apart
from the bedroom there was a kitchen and a living
room inside the house. However, there was no toilet in
Figure 2: kutcha house plan the compound and family members have to go
outdoors for basic necessities. The well was situated in
the eastern side of the plot and granary was never built. The cattle shed still contain a buffalo and
a cow and they provide milk to the family. Surrounded by a boundary wall of thatched leaved
fixed in a bamboo frame. There was no change in the plan or space division in this dwelling unit
since it was built some 30 years ago recalled the eldest female member of the family. Thus it is
based on individual person the way he perceives and uses or wants to use a space.

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 Another example can be of the village
hand tube well used by the female folk
mostly to draw water for their houses.
The women folk used to fetch water and
also they interacted with other each
other but after the supply of municipal
water started the place around the tube-
well got dilapidated and it now stands
amidst dense grass. Thus now most of
the interactions take place within the
compound of their houses. Few concrete
seats are provided alongside road which
Figure 3: common spaces and tube well has replaced the traditional community
shaded sitting area. This is because with
advancement in the village people have become less interactive than they were and like to spend
time with their family with modes of entertainment being television, music systems and radio.

Conclusion
The relation between people and space is key attribute but there are other factors too which
determine the interaction between people and space. It is based on individual views about usage
of a space based on their personal priorities in case of intimate and private spaces while social
and communal priorities in case of social and public spaces.

References
Lim,R, 2007, Cultural Sustainability and Development: Drukpa and Burman Vernacular Architecture, Designing Sustainable
Cities in the Developing World, Wiltshire: Antony Rowe Ltd.

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