UNIT III

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF

THE WESTERN
AND NORTHERN REGIONS OF INDIA
Forms spatial planning, cultural aspects, symbolism,
colour, art, materials of construction and construction
technique of the vernacular architecture of the following:
- Deserts of Kutch and Rajasthan; Havelis of Rajasthan
- Rural and urban Gujarat; wooden mansions (havelis);
Havelis of the Bohra Muslims
- Geographical regions of Kashmir; house boats

TYPICAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF

COURTYARDS:

JAISALMER

A wide range of household activities could extend

into courtyards. These spaces became the living areas of all
domestic architecture.
This room without a roof is often bounded by
verandahs along its periphery. Other rooms open into
these verandahs creating a spatial organization based on a
hierarchical sequence of spaces ranging from open to
enclosed.
Clay sand

Bajra
waste

The rooms get their light and ventilation from

this courtyard and have very few openings onto the
exterior. This spatial sequence encourages the intermittent
flow of activities responding to various private needs. Also, the
tropical climate of India demands air movement as well as
shaded spaces for comfort.
Variations in the generic form of the courtyard come
from changes in materials, articulation of the enclosing
elements, scale, proportion and complexity of plan.

ENTRANCES:
The complexity of transition as an architectural
element varies from community to community.
A single door is total and only link between the
inside and the outside. In yet another form, an entrance
may be the prelude through which one is introduced to the
interior right from the first step.
Small window

PROTECTION FROM DUST STORM :

In cases where normal low level dust swirls
within the settlement the interiors of buildings are
protected by almost blank walls with very small
openings.
All major streets are oriented almost in the EastWest direction at right angles to the direction of dust
storms.
CONTROL OF HEATING BY TEXTURE OF SURFACES:
The heat inside of the building is controlled by the
use of textures in Jaisalmer.
The front part of the facade which remains
exposed are controlled by creating deeply carved
patterns which minimizes the heat gain by providing
shading due to texture.
Increased convective transfer of heat because of
increased surface area. In summer in day time when the
major heat source is Sun the exposed textured surfaces
will be cooler than plain surfaces.

In evening when ambient conditions are cool the

increase surface area helps in cooling it faster. However, an
extended surface will warm up faster than a plain surface
under winter conditions due to low solar altitude, therefore
the location in context of these surfaces is very important.
ORIENTATION:
The building is always oriented by the cardinal
directions: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Northwest,
Southeast and Southwest. Each of these directions is
considered as energy by itself. Hence the spaces in different
orientation are considered differently for design purposes
which is a very climate sensitive approach.
For example the East or the North walls are made
more open to light and air as the West is the heat gaining
side in the warm humid climates of India

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
The people use local available plants and trees for
construction.
MATERIAL: Kejri (prosopis cineraria), bushes (hiniya), doka
(bajara wate), akanda plant, clayed sand, water, ropes of
bushes, cow dunk
METHOD:
clay sand + water+ cow dun +bajra waste = to construct
walls
wood of kejri to construct ceiling
make 2-3 layers of bushes at the outside of the roofAkanda plant
use bushes rope to tie up bushes tightly

Akanda plant
Bushes rope
Kejri
wood

Bushes

Kejri

PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION

Cow dung

Clay sand
making Rope with shrubs

TOP ( INSIDE
VIEW)
SHADING AND SUPPORTING WOOD

Appling cow dung over the walls

Roof view from outside

Women decorating the walls

They usually decorate the small windows and shelves etc.
They decorate with the lime stone of red and white
Small
size
decorate
d
window

Kitchen - Hang utensils on wooden ends

GUJARAT - JEWEL OF THE WEST

GUJARAT forms a territorial unit delineated by natural barriers
which also functions as cultural borders.
The name GUJARAT was derived from the nomadic GURJARS
who thought to enter the region around 10th century A.D .
Bordered by:
RAJASTHAN to the NORTH
MAHARASHTRA to the SOUTH
MADHYA PRADESH to the EAST
GUJARAT has been one of the main
centers of the INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION.

It contains major ancient metropolitan cities from the

INDUS VALLEY such as LOTHAL, DHOLAVIRA and GOLA DHORO.
DHOLOAVIRA, the ancient city, is one of the largest and
most prominent archeological sites in India, belonging to the
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION.
All together, about 50 INDUS VALLEY SETTLEMENT ruins
have been discovered in GUJARAT.
GUJARAT was once formed of 3 sub divisions
NORTH GUJARAT
SOUTH GUJARAT
SAURASHTRA
These sub divisions do not denote different political territories
but Cultural, Architectural Areas.

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN
GUJARAT

Vernacular architecture in GUJARAT may be divided

into 5 categories depending upon the kind of load bearing
construction employed .
Timber and Wattle mud house
Mud houses
Stone houses
Brick houses
Half timbered houses
TIMBER AND WATTLE HOUSES
Primitive in design.
Used by tribal's who inhabit the forested areas of the
state
Timber and Wattle houses employ a framing of light
timber made from undressed wood to which walls of
wattle coated with mud on one side are attached.
The roofs are rough rafters , bamboo battens ,
thatch or country tiles.

MUD HOUSES
Forms substantial portion of rural housing.
House satisfies basic requirements and is very cheap to
construct.
A member of mud houses are with 2 stories and a loft.

STONE HOUSES
Found in saurashtra were poor quality timber is only available.
Also due to scarcity of fuel for brick making.
Stony soil is also unsuitable for brick making.

BRICK HOUSES
Use load breaking parts made solely out of brick.
Were first constructed under Mughal and later in Colonial era.
Scarce and did not form important part of the vernacular
architecture of Gujarat.

HALF TIMBERED HOUSES

These make up a overwhelming number of older buildings
in urban centers of Gujarat.

WOODEN ARCHITECTURE :
A system of construction of in which wooden framing or
wooden bonding was employed along with brick walls to
form a composite structure.
Although brick work was exclusively employed in these
houses, the dominating and characteristic element in them
was wood work , which is why they have been called
wooden even though this may not be true in literal sense.
Nearly 12 urban centers of the total 17, used these half
timbering system of houses.

SETTLEMENT PATTERN
It is the social setting or life style of the
community which determines the settlement pattern, and
individual family needs are then fitted into a house plan
which is determined by the pattern.
In NORTH , SOUTH and SAURASHTRA it was the rural
settlement pattern and the rural house which determined the
urban one and the latter was merely modified to suit new
functions .

TYPES OF SETTLEMENT PATTERN

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

The saurashtra settlement pattern

North gujarat settlement pattern
South gujarat settlement pattern
Tribal settlement pattern

SAURASHTRA
Each dwelling is a self contained unit with an
individual front yard enclosed with a wall.
Entered through a single gateway called Delo .
This kind of settlement is referred to as DELO TYPE .
A number of identical dwellings form rows along a
street on to which each gateway opens.
Due to enclosing wall of every dwelling, each family
is relatively isolated from its neighbors.
While inner privacy is increased, social interaction
mainly occurs outside the house .
Neighbors are also of different caste and this also
increases lack of interaction.

In saurashtra, poor and scanty rainfall caused cattle

herding as a major occupation.
Because of dry climate, cattle could not be kept in
open all the year around.
At night each family stabled its herd with an adjoining
enclosed yard which formed line unit within the dwelling .
The row housing of dwellings facilitated the
movement of cattle which were taking out to graze
collectively and separated at night .
The straight line arrangement of dwelling plus yard
is endlessly repeated in villages and towns of saurashtra.

NORTH GUJARAT
Each dwelling is joined to the next by a common wall
and such units from a row.
Each row faces a similar opposite row, thus the 2 rows
enclose a space in front which resembles a street but is in
fact, a common yard .
No dwelling has its own courtyard.
In order to ensure privacy and security the ends of the
common yard are closed off by wall on one side and by
a gateway on the other.
The rear walls of all houses which are exceptionally
thick and have no windows form a continuous line .
With the ends closed off the settlement forms a cul de
sac guarded by a single gateway used by a large number
of families.

This gateway is known as khadki and this arrangement is

known as KHADKI TYPE .
The individual families share a common intimate space,
the system can only work if they are socially integrated.
Every village has a number of khadkis .
The dominant caste of the village inhabits most of the
khadkis while service caste follow a different
settlement pattern.
In North Gujarat, good soil and adequate rainfall
permitted agriculture to be the main occupation.
Cattle was kept only for essential usage such as haulage ,
ploughing and milk .
The number of cattle was less and no stabling pattern /
method was different from saurashtra.
When 2 rows of houses faced each other, they formed a
central common enclosure where the cattle is stabled in
simple temporary sheds .

SOUTH GUJARAT
Each dwelling is adjoined to the next with a common
party wall and a number of such units form a long row .
But no similar rows are related to each other .
They neither form streets as in saurashtra nor
culdesacs as in North gujarat .
They are haphazardly dispersed over the whole
village .
Each row stands in isolation .
There are no enclosing walls or gates or common yards
.
Each row contains dwellings belonging to families
which have descended from the ancestor who founded the
row/who are otherwise related .
Adjacent rows may belong to different states .

SOUTH GUJARAT
This kind of settlement pattern has originated

with the koils who form the dominant community

in South Gujarat .
In south gujarat agriculture is the main
occupation since rainfall is heavy .
Due to this the cattle could not be kept out in the
open or even in temporary sheds .
The cattles were kept within the dwelling .
This made it unnecessary to have the cattle yard
or enclosure .

TRIBALS
Each dwelling stands in complete isolation by

itself within its own small agricultural field .

While they may be a wide spread / dispersed
houses , they all have a sense of belonging
and constitute a single village .

TRIBALS

Originally no tradition of
rearing cattle for ,
they had no agriculture and
lived by hunting and
food gathering .
This is reflected in the
manner in which the dwellings ,
were scattered over a large
area without an over riding
concern for security

SOCIOLOGY AND
PLANNING

NORTH GUJARAT
The common yard in the Khadki functions as a circulation

space for all the dwellings that open into it , provides stabling
area for the cattle , used by the women for some of their
daily chores during the day , the men use it for socialising or
sleeping out of doors , children use it as a play area .
In fact it acts as an extension of the house and is semi
private in character .
The Khadki gateway overlooks both the internal yard and the
street in front forming the threshold beyond which individual
strangers may not enter .
The gateway is large enough to permit carts to enter a
symbol of status .
A wicket gate at the side is used at night .

NORTH GUJARAT
On the first floor of the gateway is a large hall

with windows on 2 sides which became a

retiring place for the aged , who kept watch
on people passing in and out of the Khadki .

THE INDIVIDUAL HOUSES

All light and air came in through the single entrance .
The house had 3 spaces the hearth , the central

space and the verandah .

The hearth occupied the back and because of
insecurity there were no windows or ventilators at the
back .
Kitchen smoke escapes through the chinks in the tiled
roof .
The roof was pitched and tiled .
The houses are mostly rectangular plan .
Flooring was of mud and coated with cow dung .

Stages of development
rural house
STAGE 1
Addition of loft in the rear for storing cooking fuel .
The loft prevented the escape of smoke , so a grilled

ventilator was added at the back .

STAGE 2
Replacing the jar space dividers by a wall which reached

upto the loft beam .

A door was provided in the middle of the wall .
The rear part the hearth was now called as ORDO (room) .
The central space was called PARSAL (front hall) .

Stages of development
rural house
STAGE 2
The front space was called OTLO (verandah)
The valuables were placed at the internal guarded space

ORDO
A ladder was used to access the loft .
FINAL STAGE
The loft was extended towards the front of the dwelling to cover
both PARSAL and OTLO , thus providing a regular first floor .
The first floor of the dwelling basically repeated the spaces of

the ground floor .

Urban environment
Had 2 main characters
Inhabited by various castes who had equal rights of occupation .
These castes were engaged in non-agricultural occupations
mainly trade and manufacture .
DEVELOPMENT OF HAVELI
The increase in size was achieved by duplicating the parts .
Instead of one , 2 or more ORDOs placed adjacent to one
another .
Parsal had the same depth but twice width of the usual one .
The long parsal permitted introduction of SWING or HINCHKO
a symbol of status .
The multiple ORDOs permitted a new functional space to arise
a spectral lying in room the GAJAR again a symbol of status .

DEVELOPMENT OF
HAVELI
The upper floor rooms were repeated .
KHADKI and ORDO had no decoration at all .
KHADKI refers to a place of ordinary business

and ORDO refers to the personal rooms .

The themes used for carving were FIGURAL ,
FLORAL and GEOMETRIC .

SOCIOLOGY AND
PLANNING OF SOUTH
GUJARAT HOUSES

The plot is rectangular of narrow width and

great depth .
There was no dense , closely packed
assemblage of houses .
No orientation to the formal entrance and no
common spaces with a social function .
Inhabitants were not insecure , is shown in
absence of these factors and the absence of
fortified wall .

INDIVIDUAL HOUSES
Individual house was a single , large space without interuption .
Covered with an enormous to pitched roof due to rainfall .
The large size and pitched roof were due to (1)cattle could not

be stabled in an open or temporary sheds (2) domestic work and

socialising also had to be done indoors .
Loft was provided for storage in the centre of the dwelling .
There were 3 spaces in the house (1) the rear for cooking and
private activities of the family private (2) the front for the
occupational activities , reception of visitors - semi public (3)
central for stabling cattles .
The whole mud walls was extended in height and replaced with
brick work

URBAN HOUSE
The houses were extremely narrow and of unusual

depth , the ratio was sometimes as high as 1:9

The presence of backyard enable 2 additional
facilities a well and a latrine
Doors were quiet plain even at the entrance
The interior was retained and the sub divisions
were increased
The wood work was plainer and less massive , the
carvings were poor copies of northern
craftsmanship

SOCIOLOGY AND
PLANNING OF MUSLIM
HAVELIS

There are 4 kinds of muslim houses that have

been distinguished , not according to their
regional distribution .

1.THE UNMODIFIED HOUSE

2.THE MODIFIED HOUSE
3.THE MUSLIM HAVELI
4.THE T PLAN HOUSE

THE UNMODIFIED HOUSE

Found in north gujarat
The houses were grouped together in specific wards or poles

which were locally called as VORWAD

It has a distinguished regular pattern of roads
Three rooms were added in the rear instead of two as I the
original layout of the house
Khadki room was called delo and the raveshi (passage
around the chowk) was called avas
Other spaces were called in the same north gujarat terms
ordo , parsal , chowk , otlo
The main room for visitors was the ordo
The rearmost room for visitors was furnished with expensive
matresses , coverlets , cushions , religious pictures and guests
were entertained here

MODIFIED HOUSES
Found especially in patan (ancient anahillapura)
These houses have west asian influence
The individual plan was that of north gujarat but so

greatly modified to meet the new requirements

It had an unusually large central chowk
The courtyard surrounded by passages and verandas ,
was the main living area of the family
The courtyard was semi public and private
The wings or the rooms on the either side of the chowk
were the womens area
It was a self contained unit and a kitchen , underground
cistern , well , water storage unit and a latrine

..MODIFIED HOUSES
In this place washing , bathing and cleaning

took place
It had windows located high up
They had flat roofs
The whole design was influenced by strict
seclusion for women
Door and window finish were poor and some
houses had lean - to roofs too

THE T-PLAN HOUSES

The t plan house is large and columned
Hall is surrounded by walls on the 3 sides and

open on the 4th side

The plan has a rectangular form
All these columned halls are typical of islamic
architecture which goes back to primitive halls
made of posts and stretched clothes , that is ,
shamiana

Bhuj, Kutch
Location
Bhuj is a city and a municipality in Kutch
district in the state of Gujarat, India
History
It was established by Rao Himirji in 1510 and
was made the state capital by Rao Khengarj i
In 1549
Bhuj for decades, even centuries, has
beckoned travelers and traders with the
promise of release from the restrictions of
civilization. In January 2001, the city was
struck by a major earth quake which caused a
great deal of damage to the city. of Bhuj
Demographics
The total population of Bhuj was 136,429 in
the year 2008, which consisted of 71,056
males and 65,373 females.
Geography
Bhuj has an average elevation of 110 meters
(360 feet). On the eastern side of the town is
a hill known as Bhujiyo that separates Bhuj
city and Madhapar town. It has one big lake
named Hamirsar and several small lakes.

Kutch

Bhuj

Ramkund is a
typical step-well
architecture at
Bhuj

The Bhuj is Famous for the

swaminarayan temple which
is made of Rs 100 crore,with
pure white marble,andit is
located
in the heart of the city

Bhuj, Kutch
Culture
Bhuj is a famous destination for
shopping of handicraft work.
Artists of nearby villages bring their
art work for sale in Bhuj.
It is the Important landmarks for
people wishing to study and know
more about Kutchi embroidery
Religion
The dominant religions of Kutch are
a form of Vaishnav Hinduism, Jainism
and Islam
The Swaminarayan Sampraday has
a huge following in this region.
Language
Kutchi & Gujarati are the
predominating languages spoken

Bhujisfamousforits
variousSilvercraftswork

ThehistoricHamirsarlakeis
situatedattheHeartofthecityof
Bhuj

AinaMahal(palaceof
Mirrors)inBhuj,is
famousfordisplayingthe
Historyoftheregionof
Kutch

BhujisFamousforits
handy-craftsmarket

ABOUT , REGION OF KUTCH (GUJARAT),

INTRODUCTION

Map of Kutch,(Gujarat)

Tribal women of
Kutch with
traditional clothing
46

Kutch is district of Gujarat state in

western India Covering an area of
45,612 km, it is the largest district of India.
The district has 966 villages
Kutch means something which intermittently
becomes wet and dry a large part of this
district is known as Rann of Kutch which is
shallow wetland & which submerges in water
during the rainy season and becomes dry
during other seasons
Geography
Kutch District is surrounded by the Gulf of
Kutch and the Arabian Sea in south and west,
while northern and eastern parts are surrounded
by the Great and Small Rann
The border of Pakistan lies along the northern
edge of the Rann of Kutch. Kutch is virtually an
island, as it is surrounded by the Arabian Sea in
the west;

Traditional wall
interior of kutch

Religion OF Kutch
As per the 2001 census, the district's population
was 1,526,331, of which most around are
Hindu. the remainder of the population adhere
to mostly Jainism and Muslims.
Language
The languages spoken predominantly in Kutch
is Kacchi and to lesser
extent Sindhi and Gujarati
People
Kutch district is inhabited by various groups and
communities. Many of these have reached this
region after centuries of migration from
neighboring regions of Marwar(Western
Rajasthan), Sidh,Afghanistan and further. Even
today, one can find various nomadic, semi
nomadic and artisan groups living in Kutch.
History of Kutch
Remote and sparsely populated the district of
Kutch
, it has had an interesting history.
The Indus valley civilization, known to be one of
the first ever civilized societies consisted of the
ancestors of Kutchis as well as others. However
now most of the river lies in Pakistan after India
was split up.

Architecture types of Bhuj

CHOWKS

STREETS

Street pattern (Y shaped) and housing layout

street

Internal
courtyards

Cattles-shed

PLANNINGS OF HOUSINGS IN BHUJ

THE HEIGHT WIDTH

PROPORTIONS OF COURTYARDS
AND STREETS PROVIDE SHADE
FOR MOST PART OF THE DAY

SCHEMATIC SECTIONS OF
HOUSES

BHUNGA HOUSES, KUTCH

BHUNGAHOUSES

 BHUNGA HOUSES
The Bhonga is a traditional construction type

in the Kutch district of the Gujarat state in

India, which has a very high earthquake risk.

A Bhonga consists of a single cylindrically

shaped room.

The Bhonga has a conical roof supported by

cylindrical walls. Bhonga construction has

existed for several hundred years.
This type of house is quite durable and

appropriate for prevalent desert conditions.

Due to its robustness against natural hazards

as well as its pleasant aesthetics, this housing
is also known as "Architecture without
Architects.

BHUNGA HOUSES

CONSTRUCTION OF THE BHUNGA

Bhonga is circular in plan, with

cylindrically shaped walls and topped

with conical roof.
The inner diameter of the Bhonga is

typically between 3m to 6m.

A Bhonga generally has only three

openings one door and two small
windows.

DURING EARTH-QUAKES

It performed very well in the recent

M7.6 Bhuj earthquake in 2001.

Very few Bhongas experienced

significant damage in the epicentral
region, and the damage that did occur
can be mainly attributed to poor quality
of the construction materials or improper
maintenance of the structure.

It has also been observed that the

failure of Bhongas in the last earthquake
caused very few injuries to the occupants
due to the type of collapse.

VIEW OF BHUNGA HOUSES

 ROOF CONSTRUCTION OF BHUNGA HOUSES

The conical roof of a Bhonga is supported at its crest

by a vertical central wooden post, which rests on a

wooden joist.

The base of the roof and the wooden joist are

generally directly supported on Bhonga walls.

Sometimes, the roof load on wooden joist is

transferred to diametrically placed timber posts
(vertical members) adjacent to the cylindrical wall.

This reduces the roof-load on the walls.

The Bhonga wall is usually extended below ground

up to the required foundation depth, and separate
foundation is not traditionally constructed.

In newer constructions, proper strip footing is also

used.

WALL CONSTRUCTION OF BHUNGA

Due to circular shape of wall in plan, inertial forces developed addition, the thick walls

required for thermal insulation have high in-plane stiffness which provides excellent
performance under lateral loads.

The roofing in wall are resisted through shell action providing excellent resistance to
lateral forces.

In materials are generally very light weight, and develops low inertia forces.

Since the roof is constructed from extremely ductile materials such as bamboo and straw,
the performance of.these roofs is usually very robust

NEW TYPES OF BHUNGAS

Recent Bhongas constructions have used wide variety of construction materials.

These include the stone or burnt brick masonry either in mud mortar or in cement mortar.

Traditional roof consists of light-weight conical roof, while some recent constructions have

used heavy manglore tiles on roofs.

Some recent constructions have used circular strip footing below the wall, while traditional
construction simply extended the walls below ground level t.

Bhungas construction details

In several Bhongas, the roof joist is not directly supported on the cylindrical walls, but is
supported by two wooden vertical posts outside the Bhonga, which further improves seismic
resistance of the inertia force generated in the roof.
In some instances, reinforcing bands at lintel level and collar level have been used to provide
additional strength.
These bands are constructed from bamboo or from RCC. These increase the lateral load-carrying
strength greatly and increase the seismic resistance of the Bhongas.
Even in situations where the roof collapses, its low weight ensures that the extent of injuries to
occupants is very low.
Labours who constructs Bhungas and materials used
These constructions are carried out by local village masons.
The locally available soft stone can easily be cut or chiselled into rectangular blocks, which are
used for wall masonry.
The local soil is used for mud mortar and to make adobe blocks. Locally available timber and
bamboo are used for roof.
The entire construction process, which is carried out by the mason with very few unskilled
laborers, can be completed within 30 days.
The construction of this type of housing takes place in a single phase.
Typically, the building is originally designed for its final constructed size.
Bhongas are never "designed" in the modern context. However, Bhonga architecture is a very
unique aspect of traditional desert architecture of Kutch region in which the size, location and
orientation of the Bhonga are planned for very good structural and functional results.

Bhungas are connected through plinths and circulation is

also carried out in that way.. A cluster of bhunga is built
on one plinthus ually the cluster contains settlements of
one whole family

INTERIORS AND DECORATION

Rural art on walls

Windows decorated
with mirrors

Interiors of bhungas