Vernacular architecture of Manali and Uttarakhand

Submitted by – Nirmal 9th Sem 1731682

Nishtha 5th Sem 1916436
Vikas 5th Sem 1916446

Submitted To – Ar. Preeti Bhatia

What is vernacular architecture?

• Dwellings and structures that have

responded to the topography and
local climate of the region
• They have been built using locally
available resources
• They have emerged out of hard
necessities of the place and the
lifestyle
• They are built by user themselves
without professional architects
• They represent a far less degree of
specialization
• They are dwellings that are a
product of traditional customs and
practices
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Kath kuni architecture

• Vernacular architecture stems from
the belief that architecture is a
balanced combination of
1. logical knowledge
2. divine inspiration
3. common sense.
• The term originated from two
Sanskrit words – ‘kastha’ meaning
wood and ‘kone’ meaning corner.
This indigenous style in simple
terms consists of walls made of
interlocked wooden planks with
stones packed in between without
mortar.
• characteristic of the temples and
other buildings are the various
styles of roofs – tower-shaped,
pyramid-like, gables, etc. Many of
the upper stories have balconies
with ornamental railings.
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Factors influencing vernacular architecture are

Topography Construction Technology Culture and Traditions

Climate Materials and Resources

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Topography
• State falls in the region of high to very high seismic hazard(level 4 to
level 5).
• Unlike plains, here a new dimension or a height variation to the
ground poses additional problem.
• To counter the seismic forces, the traditional structures usually stand
on a high solid plinth, made up of dry dressed stone masonry. The
huge mass serves as a dampener pad to the earthquake forces and
the dry construction allows for vibration and hence faster dissipation
of the energy. In higher levels layers of wood and stone cage are
constructed with rubble in between. It is non rigid and allows the
building to flex with seismic waves and quickly dissipate destructive
energy of earthquake.

• Slope of the ground should not be more than 30ºas far as possible
even in rocky reaches to avoid in stability problems.
• In the steep hilly zones, the stepped terraces will be much beneficial
environmentally and economically, as they result in the least hill
cutting and disturbance to the hill stability.
• Minimum clearance of 1.0 m to 1.5 m should be given between the
hill face and the building wall to avoid dampness and also for
proper light and ventilation.
• Top hill surfaces near the buildings should be properly treated to
make it impervious as far as possible, possibly by thick vegetation
or stone pitching.
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Climate • Manali features a subtropical highland

climate with warm summers, relatively
cold winters, and a high diurnal
temperature variation
• Average humidity - 68%
• High hill zone
• Altitude – 1600m – 2700m
• Type of area – alpine zone
• Cold temperature with humidity
• Rainfall –1800mm(approx.)
• Maximum temperature - 27.2•C
• Minimum temperature - -1.7•C
• The windier part of the year lasts for 5.2
months, from March 22 to August 30, with
average wind speeds of more than 9.7
miles per hour. The windiest month of the
year in Manali is June, with an average
hourly wind speed of 11.6 miles per hour.
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Influence of climate on architecture
• Due to the cold climate, the southern
slopes are preferred.
• The orientation of the houses is to
maximize the penetration of the sun
rays.
• The path of the sun, controls the height
of building, as the sun is needed for each
dwelling unit.
• Small window size and low ceiling height to
prevent heat loss and keep the interiors warmer.
• Terrace in all around the building should have
proper slope for efficient drainage, in heavy rain
fall and snow fall areas.
• The walls of these structures are thick so as to keep
itself intact in times of calamity and seasonal
changes.
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Materials - All materials are locally available and easily sourced.
Wood - which is good in
compression and tension. It
is used to impart stability to
tall structures. Among
variety of trees, deodar and
kail are best suited for
construction. Deodar Wood
is easily available, one of
the strongest Indian
conifers. This wood is insect
and termite resistant and
even when untreated, can
withstand long periods of
weather corrosion. Used in
making posts, beams,
window and door frames,
shutters, roofs etc. Soft
wood, easy to work in
absence of high-tech tools.
Slate Tile - Used in roofs of
buildings. Has high quartz content,
frost resistant, absorbs heat and
provides moisture barrier. Low
maintenance, Invulnerable to rot
and insects.
Mud - Easy availability, Good
insulator and Good binding
properties. Either mud is filled into
the wooden forms and rammed
into the place slowly building up
the wall or sun-dried mud blocks
are used in the construction of the
wall.
Stone – usually granite obtained
from local quarries. good in
compression so it remains in use
for foundational purposes and in
the plinth to give strength.
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Lifestyle and social aspect Cultural aspect

• Nearly 90% of the • Artisanal activities,
Relative isolation
population in Himachal combined with harsh
Pradesh is spread in climate, and being cut off
thinly in small village. in the hills, appear to
have encouraged
• The rural population artisanal activities such as
has traditionally wood carving, weaving,
depended upon embroidery, brass work
agriculture and animal etc. with a very refined
husbandry as prime aesthetic sense.
economic activities. • The Indian calendar
months of Baisakh, Poh,
• The patterns of built Magh and Phalgun are
forms and settlements regarded as auspicious
also reflect centrality of for the start of
these activities. construction.
• And this can be seen in • Ideally, the main aspect
the planning of of the house should face
residential buildings east and the rising sun.
and granaries • As a general rule the
houses do not have a
boundary wall.
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Planning
• Consists of two rooms on two floors.
• One on top of another and is built with mud, stone
and timber.
• usually, the ground floor is used for keeping cattle
and storing grain and fodder.
• The upper floor is the main living area
• Low Height of the rooms (2.1 – 2.4 m), keeps
interiors warmer from heat released by individuals,
also low surface to volume ratio reducing heat loss
from surfaces.
Ground floor First floor
• Plinth area is 5m x (13.8+0.45)m
• Inner walls thickness is 4 inch and outer wall
thickness is 9 inch.
Cross section

Exploded axonometric
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Zoning on levels Front elevation

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Construction techniques
Foundation and plinth
Stone plinth is filled up to a meter from the ground level and higher
in case of tower temples. The depth of the trench is relative to the
height of the structure. For a two-storey house, the depth is 0.6 to 1
meter and incase of tower temple it may be as deep as 3 meters.

Floor

The ground floor is raised above the stone plinth and finished with
adobe. It functions as an insulating layer and at the same time
remains warmer than stone finished surface.

stairs
The upper floors are finished in wood and cut is made
in the ceiling to connect the first floor and the second
floors internally.
manali

Floor and walls

• The walls are constructed with alternate courses of dry masonry and
wood without any cementing mortar.
• This Kath-khuni style of layering and interlocking timber and stone
provides strength, stability and flexibility (Earthquake resistant).
• These heavy walls allow a very good thermal insulation by providing
high time-lag of more than 8 hours. This makes the interior of the house
cooler in summer and warm in winter for maximum part of the year.
• Above the plinth walls are strong with alternating stone layer, as the wall
rises up it is only the wood frame that is stacked above another wood
frame. This distributes mass optimally. • two wooden wall beams longitudinally parallel to
each other with a gap in-between. The space
between the two members is filled with rubble stone
and edge is secured with kadil (wooden nail).
Tapering in buildings as they rise which prevents
toppling during earthquake.
Courses 2,4,6 maanvi
• The air gaps also dissipate the
seismic force during
earthquakes preventing cracks
and caving in of walls.
Courses 1,3, 5
• Interiors of wall are finished
Kadil with mud plaster and lined
with wood on account of its
(wooden nail) good insulation and binding
properties.
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windows
• Windows are provided in walls with solid plank
shutters on all four sides and are usually very small.
The same window has rhythmic floral carvings on the
outer face with a small opening.

Wooden shelves
• A typical wall storage unit is fixed in the peripheral wall and flushes
within the wall thickness. The in-built wall storage was an integral part
of the wall.

Projecting wooden balcony

• All the vertical posts are connected through a horizontal member on top,
on which sit the perpendicular members (connected with a lap joint)
projecting from a wall
• Sometimes the balcony façade is open with a parapet or may be closed
but with a series of openings to catch all the possible warmth of the sun.
• It also provides a good sun-space or solarium.
manali

Roof

• The roof structure is constructed out of wooden beams followed by

purlins and rafters, topped with slate or wooden shingles.
• The slate stones also weighs down the structure against strong
winds.
• This attic is used as a storage space and abode of the god.
• The light-weight roof construction and the air between the roofing
and attic-floor provided a very good thermal insulation against the
passage of heat.

Wooden Joinery

wooden joints in all likelihood without the use of nails flex

just enough to rock with the earthquake tremors but
otherwise remain tightly locked together. The various
kinds of joints seen are the lap joints at balcony junctions,
extension joints in the wall beams, ‘z’ joints in the floor
boards. All of these evolved out of a functional need and
yet are highly expressive.
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Wooden carving
Aesthetics are reflected in the rhythmic pattern of wood and
stone on the façade, on doors and windows, and on the
overhanging balcony, that float lightly on the stumpy base,
adding another texture and dimension to the otherwise
dynamic massing.

The quality of wood

carving reflects high level
of intricacy and skills, as
well as a highly
developed aesthetic
sense that fluidly
integrates and expresses
motifs based in folk
tradition and religious
references.

The themes range from folk to abstract to geometric to natural ones. Wood-
carving is seen in kath-khuni houses, though usually not as elaborate as that in
the temples of Himachal, crude carving on the door frames, balconies and ridge
can be seen in many houses.
manali

Granary
• Two main types of granaries:
1. Independent (freestanding) buildings
2. Granaries within the houses
• The size and the scale of the granary is in direct
correlation to the volume of the content to be stored.
• In houses, the prime criteria in creating spaces is
personal security and comfort for daily living.
Granaries on the other hand are for food security
and the storage of work from the past, for life in the
future.
• In socio-economic terms, the granary is the content
and container of the community.
• A granary is a storehouse for grain or animal feed.
In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most
common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries
are often built above the ground to keep the stored
food away from mice and other animals.
• These are independent free standing wooden
granaries with stone tile roof.
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Temples
• The temple is where the past intersects with the present through belief, historical
time. It is an explanatory workshop of the greatest craftspeople and artists as well
as sincere efforts of the ordinary local people. The wooden temple here refers to the
type of temple where wood is used as the primary material of construction for the
structure. Stone is used only in temple’s foundations and roofs as slabs and slate
stone shingles similar to the independent granaries.
• Types of temples

Shikhara Style PAGORA STYLE PAHARI STYLE

manali
Temple Architecture
• SHIKHARA STYLE –
1. It refers to the rising tower over
the sanctum where the presiding
deity is enshrined and is the most
prominent and visible part of a
Hindu temple of North India.
2. e.g., Bishweshwar temple
(Bajaura), Shiv Temple (Naggar),
Gauri Shankar Temple (Dashal),
Shiv Temple (Jagatsukh)
• PAGORA STYLE –
1. These are rectangular stone and
wood structures with successive
roofs, placed one over the other
making them in some cases look like
multi-storey edifices.
2. e.g. Hadimba Temple (Manali) ,
Tripura Sundri Temple (Naggar) and
Adi Brahma Temple (Khokhan)
• PAHARI STYLE –
1. Pahari style is a mixture
of all other temple forms.
Bhuvneshwari Temple
and Bijli Mahadev Temple
in Kullu are excellent
examples of this form of
temple architecture.
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Other temples in manali

Manu temple, old manali Vashisht Temple, Manali

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Advantages of kath kuni architecture

• No external help required - Locals can construct their own
houses.
• Time and resource efficiency - Wood and Stone are used as an
alternative against slow setting mortar. All materials are
available in the vicinity of the village
• Low maintenance - Requires very low effort to maintain and
repair
• Structural resilience - Non rigid construction helps to dissipate
the stresses developed in the earthquake.
• Resource re-use - There is hardly any wastage and since
materials don’t deteriorate for a long time and can be reused.
• Biodegradable materials - No synthetic materials are used or
fixating materials like mortar are used. Very limited use of
metal is seen.
• Built form and climate - Infill traps air within the walls creating
an insulation zone.
• Energy efficient configuration and elements - Cuboidal stacking
along contours, fetching maximum sunlight. Slope of the roof
allows snow to fall off whereas the flatter part holds some
snow which acts as an insulation layer and Cattle are kept at
the ground floor which keeps the upper floors warm.
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Construction is complicated due to

• Difficulty of getting suitable orientation on
the hill slopes.
• Problems of soil erosion and land slides.
• Restrictions by the forest department.( ban
on cutting of the trees).
• Existence of tall shady trees and dense
forest area, which obstruct the winter sun
required for the buildings.
• Limitations on the height of the building
due to earthquake risk.
• High cost involved in the site development
due to the cutting and the filling process.
• Non-availability and transportation
problems of construction
 uttarakhand

• In Uttarakhand, a similar architectural style is

known as Koti Banal (named after the village Koti Banal architecture
where during the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake,
the buildings made with traditional architecture
largely remained unharmed).
• Koti Banal is basically a name of a village in
Yamuna Valley which consists of these amazing
structures which have withstood earthquakes
for hundreds of years. This valley represents the
traditional knowledge and understanding of
earthquakes. The major reason that these
structures have survived for so many years lies
in their structural design.
• The main aspect of this vernacular architecture is
to be earthquake resistant
• Buildings having Koti Banal Structure usually
have a single entrance on the ground floor and
a wooden staircase is used to connect the upper
floors.
• The walls of these structures are thick so as to
keep itself intact in times of calamity and
seasonal changes. According to local people and
tales, the massive walls of Koti banal have been
used as a fortress against enemy attacks. Also,
narrow tunnels to close rivers still exist in these
forts which used to provide potable water.
 uttarakhand

Koti banal structures are earthquake-

resistant buildings that have been
standing since past 900 years and can be
anywhere from 2-7 storeys high although
the residences are generally 2 or 3
storeys , where the lower storey is for
keeping cattle and upper storeys are for
residing and as attic to store grains. The
building rests upon a raised platform
made from dry masonry over the
foundation. The walls are 50 to 60cm thick
and are made up of timber reinforced
stone masonry with the paste of pulse as
mortar, the structure has minimum
openings so that the heat is trapped
inside the house, single small door access
on the ground floor, and relatively
smaller south-facing windows are
provided, the upper two floors have
balconies running around the whole
building cantilevered with the support of
wooden logs of the flooring system with
a wooden railing. The roof consists of a
wooden frame and is cladded with slate
tiles.
 uttarakhand

• The major reason could be the walls of these

structures which are basically made up of
wood which thickens up to 1.5ft leading to
high dead loads. The stones of these provide
flexibility during dynamic shaking because
there is no rigid mortar.
• Another reason is the frame. The frames of
these buildings are flexible and weather
resistant as it is made up of Deodar Timber.
• The third reason can be the roof of the Koti
Banal Structures which are basically made
up of slate tiles. The dimension of the upper
roofs is kept larger so that lesser stones and
more wood can be used.
• The last reason is the floor. The beams of the
floors run from the middle of one wall to the
opposite wall provide additional stability.
• From homesteads to temples, once upon a
time it was very popular in the region. Years
of neglect and ill-advised renovation as well
as advent of modern building materials
have almost dealt a death blow to this
vernacular art.
Thank you