Pol house

 The pol house is small residential unit consisting of a single street with
group of houses which is protected by massive gate at the entrance.
 Densely populated and put together they look like a maze and forming a
series of micro neighborhoods.

Positive Aspects
 Each pol is similar to a gated housing society of modern times with the
difference that residents usually belong to same community or trade or
religion.
 A small temple and a bird feeding platform ‘chabutro' is omnipresent
in most of the pols as is the common courtyard. This courtyard
becomes a binding space for members to gather in evenings in open
air or a safe play area for kids or a festive preparation place for women
of the pol.
 Most houses in the pol are built with wood beams alternating with
bricks making the houses resilient to earthquakes. The projected
chhajjas and balconies were mostly embellished with wooden carved
brackets and cornices with richer owners having more intricate timber
designs.
 The streets remain shaded in summer providing comfortable
temperature throughout the day for outside activities. Hence even in
harsh summers, the streets are walkable during the afternoon.

Negative Aspects
 The Pol houses rarely have front and rear open space, and the courtyard
is the only open space. It provides light and ventilation in the entire
building.
 Houses are built in such a way that they have a common wall and as
result there is hardly any opportunity to extend building which result
into migrating to outside.
 The building also have common toilet which also don’t allow any
extension.
 During monsoon water logging is the main issue.
Vision
 Rain water harvesting is necessary to avoid water logging in monsoon
time.
 Expansion of area can be done to provide more space to joint.
 Proper sanitation should be provid for hygiene purpose.