Title

LOCAL SMART HOUSING: SUSTAINABILITY OF VERNACULAR

SETTLEMENTS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

Aim
To investigate vernacular architectural heritage of Himachal Pradesh and
determine its potential to be applied in today’s time to achieve sustainability in
construction of smart housing.

Objectives
• Improving sustainability in construction by adopting vernacular architecture.
• Study Economical and sustainable method of construction
• Promote local construction material
• Study Methods to Reduce embodied energy and carbon footprints

Introduction

At the spin of the 21st century, the style of Indian Architecture took a sharp turn
towards a new contemporary mode with the century. The nation saw a drastic
change in the modern built environment. The foremost element of our ancient
history of architecture that characterizes our traditional Indian architecture and
planning is the use of Vernacular material and construction techniques and
planning strategies.
The Vernacular and traditional architecture is practiced by common man since
time immemorial. This practice is a timeless way of building houses in villages in
India. Most vernacular and traditional buildings are considered as ‘timeless’
meaning that their forms and styles are accepted as ‘objects’ that do not change
over time. This leads to rigid definitions of domestic architecture by assigning
definite cultural meanings to physical forms. While vernacular domestic spaces
naturally represent the culture and society that they are constructed in, where
these are interpreted in the light of fixed notions of ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’, the
possibility that ‘vernacular’ does not necessarily mean ‘timeless’ or ‘unchanging’
is left unexplored.
Vernacular architecture is the style of architecture which takes into account all the
needs and requirements of the residents, nature, construction materials and also
mirrors the traditions and culture. It develops over time to resonate the culture,
traditions, history, environment, resident’s desires and needs and economy of the
locality. Though diverse from the popular outlook towards the built environment,
use of indigenous materials, designing and construction techniques plays a
pivotal role in design and architecture of the society. The term vernacular as we
know is derived from the Latin vernaculus, meaning "domestic, native, and
indigenous"; from Verna, meaning "native slave" or "home-born slave". When
expressing in terms of language, vernacular refers to a time, place or group. In
terms of architecture, it refers to the style which is indigenous to a specific place
or time. It is most commonly applied to residential buildings in particular.
Structures designed by professional architects are not considered as vernacular
architecture.

Himachal Pradesh, state of India, in the extreme northern part of the Asian
subcontinent. It is bounded by Jammu and Kashmir union territory to the
northwest and Ladakh union territory to the northeast, by
the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the east, and by the states
of Uttarakhand to the southeast, Haryana to the south, and Punjab to the west.
Himachal Pradesh occupies a region of scenic splendour in the
western Himalayas, offering a multitextured display of lofty snow-clad mountains,
deep gorges, thickly forested valleys, large lakes, terraced fields, and cascading
streams. Indeed, the name of the state is a reference to its setting: Himachal
means “snowy slopes” (Sanskrit: hima, “snow”; acal, “slopes”), and Pradesh
means “state.”
Climate:
The Siwalik region has hot summers (March to June), with temperatures rising
above 100 °F (38 °C), cool and dry winters (October to February), and a wet
season (July to September), with rains brought by the southwestern monsoon. As
elevations increase farther north, the climate becomes wetter and cooler. In the
Great Himalayas, winters are bitterly cold and snowy, with temperatures dropping
below 0 °F (–18 °C).
Settlements:
Himachal Pradesh is one of the least-urbanized states in India. In the early 21st
century its urban population accounted for less than 10 percent of the total. There
are more than 50 towns, and the capital, Shimla, constitutes a city of reasonable
size. The capitals of the former princely states,
including Bilaspur, Mandi, Chamba, and Kullu, are now district
headquarters. Dalhousie, Kasauli, and Sabathu are hill resorts of British
origin. Kangra, Palampur, Solan, and Dharmshala are other notable towns in the
state.
Architecture:
The architecture in which the major creative force is the local needs, construction
materials,which reflects a long local tradition is called Vernacular architecture.
Vernacular architectureshows slow evolution over time and reflects
environmental, Historical Cultural, Technologicaland Economic context in which it
exists.The vernacular architecture of hamlets in Himachal Pradesh also varies
from region toregion, depending upon the climatic factors and the availability of
local materials. A factoraffecting the settlement of the hamlets has always been
the slope of the settlement area, andridge and the valley. Flat land provides the
maximum settlement. Small hamlets located inremote areas, still continue
with their old age vernacular building traditions.

Current Literature
Detailed literature will be reviewed on the features of sustainability in architectural
design together with the features of vernacular architecture.

Research methodology
1. Literature review
2. Case Study
3. Measured drawing
4. Study of vernacular architecture of the region

Scope of the study

Investigating the various ecological lessons of vernacular architecture of
Himachal Pradesh and to determine its potential to be applied in architecture of
present times.
It is observed that the basis of Sustainability and the main goals of the Vernacular
architecture go hand in hand. Social, economic and environmental concerns can
be easily understood in the buildings which are designed and built by locals in the
area. These are the pillars of sustainability and smart building.

References
1. Sustainability and Vernacular Architecture: Rethinking what Identity is
By Maha Salman
2. Learning from vernacular architecture: sustainability and cultural conformity B.
By A. Kazimee
3. Sustainability Indicators for Vernacular Architecture in India
By Richa Jagatramka, Ashwani Kumar & Satish Pipralia
4. Vernacular Architecture as a Strategy Toward Sustainable Building Design
By Alireza Jahanara, Nikou Javadi Eshkalak, Seyedmehran Shahidipour,
Amirhossein Karimizadeh
5. Sustainable Features of Vernacular Architecture: Rural Housing at Kelshi
By Gauri Ashok Kamble, Dr. Parag Govardhan Narkhede
6. The Energy-related Impacts of Social Factors of Rural Houses in Southwest
China
7. Local Government Climate And Energy Strategy Series
8. Affordable house designs to improve health in rural Africa: a field study from
northeastern Tanzania
9. Study Of Rural Architecture And Planning: Case Study Of Kelshi Village In
Konkan, Maharashtra Papers