UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION TO VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

 Vernacular Architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources to address
local needs.
 Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it
exists.
 It has often been dismissed as crude and unrefined, but also has proponents who highlight its importance in current design
 Vernacular architecture can perhaps be defined as architecture born out of local building materials and technologies, an
architecture that is climate-responsive and a reflection of the customs and lifestyles of a community.
 It is different from traditional architecture in that contemporary architecture can also be “vernacular” if it is generated from
an understanding of local materials and indigenous methods of building.
 “Traditional” architecture must necessarily belong to the past as it bears within it traditional values of living and building.
 Vernacular does not aim at good aesthetics, it aims at comfort and in its use of natural materials to achieve that comfort, it
comes about to be also an aesthetically sound architecture.
ORIGIN OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
 Building first evolved out of the dynamics between needs (shelter, security, worship, etc.) and means (available building
materials and attendant skills).
 As human cultures developed and knowledge began to be formalized through oral traditions and practices, building became a
craft, and "architecture" is the name given to the most highly formalized and respected versions of that craft.
 It is widely assumed that architectural success was the product of a process of trial and error, with progressively less trial
and more replication as the results of the process proved increasingly satisfactory. What is termed vernacular architecture
continues to be produced in many parts of the world
DEFINITION
 Vernacular refers to language use particular to a time, place or group. In architecture,
 It refers to that type of architecture which is indigenous to a specific time or place (not imported or copied from elsewhere).
  It is most often applied to residential buildings. –Paul Oliver-( Author of Encyclopedia of World Architecture)
 Oliver also offers the following simple definition of vernacular architecture – “the architecture of the people, and by the
people, for the people”.
 F.L Wright described vernacular architecture as:Folk building growing in response to actual needs, fitted into environment
by people who knew no better than to fit them with native feeling.
 Developing concepts and innovative technologies for an Energy Conscious and comfortable Built Environment with
reference to residential buildings through the study of vernacular buildings
AIM
 This subject aims to explore and assess passive solar design techniques that promote high thermal comfort in vernacular
houses of the state of tamilnadu in India.
 The study of these houses provides useful insights for designing energy efficient houses that provide thermally comfortable
conditions.
 An analysis of these houses in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra&India provides a context for the field research.
OBJECTIVES
 To appreciate how design with climate is effectively conducted in vernacular architecture.
 The study of these houses provides useful insights for designing energy efficient houses that provide thermally comfortable
conditions
 To achieve the source of information and inspiration from the vernacular architecture for future built environment.
 To study on the importance of vernacular architecture studies now and throughout the twenty-first century, not as a study
of past traditions, but as a contribution to new methods, solutions and achievements for the future built environment’.
 To identify the way in which vernacular architecture can contribute to the future of the built environment, through
education, as a model for sustainable design
 This subject intends to seek ways to document the traditional vernacular principles to promote a sustainable community
WHAT TO STUDY
  Green concepts in vernacular buildings
 Planning aspects
 Spatial organisation
 Materials
 Orientation
 Treatment
 Colors
 Adaptability, Functionality, Aesthetic Quality, Climatic control
 Theories and principles of vernacular architecture
 Influence of climate
 Geographical features
 Vernacular architecture in different regions
 Vernacular style
 Evolution of form
 Construction materials
 Techniques of regional architecture.
 The relationship of groups and individuals in a settlement, the local materials available, the skills of the artisans, the
technology available and the climatic conditions of the region determine the resultant forms and building typologies.
NEED FOR THE STUDY-WHY
 The vernacular architecture of the past was based on certain principles of design
 It is based on knowledge of traditional practices and techniques.
 It is usually self-built.
 It reveals a high regard for craftsmanship and quality.
 It is easy to learn and understand
  They are made of predominantly local materials.
 They are ecologically apt, that is why they fit in well with local climate, flora, fauna and ways oflife.
 The purpose of the study is to discover potential strategies for contemporary buildings that passively promote thermal
comfort in these buildings, thereby reducing the need for external energy inputs and increasing the quality of life for
occupants.
 This research intends to seek ways to document the traditional vernacular principles to promote a sustainable
community.
 Last but not least, the study intends to test the assumption that vernacular houses of Tamilnadu have high thermal
comfort levels without using any mechanical means.
 Most of the buildings which is constructed today had not taken in to account of the green concepts used in
traditional buildings.
 There is a need for studying the green concepts used in vernacular buildings and adopting the same in our design.
DIFF. BETWEEN VERNACULAR AND TRADITIONAL
 The term is not to be confused with so-called "traditional" architecture, though there are links between the two.
 Vernacular architecture may, through time, be adopted and refined into culturally accepted solutions, but only
through repetition may it become "traditional.
 " Traditional architecture can also include temples and palaces, for example, which would not be included usually in
the rubric of "vernacular."
VERNACULAR ARCHITECT
 In 1946, the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy was appointed to design the town of newGourna near Luxor.
 Having studied traditional Nubian settlements and technologies, he incorporated the traditional mud brick vaults of the
Nubian settlements in his designs.
 It is the first recorded attempt by an architect to address the social and environmental requirements of building users by
adopting the methods and forms of the vernacular
Town of Luxor
Desert vernacular architecture , Egypt
Traditional ways of building and craftsmanship using local materials that are about to vanish
 Desert vernacular Architecture

 People in traditional vernacular desert cultures knew how to make the buildings they need.
 Inhabitants integrate materials, climate, other physical constraints and cultural practice into architectural forms that meet
the needs of individuals and groups. (Crouch, 2001)
 This research tried to bond the fracture that occurs between traditional desert vernacular architecture that proved to be more
efficient with inhabitants' aspiration for modern life facilities.
 Aranya Housing, Indore, by BV Doshi. Village in Spiti

WHERE
 Study of vernacular buildings in INDIA
 Chettinadu Architecture
 Nalukettu Houses in Kerala
 the igloo of Eskimo.

 A toda tribal hut -

 A village hut in west bengal
 House in agumbe
 House with veranda in ettaiyapuram
 Traditional house in manali

 The local church in Norway. Very nice Vernacular Architecture

  A fisherman village in the south of Thailand.

CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

 How architects are now interpreting vernacular architecture is changing: it is not simply about reproducing cute details
from the past.
  New technology is capable of helping us to solve housing problems around the world, but technology itself is culture
neutral; so to apply these technologies successfully, the technology has to be humanized by taking into account local
traditions, culture, economy and work practices.
 I think this is where the Modernist International Style failed and where a Modern Vernacular might succeed.
Stone and clay houses in rural Nepal
IMPORTANCE AND FACTORS DETERMINING THE CHARACTER OF VERNACULAR
ARCHITECTURE
 Vernacular architecture is influenced by a great range of different aspects ofhuman behavior and environment, leading to
differing building forms for almost every different context
 Climate
 Religion
 Community
 Geographical
 Socio economic considerations
 Culture
 Local environment and materials
 Construction techniques
CLIMATE
 One of the most significant influences on vernacular architecture is the macro climate of the area in which the building is
constructed.
 Buildings in cold climates invariably have high thermal mass or significant amounts of insulation.
 They are usually sealed in order to prevent heat loss, and openings such as windows tend to be small or non-existent.
 Buildings in warm climates, by contrast, tend to be constructed of lighter materials and to allow significant cross-
ventilation through openings in the fabric of the building.
 Buildings for a continental climate must be able to cope with significant variations in temperature, and may even be altered
by their occupants according to the seasons.
  Buildings take different forms depending on precipitation levels in the region - leading to dwellings on stilts in many regions
with frequent flooding or rainy monsoon seasons.
 Flat roofs are rare in areas with high levels of precipitation. Similarly, areas with high winds will lead to specialized
buildings able to cope with them, and buildings will be oriented to present minimal area to the direction of prevailing winds.
 Climatic influences on vernacular architecture are substantial and can be extremely complex.
 Mediterranean vernacular, and that of much of the Middle East, often includes a courtyard with a fountain or pond; air
cooled by water mist and evaporation is drawn through the building by the natural ventilation set up by the building form.
 Similarly, Northern African vernacular often has very high thermal mass and small windows to keep the occupants cool, and
in many cases also includes chimneys, not for fires but to draw air through the internal spaces. Such specialisations are not
designed, but learnt by trial and error over generations of building construction, often existing long before the scientific
theories which explain why they work.
CULTURE
 The way of life of building occupants, and the way they use their shelters, is of great influence on building forms. The size of
family units, who shares which spaces, how food is prepared and eaten, how people interact and many other cultural
considerations will affect the layout and size of dwellings.
 For example, the family units of several East African tribes live in family compounds, surrounded by marked boundaries, in
which separate single-roomed dwellings are built to house different members of the family.
 In polygamous tribes there may be separate dwellings for different wives, and more again for sons who are too old to share
space with the women of the family.
 Social interaction within the family is governed by, and privacy is provided by, the separation between the structures in
which family members live. By contrast, in Western Europe, such separation is accomplished inside one dwelling, by dividing
the building into separate rooms.
 Culture also has a great influence on the appearance of vernacular buildings, as occupants often decorate buildings in
accordance with local customs and beliefs.
APPROACHES AND CONCEPTS
 Aesthetical approach
 Anthropological approach
 Architectural approach
 Geographical approach
 Spatial approach
 Ecological approach
 Behavioral approach
 developmental approach
AESTHETIC APPROACH
 Two distinct approaches to architecture can be termed as aesthetic in one the ethnographic – the efforts are to understand
the aesthetic dimensions in the culture of the builders and uses of traditional architecture.
 The goal is to create a more complete view of architectural characters and experience by balancing utilitarian interpretations
the produced buildings on the one hand to shelter or , on the other, to symbols with social consequences.
 The result is the inclusion of architecture along with other material culture with in comprehensive accounts of particular
people in particular times and places.
 In the other approach- the responsive – the effort is to select the neglected buildings and to bring them to the circle of
considerations.
 The goal is to widen the architectural appreciation of the spectator. The result is the use of alien architectural concerns to
stabilize the observer’s tradition.
 ETHNOGRAPHIC – to understand the aesthetic dimensions in the culture of the builders and users of traditional
architecture
 The responsive – the effort is to select neglected buildings and to bring them in to the circle of consideration.
 Color
 Scale
 Proportion etc
 Rhythm
 Harmony
 The idea of aesthetic
 Affective aspect of communication
 Enlivens feeling, exciting the pleasure of the senses.
 Architectural communications – divided in to utilitarian and aesthetic components.
 Utilitarian – bodily work, provide shelter, cultural work
 Aesthetically – its appearance and occupation contain aesthetic potential, historical or religious
 aesthetical - concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste; "the aesthetic faculties"; "an aesthetic
person"; "aesthetic feeling";
 Ideas of quality and value
  Study of aesthetic of building from within the cultures that produce them
EXPRESSION
Expression- Ulster farm house – Ireland

 Expressive characters in buildings

 Ornamentation/ decoration- artistic expression
 Ex . Indian temples and Nubian houses
 English parish churches remained constant for a millennium while the decoration around the openings and the eaves shifted
in time to signal the changes in the style
 Exs. - Ireland and turkey
 Plain exterior – utility
 Interior – lavished with color, texture and pattern, framed pictures on the walls, flowers in the windows, shelves laden with
gleaming metal and ceramics.
 Decoration/ ornamentation – artistic expression.
  Ireland and turkey houses – plain exterior – utility
 Interior – color, texture, pattern, exhibits of ornamental objects, framed pictures on the walls, flowers in the windows,
shelves laden with gleaming metal and ceramics

Japanese tea house- technology and form

 Aesthetics – technology and form
 The artful is not confined to the display of scroll and a flower vase in the alcove but extends to the size of the room, its
height , the dimensions of its openings, and the plain, carefully crafted surfaces of the floor, the walls and the utensils.
RESPONSE
 Observations and interviews how people feel about the buildings they see and use.
 Interpretations
 Conservation
  Consumption – builders are appreciated entirely in accord with the observers structure of value, no effort to study the
builders intentions.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH
 Anthropology is the branch of science which deals with the study of culture or a society
 Interest in vernacular architecture was mainly focused on
 Documentation
 Classification of traditional houses
 The scientific study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans.
 Family system
 Life style
 Customs and attitudes
 Economic activity
 Caste
 Society and community
 Religion and mythology
 Hodological space
 Rituals and ceremonies
 Symbolism
 Role of men and women
 Buildings as cultural artifacts reveal the relationship of dwellings to family, social structure and more
 But now anthropology deals with functionalism – the leading paradigm in anthropological fieldwork was more interested in
principles of social organisms than in decoration
 More programmatic approaches to an anthropological study of vernacular architecture were being developed
 In investigation the influence of physical and social factors such as
 Climatologically
  Ecological conditions
 Available materials
 Technological knowledge
 Local form of economy - The actual impact of the houses depends on local perceptions – what is considered to be
basic need by a given society
 The limits impact of physical and economic conditions leads on to the influence of socio cultural factors
 Built forms are closely interrelated with behavioral patterns and cultural values
 Another cultural influence on the form of a building can originate in symbolic conceptions
 Notions of the right order of relationship within the social and cosmic universe can – play an active role in the building of a
house - determine the manner of execution of details in its construction
 In most traditional societies the home is mans most important creation. It creates space within space and so on
 Main door should be placed in the east allowing the entrance of starlight which is the man’s ‘the lamp of the outside’
 In 1970’s the concept of house has attained additional significance in anthropological research.
 In view of all the various ways in which both architects and anthropologists have begun to discover vernacular architecture
as a promising field of study.
 Architects especially from developing counties increasingly aware of
 Values of old craftsmanship
 Riches of their cultural heritage
 The construction of a building in accordance with cosmological notions requires good importance to be attached which would
not come to force in any conventional drawing.
 It would be the anthropologist’s task to point out the importance of making it visible
ARCHITECTURAL APPROACH
INTRO:
 Technological and organizational principles and bring techniques of analysis to vernacular buildings
 Vernacular architecture has had significant and continuing influence on architectural practice throughout its history
 Practicing architects have been influenced by vernacular architecture through direct sensory experiences incorporated in to
their aesthetic sensibilities
  The influence of research on practice has taken many forms, as a result of the many approaches used by architects to study
and conduct research on vernacular architecture
 The types of architecture derived from vernacular sources can be broadly classified as follows
 Architecture as an iconic picturesque evocation of symbolic identity
 Architecture as determined by climate, material or function
 Architecture as the embodiment of experimental emotional sensory and spiritual characters
ICONIC EVOCATION OF SYMBOLIC IDENTITY:
 .Architects whose work is an iconic and pictresque evocation of symbolic identity often share assumptions with folklorists
and preservationists who view the vernacular architecture in terms of regional types
 These types are seen as pure and wholesome and are contrasted with imported architectures which are bought of as unsuited
to local needs, conditions, identity
 The focus of research based on these assumptions is to discover locally derived pure forms without impurities of distant
influences
 A pictresque archetype of the vernacular is constructed through rigorous categorization of a few aspects of a buildings such
as the plan and most common features of the elevation, decorative details or shape of the openings
 Scholarly documention identifies details which act as symbols which reproduced and which lend authenticity to a new
architecture
 The creation of local identity through the architectural evocation of the vernacular has at times served a variety of social
goals
 Regional architecture typologies were constructed i n the belief of that vernacular architecture reflects the character and soul
of a group people
 In the last decades of the 20th century, pictures interpretation of the vernacular have occurred in many parts of the world
CLIMATIC, MATERIAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASPECT:
 Vernacular architecure’s aesthetic success was presumed to be the result of superbly rational response to locally available
materials, climate and requirements to use.
 Modernist architects approach vernacular architecture focused only on those aspects of which supported idealogical
positions.
 They concluded vernacular architecture as –
  Severlyutilatarian in its use of matrials and technology
 Functional in its adaptation to climate, accomodation of activities and utilization of site
 Beautiful in its sculptural expressions of mass and volume as a result of manipulating the plan and section to
accommodate users needs.
 F.l. wright describes vernacular architecure as folk buildings growing in response to actual needs, fitted into environment by
people who knew no better than to fit them to it with native feeling
 Modern architects looked for and found simplicity of form in vernacular architecure, the experimental approach focussed on
the complicity of hybrid forms that occurs inspite of the constraints of similar materials and climate
 The forms they looked for and found in vernacular architecture produced sensory delight and interest and spiritually
uplifting
 The experimental approach to the vernacular retain many qualities and design principles of modernist architecure such as –
 Open planning
 Non – symmetrical composition
 Complete spatial articulation in plan
 The use of modern materials and construction methods
 The goal of experimental approach is to show the quality of habitation, to create places where inhabitants will feel
at home
 The qualities that show the art of dwelling can be learned from vernaclular architecture without mimicking
vernacular prototypes
 The experiential approach to vernacular architecture requires an interpretation of vernacular through the poetic
sensibility of the architect

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH
 Environment – behavior study – in relation to buildings and their personal and community rural or urban settings .
 Understanding of the individual and how the building and its environment are mentally mapped.
 It focuses on the behavioural patterns in relation to buildings and their personal and community in rural and urban settings
TYPES:
 Behaviours involved in creating vernacular environment as a process, and as a product of vernacular
environment
 The behaviour pattern occuring within the environment as a product
CONSERVATIONIST
 Protection and preservation of the fabric of old vernacular buildings.
DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH
 Looks to the future , evaluating the potential of traditional building to meet world housing problems and the economic or
technical support that may be needed
 Development is expressed in –
 Economic growth
 Jobs
 Better shelter
 Health
 Ecological sustainability
 Development is the process of achieving above all being and the product which comes out by achieving the above well beings.
 It views vernacular architecture as part of one aspect of development such that better shelter, settlement built environment
among several others
 A developmetal approach pose certain questions
 How is vernacular influenced by it?
 How does it influence border developmental process?
 How does it help achieve both a better built environments and broader well being?
 Views of vernacular architecture are influenced not only by local conditions and the specific characteristics of the vernacular
but also the emphasizing economic growth through advanced technological practices
 Using the characteristics of vernacular architecture to achieve better shelter and settlement and broader development
objectives
 It uses and develops local cultural and material resources
  It is small scale technology and inexpensive
 It expresses the values and needs of the local especially poorer, communities and not least to survive
 It is continuity with change remaining rooted in the past and the local while incorporating the new and the
external to meet contemporary needs
 These characteristics can make a developmental vernular cost effective and therefore econimicaclly visible,
labour intensive and therefore job creating, local resource using and therefore local income generating
renewable resource using and therefore ecologically sound

USES OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS:

 To help socio-economic and physical decline caused by broader socio economic change
 To help meet the changing needs and rising aspirations of the communities experiencing rapid improvements in
their socio-economic conditions
 Developmental changes can result in the socio-economic and physical decline of the vernacular architecture in
particular areas like environmental degradation such as deforestation and natural disasters such as earthquakes
 Environmental degradation has most commonly affected the vernacular through eroding its organic materials
resource base.
 For example timber and bamboo have become scarce as a result of deforestation
 Vernacular methods using these materials have been replaced with corrugated iron sheets and steel that bear little
relation to the vernacular
 The vernacular without adequate examination has dismissed has unsafe and traditional methods for making buildings
disaster- resistant have fallen into disuse.
 A developmental approach examines how a vernacular buildings can be modified, using improved traditional methods to
make them more disaster resistant
ECOLOGICAL APPROACH
 Habitat as a part of total environmental systems , both natural and nurtured.
 Science of the habitat
 It focuses on the habitat as part of the total environmental systems both natural and nurtured ‘science of the habitat’
  Vernacular settlements and buildings reflect the consious and unconsious know how of the local craftsman and the
inhabitants
FOLKLORISTIC APPROACH
 Buildings as comparable with other folk artefacts, and with the craft skills, customs and beliefs
GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
 While many approaches are concentrated on localized traditions, the geographical approach considers the pattern of
settlement and building in their environmental, topographical , spatial economic locations at scales ranging from the regional
to continental
 Conveys the pattern of settlement, their environment, topographical, spacio economic, locations ranging from region to
continent
INTRO:
 A fundamental concern of all geographers is to study the abstract space and humanized places, geographers highlight the
complex interactions between human and the physical environment they encounter and subsequently transfrom in to cultural
forms and landscapes
 Geography provides information’s about mathematical, socioeconomic, behavioural and experimental space
 Geographers helped to give shape and to our understanding of the vernacular architecture as the components of cultural
landscapes
 In the end of the 19th and 20th century geographers examined the built environment focused on identifying, classifying and
naming various types of rural settlements, notably dispersed and nucleated villages.
 Although such emphasis was usually on the ensemble of dwellings and other building types/forms within villages as well as
the spatial distribution of rural settlements, individual researchers usually presented textual informations that suggests the
diversity of both rural and urban settlements
THE GEOGRAPHER’S RESEARCH:
 The display of information on maps is a concern of geographers, maps not only are graphic visual statements that record
observations but are also effective analytical devices that facilitate understanding of the spatial ordering of reality.
  Maps at various scales assist in easing out explanations for the spatial patterns and relationships of vernacular buildings by
geographers that do not utilize maps to convey important information that would otherwise not be obvious

TOPOGRAPHY:
 The geographers survey the topography of the land and prepare the topographical maps to locate different landmarks on the
surface of the earth and different types of soils, the vegetation and the raw materials obtained from the nature to the people
who built their houses.
 The data collected by the geographers about the soil gives a clear idea about the vegetation and the approaches of the people
to establish their own territories
 There is typically much probing of the reflexing intraction of humans with the natural environment, not only the constraints
and opportunites provided by climate and soils but also the role of cultural values and technologies in the fashioning and
human habits
 The study of vernacular buildings by geographers increasingly informs and is informed by perspectives and work of
architectural historians, folklorist, archaeologists, anthropologists and social historians
HISTORICAL APPROACH
 Studies the building diachronically from its construction , examining the forces that have acted upon it, using documentary
records where obtainable
RECORDING AND DOCUMENTATION
 The systematic recording of building form , materials and details
 Preservation
 Photographs
 Architectural drawing
Photographic record-Worms eye isometric projection of a slovakian roman catholic church
Front elevation, side elevation , longitudinal section and floor plan of a raised granary – leon – spain
Fully rendered axonometric of a tikolor mosque (alwar) Senegal, with cut away to show structure and interior

SPATIAL APPROACH
 Organisation and articulation of volumes and spaces
 The analysis of which being an architectural preoccupation relative to the organization and articulation of spaces and
volumes
 Approach – one is to start from the observation of buildings and trace back to the experience of the builders
 Other is to start from the living experience of built form and space and to understand how te buildings were
concived and created
DIMENSIONS:
 Orientation is the inspiration of the built area within the cosmic order
  Dimension indicates directons such as mecca or jeruselam
 Laterality refers to the distribution of the foci on the right and left hand according to the main direction of the
built spacee
 Frontality is the relation between the front and rear side of the built space
 Centrally is the central hearth of the house
 Axis and symmetry are permanent for some cultures

Plan of a mongol yurt showing spatial differentiation including altar, male and female quadrants

FOLKLORISTICS
  Building as compared with other folk artefacts, with craftskills, customs and beliefs
 Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore.
 The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content
and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics.
 The adjective "folkloristic" for an academically oriented study is also distinguished from "folkloric" for material having the
character of folklore or tradition.
 In scholarly usage, folkloristics represents an emphasis on the contemporary social aspects of expressive culture, in contrast
to the more literary-historical study of texts.
 Scholars specializing in folkloristics are known as folklorists.
CONTRIBUTION OF ALAN DUNDES
 Folklorist Alan Dundes (1934–2005) of the University of California at Berkeley is often credited with promotion of
folkloristics as a disciplinary term, with the explanation that methodology should contextualize the material of the "lore"
within the sociology of the "folk."
 In contrast to a definition of folk as peasant or remote peoples, he applied what he called a "modern" flexible social definition
for folk as two or more persons who share any trait in common and express their identity through traditions.
 With this expanded social definition also emerged a wider view of the material of folklore characterized by their repetition
and variation to include material, written, and visual practices.
 Another implication of the term, according to Dundes, is that folkloristic work is interpretative or scientific rather than
descriptive or devoted solely to collection.
 In 1978, Dundes published a collection of his essays as Essays in Folkloristics and in the preface advocated for "folkloristics"
as a preferred term for a discipline devoted to the study of folklore.
 Four years earlier, PenttiLeino published an historical overview of one of the important centers of comparative folklore
studies as Finnish Folkloristics.
  In other international developments drawing attention to "folkloristics," the University of Helsinki established a professorial
chair in folkloristics, the University of Tartu created a department of folkloristics, and the Estonian Literary Museum
featured a department of folkloristics.
 In 1999, Dundes reiterated his case with the publication of International Folkloristics, a compilation of foundational essays
in the international study of folklore, and an historical retrospective in "Folkloristics in the Twenty-First Century" in the
Journal of American Folklore (2005).
APPLICATION TO LITERARY AND TEXTUAL STUDY
 Efforts have been made by some folklorists to apply folkloristic approaches concerned with context and practice to literary
and textual work, so as not to limit folkloristics to ethnographic or sociological perspectives (Examples are Simon Bronner's
"Historical Methodology in Folkloristics" in 1982 and Sandra Stahl Dolby's publication of Literary Folkloristics and the
Personal Narrative in 1988).
 Some scholars still prefer "folklore studies" or "folklife research" to indicate the interdisciplinary mix of humanistic and social
science approaches, but folkloristics maintains wide currency in academic circles.
 In 1995, a major introductory textbook was written by American folklorists Robert A. Georges and Michael Owen Jones as
Folkloristics: An Introduction.
 The Journal of Indian Folkloristicsand International Folkloristics are serials that have had folkloristics in its masthead
since 1978.
 UNIT – 3
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF SOUTH INDIA
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF TAMILNADU
 Tamil Nadu has a long sandy seacoast and a vast expanse of semi-arid plains, once covered with scrub forests, grass and
groves of bamboo.
 Families clustered together, to be close to each other.
BUILDING FEATURES
 Floors were most often made of rammed mud,finished with a red oxide coating or cow dung slurry.

 Walls were made of sun-dried or baked brick or mud which were also regularly treated with a cow dung slurry, which kept
the bugs away with its antiseptic properties.
 The potters made the terracotta roofing tiles.
 The pride of each house was the front door and this was carved and decorated to be as welcoming and auspicious as could be.
CHETTINAD ARCHITECTURE
 Chettiar houses are found today in seventy six villages located in Pudukottai, PasumpomMuthuramalingam and Sivaganga
districts.
 The Chettiars originated from a place called Nagamandu but later moved to Kaveripoompattinam.
 In the later years they had a feud with the Chola king who was then ruiling that place and decided to move to the Pandia
kingdom.
 They settled down in Shivagangi which later came to be known as Chettinad
 These ‘chettinnad houses’ are a real piece of workmanship and a feast to one’s eye.
 They are a sign of successful joint families.
 Most of these houses were built 100years back but are still standing strong.
evoluti
on
 The basic floor plan of a Chettinad house consists of
an outside verandah (thinnai) for guests, with a room
for conducting business on one or both ends; an
interior courtyard to be used in ceremonies, with a
raised seating area at one or both ends; a series of
small double rooms opening off the main courtyard,
for storage, prayer and sleeping and a small
courtyard behind for cooking and for the women to
socialize. common space
Basic
rooms
floor courtyard
Living room (valavu)
plan
Thinnai
(mugappu)
AGRAHARAMS
• Brahmin houses in
the various regions courtyard
of Tamil Nadu differ
slightly in style, kitchen
technique and
materials, room
depending on their
location. hall
• However, they are pooja
almost always
connected by a
room
stairs
common wall and leading up
thinnai
tend to be narrow in
width and very long.
• They are often Basic plan
without an interior
courtyard, but have
open spaces in the
back. Light and air
frequently comes
from a clerestory
which substitutes for
the open courtyard
in the flat-roofed
houses
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF KERALA
  The factors that influence the traditional architecture of kerala are
 Climate
 Building materials
 Culture
Climate
 Kerala has warm humid climate with heavy rainfall, hence it is essential to achieve good ventilation in buildings and fast
draining of rain water and prevention of dampness
Building materials:
 Clay and laterite stones are available
 Good quality timber is also available in abundance, besides these lime is also available
 Therefore traditional houses have walls built out of mud, brick or laterite stones and plastered with lime
 Roof are made out of timber rafters and claded with terracotta tiles
Culture:
 Kerala is a narrow stretch of land bounded by arabianses on the west and the mountain range of western ghats on the east.
 The land is quite isolated
 This in the past had reduced interaction with the rest of the country
 The state has ample back waters, rugged mountains, narrow fertile valleys, all in close proximity
 This gave scope for the evolution of many occupations and generated a colourful and distinctly different culture, the people
are consious of their cultural idendity
 The impact of these aspects could be seen in their traditional residences
The house form:
 The house form of a typical kerala house was essentially evolved to suit the climate with the building materials available
there, but in course of time the form was evolved to accommodate the beleifs, values of the people and their resultant
behavioural pattern
 Since the construction of the roof involves extensive carpentry works and the roof form was given greater importance, their
building construction is be of high carpentry works – tachushastra
 The tachushastra has laid down certain design principles
 The sizes of the easily available timber / rafters would have been the determining factor for the sizes of the rooms
 Easy to build and stable forms of timber would have been considered as ideal forms
 Generally the typical houses are nallu- kattu houses or four bay houses, big houses can be eattu- kattu or eight bay houses
 East or west facing houses are preferred depending upon the region
 Usually the living room is referred to be located in the first bay in the north or south
 The bay next to the living room contains the court yard
 The pooja room is located in relation to the courtyard
 This forms the focal point of the house and all other rooms are located in relation to this
 Location of rooms vary from region to region
 Traditional buildings have verandah’s all around the buildings, which also protects the external walls from rainfall and sun
ray’s.
 The width of the verandah may vary from two feet to as much as 12 feet. It may be different on different sides of the house.
 This feature is not found in later period of the buildings mainly due to the economy.
 In a warm humid climate the use and control of the wind is very important for comfort.
 the more the wind movement the greater the comfort.
 Since most houses are situated in the middle of the piece of the land, there is noo interruption in the wind movement.
 The design of the house was to catch the wind. In rooms where people spend most of the time in day the window openings
were brought in at the ground level.
 The entrance is open atleast on two sides.
 Cross ventilation is hindered because of the small area of external openings, this might have been so because of the need for
privacy or security.
 The courtyards bring more comfort to the traditional buildings.
 Generally, atleast two wings of a courtyard house will be open, raised platforms.
 Both the tiled and thatched roof are light. Moreover they allow free flow of air between them.
 Timber was the most predominant building material in kerala.
 It was widely available and many varieties were very durable.
 Teak, jack wood, anjali and thembavu were commonly used.
 In typical traditional architecture, timber was used for walls, doors and windows, intermediate floors and roofs.
  Buildings with timber walls were built in travancore until about 70 years ago.
 Timber was getting scarce towards the end of the 19th century, although there were many private forests, in course of time
the government wanted to have monopoly on thekinds of wood generally used for house building
 Laterite came to be used for walls instead of timber, because of the prominence of wood in traditional kerala architecture,
the carpenter was the head craftsman.
 Since there was little masonry work masons were of negligible importance in the olden days
Sloping roofs:
 Roof is a symbol of home and kerala is known for its decorative roofs, sloping roofs.
 The traditional architecture of kerala comprises temples, palaces and houses built which reflects the unique wood construction system
of this region.
 The ridged roof is pitched at angles between 30degrees to 40 degrees forms the main visual and functional element that renders a
distinct identity of the regions architecture.
 The roof was embellished with intricately carved gables protruding from the roof and has generous overhangs sometimes supported by
wooden brackets.
 The style of the roof has a lot to do with the climatic conditions of the place.
SACRED ARCHITECTURE:
 A specific city type common in the south is the temple city
 Element of temple city – a river, a temple tank and a rectangular or square walled city plan whose core is a temple complex with its
major entry facing the east.
 The temple precinet itself like a miniature city with a number of concentric paths for circumambulation ( prakramas )
 The cardinally oriented axial paths leading from center to the city gates are accentuated by tower like gates ( gopuras )
 Kerala does not have many large scale religious buildigs but planning skills and craftmanship are evident in its domestic and palace
architetcure, such as nair house and padmanabhapuram palace.
VASTUVIDYA:
 Traditional kerala architecture ( vastuvidya ) which is derived from stapatyaveda of adharvaveda, mainly deals with two types of
architecture
 Residential architecture ( manusyalaya ) coming under functional architecture
  Temples coming under conceptual architecture

NALUKETTU HOUSES
Construction style based on:tacchushastra (the science of architecture)
 The nalukettu is the traditional style of architecture of kerala, wherein a house has a quadrangle in the centre.
 Originally the abode of the wealthy brahmin and nair families, this style of architecture has today become a status symbol
among the well to do in kerala.
 Nalukettu is evident in the traditional homes of the upper class homestead where customs and rituals were a part of life.
 The mansion is created using wood and tiles, central open courtyard and wondrous architecture.
 The interiors of the house are tastefully decorated with a wealth of antiques made from teak, sandalwood, mahogany etc.
 The glorious examples of nalukettu
 the 'tantrasamuchaya',
 'vasthuvidya',
 'maushyalayachandrika' and '
 silparatna'
are the celebrated treatises in the field of architecture that kerala has contributed to the world.
 The nalukettu of kerala is famous for building along with the rules of 'tachusastra' (science of architecture).
 The padmanabhapuram palace, the dutch palace at mattancherry and krishnapuram palace near kayamkulam are some of the
famous palaces of kerala.
 The rock temples, woodcarvings, and metal cuttings are excellent pieces of works of
kerala.
The evolution of nalukettu
 Essentially, nalukettu can be explained as an expansion of the concept of 'sala' enshrined
in the 'vaastushastra', the indian science of architecture.
 A 'sala' was a square or rectangular living room with verandas on one or more sides.
 An 'akashala' or single unit house was affordable for even the poorest and the lowest in the
 rigid caste hierarchy.
 The addition of another l-shaped hall made it a 'dwissala' or two-structured abode.
 Further economic advancement and familial needs led to the addition of a third structure, making three sides of open -ended
square -a 'thrissala'.
 When the fourth side was also hemmed in by the addition of another 'sala', the resultant square became 'chatussala' or the
'nalu' (four) and 'kettu' (built up sides).

The style of construction

 The traditional 'nalukettu', barring the foundation and floor is made of carved and slotted wood and has a close
resemblance to east asian gabled and thatched structures.
 In later years, tiles replaced the coconut fronds.
 The enclosed courtyard or 'ankanam' is usually sunk and therefore called 'kuzhi (pit) ankanam'.
 The protruding roofs of the 'salas' formed shady verandas and protected the rooms from direct sunlight, keeping them cool
even on the hottest of days.
 The inner verandah around the 'ankanam' is open.
  The outer verandahs along the four sides of the 'nalukettu' are enclosed differently.
 While both the western and eastern verandahs are left open, the northern and southern verandahs are enclosed or semi-
enclosed.
 In the middle of the enclosed southern or western 'salas' is the 'ara' or the storage room, flanked by bedrooms.
 The floor of the 'ara' was raised even higher than that of the other 'salas' to accommodate a 'nilavara' or basement.
 Entrances to the building were provided at the centre of the east, west, north
and south sides depending on the position of the 'ara'.
 As the families prospered and grew in size, other squares of 'salas' were added to
make 'ettukettus' or mansions with eight 'salas' around two courtyards.
 On the firmer grounds of kerala, the 'nalukettu' rose upwards into two or three
storeys, the upper floors being reserved for the 'karanavars' (elders).
 By the time multi-storeyed mansions evolved, the wooden walls had given way to
laterite ones plastered with lime.
 The ultimate development in this line was the 'pathinarukettu', or structure
with 16 'salas'.
The tradition preserved
 the 'nalukettu' tradition was preserved by the 'thatchans' or trained architect-painters, well versed in the science of
'vaastushastra'.
 Much of the rules of construction are codified in the 'manushyalayachandrika', a treatise on architecture by the famed
architect, mangalathuneelkantamnamboothiri.

Nair tharavads of kerala:

 The nair are a race of people living in the state of kerala and costitute 16 percent of the state population
 The homestead ( tharavad ) houses joint families comprising as many as 30 -40 members living in a matriarchial system
 The name – nair is said to be derived from the sanskrit word nayan ( plural – nayar ) meaning leader of soldier
 Head of the tharavad was the oldest male member ( karnavan )
 The number of such module classifies the courtyard and wings surrounding it from a basic module and the housetype – nalukettu (
nalu means four and kettu means chambers ), ettukettu and padinaramkettu meaning 8 and 16 chambers respectively
 The priciple of sitting, spatial arrangements of rooms, materials, measurements and construction details were based on vastuvidya and
tachushastram
 The main element of nairtharavad are fortified entrance gates ( paddipura ), Temple ( kshetram ), bathing tank ( kullapura ), well (
kupam ), cattleshed ( ghosala ), and an undisturb thicket for snakes ( sarpakavu )
 The dwelling unit in the east, kitchen on the northern side, well near it, the bathing tank in the northeast part, the temple and
acttleshed in the south or southwest
 The length : breadth ratio, the perimeter of the house and the location of the garden and trees are determined by tachushastram
 Upper floor built above the western and then the southern wing
 Steep puramidal roof with a 45 degree pitch, deep overhangs and shaded verandahs used due to shun heavy rainfall and humidity
 locally available materials such as stone, lime, wood, thatch and tiles were used for the buidings
Materials and construction techniques:

 The foundation of existing buildings were usually built with laterite blocks. Laterite can be called the – blessing of ketala – since
80% of kerala’s surface is covered with it
  In many large buildings mud was used, sum dried mud bricks were often used for ground floor, mud mortor was used in many
buildings constructed with laterite so as to reduce the cost of construction
 Lime made form shells was used as mortor for the super structure
 The most common of flooring was that beaten earth polished with cow dung at regular intervals.
 Polishing with cow dung was the duty of the women
 The black coloured traditional flooring used in the more expensive buildings was done with a mixture of lime, sand, coconut shell
black, white of egg, jaggery, coconut water and other various vagetable extracts
 The smoothness was achieved by polishing the floor with a particular variety of banana
The vanishing nairtharavads:
 The kovilakom of the ruling class, the illam and mana of the namboodiris (priestly class), and
tharawads of the nair community (administrative and warrior group) are the major upper class housing
types that formed the settlement of this region.
 The tharawad, though it now stands generally for the ancestral home, gains its name from the
context of which it is a part of.
 Thara is a neighbourhood, mainly nair dominated.
 The namboodiri dominated areas are called uru.
 Many thara formed a desom and many desoms formed a nadu and many nadus formed a swaroopam.
 The inhabitants of thara formed a government under a karanavar (elder one) - a feudal group that
ruled the region.
 Thara as a political organisation ceased to exist long before, but still is lively in many places as a community group.
 The many nair houses associated with a temple and its surroundings called thara is a common settlement cluster in the
region.thetharawad now stands for historic association with generations of ancestors.
 It goes back several generations.
 Overburdened with inhabitants, the tharawad split into manageable matrilineal groups that stayed in different buildings.
 Some tharawads comprised over 200 inhabitants!
 The nairs followed the marumakkathayam - a system of matriarchial descent while the namboodiris were patriarchial.
 Nairs took land on lease from the namboodiris and cultivated the same.
 Among the namboodiris only the eldest one could marry.
 The younger ones could have "relations" called sambandham with nair women.
 These women stayed in their own tharawads and the namboodiris visited them from time to time.
 Even nair men never stayed with their families.
 The relationships between husband and wife, father and children were not recognised.hence the namboodiriillams had
spacious public areas while the nairtharawads had more bedrooms.
 A tharawad consisted of the karanaver (senior most male member), his wife - ammayi (aunt) and their children; his sisters
and their children.
 Senior male members managed the property on behalf of the women.
 The karanavar had the absolute powers to represent, possess and manage the tharawad and its properties.
 The karanavar provided everything from pocket money to clothes to the members.
 No marriage took place between members of a tharawad as they are considered related by blood.
 These tharawads were "urban clusters" in themselves.
 Functions and rituals considered sacred among the nair community that now take place in temples, like naming of the child,
ear boring ceremony, initiation to letters, first tonsure of the new born and so on used to be conducted within the tharawads.
 Festivals like onam, vishu and navarathri were celebrated with pomp.
 Many local festivals associated with temples in different parts of kerala are even now conducted and managed by the
respective nairtharawads of the region.
 The traditional building types of these tharawads were nalukettu (four blocks), ettukettu (eight blocks), pathinarukettu
(sixteen blocks) - the multiples of a basic chatursala type.
 Chatursala, according to texts, is an interconnected four blocked building around a central courtyard called anganam or
nadumuttam.
 The lower class types mainly remained ekasala - the one sided.
 The four blocks are the vadakini, thekkini, kizakkini and padinjattini according to their corresponding cardinal locations of
n,s,e,w respectively.
  Vadakkini houses the kitchen and dining, padinjatini, the bedroom and granary, thekkini and kizhakkini are halls and rooms
for visitors.
 These buildings were laid and constructed following elaborate rituals and principles according to the traditional texts on
vastuvidya which were highly articulated prescriptive building guidelines.
 The guidelines ranged from selection of site, nature of soil, orientation buildings , position of buildings and rooms according
to mandalas, to the perimeter of the building, dimensional system, kind of motifs and decorations to be used and so on.
 These buildings demonstrate excellent craftsmanship in wood and a good understanding of construction and building
material science.

THE NAMBUDIRI ILLAMS OF KERALA:

 The remaining illams of the nambudiribrahmins of kerala present some of the best examples of kerala’s domestic architecture and
remain a fascinating document of the social customs and belifs of earlier kerala society
History:
 Kerala has two major sects of brahmins, the tamilbrahmins who were more nuerous in travancore and the nambudhiribrahmins who
settled primarily in the malabar area.
 The nambhudiribrahmin’s unique role in kerala society is evident through inscriptional and textual evidence over the last 1200 years.
 They were not only the ritual leaders of the state but also its powerful landowners.
The nambudhiriillam:
 The nambudhiri homes are concentrated primarily in trichur and palghat districts in south malabar, but area found scattered often in
small clusters, as far as south as kottayam in travancore and in morthmalabar up through cannanore.
  The nambudhiri houses in south malabar are an excellent reflection of norms of their social systems.
 These houses also reflect the prevailing ritual norms and cosmic beliefs which were common to all hindu, and to some extent to other
communities in karala also.
 The segregation of spaces, the emphasis on rooms for rituals, the large tanks for bathing and the combination of buildings in each
compound area some of the distinguishing features of the nambhudiriillams.
Description of the nambhudiriillam:
 The nambhudiriillam, particularly among the affluent nambhudiri families of the trichur area presents a self contained complex of
buildings in a wide, secluded compound.
 This consists of the main house a one or two storeyednalukettu building, an entrance gate – padipura , one or more tanks for bathing,
of which one is generally linked to the house and the following optional buildings, a granary, a kitchen for feeding guests – agrasala
and a shrine, or a temple itself
 Except for the granary, which has solid walls of laterite or most commonly of wood and the bedroom the other rooms often, have half
walls, topped with slatted wood to close the space in to a room, have half walls, topped with slatted wood to close the space into a
room
 Traditionally the northern and eastern sides are considered suitable for ritual and earlier were not permitted to be built up, for both
practical and ritual reasons.
 The kitchen with its adjacent well is always, absolutely without exception in all houses on the northeast corner
 Since the wind comes form the southwest in kerala, this is the most logical position to ensure that the smoke leaves the building
directly.
 The northern side next to the kitchen is used for the performance of shredda and the human ritual of pouring ghee on the sacred fire,
the most important ritual to a nambhudiri
 The puja room is often located on the north, or in the east next to the kitchen, but this varies from region to region
 The traditional nambhudiri house appeared to segregate its corner rooms from the main blocks.
 These rooms are seperated almost consistently by corridors, stairwells and doors going outside.
 Vulnerable to spirits and cosmic forces corner rooms are also seperated from the main structure by a special wall plates.
Women spaces:
  A distinguishing feature of the nambhudiri house is the numerous corridor and spaces provided for the nambhudiri women who were
considered ritually inferior to man and traditionally not allowed to set foot in the area surrounding the main courtyard except on
their marriage day and at death.
 Where houses had only courtyard, added spaces to the back next to the kitchen which was also the womens domain gave the women a
place to sit, chat and work, and even perform puja.
 Passages offered them backdoor access to the main puja room which they could watch only from the window.
 Access to one or two bed rooms in the house, which usually occupied marginal spaces such as a corner room, was also through a back
corridor and a back door
KOYIKKAL PALACE:

 Koyikkal palace, the royal seat of the perakathavazhyswaroopam, a collateralBranch of venad is a living symbolof the
pinnacle of traditional architecture which Prevailed in kerala during the seventeenth century.
 The palace renowned for its Unstincted use of wood has a nalukettu structure with central courtyard, gabled Roof, ornate
pillars and long corridors
 This two storeyed royal residence symbolizes the stylistic perfection of mediaeval Architecture of south kerala and regarded
as the most ancient palace built by the Rulers of venad.