FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, MANIPAL UNIVERSITY, MANIPAL

DISSERTATION PAPER VII SEM B.ARCH (2015-16 )

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International Conference on Social e-xperience, Barcelona, 3-4 July 2012

Relevance of Vastuvidya and National Building Code

T Harsath Teja
VII’A’, Reg no:123701310
Faculty of architecture, Manipal university, Manipal.
harshathteja@gmail.com
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ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to check whether there is a relationship between rules of Vastuvidya
and National Building Code. Rules and regulations were collected from text books of Vastuvidya,
NBC 2005 and different IS codes and principles behind rules of similar nature were analysed and
relationship between them was established applicability of those rules are checked. It is found that
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not all the rules collected are applicable and rules that are applicable are filtered. This research
contributes to learn how problems regarding building construction is solved in Vastuvidya during
ancient time and create better design guidelines for future.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Vastuvidya is an education of traditional Indian system of architecture which narrates

different design principles, site preparation, modules, arrangement of spaces and geometry in
building construction. National building code of India is a national instrument that provides
guidelines for regulation of building construction activities in India. It used as a reference Code for
adoption by all agencies involved in building construction such as Public Works Departments,
government construction departments and private construction agencies. Many ancient
constructions India such as Hindu temples and old dwellings show strict use of rules and principles
of Vastuvidya. It is observed that building construction is vastly influenced by rules of Vastuvidya
in ancient times to present day thus this research is an attempt to check the existence of relationship
between Vastuvidya and National Building code

1 SITE DEVELOPMENT

• NBC and Vastuvidya specifies clearing of unwanted vegetation and retaining of desirable
vegetation as it is mandatory for every site for development.
• NBC specifies to take necessary soil erosion prevention methods on other side vastuvidya
also suggests ploughing and levelling as a soil erosion control method to be done prior to the
development as there is no knowledge available on advanced prevention m

2 BUILDING ORIENTATION AND SHADING

• According to Vastuvidya orientation of building is determined according to yoni concept.

Yoni number is determined by dividing perimeter (prime dimension) of building by 8. This
gives one among 8 directions and each direction having its own number.
• This concept is used to determine the required perimeter of building according to given
orientation and size of plot for selecting the roof module.

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3 BUILDING ENVELOPE

• Vastuvidya specifies minimum height of ceiling from ground level as 2.7 m where 0.9 m
(1/3rd of 2.7 m) shall be maximum possible plinth height remaining 1.8 m shall be minimum
head room which do not have electric devices lighting and ventilation.
• In other hand we have NBC specifying minimum head room as 2.6 due to provision of
minimum electric devices like fans, lights, AC, etc.
• The above rule do not satisfy the requirement according to NBC so it cannot be applied
• Vastuvidya specifies height of plinth shall 1/3rd to 1/10th of ceiling height from ground level.
According to NBC the plinth height shall be depending on site conditions.

• Vastuvidya specifies maximum slenderness ratio of 16 for wall and7 to 12 for column and it
satisfies the condition slenderness ratio of load bearing wall cannot exceed 20 and for
column it cannot exceed 12 as specified in NBC. The difference of 4 and 5 may be the factor
of safety considered due to lack of appropriate knowledge on calculation. The maximum
slenderness ratio values might have emerged from trial and error method and
experimentation.
• Vastuvidya prescribes that depth of foundation for important structures shall be the lower
value of Depth of ground water level, Depth to hard gravelly bed or rock and Height of the
man with his arm raised since they are supported on columns which has point load impact
on ground and it specifies that depth of foundation of residence shall not be less than height
of plinth since they are supported on loadbearing walls which do not have point load impact
on ground.
• NBC specifies that all foundations shall extend to a depth of at least 500 mm below natural
ground level. On rock or such other weather resisting natural ground, removal of the top soil
maybe all that is required. In such cases, the surface shall be cleaned and, if necessary,
stepped or otherwise prepared so as to provide a suitable bearing and thus prevent slipping
or other unwanted lmovements. The reason behind this is same as specified above for
Vastuvidya and extensive construction of framed structures and multi-storeyed buildings.
Construction of foundation extensively effected by soil bearing capacities in modern days
since there are various tests found to determine the soil bearing capacities accurately which
ultimately increases the durability of foundation.

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 • Height of the basement according to Vastuvidya is 1/3rd to 1/10th of height of ceiling from
ground which is less compared to minimum height of 2.4 m as specified in NBC since use
of basement is restricted to minor purposes whereas basements now are used for provision
of building services, parking, etc
• Vastuvidya specifies 2 types of roof i.e. Vault roof (achieved by corbelling of stones) and
Timber frame construction i.e. Pyramidal roof, Gable roof, Hip roof. NBC specifies 2 types
of construction i.e. Slabs and truss. NBC includes both flat roof and sloping roof and
Vastuvidya specifies only sloping roof due to lack of advance construction materials like
steel which results in construction of flat RCC and RBC slabs.

4 DEVELOPMENT CONTROL RULES

• Vastuvidya recommends that site should be divided in grid form based on the usage. For
residential buildings Vastuvidya recommends 9 x 9 grid and clearance of 1 cell along all
sides which is similar to providing frontage and setbacks on all sides which is used to make
sure that streets and yards are provided more open space and adequate light and air.
• It is observed that both Vastuvidya and NBC has its own setbacks and frontage suitable for
site conditions and city conditions with respect to their time. For row housing it is specified
that setbacks at sides are not required.

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5 BUILDING MATERIALS

• Manufacture of bricks is done with same material as specified in Vastuvidya

• There is only one size of brick universally used all over during that time. NBC specifies
sizes for two standard brick types modular type and non-modular type which are commonly
used.
• India has rich varieties of timber and Vastuvidya classified them only in one way based on
strength. NBC classified timber in 3 ways they are strength, Durability and treatability. As
technology evolved detailed study of timber properties led to finding of many ways of
treating and preserving as a result many ways of classification evolved.
• Mortar is one of the most commonly used building material Vastuvidya specifies only usage
of clay mortar and lime mortar at past. NBC specifies usage of clay, lime and cement mortar
which is strongest among all mortars
• Detailed study led to experimentation of determining compressive strength of mortars when
different ingredients are used leading to wide range of applications.
• Stone is one of oldest building material. Vastuvidya specifies usage of stone for temples and
important buildings. Detailed study of defects and properties of stone lead to determining
compressive strength of all types of stones. Usage of metal dowels is commonly specified in
NBC and vastuvidya. Use of stone masonry structures are considerably reduced due to poor
seismic performance.

6 CONCLUSION

1. National building code is used as a tool to set the limits and prevent the agencies involving in
building construction to construct over the limits and violate them due to economy and also to
ensure safety, sustainability and good living conditions. It is punishable in form of demolition
and imprisonment
2. Context of rules and regulations of Vastuvidya is also to ensure safety, sustainability and good
living conditions. But there is no influence of economy on Vastuvidya and violation is not
punishable and it is not regulated by any government body.
3. Even though context of these two are not exactly similar formation of rules of NBC had certain
amount of influence of Vastuvidya. Thus relationship is established.

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4. Since violation of rules and regulation of NBC is against the law it is necessary to make sure
that rules and regulations of Vastuvidya which are being applied are supposed to satisfy the
criteria of National Building Code.

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY

3952, I. (n.d.). SPECIFICATION FOR BURNT CLAY HOLLOW BRICKS FOR WALLS AND PARTITIONS.

DR. BALAGOPAL T.S. PRABHU, D. A. (1996). A TEXT BOOK OF VASTHU VIDHYA. CALICUT:
VASTHUVIDHYAPRATHISTANAM ACADEMIC CENTRE.

IS:1077. (n.d.). COMMON BURNT CLAY BUILDING BRICKS - SPECIFICATION.

IS:1141. (n.d.). SEASONING OF TIMBER - CODE OF PRACTICE.

IS:1331. (n.d.). SPECIFICATION OF CUT SIZES OF TIMBER.

IS:1597. (n.d.). CONSTRUCTION OF STONE MASONARY - CODE OF PRACTICE.

IS:1725. (n.d.). SPECIFICATION OF SOIL BASED BLOCKS USED IN GENERAL BUILDING

CONSTRUCTON.

IS:3629. (n.d.). SPECIFICATION OF STRUCTURAL TIMBER IN BUILDING.

NBC. (2005). NATIONAL BUILDING CODE.

RAJARAO, K. V. (1995). SCIENCE IN VASTU APPLICATIONS. BANGALORE.

RAMAN, P. .. (n.d.). PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF VASTUSHASTRA.