Architecture and

Society/Culture
 Vernacular architecture
• A built environment that is based upon local needs;
defined by the availability of particular materials
indigenous to its particular region; and reflects local
traditions and cultural practices.
 Vernacular architecture
Comprising the dwellings and all other buildings of the
people.

Related to their environmental contexts and available

resources they are customarily owner- or community-built,
utilizing traditional technologies.

All forms of vernacular architecture are built to meet specific

needs, accommodating the values, economies and ways of life
of the cultures that produce them.”

Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World

Toda hut
 Toda Hut

Traditional shelter of Toda tribal

community in Nilgiris
Toda hut
 Toda hut

• Oval, Bent-shaped construction

• 10‘ (3 m) high, 18’ (5.5 m) long and 9’ (2.7 m) wide
• Small door 3’ (0.9 m) x 3’ (0.9 m); can be entered only by
crawling; only means of ventilation
• The small entrances serve as protection from wild animals and
extreme weather
• Each hut is enclosed within a wall of loose stones.
 Construction and materials

• Built with bamboo, cane and rattan and thatched with dry grass
• Thicker bamboo canes are arched to give the hut its basic bent
shape. Thinner bamboo canes (rattan) are tied close and
parallel to each other over this frame. Dried grass is stacked
over this as thatch.
• Front and rear of hut made of dressed stones usually granite
and decorated with art work
 Igloo

Traditional shelter of the Inuit

 Igloo construction
• Built of blocks of snow in a
circular form in which the
walls curve inward toward
the top to form a snow vault
• The arched ceiling is self-
supporting
• Raised out of independent
blocks leaning on each other
and polished to fit without
an additional supporting
structure during construction
Section – a catenary arch
Stable structure
Igloo construction
 Igloo
• Entered by crawling through a narrow, semi-
cylindrical tunnel about 10’ (3 m) long, with vaults
for storing supplies
• Cold wind kept out from the main room by
– low entrance facing away from the wind
– sealskin flap hung over the exterior entrance
– low, semicircular retaining wall that is sometimes built out
a few feet
• A hole left at the top for ventilation
• A clear piece of ice or seal intestine is inserted for a
window
 Igloo temperature

• The inside of the igloo is terraced

– Uppermost level: sleeping space - Warmest
– Middle: fire and work place
– Bottom: Sink for cold air
• Principle: Coldest air from inside the igloo runs downward off the
terraces and collects in the bottom, thus allowing the upper
portions to stay warmer.
Vernacular houses
Sikkim
 Climate
• Tropical monsoon rainfall type - high levels of
humidity and heavy rainfall
• Moderate climate all throughout the year, with
warm summers and mild winters
• Four distinct seasons - summer, monsoon,
autumn and winter
Wattle and Daub Construction
Assam
Wattle and Daub
Laurie Baker Centre for
Habitat Studies
(LBC)
 Wattle and Daub
• Wattle - A fabrication of poles interwoven with
slender branches, withes, or reeds
• Daub - Crudely cover or coat with soft adhesive
matter
• Wattle and daub: A composite building material
woven lattice of wooden strips
called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually
made of some combination of wet soil, clay,
sand, animal dung and straw
• Low-impact sustainable building construction
method, in use for 5000+ years
 Wattle and Daub House, Assam

• Structural system:
• Flooring - Rammed earth, plaster finishing
• Roofing – Thatched roof supported on wood purlins
• Foundation – Wall
Ikra house, Assam
Three main aspects
 Assam-type house or Ikra
• Usually single storey house; two-storey houses also found
• Plan: rectangular with the long side running along the slope,
and the access is from the hill slide with veranda facing the
valley side
• Earthquake resistant: stable configuration, light-weight
materials used for walls and roofs, flexible connections
between various wooden elements at different levels, etc.
• Plinth of the house is raised above the normal
ground level to avoid marshy ground, run-off during rains,
and stray animals and reptiles
 Construction Process
(Ikra – a wild growing weed, found in river plains and adjoining
lakes across the state of Assam, is extensively used in the walls and
roof of the house)

• Wall panels made of bamboo frames infilled with

shoots of Ikra reed
• Ikra are cut in size of the panel and laid vertically;
horizontal members usually bamboo
• Roof truss covered with thick stack of Ikra reed
• Ikra is left to dry for few days, then plastered on both
sides with mud mortar. Three layers of plaster are
done after dying of each coat
• Finished coat is of liquid mix of mud and cow dung
 Reference

•Dasgupta, H.B. Kaushik & K. Observations on Performance of Structures. Sikkim:

Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati ,
2012.

•Subhankar, Nag. "Architecture of Northeast india."

•Sarkar, Ar. Kaninika Dey. INDIAN VERNACULAR PLANNING. UTTAR PRADESH

: Civil Engineering and Urban Planning:An International Journal, 2015.
Vernacular houses
Sikkim
 Construction
•Two types of vernacular housing systems in Sikkim:
1. Wooden houses – e.g. Lepcha houses
2. Masonry houses

• Sikkim is earthquake prone area:

• Wooden houses evolved –less damage to human and building

• Sikkim is a cold and cloudy region:

• Stone Masonry houses evolved - maintains inside thermal comfort and
earthquake resistant
 Vernacular houses of Sikkim
Lepcha house

https://aachuley.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/lepchas-and-their-art-of-building-earthquake-resistant-traditional-house/
 Lepcha House

• Two storeyed rectangular structures

• Ground floor partially enclosed; domestic animals kept
• Houses made of split bamboo plastered with mud
• Roof: Thatched with reed, straw and bamboo
• At least two rooms, main room (sitting and dining and kitchen) is
bigger than others
• The hearth is the centre of all activities
• Separate room for altar where grains are also stored
Lepcha House

Ground floor
• Elevated pillar structure prevents the
house from sliding during natural
calamities such as floods or land
slides
• Roof
– Sloping - rain, snow and hailstones slide
off easily
– Thatched grass reeds absorb the direct
heat from the sun; house very warm in
winter, cool and airy in summer
Lepcha House
Section
Turkish Vernacular Houses

- Beehive
- Timber-framed
 Beehive Houses of Harran, Turkey

• Shaped a little like beehives

• Constructed out of adobe, brick and stone found locally
• Can be built quickly, making it a very practical
construction for the nomadic population
• Resistant to heat and cold
• Ventilation holes
– on the sides provide cooling air-circulation through cross-
ventilation
– on top of the dome one acts as a chimney
• Beehive houses are no longer used as homes due
transition from nomadic culture into a more settled one
Beehive Houses of Harran, Turkey
Timber-framed houses:
 Timber-framed houses
Mostly found near the coastline or inner regions of Turkey
Roof Forms:
• Pitched on all four sides
• Has a simple form, avoiding indents or extensions
• Eaves are wide and horizontal
Construction material:
• Local materials are used as filling material: adobe, clay, brick,
stone, earth, etc
Multi-storeyed buildings:
• Most have at least two storeys
• Ground floor generally has a high, solid stone wall
• Upper floor is the main living area and may extend over the
street