KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM

Report on

“Traditional Newari Roof Construction”

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION II

Submitted by: Submitted to:

Sophiya Adhikari Course Tutor
Roll no: 2 Ar. Buddha Shrestha
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
The role of Traditional Roof 3

Temple Roofs 4

Domestic Roofs 5

Elements of the Traditional Roof 6

Ridge Beam 6
Principal rafters 6
Purlins 6
Secondary Rafters 6
King’s Post 7
Base plate 7
Wall Plates 8
Wooden Wedges 8
Struts 8
Roof Plate 8
Strut Base 8

Types of Roof Structure 9

1. Hanging Eaves, Yegahpakha 9
2. Beam Eaves, Dhalipakha 10
3. Waist Eaves, Japakha 10

Construction Technologies 11

Roof Coverings 14

Case Studies 15
Traditional Roof of Tripureshwar Mahadev Temple Complex: East Wing 15
History 15
Roof Type 16
The Attic Space 16
Beam Details 18
Ridge Details 18
King’s Post Details 19
Wall plates detail 20
Restoration Process 20
Roof Detail 21

Conclusion 22

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Introduction

Fig. Isometric section of a Newari Residential Building. Source: Traditional Architecture of the Kathmandu
Valley, Wolfgang Korn, pg. 22

The Newari roofs are one of the most striking architectural features in traditional Newari
buildings. Wood technology is particularly evident in roofing systems and gives the architecture
its distinct Newar style of a steep roof pitch and large overhanging eaves.

This construction system, which gets its aesthetic and structural values from the association
between wooden elements and brick walls, is commonly used in Nepal and is an original
expression of the Newar civilisation.

The huge projecting roofs are set one above the other on temples. The overhangs are wide and
vary according to the functions they serve. For instance, the overhang in dwellings are usually
1m, in vihara complexes, they can extend till 1.5 m, while temples, the most extravagant, extend
up to 4m.

The role of Traditional Roof

Nepal is a country endowed with a variety of vernacular settlements whose architecture

responds spectacularly to the microclimate of which they are a part of, and the traditional
Newari buildings are just another fine example of it.

The roof is evidently well evolved to be suited to the climate of which the Newari settlements are
found, for example, Kathmandu. Kathmandu city faces high frequencies of monsoon rain once a
year, and due to its geographical location, Kathmandu also has plenty of sunlight hours.

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Hence, the large overhangs protect the brick walls and mud mortar from rain, while also
blocking strong sunlight from damaging the bricks and the mortar.

Temple Roofs

Fig. Section and roof plan of Biswanath temple, Patan. Source: Traditional Building Materials pg. 56

Temple roofs have symmetrical pitches springing from the central point of the cell. The number
of tiers varies from a minimum of two to a maximum of five.

The pitches are made up of small rafters that spring from the corners in a radial arrangement. At
the different levels they are supported on the walls. On the outer side there is a large overhang
supported by an eaves beam which in turn is supported by carved wooden struts.

On the inner side the rafters are anchored to a tie beam fixed to the walls. All elements are
joined using wooden wedges.

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Domestic Roofs

Domestic roofs generally have two steep pitches of about 40°-50° in order to make full use of
the available space. Kitchen and family shrine located in the attic space known as Baiga which
translates to half, or small, space.

The internal planning and layout of each floor of a residential building has religious significance.
Hence, the kitchen and family shrine are located on the topmost floor since cooking and eating
are considered to be communal affairs involving the family only.

Fig Section of a typical Newari House showing the vertical planning of spaces.
Source: Newar towns and buildings, pg. 135

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Elements of the Traditional Roof

Fig. Section and isometric section of the Newari Roof.

Source: Traditional Materials and Construction Technologies used in the Kathmandu Valley,
Caterina Bonapace and Valerio Sestini, Pg. 58

Ridge Beam

A ridge beam rests on a central pillar and on the lateral gable walls to form the structure. It is the
red highlighted beam in the picture above.

Principal rafters

Two principal rafters, dark green, are tied up to the central pillar.

Purlins

Purlins (blue) rest on the principal rafters.

Secondary Rafters

Secondary rafters rest on these purlins following the slope of the roof and these extend beyond
the wall to form the overhanging eaves.

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 Fig. Section of the Newari Roof. Source: Newar Towns and Buildings, Niels Gutschow, pg. 158

King’s Post (baigahtha)

The ridge beam rests on the king’s post.

Base plate

The base plate (purple) supports the king's post and acts as a connector between the beam
(blue) and the king’s post. Locally, it is called lakasin.

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 Fig. Detail of the roof and wall joint of the newari roof

Wall Plates

The principle rafters lean against the lateral walls on a wooden wall plate (green) which
transfers the thrust to the walls.

Wooden Wedges (chukul)

The wooden elements are held together using wooden wedges (yellow)

Struts

A series of Struts locally known as tunals (orange) supports the overhanging rafters.

Roof Plate (nas)

The roof plate (purple) acts as a connector between the rafter and the struts. The struts are held
in place through the roof plate.

Strut Base (tunatvakah)

The struts are supported on Strut base (tunatvakah)

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Types of Roof Structure

There are two main types of roof structure most commonly found in Newari style roofs. They are
1. hanging eaves (yegahpakha) and 2. beam eaves (dhalipakha). Waist Eaves (japakha) roofs
are also found in residences, where the roof does not extend beyond the wall, but the
overhangs are of lean to type which uses the construction technology of beam eaves.

1. Hanging Eaves, Yegahpakha

Fig. Hanging Eaves roof type. Source: Newar Towns and Buildings, Niels Gutschow, pg. 158

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2. Beam Eaves, Dhalipakha

Fig. Beam Eaves roof type. Source: Newar Towns and Buildings, Niels Gutschow, pg. 158

3. Waist Eaves, Japakha

Fig. Waist Eaves roof type. Source: Newar Towns and Buildings, Niels Gutschow, pg. 160

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Construction Technologies

A ridge beam rests on a central pillar and on the lateral gable walls to form the structure.Two
principal rafters are tied up to the central pillar, leaning against the lateral walls on a wooden
wall plate which transfers the thrust to the walls. Purlins rest on the principal rafters and then
secondary rafters rest on these purlins following the slope of the roof. These extend beyond the
wall to form the overhanging eaves. There are different ways in which the ridge beam is tied to
the secondary rafters:

One way is by using a dovetail connection between the two rafters and by driving wooden
wedges through the rafters, and placing the pair above the ridge beam.

Alternatively, a depression can be made in the ridge beam itself to fit the rafters, and joined
again using wooden wedges.

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Another method is by alternating the rafters on each side, and connecting using wooden
wedges.

The overhanging structure is made in two different ways: hanging eaves and beam eaves. The
first way provides support to the secondary rafters via an eaves plate fixed parallel to the wall
and supported by a series of secondary struts.

Cross Tie (Baigahkha), green in the picture above, is fixed parallel to the wall and provides
support to the principal rafters and wall plate. Wooden wedges hold the wooden elements in
place.

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The second way, (beam eaves) is similar to the first but some extra tie beams (pink) are
inserted to provide additional support to the eaves. Along with this, an eaves plate is also
required in order to keep the rafters in place. The eaves plate rests above the beam and is held
in place using wooden wedges

The struts are the same in both cases. A strut rail is used to hold the strut in place at the top
whereas it rests on a strut base connected to the wall.

Fig. Detail of beam eaves. The Musibaha is the eaves plate that rests on the beam.

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Roof Coverings

Earth has an important practical function in roof construction of both houses and temples. A
stratum of clay is spread on the wooden boarding that forms the steep pitched plane supporting
the tiles.

This system, however useful in the short term, provokes damages to the roofs in the long term
because of humidity, in particular rain, that infiltrates down the wood boarding resulting in the
growth of plant matter and general decay.

In order to resolve the problem, when roofs are restored, layers or bitumen are laid on the wood
boarding before spreading the earth layer

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Case Studies

Traditional Roof of Tripureshwar Mahadev Temple Complex: East Wing

The case study is done on the ongoing reconstruction of the surrounding temple complex. The
architecture style is a traditional Newari style of the Shah period.

History

The temple of Tripureshwar Mahadev was built by the orders of Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari
Devi to memorialize her deceased husband, King Rana Bahadur Shah. Built in 1818 AD, the
temple is about 200 years old, and is the last pagoda style of the Shah period.

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Roof Type

The roof construction is of the beam eaves type, locally called Dhalipakha.

The Attic Space

The headspace for the attic was 1524 mm high, or 5’. The total breadth of the space is 2600
mm or 8’ 6”. Because of such long dimensions, a single piece of timber wasn't enough to span
the breadth, therefore, different timber pieces were used for the central space, and for the tie
beams for the roof.

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Fig. Isometric view of the beam eaves type of roof construction. Source: Newar Towns and
Buildings, Niels Gutschow, pg. 159.

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Beam Details

Fig. A part of the beam is seen from the inside of the wall. Two different pieces of timber is used
due to the length required.

Fig. Elevation of the position of the beams and wall plates

Ridge Details

Fig. Depressions are made on the ridge beam to accommodate for the principal rafters. The
rafters are placed alternatively.

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King’s Post Details

Fig. the ridge beam rests on the king’s post, which has a capitol. The capitol helps handle the
weight of the roof better, and transfers the load to the king’s post.

Fig. The connection joint detail between two base plates and the king’s post is done via a
wooden lap joint. Additionally, screws are used as reinforcing connection between the beam and
the base plate (lakasin)

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Wall plates detail

Fig. The wall is 600 mm thick. The wall plates run through the inner and outer ends of the wall
and are visible on both sides. At intervals, a wooden piece is used to connect the two wall plates
through dovetail joints.

Restoration Process

First, the rafters are installed and wooden planks ( 0.75” or 190 mm thick) are laid. Second, 1/2 “
(127 mm) thick plyboard is laid on top of the wooden planks.

Third, bitumen sheets of 5 mm thickness are laid in order to protect the wooden planks from
moisture and hence, decay. Fourth, a stratum of clay is spread on the wooden boarding that
forms the steep pitched plane supporting the tiles.

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The thickness of the clay ranges from 3” - 5”. Lastly, the Jhingati tiles are laid. Jhingati tiles are
traditional roofing materials made from mud. Because of the mud layer, the roof has to be
constantly maintained as weeds grow on the roof as seen from the picture on the right above.

Roof Detail

Fig. Details of the roof

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Conclusion

To conclude, wood technology is evident in roofing systems of Newari architecture and gives the
architecture its distinct style of a steep roof pitch and large overhanging eaves. The play with
materials between wood, mud, and bricks is done in harmony and is an aesthetically pleasing
design.

Furthermore, the roofs serve not just grandiose aesthetics but they also are climatically suited to
the microclimate of the regions, which goes to show the usefulness of the vernacular technique
as well.

The roof also plays an important role in space allocation and planning, since the construction
technology allows the roof space to be utilized.

The use of earth in roofs result in good insulating properties; however, great care and
maintenance should be done to ensure durability of the Newari roof.

Many structural elements in the roof itself are intricately carved blending functionalism and
aesthetics. For instance, the struts are very deliberate in temples and even showcase gods and
goddesses of their respective religions.

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