Vernacular Architecture Module-1

A LECTURE NOTES ON

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
4TH SEMESTER, B.Arch.

Ar. Dillip Kumar Kar

B.ARCH, CET, BBSR; M.ARCH, SPA, NEW DELHI.
Assistant Professor

PILOO MODY COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

CUTTACK

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OBJECTIVE

Efforts and activities related to promotion of Sustainable Architecture are underway,

and this can be reinforced with the knowledge of Vernacular Architecture. Odisha
has a rich treasure of vernacular architecture. The objective is to instill sensitivity
towards the less explored field that is concerned with Architectural building
traditions/practices that are cost effective, ecologically sensible and culturally
relevant. Students acquire a working vocabulary that can help them describe
vernacular architecture in meaningful ways. The course introduces grass root
principles of indigenous architecture that has evolved over time in response to
environment, climate, culture, economy and basic human needs. The course covers
variations in built forms and their environmental performance across different climatic
and geographical regions of India with more emphasis to Odisha. Cases studies of
adaptations of vernacular architecture in contemporary buildings are also covered in
the syllabus.
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MODULE -1

INTRODUCTION TO VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

• Definitions and theories,
• Categories,
• Contextual responsiveness
1. Climatic,
2. Geographical,
3. Anthropological and Cultural influences
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INTRODUCTION

The term Vernacular is derived from the Latin word vernaculus, meaning "domestic,
native, indigenous”. Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of
construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local
needs. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the
environmental, cultural and historical context in which it exists. It is an indigenous
architecture with specific time or place (not imported or copied from elsewhere). It is
most often used applied in residential buildings.

It can be contrasted against polite architecture which

is characterized by stylistic elements of design
intentionally incorporated for aesthetic purposes
which go beyond a building's functional requirements.

“VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE refers to those buildings

made by common builders in an informal way, rather
than by architects using design methodologies.”

Only 10 percent of the buildings in which we live or

work are designed by architects, and a huge 90
percent of the world's architecture is vernacular.
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DEFINITION:

 Vernacular architecture is a category of architecture, based on localized

needs and construction material, and reflecting local traditions.
 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.
 Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental,
cultural, technology, and historical context in which it exists.
 Vernacular architecture is the simplest form for addressing human needs

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THEORIES:

According to R.W. Brunskill …...

•...a building designed by an amateur, without any training in design; the individual
will have been guided by a series of conventions built up in his locality, paying little
attention to what may be fashionable. The function of the building would be the
dominant factor, aesthetic considerations, though present to some small degree,
being quite minimal. Local materials would be predominantly used and other
materials being chosen and imported quite exceptionally.”

DIFFERENT FORMS OF VERNACULAR STYLE

In contrast to planned architecture by architects, the building knowledge in

vernacular architecture is often transported by local traditions and is thus more - but
not only - based on knowledge achieved by trial and error and often handed down
through the generations rather than calculated on knowledge of geometry and
physics.

An early work in the defense of vernacular was Bernard Rudofsky's 1964 book
Architecture without Architects: a short introduction to non-pedigreed architecture.
The book was a reminder of the legitimacy and "hard-won knowledge" inherent in
vernacular buildings, from Polish salt-caves to gigantic Syrian water wheels to
Moroccan desert fortresses, and was considered iconoclastic at the time.

Hama - The City of Water Wheels:

Seventeen large water wheels continues to operate on the River Orontes
• Noria is a “device for raising water”
• In Syria the water Wheels are also known as “the wailer” for wailing sound
generated during the operation of the wooden wheels.
• Water wheel was the sole technology enabling humanity to harness large amounts
of energy.

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Hama - The City of Water Wheels

Morrocon - Desert Fortresses

 Fortified village – commonly called
as Kasbahs with mall windows, built
high and close to each other.
• Kasbahs are a skillful adaptation to
the harsh climate in the hot-arid
region.
 Layout of the Kasbahs, height,
orientation, the use of materials
plays a major role in the
temperature regulation inside.

The more recent book Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World

published in 1997 by Paul Oliver of the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development,
argued that
“Vernacular architecture, given the insights it gives into issue of environmental
adaptation, will be necessary in the future to ensure sustainability in both cultural and
economic terms beyond the short term."
Oliver also offers the following simple definition of vernacular architecture: "the
architecture of the people, and by the people, but not for the people. “

The Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World defines vernacular

architecture as:
“...comprising the dwellings and all other buildings of the people. Related to their
environmental contexts and available resources they are customarily owned- 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…….”
Christopher Alexander, in his book a Pattern Language, attempted to identify
adaptive features of traditional architecture that apply across cultures.

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Howard Davis's book The Culture of Building details the culture that enabled several
vernacular traditions.

Frank Lloyd 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”.

Hassan Fathy in the design of the town of New Gourna near Luxor incorporated the
traditional mud brick vaults of the Nubian settlements.

Bernard Rudofsky first used the term vernacular in an architectural context, labeled it
“vernacular, anonymous, spontaneous, indigenous, rural, as the case may be”.

Geoffrey Bawa is considered the pioneer of regional modernism in South Asia. Along
with him, modern proponents of the use of the vernacular in architectural design
include Charles Correa, Balkrishna Doshi, Sheila Sri Prakash, Indian architects and
Muzharul Islam and Bashirul Haq, internationally known Bangladeshi architects.
These architects have used vernacular architecture as an inspiration for innovations in
environmental and socioeconomically sustainable design and planning.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

1. Climatic & geological

2. Local materials used
3. Technology adopted

1. CLIMATE & GEOLOGICAL

•One of the most significant influences on
vernacular architecture is the macro
Climate of the area in which the building is
constructed.
•Climatic influences on vernacular
architecture are substantial and can be
extremely complex.
•The man-made elements interact with the
natural microclimate to determine the
factors affecting comfort in the built
environment: light, heat, wind, and
humidity.

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• Vernacular architecture provides shelter and comfort with the evolution of craft
passed down through generations.
• 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.

MATERIAL:
•The type of structure and materials used for a dwelling vary depending on how
permanent it is.
• Permanent dwellings often offer a greater degree of protection and shelter from
the elements.
• Over time, dwellings‘architecture may come to reflect a very specific geographical
locale.
• To this must be added the building materials, surface textures and colors of
exposed surfaces of the buildings, and the design of open spaces, such as
streets, courtyards, gardens, and squares.

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ENVIRONMENT & MATERIAL:

• The local environment and the construction materials it can provide govern many
aspect of vernacular architecture.
• Areas rich in trees will develop a wooden vernacular, while areas without much
wood may use mud or stone.
• Vernacular, almost by definition, is sustainable, and will not exhaust the local
resources.
•From igloos to bamboo houses, from stone cottages with thatched roofs to
terraced, white concrete roof decks, people create shelter and comfort in unique
structures in response to their location on the globe.

Vernacular architecture as comprising buildings related to their environmental

contexts and available resources, utilizing traditional technologies

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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.
• Culture also has a great influence on appearance of the vernacular buildings,
as occupants often design their buildings in accordance to local customs and
belief.

REGIONAL VARIATION :
• Building material depends on
location.
•In hilly areas rocky rubble, ashlar, mud
mortar to form walls.
•Houses on hills usually have two stories,
with the livestock living on the ground
floor.
•The roof is pitched to deal with the
monsoon season and the house may sit
on raised plinths or bamboo poles to
cope with floods.

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TYPES OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE:-

1. DOMESTIC 2. AGRICULTURAL
3. INDUSTRIAL 4. RELIGIOUS

DOMESTIC VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE:

Comprises of the buildings designed for living (activity participated by the entire
family such as eating, sitting, sleeping, storage etc,) and the ancillary buildings such
as wash area, kitchens, stores etc.
It also includes private houses used for domestic accommodation, rest houses and
shops where domestic activities predominated over the commercial.
A distinction is also made between the domestic vernacular of the countryside
(mainly farming) and that of the urban (mainly commerce).

AGRICULTURAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Comprises of all the buildings of the

farmstead apart from the farm house and
its domestic ancillaries, stables, poultry
shed, cart shed etc.

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INDUSTRIAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Comprises of all the buildings which houses industrial related activities such as wind
and watermill, corn and lime kilns, potteries etc.

RELIGIOUS VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Comprises of all religious buildings such as temples, churches, mosques etc.

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