Urban Design Methods

And Techniques
By Ayushi Agarwal
M.Arch(MUD)

Vernacular architecture is a category of architecture based on local
needs and construction materials, and reflecting local traditions.
It tends to evolve over time to reflect the
Environmental
Cultural
Technological
Historical Context


The traditional and vernacular buildings are built in response to the
macro-climate and the surroundings.
These buildings are in harmony with the local surrounds, and blend
with the natural and physical environs.
The buildings showcase an optimum use of local materials, giving
them natural color and texture; making them congruous to the natural
topography.
The traditional and vernacular buildings also respond to the
neighboring houses, both visually and spatially.
The local craftspeople play an important role.
They highlight the behavior and beliefs of the residents occupying it,
which comes out through spatial planning and expressions. Apart from
these, the built environment also imbibes the religious and socio-
cultural belief of the community.
Traditional and vernacular
Example
The North East India has always been a fascinating area for travelers
and explorers. The rich heritage there in is exemplified throughout
from the ethnicity, tradition, livelihood, and also by the architectural
typologies. Several distinct architectural features are seen in North
East states, which differ by climate and deep rooted traditions. They
evolved in course of time and were majorly built by the inhabitants
themselves, without any formal training in construction. These houses,
built with locally available materials, were sensitive to the existing
environment and took into consideration the constraints imposed by
the climate.

A typical bamboo house of Assam
Made from organic renewable
resources such as bamboo, mud,
grass, straw, cane leaves, cane
The plinth and the foundation
consists of consolidated earth with
timber or bamboo posts
The walls consist of bamboo
mats, split bamboo
framing, grass, earth, cane leaves
The roof is thatch





A typical wooden house of
Arunachal Pradesh
Bamboo posts driven into ground
Bamboo trusses for sloped roofs
Thatches for roof covering
Bamboo matting for flooring
and walls.
In areas with cloudy and cold climate
such as Arunachal pradesh the walls
are made of wood or stone masonry
to retain inside heat.
Joinery details of bamboo(Bamboo
tie with cane ropes, Dowel and
Tenon joint in bamboo)
Typical wall with weaved
bamboo infill and mud plaster
Diagonal bracing
in bamboo houses
for stability
Stilted Kutccha houses
The stilted kutccha houses or 'chang' is a typology seen in areas of
high precipitation and moisture content both in the air and the soil.
Construction is done mostly with bamboo or wood and thatch for
roofs. These types of houses are prominently seen in states of
Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
A typical stilted house
of Assam
A typical stilted house
of Arunachal Pradesh

High pitched roof Kutccha houses
Stilted Kutccha houses
Assam type houses
Type And Typology
Typology (in urban planning and architecture) is
the taxonomic classification of (usually physical) characteristics
commonly found in buildings and urban places, according to their
association with different categories, such as intensity of
development (from natural or rural to highly urban), degrees of
formality, and school of thought (for example, modernist or
traditional). Individual characteristics form patterns. Patterns
relate elements hierarchically across physical scales (from small
details to large systems).
The term type refers to grouping based on share
characteristics.

The term typology refers to the systematic classification of
the types of something according to their common
characteristics.
Example of type and typology
A model is developed to determine travel times between points in an
urban area with a limited amount of input. The model uses a network
consisting of grid shaped links and high speed, freeway links. The
travel time over the grid shaped links is computed internally using a
macroscopic description of travel velocities and paths. A minimum
time algorithm is applied to the network to find the minimum travel
times between all points in the network.

A test of the procedure showed that the results of the grid travel
time model closely agreed with travel times produced by the
standard detailed network method.
The grid model uses substantially less input and performs its
computations in a very short period of time.
It is possible to develop a model that closely agrees with the
detailed network model with even greater simplification.
The procedure developed seems to have promise for a number of
applications in the transportation planning process.
Travel-time grid
Thank You