Building typologies

AR 6413 – ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 3

MEMBERS:

 PRARTHNA ROY

 KARPAKAM

 KEERTHIDHARAN

 NIHMATHULLA

 PRAVEEN KUMAR S V
What is building typology?

Why is it important to study building

typologies?

What does it building typologies tell us in a

rural context, viz., with respect to form,
materials used, daily life, local traditions and
culture, etc.?
 Building typology is the study and documentation of buildings into

distinct types by characteristics of function or form.

 They can be classified on the basis of form and function.

 Under the functional classification, we have building types such as

hospitals, houses, offices, shops, temples, etc.

 And under classification on forms, we have buildings with different

stories, buildings with/without courtyards, buildings with/without a

complex, etc.
 Documenting a type is the process of discovering and recording the

distinct elements and features of similar forms.

 Usually building types are distinguished by their basic form, site

configuration, and scale, not their specific architectural style, color, or

even precise use.

 They may also be related to the era, the culture, and the environment in

which they arise.

 Most buildings can be easily recognized as belonging to a building type.

 Anyone can begin to identify types simply by observing the common

buildings in a place.

 Architectural and urban designers document types more thoroughly, by

measuring them, dating them, noting similar changes to the type that

arise over time, and identifying their recurring locations in the city.
IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING TYPOLOGIES:
 Building types are critical to architects because they are a starting point

for designing. Typologies often speak for themselves.

 One need not reinvent the form if a common building type, say an office

building, is wanted.

 Most architects develop a sense of common building types over time,

with respect to their approximate dimensions, bulk, site placement, and

internal circulation.
 Historians, anthropologists, and architectural historians use the

documentation of type as a key to other characteristics in a settlement,

for example events, political control, or economic changes.

 As theory tells us, when a type evolves over a period of time, this is an

indication that conditions have changed.

 They can help identify house characteristics by component (which

influences the ability to retrofit), occurrence of existing efficiency

measures, prioritizing, i.e., which groups need most attention, etc.

RURAL BUILDING TYPOLOGIES:
 There are divergent views on what constitutes “rural areas”, where rural “ends”

and urban “begins”. The dividing line is blurred.

 Rural areas are often referred to as those areas outside of the city or urban

boundary or periphery where populations are spatially dispersed.

 Agriculture is the main economic activity that provides job opportunities. In these

areas opportunities for socio-economic development are often limited, leading

to the migration of able bodied individuals.

 These households are often largely dependent on social grants and remittances

from family members working in the cities.

 Rural houses in India are mostly made of non-durable materials taken

from the locality.

 Since India is diverse in her natural resources and geographical

conditions, a large number of building materials are obtained from her

biological and geological sources.

 These are clay, mud, stones, grasses leaves, bamboo and wood.

 These materials are used both for the walls and the roofs of the houses.
 Houses there can be classified as kutcha, pucca and semi-pucca based

on the type of materials and methods of construction used.

 Houses made of non-durable materials are classified as kutcha and those

of durable are pucca houses. Some houses are made of mixed materials.

Such type of houses are known as semi-pucca.

 The design (aesthetic and planning) requirements of the buildings are influenced

by their durability (kutcha/pakka), occupancy, religion, usage (public/private),

facilities, ages, detailing and features, etc.

 Much of the above are influenced by the traditions and culture of the people

and their way of life.

 REFERENCES:
 Typology studies - The Architectural Review.

 A Methodology for documenting housing typologies in moderate –severe seismic

zones – C.V.R Murthy, Durgesh Rai, Hari Kumar, Keya Mitra, Amit K Bose, Hemanth B
Koushik, Aravind Jaiswal, Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla.

 Type and typology in architectural discourse – Yasemin I Guney

 Census of India 2011

 Sustainability of traditional rural mud houses in Tamil Nadu, India: An analysis related to
thermal comfort – A. Madhumathi, J. Vishnupriya, S. Vignesh

 Housing Typologies – Ian Page, BRANZ

 Typology and Design – Andrea Sooyeon Kim

 A study on housing typologies in rural areas of Assam, India - Prachuryya Kaushik,

Praschaya Kaushik

 Housing for Rural India – Samirsinh Parmar