VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF

WESTBENGAL

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 CONTENTS
• Bengal at a glance. `
• West Bengal : Its geography.
• West Bengal : Zonal classification according to
climate.
• Introduction influencing Vernacular architecture.
• Zonal Vernacular architecture :
:Northern Bengal
:Central Bengal
:Southern Bengal
:South West Bengal

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 Bengal At A Glance
• Bengal was split into East and west Bengal.
• East Bengal became the eastern wing,
Bangladesh.
• West Bengal became a state of India with
Calcutta as the capital.
• The state is long and narrow, running from the
delta of the Ganges river system at the bay of
Bengal in the south to the heights of the
Himalayas at Darjeeling in the north.

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 Bengal : Zonal Classification.
According to the climatic conditions
• Northern Bengal(the
hills)

• Central Bengal(the
plains)

• Southern Bengal(the
coast) 4
West Bengal : geography.
• Placed with three
international
frontiers –
Bangladesh, Nepal
and Bhutan.
• The great Himalayas
start a distance of
only 300 miles from
the bay of Bengal
and the coastal
tropical rain forest,
Sundarbans.

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 Vernacular Architecture
• The term vernacular architecture refers to those
buildings made by common builders in an informal
way, rather than by architects using design
methodologies. Even though the idea of the
vernacular in architecture could sound strange to
many, it is not so much, if we consider that 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.
• Despite its being linked to tradition, it could still be
considered a state-of-the-art activity, because it
offers alternatives to conventional architectural
practices that are highly accountable for today’s
energy crisis.

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 FACTORS INFLUENCING
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE.

• CLIMATIC AND
GEOLOGICAL

• LOCAL MATERIAL USED

• TECHNOLOGY
ADAPTED

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 1.NORTHERN BENGAL

CLIMATIC LOCAL MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

& GEOLOGICAL
• SLATE  SLOPED ROOF
 Location • WOOD  SOUTH FACING
WINDOW
 Temperatur • STONE  GREEN HOUSE
 Rainfall • LIME EFFECT
 BUILDING ON
• TILES STILTS
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 MATERIALS AVAILABLE
• SLATE

• WOOD

• STONE

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 MATERIALS AVAILABLE

• TILES

• TIN

• LIME
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 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED
• SLOPING ROOF/CURVED
ROOF

• SOUTH FACING
WINDOWS

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 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED

• GREEN HOUSE EFFECT

• BUILDING ON STILTS

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 2.Central BENGAL

CLIMATIC LOCAL TECHNOLOGY

& GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

 SLOPED ROOF
 Location • MUD/CLAY
 VERANDAH/
 Temperatur • BAMBOO
COURTYARD
e • GRASS  CLEARSTOREY
 Rainfall THATCH/KHAD
 THICK WALLS
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 CLIMATIC AND GEOLOGICAL
• Central Bengal has a tropical climate. The north
is cooler but the humidity is high. The hot season
lasts from march to early June with daytime
temperature ranging from 38 to 45 degree
Celsius
• Winter on the plains is also mild with minimum
temperatures of below 15 degree Celsius
• Rainfall is very rare in winters, the humidity is
thus substantially reduced, making winter a very
pleasant season on the plains.
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 MATERIALS AVAILABLE
• BAMBOO

• THATCH/KHAD

• MUD/CLAY
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 CLASSIFICATION OF RURAL HOUSE
STRUCTURALLY,THE traditional
rural houses may be grouped
in seven types:
1. CHOUSHALA(four rooms on
four raised sides and a uthan
or open space in the middle)
2. BRITIGHAR(the house and
all its rooms fenced within
one boundary)
3. ATCHALA(house with eight
roofs, four over the main
building and four over the
verandas attached on each
sides) 16
 CLASSIFICATION OF RURAL HOUSE
4. POSTAGHAR ( house
constructed on elevated
platform)
5. DISHALA BANDH
GHAR(house of two large
rooms on two separate
platforms and an open
place between them)
6. SUSTHITA GHAR(house
surrounded by verandas
on all four sides)
7. House of the tribal people.
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 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED
• The traditional Bengali dwelling
provided a model for the British
bungalow(BANGLA)
• THE BANGLA was a hut, generally built
with distinctively curved roof also called
as EKABANGLA
• CHARCHALA is a rural hut in west Bangla type structure with
Bengal with 12 sloping sides in the roof in gable ended roof, Tomb
three tiers of Fateh Khan, Qadam
Rusel Complex, Gaur
• JORBANGLA is a twin hut structure
• The walls were generally made of mud,
where mud was not suitable for this
purpose, walls were constructed of
bunches of straw or mats, tied to each
other and to the bamboo frame to form
walls.
Chaitanya Deva Temple at Guptipatra, Burdwan.(late 18th century) 18
 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED
• The frame of a Bangla was
typically constructed entirely of
bamboo, though wood posts and
beams were occasionally used in
the houses of the very wealthy.
• The thatched roof generally
extended beyond the walls to
provide additional shelter from
the rains and one side of the roof
was often extended four or five
feet beyond the wall and
supported by a row of bamboo
poles to create a small veranda.
• Windows when present, were 19
shaded in the same way.
 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED
• In many banglas, the door
was the only opening, this
opening might be covered
with a wooden door which
folded from the side.
• Floors were made of mud
and were generally raised
a foot or two above the
ground to provide some
protection from flooding.
• The size of the huts varied
little, most were between
4×3m and 4x5m 20
 FORM AND CLIMATIC RESPONSE
• Bunglas are always thatched roof and
the walls are sometimes of bricks and of
mats.
• there are curtains over the doorway to
keep out the wind.
• The Europeans adopted almost
universally the simple or elongated
pyramidal roof.
• The corners of the veranda were often
partitioned off as separate rooms for
bathing or sleeping
• Basic form later developed and became
more complex, though the size and
complexity of the floor plan was limited
by the necessity of maintaining airflow 21
 3.SOUTHERN BENGAL

CLIMATIC LOCAL MATERIALS

TECHNOLOGY
& GEOLOGICAL
• RAMMED  SLOPED ROOF
 Location EARTH  BAMBOO
 Temperatur • BAMBOO FRAMEWORK
e • GRASS  NEW TIN
THATCH/KHAD ROOFING
 Rainfall (STRAW FROM  DUABLE GLASS
DRIED PADDY OR THATCHING
WHEET PLANTS) 22
 CLIMATIC AND GEOLOGICAL
• The area has sub tropical
monsoon climate dominated
by heavy summer monsoon
rains
• During summer the maximum
temperature exceeds more
than 40 degree Celsius and in
winter minimum temperature
can drop to about 7.
• Due to heavy storm, followed
by a heavy rain, a large
number of trees get knocked
down and many houses gets
severely damaged
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 MATERIALS AVAILABLE

• THATCH/KHAD

• BAMBOO FRAMEWORK

• RAMMED EARTH
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 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED
• The general building
tradition in the area uses
clay walls plastered on a
bamboo framework or
rammed earth core walls
up to two stories
• The walls support a roof
construction made of
bamboo and covered with
paddy straw with a
thatching of a more
durable grass.
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 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED
• The quality and the
durability of the paddy straw
for thatching has been
reduced, hence the need for
roof maintenance has
increased over the years.
• This has led to the use of
modern concrete based and
brick walls constructions
being used in the few newer
buildings in the rural areas
and more commonly in the
towns.
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 4.SOUTH WEST BENGAL

CLIMATIC LOCAL MATERIALS

& GEOLOGICAL
TECHNOLOGY

• WATTLE
 Temperatur • THICK
• MUD AND WALLS
e
DUNG • SLOPED
 Rainfall
• KHAD ROOF
• THATCHING
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 MATERIALS USED
• THATCH/KHAD

• RAMMED EARTH

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 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTED
• Cottages are small and thatched
with wattle walls finished in a
thick coat of mud and dung mix,
are remarkable more for
decoration than form
• The walls are plastered with
dung and painted annually as a
part of autumn diwali
celebration
• Woman use fingers to cover the
outer wall with paintings such as
imaginary flowers, animals such
as peacocks and elephants and
geometric designs.
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THANK YOU….

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