Vernacular Construction

GARLI, Pragpur, Himachal Pradesh

BAP 102

GARLI
What is Vernacular Construction?
• Climate responsive Latin word Vernaculus means domestic, native, indigenous.
• Local materials Vernacular Architecture: It is an epitome of place to which it
• Local techniques belongs. Can not be imported from elsewhere.
• Indigenous
• Energy efficient
• Of Nature
• Structurally strong
Typical Materials used in
• Culturally relevant Himachal
• Earth/mud
• Stone (Slate)
• Wood (Deodar)
• Bamboo
Himachal Pradesh –Zoning

LAHAUL & SPITI

KANGRA

DRY STONE
MASONRY-HP
CLASSIFICATION OF MOUNTAINOUS REGION IN HIMACHAL
 Challenges of Himachal Pradesh Building Materials

Geographic limitations
• Frequent and Seismic Tremors.
• Problems of soil erosion and land slides.
• Suitable orientation on the hill slopes.
• Existence of tall shoddy trees and dense forest
area, which obstruct the winter sun
Climate
required for the buildings. Characteristic Shivalik zone Mid Hill High Hill Trance
• Limitations on the height of the building due to s Himalayan

earthquake risk. Altitude Upto 2625 ft 2625 to 5300 ft 5300 to 8900 ft 8900 to 11820 ft

• High cost involved in the site development due Type of Area Valley, Foothills Hilly, mountain
ranges
Alpine Lahual, Spiti,
Kinnaur
to the cutting and the filling process. Climatic Sub Tropical Slightly warm Cool Temp, High Dry and

• Non-availability and transportation problems of condition Humidity extremely cold

Rainfall (mm) 1500 1500-3200 1000-1500 500
construction materials
Zone 1: Foot hills- upto 4000 ft-Kangra,
Hamirpur
• Type 1-
• Rammed Earth Construction
• Sun dried mud brick construction
Climate: mild winters, no snow, medium rain

• Stone and Earth for walls

• Stone slabs for flooring and slate stone roofing
• Wooden intermediate floors
• Slope of roof=22.5 deg
• Slate stone nailed to wooden joists
• Walls made of sun dried bricks are about 0.60
– 0.90 mt. thick plastered with mud phuska
Zone 1: Foot hills- upto 4000 ft-Dharamsala,
Kangra
• Type 2-
• Dry stone Construction
Climate: Mild winters, heavy rainfall

• Different sized stones are placed over

each other and compacted without the
mortar. Through stones are used at
regular intervals, a stronger bond is
achieved by interlocking the stone rather
than adding smaller stones in gaps.
• Interior surface may be mud plastered.
• Steeply-sloping roofs and deep
verandahs are necessary, to drain off the
rains quickly
Zone 2: Mid Himalayan upto
9000 ft- Kullu
• Type 1-
• Dhajji Wall Technique
Climate: Mild to chilly winters, heavy rainfall

• Braced timber frame where the

spaces between the bracings and
the frames are filled up with
stone and brick masonry laid in
mud mortar.
Zone 2: Mid Himalayan upto 9000 ft- Kullu
• Type 2- Dove tail joint

• Kath Khuni Technique Beam

Climate: Mild to chilly winters, heavy rainfall

• Braced timber frame where the
spaces between the bracings and
the frames are filled up with
stone and brick masonry laid in Wooden nail

mud mortar.
• Wood used is Deodar
• Floor height 2.1 to 2.4 m high
• Upper floors project out of the
walls as balconies
 Kath Khuni Technique

Lap-jointed wooden members at corner supported by

cantilever
Zone 3: High Himalayan above 9000 ft-
Kinnaur, Spiti
• Type 1-
• Mud Construction at Spiti
Climate: chilly winters, heavy rainfall and
snowfall

• Rammed earth block for walls

beaten earth for flooring
• Thick walls upto 0.60 m wide are
built with by pouring wet mud
mortar and ramming it to make
it compact before pouring
another layer
• Flat roof consisting earth layer
over 6-7 layers of Bitula barks
which are placed over wooden
planks supported by wooden
joists
 Roofing
• Ground floor - The flooring at ground floor level consists of only an
earth fill which is finished with mud slurry.
• Upper floors - Wooden beams are laid across the walls in one
direction only. These are secured in place with mud only. The
distance between the beams is kept small considering the strength
and weight of the overlaying material. Tree branches and wooden
planks are densely laid over them and then a 50 mm thick layer of
mud is spread over it

Walls
• Wall thickness=300 to 500 mm thk made of rammed earth
• Foundation and wall upto 300 to 900mm above ground= made of stone
• A wooden formwork is assembled and kept at place over the stone courses
of the wall. This formwork has two wooden planks laid parallel to each other
at a distance of either 300 or 500 mm and is secured at place by wooden
screws and members
Zone 3: High Himalayan above 9000 ft-
Kinnaur
• Type 2-
• Dry stone construction
Climate: chilly winters, heavy rainfall and
snowfall

• Different sized stones are placed

over each other and compacted
without the mortar. Through
stones are used at regular
intervals, Greater strength is
achieved by layering of the stone
sizes.
Typical Himachal House
Balconies
 Typical roofing

Typical section through house showing the roof

TEMPLE DOOR & FRAME AND CARVED
WOODEN BEAMS
Settlement Patterns

Typical cluster
References
• Mansi Shah and Jay Thakkar; The Himalayan Vernacular: Kath-Khuni Architecture; published in VISUAL AND
MATERIAL ART; Published on: 19 September 2018
• Mansi Shah and Jay Thakkar; Kath-khuni architecture of Himachal Pradesh, India; Published on
slideshare.net; 2014
• Vandana Sharma, Bhanu M Marwaha, Hemant Vinayak, Aniket Sharma; Bio-Climatic Features of adobe
Vernacular Houses of Hamirpur; published in : Sustainable Constructivism: Traditional vis-à-vis Modern
Architecture; NIT Hamirpur; Architecture of Krishi Sanskriti Conference on 26-04-2014
• Sandeep Sharma and Puneet Sharma; Traditional and Vernacular buildings are Ecological Sensitive, Climate
Responsive Designs- Study of Himachal Pradesh; published in International Journal of Chemical,
Environmental & Biological Sciences (IJCEBS) Volume 1, Issue 4 (2013)
• Ankita Sood, Aditya Rahul, Yogendra Singh, Dominik H. Lang; HOUSING REPORT Dry stone construction in
Himachal Pradesh; published by EERI and IAEE; 2013
• Ankita Sood, Aditya Rahul, Yogendra Singh, Dominik H. Lang; HOUSING REPORT Mud wall construction in
Spiti Valley (Himachal Pradesh) ; published by EERI and IAEE; 2012