VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

RAJASTHAN AND
GUJARAT

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

AR.JANMEET KAUR BHUPINDER.(15120010)
PARDEEP KUMAR.(15120029)
 VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

architecture
characterised by the use
of local materials and
knowledge, usually
without the supervision
of professional
architects. Vernacular
buildings are typically
simple and practical,
whether residential
houses or built for other
purposes.
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
OF RAJASTHAN
 STATE_RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan is a state in
northern India. The state
covers an area of 342,239
square kilometres or 10.4
percent of the total
geographical area of
India. It is the largest
Indian state by area and
the seventh largest by
population.
 PROFILE_RAJASTHAN

The state was formed on

30 March 1949 when
Rajputana – the name
adopted by the British
Raj for its dependencies
in the region– was
merged into
the Dominion of India.
Its capital and largest
city is Jaipur. Other
important cities
are Jodhpur, Kota, Bikan
er, Ajmer and Udaipur.
 CLIMATE_RAJASTHAN

Temperature and Rainfall

January to March
50F - 80F
10 degree C - 27 degree C
4MM - 7MM
April to June
75F - 105F
24 degree C - 45 degree C
11MM - 30MM
July to September
70F - 95F
21 degree C - 35 degree C
100MM - 165MM
October to December
55F - 85F
13 degree C - 30 degree C
3MM - 8MM
These are average temp and rainfall of Rajasthan, and may vary for each
city.
 HISTORY OF_RAJASTHAN
ARCHITECTURE
MĀRU-GURJARA
architecture (Rajasthani architecture)
originated in the sixth century in and
around areas of the state
of Rajasthan in India during Gurjara
Pratihara Empire.
The name Maru Gurjara has its
genesis in the fact that during ancient
times, Rajasthan and Gujarat had
similarities in ethentic, cultural and
political aspects of the society. Ancient
name of Rajasthan
was Marudesh while Gujarat was
called Gurjaratra.
"Maru Gurjara art" literally means "art
of Rajasthan".
MĀRU-GURJARA ARCHITECTURE

Māru-Gurjara
Architecture show the
deep understanding of
structures and refined
skills of Rajasthani
craftmen of bygone
era. Māru-Gurjara
Architecture has two
prominent styles
Maha-
Maru and Maru-
Gurjara.
MATERIALS USED

BAJRA WASTE CLAY SAND

MATERIALS USED

KEJRI AKANDA PLANT

BUSHES
MATERIALS USED

KOTA STONE FOR FLOORING LIMESTONE FOR BINDING

NATURAL STONE RUBBLE MASONRY

 ELEMENTS
 BASIC FEATURES:

 Courtyard to support ventilation.

 Big windows with low sill.
 High ceiling to increase comfort levels.
 The right half is the public zone or men’s area, which belonged to the head
of the family.
 The left half is the private zone with study, bedrooms specially for the ladies,
kitchen and dinning.
• Ornamentation had always been a part of the state’s
architectural heritage, now it became much more opulent.

• The private wings of the family also extended their entertainment areas. Since
defence was no longer a primary concern, larger, more ornamental windows
were built to over look the streets or courtyards outside these wings.

• Gardens were no longer planned within the internal courtyards only, but were
added to the external vistas, and water, a basic feature of Mughal palaces and
gardens, was utilized in a similar fashion, in canals and fountains.
ELEMENTS
TYPICAL ZONING IN AHIGH PROFILE
HOUSE
DESIGNING AND PLANNING:
•The house stands well in approxmately square plan with nearly
55% of carpet area.

•The plan well facilitates the need of the family and the customs
they follow.
FEATURES:
-Courtyard house.

-Mirror image along central axis

into halves.

-Two flights of stair case.

-First floor construction in three

parts.

-Bedroom on southwest.

-Pooja & study in north.

-Guest room & servants quarter

in east.
ELEVATION:
• As the building was built in the colonial period it reflects the elements
of influence like the pillars & the arches.

• The façade is colored white blended with Jaipur style.

SECTIONS
Arches with stone columns and brackets
with jaipuri carved jalis

Big windows with ventilators.

 First Floor
Terrace

Typical Staircase in Jaipur

 The courtyard is the core area
of the house hold activities
with circumferential verandah
and aid in light and
ventilation.

Ventilators in a
Room
 As told the cornice are painted with
flowers and leaves design in vegetable
and natural colors.

There are large windows with

low sill for ventilation is also
typical to hot climate.
The rooms in the façade are chamfered at 45, and forms two
octagonal volumes vertically, which is unique to Jaipur and can be
seen in many buildings of the old city as in Hawa Mahal.
• The north is along the diagonal.
• It is a south west facing with maximum fenestrations.
• North east is guarded by biulding beyond and courtyard
in north east.
FOUNDATION AND ROOM SIZE RESTRICTIONS:

Foundation 12’ deep, of stone slabs resting on walls.

• As the roof was made up of stone slab so the room size was
restricted to 10’, where ever required to increase the size of room
iron girders were used as beams.
TRADITIONAL HOUSE IN
CHANDPOLE

JAIPUR
 FEATURES
 Built in the early 1900s as the city house for the kalwar family,
the house bears distinct signs of that era.
 Being a royal family that had a fort and a village named after
them, the city house had to be grand as well as big to
accommodate the extended family.
 The kalwar house is very cleverly divided into two main zones:
 The public area (ground floor)
 The private or family activity areas (upper floors).

 This particular kind of zoning was basically done for two major
reasons:
 Keeping professional and private lives separate.
 Keeping the women folk safe and secure and away from the
public eye. This was done according to the cultural mindset of
the people at those times.
 ELEVATION

• The impressive façade of the kalwar house further marks the

importance of the occupants.
• The numerous windows and jaalis present in the upper floors acted
like a purdah for the women as well as a statement of importance.
• The ground floor is mostly public- as the area was meant for
business and work related interactions.
• The upper floors are predominantly private as the women were
scarcely allowed to come out in the open and interact.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
AMER PALACE
 AMER FORT
• Amer Fort) is located in Amer (a town with an area of 4 square
kilometres
(1.5 sq mi), 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India.
• It is one of the principal tourist attractions in the Jaipur area, located
high on a hill.Amer Fort was made by Meenas king Raja Alan Singh
Chanda later occupied by Kachhawa rajput .
• CHARACTERISTIC:
• Amer Fort is known for its artistic style, blending both Hindu Rajput
elements.
• The fort with its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths,
overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront.
• The aesthetic ambiance of this formidable fort is seen within its walls
on a four level (each with a courtyard) layout plan in well turned out
opulent palace complex built with red sandstone and marble
consisting of the Diwan-e-Aam or the "Hall of Public Audience", the
Diwan-e-Khas or the "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal
(mirror palace) or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool
 LAYOUT
• The fort is divided into four main sections each with its own
entry gate and courtyard.
• Main entry is through the Suraj Pole (Sun Gate) which leads to
Jaleb Chowk, which is the first main courtyard.
• This was the place where armies would hold victory parades
with their war bounty on their return from battles, which were
also witnessed by the Royal family women folk through the
latticed windows.
• This gate was built exclusively and was provided with guards as
it was the main entry into the palace.
• It faced the eastern direction towards the rising Sun and hence
the name.
•
1. Suraj Pol (Victory) Gate 4. Diwan-i-Am 7. Suk Mandir
2. Jaleb Chowk 5. Jas/Jai Mandir 8. Baradari
3. Shiva Devi Temple 6. Ganesh Pol 9. Zenana
 FORT
Second courtyard

• The second courtyard, up the main stairway of the first level

courtyard, houses the Diwan-i-Am or the Public Audience Hall.
Built with double row of columns, the Diwan-i-Am is a raised
platform with 27 colonnades, each of which is mounted with
elephant shaped capital with galleries above it. As the name
suggests, the Raja held audience here to hear and receive
petitions from the public.
 AMER FORT
THIRD COURTYARD
• The third courtyard is where the private quarters of the
Maharaja, his family and attendants were built.
• This courtyard is entered through the Ganesh Pol or Ganesh
Gate, which is embellished with mosaics and sculptures.
• The court yard has two buildings, one opposite to the other,
separated by a garden laid in the fashion of the Mughal
Gardens.
• The building to the left of the entrance gate is called the Jai
Mandir, which is exquisitely beautified with glass inlaid panels
and multi-mirrored ceilings.
• The mirrors are of convex shape and designed with coloured foil
and paint which would glitter bright under candle nights at the
time it was in use.
• Also known as Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), the mirror
mosaics and coloured glasses were "glittering jewel box in
 FORT
FOURTH COURTYARD

• The fourth courtyard is where the Zenana (Royal family

women, including concubines or mistresses) lived. This
courtyard has many living rooms where the queens resided and
who were visited by the king at his choice without being found
out as to which queen he was visiting, as all the rooms open into
a common corridor.
• The queen mothers and the Raja’s consorts lived in this part of
the palace in Zanani Deorhi, which also housed their female
attendants. The queen mothers took deep interest in building
temples in Amer town.
• Jas Mandir, a hall of private audience with floral glass inlays
and alabaster relief work is also located in this courtyard
 CONCLUSION

1. Tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental cultural and

historical context in which it exists.
2. Provides desired comforts.
3. Being energy efficient.
4. Withstand the climate.
5. Transported by local traditions.
6. Traditional buildings are the unconscious expression of people’s
culture and the outcome of man’s interaction with the nature.
7. The walled city of Jaipur is in its transition phase and considering
the growing population and its relative demand, there is an urgent
need to focus on conserving its overall character and with provision
of basic infrastructure facilities to its residents.
8. The Havelis of Jaipur is facing several crisis related to Congestion,
pollution, energy losses and dilapidation.
9. Majority of the issues faced by these Havelis of Jaipur are
unplanned transformation, misuse of heritage properties.
10. traffic congestion, haphazard parking, encroachments by informal
sectors, solid waste management, etc.
 REFERENCES

1. Alam, D. M. J., Ahsan, R., Akhter, F., & Paul, A. (2008). Earthquake Resistant Non-Engineered Building
Construction for Rural Area in Bangladesh. Proceedings of the 14th World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, Beijing, China , (2003).
2. Chandran, G., Thomas, G., J, J. R. P., Paul, M., Thomas, R., & Jose, S. (2015). Mud HouseTechnology, 5(12),
1–6.
3. Felix, M., & Elsamahy, E. (2017). The Efficiency of Using Different Outer Wall Construction Materials to
Achieve Thermal Comfort in Various Climatic Zones.
4. Energy Procedia, 115, 321–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.05.029 Goyal, P. K., Datta, T.
K., & Vijay, V. K. (2012).
5. Vulnerability of rural houses to cyclonic wind. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the
BuiltEnvironment, 3(1), 20–41. https://doi.org/10.1108/17595901211201114
7 Kumar, A., Foundation, L., State, D., View, R., Development, I. U., View, B., & Kumar, A. (2017). Policy
Imperatives for Rural Housing in India, (November).
8 Kumar, D. (2014). Low Cost Earthquake Resistant Housing Construction in India, (5), 18–20.
9 Kumar, N. (2014). Technological Solution for
Sustainable Rural Housing by 2022, 7–15.
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
OF GUJARAT
 STATE_RAJASTHAN

Gujarat is a state on the

western coast
of India with a coastline
of 1,600 km (990 mi) –
most of which lies on
the Kathiawar peninsula
– and a population in
excess of 60 million. It is
the fifth largest Indian
state by area and
the ninth largest state by
population.
 PROFILE_RAJASTHAN

After the independence of

India in 1947, the Indian
National Congress (INC)
ruled the Bombay
State (which included
present-day Gujarat
and Maharashtra).
Congress continued to
govern Gujarat after the
state's creation in 1960.
 CLIMATE_RAJASTHAN

The winters are mild,

pleasant, and dry with
average daytime temperatures
around 29 °C (84 °F) and
nights around 12 °C (54 °F)
with 100 percent sunny days
and clear nights. The
summers are extremely hot
and dry with daytime
temperatures around 49 °C
(120 °F) and at night no lower
than 30 °C (86 °F).
 HISTORY OF_GUJARAT
ARCHITECTURE

The Bhonga is a traditional

construction type in the Kutch
district of the Gujarat state in
India.
A Bhonga consists of a single
cylinderically shaped room .
The Bhonga has a conical roof
supported by cylinderical walls.
Bhonga construction has existed for
several hundered years.
This type of house is quite
durable and appropriate for
prevelant desert conditions.
 BHONGA ARCHITECTURE

Masonary wall is made of adobe blocks and plaster is also from mud
covered by cow dunk , lime etc.
Roof is made of bamboo / wooden framework covered with thatch.
 CLIMATE
The thick walls, made
of mud, keep the
interior cool when the
temperature rises to
40+ degrees Celsius
in summer and warm
when it drops below 5
degrees in winter.
 SETTLEMENT DESIGN

WOMEN
AND
ROOM CHILDREN
FOR MEN
VERANDA
FOR MEN

GATHERING
SPACE
STORE

KITCHEN
Plinth(otla) –
• Define the domain of the home and the place for outdoor
activities.
• Water does not enter in house in rainy season.
• About 500mm high.
Rooms are not attached to avoid cracks because cracks may
cause serious damage during earthquake.
It performed very well in the
recent M7.6 Bhuj earthquake in
2001. Very few Bhongas
experienced significant damage
in the epicentre region, and the
damage that did occur can be
mainly attributed to poor
quality of the construction Gravity
materials or improper load
maintenance of the structure. It Over
has also been observed that the vertical
failure of Bhongas in the last wooden
earthquake caused very few Post
injuries to the occupants due to outside
the type of collapse.
Bhungas are connected through plinths and circulation is also
carried out in that way.. A cluster of bhunga is built on one plinthus
ually the cluster contains settlements of one whole family
SETTLEMENT DESIGN
Settlement design
Ludia region, Kutch
Settlement design
Ludia region, Kutch
Construction Techniques generally used “COB”. In these methods
a large Lump is roughly moulded into the shape of a huge
elongated egg.

The usual size is anything between 12 to 18 inches. 30-40cm long and 6 inches in
diameter.
A row of these cobs of mud are laid nearly side by side. Preferably somewhat
pressed together. Then another row of cobs is laid on top.
 Building technique
When three or four courses have been laid, one above the other, the
sides are smoothened over so that the holes and cracks disappear.
Urban form
Keeping building typology in
mind people are using modern
materials and construction
techniques , making it more
compact.

Local resorts are of same

building typology.
Urban form

Providing multiple
floors
and function to it.

Modern
houses
INTERIORSAND DECORATION

Rural art on walls

 CONCLUSION
1. the architecture of kutch region relates to the socio-economic setup, the cultural identities and
a good climatic responsiveness.
2. a good number of climate responsive design features are revealed during the study of the
traditional architecture including temperature control.
3. however certain features that lack in the traditional housing are mostly fire proneness and
termite infestation due to usage of non- treated material and lack of damp proofing.
4. The architecture of Kutch region relates to the socio-economic setup, the cultural identities
and a good climatic responsiveness.
5. Enhancing natural ventilation, protection from natural calamities such as flood, earthquake
etc.
6. However certain features that lack in the traditional housing are mostly fire proneness and
termite infestation due to usage of non- treated material and lack of damp proofing and use of
non- stabilized soil for construction too pose problems like dampness of walls and washouts
during rainfall.
7. The notion of energy efficiency in architecture cannot be implemented from outside but by
incorporating the indigenous techniques.
8. Indigenous techniques are time-tested and sustainable. Thus, greater emphasis should be laid
upon the documentation and research of indigenous techniques to generate a repository of
knowledge.
9. This knowledge base will help in formulating the best practices in the Architecture in
conjunction with the traditional practices.
10. Withstand the climate.
REFERENCES
www.mapsofindia.com
www.asanjokutch.com
www.gujaratcrafts.com
www.wikipedia .com
www.indiancrafts.com
www.timesofindia.org
http://www.slideshare.net/bhavivador/thesis-on-earth- architecture
http://www.isaet.org/images/extraimages/P913008.pdf
Tenconi, Diana. "Links between Building Technologies, Post-Disaster
Reconstruction, and Gender Roles in Gujarat", Post-Disaster
Reconstruction and Change Communities Perspectives, 2012.

http://www.idc.iitb.ac.in/dsource/comment/reply/4616

http://www.spabhopal.ac.in/devrsiinfo.aspx
THANK-YOU