TOPIC:

•Definition, meaning and historical context of Vernacular Architecture.

• Determinants of Vernacular Architecture.

Submitted By: Anjali Tiwari

M.Arch 1st sem
LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS
 Latin word VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
‘VERNACULUS’

VERNACULAR(n)
Native language Study /design of building
Native speech/ language of a and surroundings.
place; not learned or imposed

मातभ
ृ ाषा /स्थानीय भाषा

SYNONYMS:
•Domestic
•Regional
•Native
•Indigenious
•Informal
•Unbookish/Unliterary

“The architecture of the people, and by the people, but not for the people.
-Paul oliver
Ref.:The Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture

LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

 This architecture is closely related to its context.

Reed house in ma’dan, Iraq Great Mosque of Djenné,Mali Warka village, Cameroon

Definition
•Paul Oliver writes about the need for a more refined definition of the term in his book 
Built to Meet Needs: Cultural Issues in Vernacular Architecture (2006)
•Architecture that encompasses the peoples' dwellings and other constructions, relating to their respective
environments and resources, usually built by the owners or the community, using traditional techniques.
•It is built to meet specific needs, accommodate the values, economy, and lifestyles of a specific culture.

•VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE refers to those buildings made by common builders in an informal way.

•The building knowledge in vernacular architecture is often transported by local traditions and is thus more
– but not only – based on knowledge achieved by trial and error and often handed down through the
generations rather than calculated on knowledge of geometry and physics.

LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

 HISTORICALCONTEXT OF VERNACULAR
Italian Poet Dante Alighieri possibly the 1st to
ARCHITECTURE
argue for promotion of Literature in the
Vernacular.

In 1964 the exhibition “Architecture without

Architects” was put on at the museum of modern
art, New York by Bernard Rudofsky.

It was Rudofsky Bernard who first made and

brought the term ‘Vernacular’ in an
architectural context.

LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

 Culture: way of life,values,folklore etc.
Vernacular architecture has two generative forces
Context: Physical constraints &
INDIAN VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE potentials of a place
North India South India

•Havelis, citadels & palaces of Gujarat & Rajasthan

•Houseboats (Dhungas), Kashmir •Chettinad houses and palaces in Tamil Nadu
•Architecture of Deserts in Gujarat •Bangla & Bungalow, Bengal
•Traditional Goan House

Despite the diversity, Indian Vernacular architecture can be broadly divided into three categories.

KACHCHA
•made of natural materials such a mud, grass, bamboo,
thatch or sticks
•short-lived structure.
•requires constant maintenance and replacement.
•simple beauty.
•construction materials are cheap and easily available & less
labor is required.
Traditional Bhunga huts of Kutch

LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

 PUKKA
• made from materials resistant to wear, such as forms of stone or brick, clay tiles, metal etc.
• durable or long-lived structures
• structures are expensive to construct as the materials are costly and more labor is required.

Bhimakali temple in Himachal Pradesh,

built in Kath-Kuni style of architecture.
SEMI-PUKKA
•Combination of the kachcha and pukka style.
•The semi-pukka, has evolved as villagers have acquired the resources to add elements
constructed of the durable materials characteristic of a pukka.
•Vernacular Architecture always evolves organically as the needs and resources of people
change.
A Toda tribal hut, often compared to
ancient Gavaksha roof and arch.
FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
Vernacular architecture is influenced by a great range of different aspects of human behavior and
environment, leading to differing building forms for almost every different context;
1. CLIMATE & GEOLOGICAL:

• Climatic influences on vernacular architecture are substantial and

be extremely complex.
• Macro –climate effects the vernacular architecture of a place.
• Different forms of shelter for different locations.

LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

 2. CULTURE/COMMUNITY/RELIGION
•The way of life of building occupants
•Social interaction is governed by, and privacy is provided by, the
separation between the structures.
•Occupants often decorate buildings in accordance with local customs
and beliefs.
Mandana paintings are one of the oldest forms
of tribal art in India that has survived over the
ages. Done in Rajasthan & Madhya pradesh.
3. LOCAL MATERIALS
•The local environment and the construction materials it can provide,
govern many aspects of vernacular architecture.
•For instance, areas rich in trees will develop a wooden vernacular,
while areas without much wood may use mud or stone.

Warka village, is a tropical rainforest of Cameroon.

4. TECHNOLOGY ADOPTED
•Construction Techniques – walling materials and construction,
foundations, roofing shape, materials.
•Planning – documented through plans, sectional forms to show how
the internal arrangement of these buildings are done and how they
are revealed on the exterior
•Architectural Detail – windows, staircases, external and internal
Rammed Earth Construction Process using
ornamentation
formwork

LESSONS FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS