Vernacular Architecture

1. How to Control Climatic Conditions
By
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
in
Palei, Rajasthan
Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
Assistant Professor
Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
Technical University, Lucknow

2.  Palei is a small village of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is one of the hottest states of India.
 The region experiences more than 45°C during summers and in January which is the
coldest month of the year, the temperature recorded 5°C.
 There has been no year of scanty rainfall in 35 years from 1980 to 2015.
 It is one of the extreme climatic zones for human survival.
 Despite such extreme conditions humans have continuously inhabited the region for
centuries.
 Here, I am discussing, how they people sustain in this climate with their building
construction technology and Vernacular Architecture.
Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
Abstract

3. KEYWORDS
 INTRODUCTION
CLIMATE
SATTLEMENT PATTERN
URBAN PLANNING
ARCHITECTURAL SPATIAL LAYOUT
BUILDING MATERIALS
TRAVEL PATTERN
INFRASTRUCTURE AND SANITATION
RECENT TRENDS
Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh

4. Palei is a village near Newai Tehsil in Tonk district of Rajasthan State, India. It belongs to Ajmer division.
Rajasthan is located in the north-western part of the subcontinent. Aravallis divided Rajasthan into two
geographical divisions. Rajasthan is a vibrant, exotic state where tradition and royal glory meet in a riot
of colors against the vast back drop of sand and desert. It has an unusual diversity in its entire forms –
people, culture, costumes, music, manners, dialects, cuisine and physiographic. That is why it is famous
worldwide.
A raga in music,
Taste in food and
Knots in a pagari,
Are rare accomplishment.
INTRODUCTION
Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh

5. INTRODUCTION
INDIA PALEI
Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh

6. CLIMATE
It has hot and dry climate and one of the hottest places in India which is continuously
inhabited by the human beings.
 The summers are extremely hot and the temperature exceed more than 45°C, posing
challenges for the survival of humans or for that matter any life forms.
 However, the nights in Rajasthan are pretty cool, with the night temperature falling
considerably.
 Summer prevail for almost eight months in a year. As a result sky is clear in most of the
months with 345 sunlight days per year.
 When winter comes, January is the coldest month of the year and the temperature
recorded 5°C.
 It means in winters, days are shiny and the nights are very much cold.
 In monsoon season, there was no rain drop in 2015 and there has been no year of scanty
rainfall in 35 years from 1980 to 2015.
Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh

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Ar. Avitesh

8. SATTLEMENT PATTERN
Palei is a very small village of tehsil, Newai but located very near to it. As an urban center, Palei is
surrounded by outer post fortresses. Some depressed land on upland also. There are many
mohallas because of several casts. The settlement is an aggregate of houses perforated by irregular
pathways and alleys, intermingling and giving rise to junctions with nodal activity. Since the area is
acquired by shopkeepers and houses largely, people have their places of worship too.
N
Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh

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Ar. Avitesh
The settlements are located along with the mount. The significant aspect to the settlement
pattern is that most of them are located at the base of mount.
The tribal population in Palei is concentrated in belts running from east to west.
The site selection for the settlement has also kept on mind that the shadow of the nearby
mountain is cast on them.

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Ar. Avitesh
 In order to decrease the time duration of getting the sun, the settlement is located on slope
of the mountains rather than the plains.
People to escape the heat; they create a wall of big trees surround the village.

11. Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
URBAN PLANNING
Similar to the settlement pattern discussed, Palei is typically located near the mount.
The village is located on the northern slope of the mountain, preventing the settlement
from the Sun. The newer parts are extending on the plains. The highest point of the
Pelai village is occupied by the mountain. The lower part of the settlement is meant for
the houses of the commoners and then the main bazar area. At the name of bazaar
there are three or four shops only.
The street pattern of the
village is such that it neglects
maximum solar penetration,
although the street pattern
appears to be irregular in the
first appearance.
The important streets are
laid in east-west axis while
the intersecting streets are
aligned at 45° to that of
cardinal directions; avoiding
any north–south orientation,
as mutual shading will result
in such a case.

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Ar. Avitesh
ARCHITECTURAL LAYOUT
Most of the houses are single storied buildings. Larger houses are based on courtyard while
smaller ones do not have the courtyard.
All the house are enclosed by walls (outer walls made up of stone and internal walls were
constructed in brick) and has one gate, individual houses their own gate.
One unit has two or three rooms having one veranda, kitchen (open) with store and common
toilet.

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Ar. Avitesh
ARCHITECTURAL LAYOUT
Every house has tree for shade.
Most of houses have eastern and northern entrances.

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Ar. Avitesh
Veranda
In architecture, most frequently, an open-walled, roofed porch attached to the exterior of a
domestic structure and usually surrounded by a railing. The word came into English through the
Hindi varanda, but it is related to the Spanish baranda, meaning “railing,” and thus most likely
entered Hindi via Portuguese explorers of India.” It is 3 side closed space and one side is open
and approachable from the court yard all doors of the rooms open in veranda.
Courtyard
It is usually found in single unit and open from the above so it used for ventilation and light. In
the evening time family members sits together and sleeping in summers.
Khotri/Store
It is usually attached with a room for and there is no
ventilation. It is used for storage purpose.
Kitchen
There are mostly open kitchen connected to verandah,
because of ventilation. All other rooms are usually 3 to 4
m in sizes perhaps due to the limitations of the building
materials and also helping in maintaining a climate
comfort inside. In this houses, windows are not
provided on south face and window is kept closed most
of the times and never opened during summers (mid
day) in order to trap the solar radiation.

15. Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
BUILDING MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
Primary building material is mud and stone available locally.
 Both mud and stone are natural materials and offer climatic comfort in extreme conditions in Palei.
 Mud is used as a plaster for wall. For making roof some other material like grass bamboo thatch or
sticks are also used.
 Stone and bricks are the primary unit of masonry construction. Stones found in various sizes and
bricks usually made in the sizes of 200X100X100 mm they are employed in the construction of walls of
200 or 350 mm thickness.

16. Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
BUILDING MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
These bricks are made from available soil.
 For external walls they use stone mainly and in internal construction they use bricks.
In some cases stone blocks are used in the lower courses of the walls for added strength and
protection against water, especially in low lying areas.
Finally the wall is finished in mud plaster or cement plaster.

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Ar. Avitesh
Different Types of Roof
Roofs are constructed in flat and sloped spans by using stone and I-
section, stone slates and thatch coverings.
Materials use according to family financial condition.

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Ar. Avitesh
Different Types of Roof

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Ar. Avitesh
Different Types of Roof

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Ar. Avitesh
Different Types of Roof

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Ar. Avitesh
Stone (Main Construction Material)
Stone has been used for domestic construction and house wares since prehistoric times and continues
to be used.
Stone was a popular building material from ancient times. It is relatively soft, making it easy to carve.
It has been widely used around the world in constructing temples, homes, and other buildings.

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Ar. Avitesh
Stone (Main Construction Material)
It has also been used for artistic purposes to create ornamental fountains and statues.
Some sandstones are resistant to weathering, yet are easy to work.
This makes stone a common building and paving material.

23. Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
Floor is constructed with bricks with cement mortar, size of brick 200X10X100 mm placed on
bat.
Doors and Windows are made of metal and timber (locally available neem wood).
The frames of doors and windows are made of mostly in stone, which is locally available
material. In the metal window, at the place of the glass they use fiber sheet.

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Ar. Avitesh
For elevation treatment they use mud plaster, stone exposed work, brick exposed work, etc.
They also used brackets for elevation. Stone jali also used for fencing.

25. Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
INFRASTRUCTURE AND SANITATION
This village is struggling to full fill their basic needs. There is no adequate water supply from Municipal
Corporation. People have no option other than own boring to full fill their water requirement. Electric supply
is inadequate as per the requirements of the village and is a major concern. Apart from university area and
few new settlements, overall area of urban comfort is missing. Sanitation of this village is not good. Sewer is
missing 96% of the village.
RECENT TRENDS
Palei is undergoing drastic changes in recent times primarily due to increased educational zone and
industrial area near it and also with traditional architecture. Tourist’s (Students and Industry tourist)
facilities are heavily dependent on electricity for lighting, heating and other purposes. There is a huge gap in
the supply (23 MW) and demand (1 MW) of the power in this Area.
The various types of stones which are used for the
construction are marble, sandstone, kota-stone,
surkhi etc.

26. Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
CONCLUSIONS
Every place on the planet offers challenges with respect to the climatic
conditions while the vernacular and traditional understanding provides
solutions for the same.
Similarly, Palei illustrates a highly evolved traditional understanding of
manipulating the extreme climatic conditions through vernacular
architecture; resulting in the survival of human beings for decades.
The notion of energy efficiency in architecture cannot be implemented
from outside but by incorporating the indigenous techniques.
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.
This knowledge base will help in formulating the best practices in the
Architecture in conjunction with the traditional practices.

27. Presented by:
Ar. Avitesh
Assistant Professor
Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
Technical University, Lucknow