Building Mapping: Volume ii

Research and Documentation

Building Mapping

Volume - II

Traditional and Vernacular Building

About Traditional and Vernacular Buildings The traditional and vernacular buildings constitute a major section of built heritage in India. They are the ones which highlight the empirical knowledge of the materials and construction techniques. Moreover, these buildings form a physical compendium of the rituals and culture of a civilization and its people.

Vernacular buildings consist of all the buildings which use locally available materials to address the local needs and surroundings. These materials range from stone to bamboo, earth and wood; helping create a region responsive architecture. These buildings are constructed by local craftspeople, using indigenous technologies which have evolved over the years.

The principles of indigenous building knowledge gradually evolved into more refined systems which, over time, have resulted into the development of various traditional building typologies. The traditional buildings show enhanced use of the locally available materials and are an embodiment of the social systems.

While the vernacular buildings show a simplistic construction system with minimal expressions of the society, the traditional buildings show a developed style of construction and expression. Both the building typologies represent the prevailing social and cultural systems.

Building Mapping Volume-II

Research and Documentation Traditional and Vernacular Buildings

Design Innovation and Craft Resource Centre (DICRC), CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India

List of other TVB projects: The Building Documentation - I (Overview) The Building Documentation - II (Locus) The Building Mapping - I (Overview) The Building Interactive Kit

Funded by:

Š 2014 Design Innovation and Craft Resource Centre (DICRC) CEPT University , Ahmedabad, India.

Government of Gujarat

iNDEXT-c Government of Gujarat

Table of Contents 01) About Building Mapping

01

02

Overview

The Rationale

03 02) Gujarat

03) Uttarakhand

04

04) Himmachal Pradesh

12 16

vi

About Building Mapping

1

Overview The Building Mapping is an approach towards identifying, understanding and developing a detailed inventory for different types of Traditional and Vernacular Buildings, their Elements (Interior Architecture elements, Furniture, Objects and Accessories) as well as the Space Making Crafts (SMC) and Surface Narrative Crafts (SNC) integrated within it; spread across India. The Building mapping process is largely segregated into four major components, namely: Primary Research and Data Collection; Field Work; Categorization and Inventory Management; and Dissemination.

The Building Mapping is a first of its kind visualbased mapping technique in India conducted using interactive mobile tablet survey. It is a process which involves an inclusive system of recording through photographic survey, form based inventory and interviews. A specific mobile application has been developed by the researchers at DICRC to conduct this survey. The data generated out of this mapping process is categorized and it is taken further in preparing an indepth Traditional Building Portfolio (TBP), Traditional Building Elements Catalogue (TBEC) and Interactive Online Map; all being disseminated through various online platforms.

2

The Rationale The Traditional and Vernacular Buildings in India are embedded with empirical knowledge systems, apart from there magnificence. These buildings are in harmony with the local surrounds, and showcase an optimum use of local materials; making them congruous to the natural topography. The empirical knowledge systems, developed by local craftspeople through frugal innovations, have generated indigenous construction techniques and innovative material usage.

These buildings are also a manifestation of the society which constructs it. They highlight the behaviour and beliefs of the residents occupying it, which comes out through spatial planning and expressions.

Until recently, the documentations conducted for comprehending Traditional and Vernacular Buildings have been very nominal in nature.

This creates an imperative need of recording and creating a detailed analysis of the prime specimens of the Traditional and Vernacular Buildings of India.

With this intention at the forefront, DICRC gave rise to the Building Mapping project. The main intention is to create a comprehensive visual data bank about the various Interior Architecture elements, Furniture, Objects and Accessories as well as the Space Making Crafts (SMC) and Surface Narrative Crafts (SNC) related to the traditional and vernacular buildings of India.

This data will act as a valuable educational data to various students, craftspeople, educators, design professionals, conservationist, and all those related to the field of Art, Craft, Design and Architecture.

3

4

Gujarat

5

Overview About the Project

A map of India showing the location of state Gujarat.

Gujarat map showing five different zones

The Building Mapping is an approach towards identifying, understanding and developing a detailed inventory for different types of Traditional and Vernacular Buildings, their elements (Interior Architecture elements, Furniture, Objects and Accessories) as well as the Space Making Crafts (SMC) and Surface Narrative Crafts (SNC) integrated within it; spread across Gujarat. The project was initiated in 2010 and has been funded by Indext-C, Government of Gujarat. Till date, the mapping has been carried out in 26 districts of Gujarat. Within these 26 districts, the DICRC team has mapped 4851 Traditional and Vernacular Elements and 110 houses which are worth documenting. Furthermore, the team has prepared 64 Research Plates on Traditional Houses in Gujarat.

6

North Gujarat

4

3

2 51 6 10

9

Districts Covered Mehsana Patan

8

7

Houses Identified - 48 Elements Identified - 674

1 - Patan Patan District

2 - Sidhpur Patan District

3 - Radhapur Patan District

4 - Santalpur Patan District

5 - Sami Patan District

6 - Chanasma Patna District

7 - Mehsana Mehsana District

8 - Vadnagar Mehsana District

9 - Visnagar Mehsana District

10 - Kadi Mehsana District

7

Central Gujarat Districts Covered

10 9 1 7 8 2 4 5 6 3 11

12

Ahmedabad Gandhinagar Kheda Anand Bharuch Vadodara Narmada Houses Identified - 31 Elements Identified - 2317

1 - Viramgam Ahmedabad District

2 - Sanand Ahmedabad District

3 - Dholka Ahmedabad District

4 - Kheda Kheda District

5 - Nadiad Kheda District

6 - Vaso Kheda District

7 - Mehmedabad Kheda District

8 - Kalol Gandhinagar District

9 - Mansa Gandhinagar District

10 - Dehgam Gandhinagar District

11 - Bharuch Bharuch District

12 - Rajpipla Narmada District

8

Kutch

5

4

2 11

Districts Covered Kutch

10 7 98 6 1 12

Houses Identified - 12 Elements Identified - 12

3

1 - Bhuj Kutch District

2 - Mandvi Kutch District

3 - Nakhatrana Kutch District

4 - Lakhpat Kutch District

5 - Dhordo Kutch District

6 - Gandhi Nu Gaam Kutch District

7 - Ludiya Kutch District

8 - Bhirandiara Kutch District

9 - Tunda Kutch District

10 - Kuran Kutch District

11 - Virani Kutch District

12 - Nani Khakar Kutch District

9

Saurashtra

3 2

5

6 1 8

7

4

Districts Covered Bhavnagar Jamnagar Morbi Junagadh Surendranagar Rajkot Bhavnagar Porbandar Houses Identified - 9 Elements Identified - NA

1 - Rajkot Rajkot District

2 - Jamnagar Jamnagar District

3 - Junagadh Junagadh District

4 - Bhavnagar Bhavnagar District

5 - Porbandar Porbandar District

6 - Morbi Morbi District

7 - Dhrangadhra Surendranagar District

8 - Gondal Rajkot District

10

South Gujarat Districts Covered Navsari Dang Tapi Valsad Surat

4 2 1

1 - Valsad Valsad District

2 - Navsari Navsari District

Houses Identified - 8 Elements Identified - 331

3

3 - Dang Dang District

4 - Tapi Tapi District

11

12

Uttarakhand

13

Overview About the Project

Bageshwar Almora Nainital

Champawat

A map of India showing the location of state Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand map showing the districts covered during the mapping process

This project was intended towards mapping and documentation of the indigenous architecture koti-banal construction prevalent in Kumaon, Uttarakhand, India. The study was divided in two parts. The first trip to Kumaon was to conduct preliminary research and map houses for documentation. The second visit was done with researchers (interior design and architecture students and sociologist) for the actual documentation of three buildings that were mapped. Various methods were adopted for the mapping purpose and ranged from photography to audio-video recordings with the people. This research was funded by Ms. Annemarie Pestalozzi aka Ammaji from Zurich, Switzerland and was initiated in 2009.

14

Places Covered

Almora

Jageshwar

Gallagaon Lower

Sheri

Gallagaon Upper

Devdi Mafi

Sui village

Maneshwar Ashram

Devgadha

Galchada

Bhanar

Dasola

Barakot

Champavat 15

16

Himachal Pradesh

17

Overview About the Project

A map of India showing the Uttarakhand map showing the districts covered during the mapping process

location of state Himachal Pradesh.

The objective of our project is to map, research and disseminate knowledge about one specific locally rooted sustainable building practice called the Kathkhuni construction system in Himachal Pradesh, India. The indigenous traditions of vernacular building in the Himachal Pradesh, India, reflect excellent sustainable building practices using local materials and human resources. Unfortunately, these traditions face erosion due to increasing loss of local building skills and knowledge, and displacement of local natural building materials with growing influx of nonindigenous materials that although cheaper in initial cost are far more expensive in the long run. This traditional building craft system is under pressure due to increasing lack of natural resources like wood. The challenge is to preserve and sustain this building system and local skills by alternate sustainable building materials and techniques. The research is a collaborative project between researchers based in the CRIDA, Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning, The University of Melbourne, Australia, and in Design Innovation & Craft Resource Centre (DICRC) in the Faculty of Design, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India.

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Places Covered

Sangla

Kamru

Sarahan

Rampur

Shimla

Balag

Chitkul

Devigarh

Gavas

Pujarli

Janog

Summerkot

Ghodna

Jubbal

Sainj

Nirmand 19

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For more information visit www.dicrc.in

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Design Innovation and Craft Resource Centre (DICRC), CEPT University, Ahmedabad Contact :+079-26302470 Ext- 380, 381 , email: dicrc@cept.ac.in 26