DOCUMENTATION OF KOTI-BANAL ARCHITECTURE

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Dwarka, Delhi – 110075

DOCUMENTATION OF KOTI BANAL ARCHITECTURE 7 VILLAGES IN BARKOT, UTTARKASHI, UTTRAKHAND

LEGEND 1.

STEP UP

2.

WATER SOURCE

3.

CHOWK

4.

ELECTRICITY SOURCE

5.

VILLAGE ENTRY

6.

OLD HOUSES

7.

JAIL

8.

FARMLAND

9.

PUBLIC AREAS

10

PRIVATE AREAS

12

PANCHAYAT

13

SCHOOL

14.

TEMPLE

SMALL OPEN SPACES AROUND THE HOUSE ACT AS SPACES OF CONNECTIVITY , WHERE PEOPLE GATHER AROUND DURING WINTERS. DUE TO THE NORTH ORIENTATION OF THE HOUSES AND THE OPEN SPACES , THESE SPACES RECEIVE RECIEVE AMPLE SUNLIGHT. THE HEIRACHY OF AND DIVISION OF SPCES HAVE BEEN FORMED DUE TO THE STEEP CONTOURS OF THE VILLAGE

THE VILLAGE PLANNING WAS ALONG THE CONTOUR.IT EXPANDED IN BOTH THE DIRECTONS , ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE HILL.

OVERVIEW OF KOTI BANAL STATE

UTTRAKHAND

DISTRICT

UTTARKASHI

SUB DISTRICT

RAJGARHI

NEAREST TOWN BARKOT PINCODE

249141

AREA

1.11KM2

AREA FOREST

0.04KM2

POPULATION

525

DENSITY

473 PER KM

LITERACY RATE 69% EXPLODED VIEW - KOTI BANAL VILLAGE

SEX RATIO

THE OLD CRAFTSPERSON OF THE VILLAGE STILL RESIDED INSIDE THE VILLAGE.THE MANDIR LOCATED IN THE VILLAGE WAS CONSTRUCTED BY THIS CRAFTPERSON AND TOOK ABOUT 11 YEARS TO CONSTRUCT.

1178

KOTI BANAL VILLAGE, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS VILLAGES IN THE DISTRICT , HAS NO PROPER CONNECTIVITY TO THE MAIN ROAD, HENCE DOES NOT HAVE A PROPER ENTRACE. THE VILLAGE IS SITUATED ON NARROW CONTOURS, HENCE THE HOUSES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED IN CLUSTER FORMATION. THE VILLAGE IS CONNECTED THROUGH ITS VARIOUS CHOWKS.THE COURTS OF THE HOUSES SURROUNDING THE CHOWKS ACT AS PUBLIC GATHERING SPACES. THE REGION CELEBRATED DEVLANG FESTIVAL - FESTIVAL OF BURNING THE TALLEST TREE IN THE VILLAGE, WITH GREAT JOY BUT OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME, TREE CUTTING HAS BEEN BANNED BY THE GOVERMENT. THE HOUSES IN THE VILLAGE ARE STILL MOSTLY IN OLD WOOD STONE CONSTRUCTION , BUT WITH THE BAN OF WOOD AND STONE ,RCC HOUSES HAVE BECOME THE NEW NORM AND IS SEEN AS A STATUS SYMBOL

KOTI BANAL KEY MAPS

LEGEND 1.

PRIMARY PATHWAY

2.

SECONDARY

3.

PUBLIC SPACE

4.

PRIVATE SPACE

5.

VOIDS

6.

GATHERING SPACE

THE PRIMARY PATH WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE PATH ALONG WHICH THE MAIN CHOWKS WERE LOCATED.I.T WAS THE MAIN AXIS PATH OF THE VILLAGE.IT WAS FURTHER DIVIDED INTO THE SECONDARY AND TERTIARY PATHS.

VOID MAPPING

PATHWAY MAPPING

THE FAMILY STRUCTURE HAS SHIFTED FROM JOINT FAMILES TO NUCLEAR FAMILIES.THE HOUSES WHICH ARE MOSTLY CONSTRUCTED IN OLD STONE WOOD TILL G+2 , HAVE NOW BEEN DIVIDED , AND EACH FAMILY HAS BEEN ALLOCATED DIFFERENT FLOOR , EACH HAVING A SEPERATE ENTRANCE.THE TOP LEVELS ARE DIFFICULT FOR OLD PEOPLE TO AXIS DUE TO NARROW PASSAGE. THE GROUND FLOOR WAS GENERALLY OCCUPIED BY CATTLE , AS THE DRY HAY HELPED TO KEEP THE HOUSE WARM, BUT WITH INCREASE IN POPULATION THE GROUND FLOOR IS NOW OCCUPIED BY FAMILIES.

VOIDS WERE THE SPACES THAT WERE FORMED BETWEEN THE CLUSTER OF HOUSES. SPACES LIKE THE COURTYARDS , CHOWKS , FARM PATCHES , THAT ACT AS THE MAIN AREAS OF GATHERING AND INTERACTION.

SACLE : 1:1000

THE MAIN AXIS PATH AND THE HIGH LEVEL PLINTH ACT AS MAIN GATHERING SPACES

THE SCHOOL AND HEATH CENTER WERE LOCATED AWAY FROM THE MAIN CENTER.

KOTI BANAL ARCHITECTURE -

KOTI BANAL VILLAGE STUDY

2

IRAK IS A SMALL VILLAGE SITUATED IN THE RAJGARHI TEHSIL OF UTTARKASHI DISTRICT, ABOUT 10 KMS AWAY FROM THE BARKOT DISTRICT IN UTTARAKHAND, INDIA. LOCATED NEAR THE RIVER BANAL, THE VILLAGE FALLS UNDER THE HIGH SEISMIC ZONE. THERE ARE ABOUT 72 HOUSEHOLDS IN THE VILLAGE AND AN AVERAGE OF FIVE PEOPLE PER FAMILY.THE VILLAGE HAS A TOTAL POPULATION OF ABOUT 326 PEOPLE IN WHICH 149(46%) ARE MALE AND 177(54%) ARE FEMALE.74% OF THE WHOLE POPULATION IS OF GENERAL CATEGORY AND 26% BELONGS TO THE SCHEDULED CAST. CHILD POPULATION OF THE VILLAGE IS 15% OUT OF WHICH 40% ARE BOYS AND 60% ARE GIRLS. PEOPLE HAVE BASIC AMENITIES AVAILABLE AT SOME DISTANCES AWAY FROM THE VILLAGE SUCH AS THE HOSPITAL SITUATED 2 KMS AWAY, SCHOOLS PROVIDING ONLY PRIMARY EDUCATION, COLLEGE SITUATED IN THE GADOLI REGION 5 KMS AWAY. ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY, THE VILLAGE DOES NOT EXPERIENCE ELECTRICITY OR WATER SCARCITY AND EACH HOUSE HAS ITS OWN WASTE DUMPING TANK TO COLLECT THE WASTE FROM TOILETS AND IT IS SENT TO THE EXISTING SEWAGE FACILITY;THE HOUSEHOLD WASTE IS BURNT. THE TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE VILLAGE IS KNOWN AS THE KOTI-BANAL ARCHITECTURE. FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSE TYPOLOGIES ARE OBSERVED IN THE VILLAGE BASED ON THE MATERIALS SUCH AS THE STRUCTURES MADE ENTIRELY IN WOOD, SOME IN WOOD & STONE, ACC BLOCKS, BRICK & RCC HOUSES.

IRAK VILLAGE PLAN

LEGEND LIGHTING

WATER RESOURCES

BUILT TYPES

SOLAR STREET LAMPS

RIVER

RCC ROOF

ELECTRIC POLES

WATER TANK

SLATE ROOF-STONE AND WOOD

CONNECTIVITY

ENTIRELY WOOD EXCEPTH STONE PLINTH

BUILDING TYPOLOGY IN THE VILLAGE THE HOUSES MADE WITH WOOD AND STONE TYPOLOGY ARE RIGID AND EARTHQUAKE SAFE. THE JOINTS ARE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO HAVE MOVEMENTS BETWEEN THEM WHICH ALLOW EASRTHQUAKE MOVEMENT. THIS HOUSE IN IRAK VILLAGE HAS SURVIVED 200 YEARS NOW. THE BUILDING HAS THREE LEVELS WITH A BALCONY ON THE THIRD LEVEL. THE CIELING HEIGHTS HAVE BEEN KEPT LOW TO KEEP THE INTERIORS OF THE BUILDING WARM. THE FENESTRATION OF THE BUILDINGS ARE SMALL FOR THE PROPER LOAD TRANSFER THROUGH THE LOAD BEARING WALLS. T

THE HOUSES MADE WITH TYPOLOGY ARE THE ONE OF THE BEST EARTHQUAKE SAFE BUT CANNOT EXCEED MORE THAN TWO TO THREE FLOORS. JOINTS ARE MADE LESS LOAD BEARING. THEY ARE CONSTRUCTED HAVING A STONE FOUNDATION AND WOODEN BEAMS, COLUMNS, DOORS AND WINDOW FRAMES AND ROOF.

NAKKASHI OR WOOD CARVING IN THE HILL STATE OF UTTARAKHAND HAS BEEN AN ELEGANT AND BEAUTIFUL ART WHICH TESTIFIED ITSELF IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE PLACE. NAKKASHI WAS A METHOD OF ORNAMENTATION IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE PLACE AND HAD DESIGNS OF FLOWERS,FISHES, AND ANIMALS.

THE GRANRY WAS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE HOUSE DUE TO THEIR BELEIFS AND TRADITIONS

GROUND FLOOR OCCUPIED BY THE CATTLE , AS THE HAY KEPT THE HOUSE WARM THE HOUSES MADE WITH BRICK AND RCC TYPOLOGY ARE MORDERN CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTED BY THE RESIDENTS. THEY ARE RIGID AND BREAKS DURING EARTHQUIAKE VIBRATIONS.

KOTI BANAL ARCHITECTURE -

IRAK CASE STUDY

3