BUILDING CRAFT OF MIYAR VALLEY, HIMACHAL PRADESH

BUILDING CRAFT Miyar valley

HIMALAYA 1:1

1 NITIKA NEGI

LIST OF CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION 2. ARCHITECTURE OF MIYAR VALLEY 3. MATERIALS USED FOR CONSTRUCTION 4. WOOD CRAFT

5. STONE CRAFT 6. MUD CRAFT 7. TOOLS 8. CASE STUDIES 8.1CONSTRUCTION DETAILS 9. INTERVIEWS 10. HAND CRAFT AND HANDLOOM 11. CULTURAL STUDY 12. BUILDING TYPOLOGY 13. BUILDING ELEMENTS 14. ISSUES AND BENEFITS OLD AND NEW BUILDINGS

15. CONCLUSION 16. RECOMMENDATION

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1. INTRODUCTION Building craft of Any region is a reflection of its environment, people and traditions. To understand the building craft of a particular region one must understand the place , space, people and their relationships. The place, space, people are the three element of the building craft which plays an important part in designing a certain buildings in a certain way.

Understanding of Place which means understanding the topography, climatic conditions and amount of vegetation etc. of the place. It is important to understand the physical state and condition of the place before

anyone starts building. Similarly the understanding of material availability for construction, the technologies used for construction based of climate condition of the place is important. Spaces are created by the daily ritual or activities followed by the local people. For example in the typical Kath-Khuni a architecture the ground floor is used as a cattle shed its floor to floor height is lesser due to height of the cattle and to trap the body heat of the cattle which will keep the first floor warm during winter where people live. The Kath-Khuni architecture wont be feasible in places like Delhi and any other places in India because of there are different types of building craft based on the relationship of place, space, people.

The Miyar valley contains a large no. of traditional houses which are made by locally available materials. But the small wave of tourism seems to be altering the architecture of the place. The new rcc structure is popping up slowly can be seen in Villages which have direct access to the road. The up coming problem is the changing landscape and essence of the place by tourists who will be coming sooner or later.

My Aim here is to find the design solution for the traditional building as well as up coming new buildings so that the traditional architecture and essence of the village wont disappear in fast moving

modern world.

URGOSE VILLAGE, MIYAR VALLEY

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2. ARCHITECTURE OF MIYAR VALLEY The building craft of Miyar valley is completely different then the other region of Himachal Pradesh. The construction techniques are much similar to both kath-Kohna and the mud architecture of spiti valley But not that refined and clean. In traditional building of miyar valley The stone and wood are used as it is without refining them. In kath –Kohna the stone and the timber beam are repeated in a certain defined intervals but in Miyar valley it seems to be more organic.

Most of the people of Miyar valley are Buddhist but the houses of the place don't reflect the decoration and Buddhist architecture unlike Spiti valley. The building of the Miyar valley is rather simple and organic. Even the typical traditional building elements like doors, windows, column and beams are kept simple without ornamentations. According to locals it is said that the Hinduism came first from the central and lower region of Himachal and then followed by Buddhism from the upper region of the Himachal. its is clear that the architecture of the place is mixed of both regions.

The climatic condition is one of the factor which lead into a difference in building craft of the place then the upper and lower region of Himachal Pradesh. Miyar valley is not as dry as Spiti valley neither as wet as central Himachal. The use of just a dry stone construction or just a mud construction wasn’t that helpful.

KATH-KHUNI ARCHITECTURE

DRY STONE AND TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

MUD ARCHITECTURE

MUD CONSTRUCTION

ARCHITECTURE OF MIYAR VALLEY

STONE, MUD AND TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 4

3. MATERIALS USED FOR CONSTRUCTION Now a days there are wide range of materials available in market. But the most common materials which are used in cities and town are brick, concrete structure, cement etc.. But when road opened up in Miyar valley the local people too got an access to these materials. There was a time before road entered the villages the building was made by villagers itself and the access to the timber and stone where free. Each and every materials have there advantages and disadvantages. But at a given condition, choosing a right material is very important.

THEN

NOW

I.

I.

WOOD was used mainly for Interior decoration ,windows ,doors ,shelves , supporting system of

II.

REINFORCED

CONCRETE

supporting system of buildings

buildings.

II.

STONE - Wall, Roof edging

III. CONCRETE BLOCKS - Wall

III. MUD

- Plaster, Mortar and in flat roof .

CEMENT

BRICKS – Wall

IV. GI SHEETS – roofing

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4. WOOD CRAFT Wood played an important role in the building it was used extensively in traditional old houses before the forest rule came in. Before the forest rule the timber was freely available for villagers. Wood is also used for fire. The fire wood is collected from forest during summer and used during winters. The fire wood is stored in open area so that the wood get dry itself till winter.

USES OF WOOD • Structural and supporting system of the building, • Doors • Windows • Flooring • Roofing structure • Shelves.

USE OF WOOD AS A STRUCTURAL SYSTREM

5. STONE CRAFT Stone is a material used in load bearing wall structure.

They are usually 500mm thick and bonded together with the wooden beam in regular intervals and mud mortar used in between the stones.

USES OF STONE • Structural and supporting system of the building, • Roofing structure

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STONE MASON AND THE BUILDING WITH STONE WALLS

6. MUD CRAFT Mud is a material used as a plaster and as a mortar (25mm thick). Due to weak mud quality the maintenance takes a lot of time.On exterior the mud was kept exposed but in interior it was finished with cow dung.

• Mud+ Cow dung+ Sudi (dried leaf of deodar tree) USES OF MUD • Finishing of the exterior and interior.

• Roof top.

• Plaster and mortar.

STONE MASON AND THE BUILDING WITH STONE WALLS 7

7. TOOLS 7.1 TOOLS USED FOR WOOD

CHE-SAW Wood cutting

SUTH Marking the line.

SKINGER Stick the wooden log together

KHIS Marking on the wood.

RANDA Chiselling the timber.

KANASI AND OTHER TOOLS

5.2 TOOLS USED FOR STONE I. BIG HAMMER (MARTOL) / SMALL HAMMER (Thodi) Used to hit the Chisel by force to break the stone.

II. CHISEL Chisel of various size are used based on the requirement.

BEFORE

NOW

STONE MASON CUTTING THE STONE. 8

8. CASE STUDY 1

8.1 HOUSE OF SEHDAVE

The house is 60 year old the foundation of the house was laid by the father and grandparents of current owner. The house has been gone in different transition and layers of construction from 60 year. The lower two floors were built first then the upper most floor was done 10 year back and the owner of the house want to convert the upper floor rooms into homestay.

The ground floor is been used as a cattle shed or coop shed (Bhong). The first floor is a living room, the

kitchen and dinning combined together and one bed room. The second floor have a house temple called Chortain in local language and three rooms out of them two are for home stay.

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DRAWINGS

GROUND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

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SECOND FLOOR

SECTION AT BB’

SECTION AT AA’

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CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

DONE BY: SHIVANGI 12

CASE STUDY 2 8.2 HOUSE OF NAWANG DORJE

The house was build approximately 100 years ago. In this one house there are two family living separately.

The house has been divided by two brother Dorjie and Ram lal. But the house temple and the storage spaces is shared by both the families.

The ground floor is for cattle with a grass storage along with it the cattle shed have floor to floor height more then the upper floors because people use to keep Yaks before but not anymore. The upper floor have three

rooms, one kitchen and a shared storage. The top most floor have the common house temple.

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DRAWINGS

GROUND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

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SECOND FLOOR

ROOF PLAN

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SECTION AT AA’

SECTION AT BB’

SECTION AT CC’’

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FRONT ELEVATION

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

DONE BY: SHIVANGI

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3D VIEW OF THE HOUSE

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9. INTERVIEWS 9.1 INTERVIEW OF NAWANG CHERING (CARPENTER) He is from urgose works as a carpenter. He is working as a carpenter from past 20 years. He went to learn the carpentry from Kullu and Manali. According to him stone and timber both use to be free for villagers but after forest rule came in the timber is not free anymore.it is very difficult to get a wood for construction now days but some people do take timber illegally and secretly from forest. Now you need licence from

Kullu to cut a tree for any purpose or some people also buy timber from govt. and private depots from Kullu and Manali.

NAWANG CHERING. Age- 57

The Trees used in construction are mainly Kail (Shukpa) and Deodar (Thanshing)Most of the wood work is replaced by either concrete and cement or by the ply woods.

Before when the wooden beam was places on the column there use to be a sacrifice of sheep and the family use to celebrate with villagers and eat the meant fro dinner. But now its not done people have slowly stopped doing it.

PROS OF USING NEW MATERIALS • The modern material makes structure more stable and strong but the traditional materials are weaker as compare to modern materials.

• Modern materials doesn't need any maintenance for years but the traditional building requires a lot of maintenance every year .

CORNS OF USING NEW MATERIALS • New materials are changing the traditional building look and which seems to be reflecting in overall landscape of the village.

SOLUTION ACCORDING TO HIM • Timber is an important element of the traditional building now it is replaced by concrete structures. Use of timber have gradually reduced but its good that some people still use timber for door and window designs and some people also use for interior decoration.

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9.2 INTERVIEW OF KUNGA NORBU (STONE MASON) he is from Urgose worked as a stone mason for 54 years and Stopped working from past 5-6 year because of health issues. He is self taught stone mason. According to him stone is free of cost but for aggregates people have to pay labour cost or if the aggregate is been transported from Kullu they have to pay the charges. Before there was no work of aggregate, it wasn’t used in

old traditional building. The timber of Kail is generally used for making doors and windows and timber of Deodar is used for the beam column and the flooring because they are much stronger then the Kail.

He liked the new materials which were used with the combination

KUNGA NORBU . Age 81

with old materials because new materials are more stronger then the traditional materials. He particularly like the combination of cement mortar with stone for wall construction.

PROS OF USING NEW MATERIALS • The modern material makes structure more stable and strong but the traditional materials are weaker as compare to modern materials.

• Modern materials doesn't need any maintenance for years but the traditional building requires a lot of maintenance every year .

CORNS OF USING NEW MATERIALS • It takes modern house to complete one to two year but in case of traditional material it was faster and the construction is finished in 2-3 months.

• People from all house use to come together and help in the construction of traditional building which was good and it acted as strengthening element for community but that’s not the case anymore.

SOLUTION ACCORDING TO HIM • To design the houses such a way that the look of traditional building remain same but the modern materials are used or combination of modern and traditional materials.

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9.3 INTERVIEW OF RANJEET BODH (TOURIST GUIDE) He is from Khanjar village but keeps on travelling to all the villages and have contacts in most villages. He is been working as a tourist guide at Miyar valley . According to him the place is changing slowly due to road. The aspiration is one of the reason that people are changing there mind set slowly. Now days everyone wanted to build a modern concrete house because its like a trend, but people are not building the modern house because they don’t have enough savings to do so.

Due to road, access to the modern materials are easy. The

villages like Urgose which have a direct access to the road can

RANJEET BODH. Age 27

be seen with few modern houses but the village like Chaling, where road hasn’t been reached yet have all vernacular building still standing and in use with little bit of renovation done to it.

PROS OF USING NEW MATERIALS • The modern material makes structure more stable and strong but the traditional materials are weaker as compare to modern materials.

• Modern materials doesn't need any maintenance for years but the traditional building requires a lot of maintenance every year .

CORNS OF USING NEW MATERIALS • Since using new materials one can have more then two or three floors people are building multi-storeyed building with addition of sloping roof on it. The use of sloping roof wasn’t there in traditional buildings now

the modern building stands out in a landscape of the village, overpowering on the traditional built forms.

SOLUTION ACCORDING TO HIM

• People who are building new Houses in a village now days don’t realise the impact of the Modern building on the natural landscape.

• Villagers usually don’t talk in community about the architecture of the village and what people are doing to the old traditional buildings , but according to him spreading the awareness across the village giving them the right knowledge of materials is very important and will be helpful.

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10. HAND CRAFTS AND HANDLOOMS Miyar valley is a land of snowy mountain with abundant rainfall and rich in greenery. despite of lot of climatic ,topographic Problems the people of Miyar valley are hardworking, talented, and this reflects in their art and craft. The art and craft craft of any place is reflection of its environment, people and traditions and so is in the Miyar valley. Handloom weaving and handcraft are the cultural heritage of the Miyar people and the indispensable part of their lives.the activity of preparing a vide range of handloom and handicraft products was originated to suffice local needs but it gradually became the source of income for the local people. The main handcraft item of Miyar valley are Tuktuk, Woollen Socks, Caps, Traditional dresses.

After the hardworking and busy summer when the winter arrive it is time for villagers relax and enjoy the life.

During winter when there is no access to the outer world from the village the people from village utilise there

free time to do hand craft. and sell them at Kullu bazar and Mandi mela.

HAND KNIT WOOLENS In Miyar valley, the women are experts in making hand knitted woollen articles, which include woollen socks, gloves and caps. During winter season, they are generally free from agricultural work thus earn money by spending most of their time by knitting different woollen products.

WOOLLEN SOCKS The woollen socks are knitted from local wool or cash melon thread. They have geometric designs woven with bright colours along the top of foot. A typical characteristics of these socks is that they are knitted with four needles instead of two. Rate of the socks generally varies from 150 to 200 depends upon the market demand.

WOOLLEN SOCKS

TRADITIONAL CAP

GLOVES

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GLOVES AND CAP Similar to the socks, the gloves and caps are knitted from local wool with geometrical designs over them displaying brilliant colours. The price of hand knitted woollens depends on the quality of the wool and the pattern used.

TUKTUK Is also called tuktuk in local language ,which is made by felting the wool rather then weaving it. It is prepared by mixing low quality wool with a small quantity of cotton. Tuktuk are usually plain or decorated with

embroidered colourful designs.. These mattresses come in different sizes as 1.82 x 0.91 meters or 3.69 x 3.04 meters. The price of the tuktuk depends on its size, quality of wool and the pattern.

TRADITIONAL DRESS The traditional dress was made up of wool but nowadays it has been made by using silk. This is also done during winters by women. But the traditional dress is been sold to local people largely then outsiders.

MUFFLER Muffler is a woollen article worn around neck. It is woven usually with pashmina, merino or angora wool having threads of different colours. The smaller looms are used for mufflers. Gents muffler measures 1.70metre X 0.30 m, while ladies mufflers are little bit longer in length with same width.

TUKTUK

TRADITIONAL DRESS

MUFFLER

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11. CULTURAL STUDY FOOD AND DRINKS OF MIYAR VALLEY Food plays an important role of Indian culture, in everyday life as well as in different festivals. Indian cuisine varies from region to region, reflecting the people of the ethnically diverse subcontinent. Despite this diversity, some unifying threads emerge. Varied uses of spices are an integral part of food preparation, and are used to enhance the flavour of a dish and create unique flavours and aromas.

Food Helps maintain physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony and is a key to a good health.

Understanding the food and drinking culture of Miyar valley, it is clear that in many families, everyday meals are sit-down affairs consisting of two to three main course dishes, varied accompaniments such as chutneys and pickles, carbohydrate staples such as Rice and Roti (bread). Cooking of sweet dishes are less as compared to the spicy. In most of the cities and towns of India, all new food cultures are replacing the traditional food culture. But it was very intrusting to see the in all villages of Miyar valley traditional food culture was still alive.

The ingredients for food in Miyar valley was grown in their own fields but the spices where bought from the nearby town Udaipur. The traditional food of Miyar are Momo, thou, T-momo, Roti (Thokur), Thukpa, and traditional drinks are Alcohol (Arak), Butter Tea (Chacha), Bear (Chang). Chutney and Ghee (Mar) plays an important role in increasing the flavour of food. These two items are always kept while eating every meal in a dining area.

Summer is bearable but winter are harsh and the complete Miyar valley stays cut off from rest of the world

during this period of time. The most of traditional foods and drink ingredents are such that they keep them warm during winters. Such as Roti (Thokur), Thukpa, Alcohol (Arak), Butter Tea (Chacha), Bear (Chang). The most of the vegetables were grown during summer and dried in sun to use them during winter. The summer is a period to collect the stock for winter as much as possible in a one particular store which is just dedicated to a winter stock.

THUKPA

T-MOMO

THOKUR

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Traditional food and drinks are prepared and served in large amount during all festivals and marriages in Miyar valley. People from each house come together and prepare the food which becomes the one of the reason to bring all people together as a community.

Food is not just important for eating, but it is also a way of socializing, getting together with family,

relatives and friends.

POSTER DESIGN

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12. BUILDING TYPOLOGY TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS

MUD AND STONE CONSTRUCTION

Traditional buildings are made up of stone wood and mud. Wood are intensively used in the traditional buildings and stone is used majorly for wall construction. Mud are used for plastering, mortar finishing the flooring and roof. It have high maintenance and structurally weaker. The height is limited to three stories.

There is no ornamentation on the wood, the design is simple. The main door of the house are larger as compare to the other doors in house. The house temple is always built on the top floor.

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OLD BUILDING BUT RENOVATED BY MODERN MATERIALS

RENOVATED BY APPLING PLASTER ON THE EXTERIOR WALL

MUD PLASTER INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE

CEMENT PLASTER ON EXTERIOR

These are the traditional buildings which were renovated over a time. Due to maintenance and water dripping issue of the traditional building. The mud plaster will fall off after the heavy rain fall and then again another layer has to be applied over it. The exterior are cement plastered due to these issues but interiors are kept same. The stone edge on the roof was replaced by concrete slabs.

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MODERN HOUSES

RENOVATED BY APPLING PLASTER ON THE EXTERIOR WALL

MODERN HOUSE WITH FLAT ROOF

MODERN HOUSES

The modern buildings are made up of RCC structure with the concrete block or brick wall. The modern buildings are structurally stronger as compare to the traditional building cantilever balconies are possible with the increasing in number of floors. The more number of rooms can be achieved. The modern building became more ornamented as compare to the traditional building. The modern materials have a lot of benefits but the look of the building doesn’t complement the landscape of the village.

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13. BUILDING ELEMENTS

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MUD ROOF STONE EDGING

WOODEN SECONDARY BEAN STONE WALL

WOODEN BEAMS

TERTIARY MEMBER

SECONDAR Y BEAM MEMBER PRIMARY BEAM MEMBER

WOODEN COLUMN

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OUTDOOR STAIR CASE

COMMON WINDOW DESIGN

MAIN DOOR OF A HOUSE

DOOR OF CATTLE SHED

INDOOR STAIRCASE 31

14. ISSUES AND BENEFITS OLD AND NEW BUILDINGS ISSUES IN OLD BUILDING • Maintenance • Water dripping problems.

• Building Height is limited.

• Small rooms.

BENEFITS OF OLD BUILDING • Warm during cold winter by mud insulation and thick stone wall.

• Merge with the natural landscape of the valley.

• Fast construction (2-3 months) • Cheaper • Local craftsmanship.

ISSUES AND BENEFITS OF NEW BUILDING. ISSUES IN NEW BUILDING • Landscape of the village is changing .

• Transportation costs and construction cost BENEFITS OF NEW BUILDING • Less maintenance • Strong and stable.

• More then 3 floor height can be achieved.

• Bigger rooms.

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15. CONCLUSION Olden times the traditional building had better access to locally available resources more as compared to now.

Scenario has been changed and no one wants to be lagging in the race of development.

So, with the introduction of modern buildings that has an efficient use of traditional material in it, there is some possibility of linking both modem and traditional architecture while at the same time retaining the spirit of the place through the use of most enduring and sustainable material timber and stone.

16. RECOMMENDATION Keeping in mind all the above aspect of study. I personally recommend to construct the house which resolve the old traditional construction issues without changing the traditional architecture and landscape of the village.

This can be achieved only by taking benefits of both

Cement plaster

traditional locally available materials and modern materials.

The house of RCC structure with the stone wall and mortar of cement since cement is stronger then the mud which have

Cement mortar

been used till now and the use of wood should be kept as it is since it is the one of the important element of the traditional

Stone

domestic architecture.

BUILDING MATERIALS TRADITIONAL

CONTEMPORARY

• Stone

• Cement

• wood

• RCC structure

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THANK YOU

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