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Bu i l t , L i v i ng and Na t u r a l


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ContentsAbout the Volume .Compiling recordsDetails ofResistance: Indigenous con struction systelns i1'lHimachal Pradesh

.3

Bhal"at Dave, Jay Thakkar an d Mansi Shah ........................................ 5Methods and approachesDown the Sarnsva tiMichelDanino ........................................................................................ 19Alternative Di spute Resolution in Her itage ManagementN itin Sinha .. .................. ......... ................................ ............... . ....... 27Redevelopment and Conservah"oll: n,e nse of AmritsnrBalvinder Singh ................................ ................... . . ............... 35Impact of UrbaniSfllion on Villages ofChfll1dignrhSunanda Kapoor . .... .... .......................... .Decentrnlised Solid Waste ManagementTamanna Sharma and Saurav BardhanSus tainable soJutionsSafeguarding Infangible Cultural Heri/age as Livelihood:Case study of PUrl-ilia Chau

. ..43

..... ....53

Ananya Bhattacharya ..........................................................................59Participatory Approach for Cot/serva /ion: Irldl'Clyani Jatra ofKil'tipUI -, NepalSudha Shrestha ......................................... .,.... ................. . ..........67Heri tage albumMalabar Garden sRenee Ridgway .The A11.cient Ingenuity of Water Harvesfing Sy::tems

..75

Anu pam Mishra .............. . . .................. .83Book reviewsDe-coding the Symbo lism in Hindu Mythology: Series of books byDevdlltl PattanaikNee ta Das ....

Pigeons 10 PostInd ia Posl and HislOlY of Ind ian Poslal Services by Steve Borgia

...... .90

Rima Hooja .......................................... ...............................................92ReviewLessol1s(rom INNURMMukta Naik ..... ... , ..... . . ............ , ..................................................93Events and co nferences ...... " ....................................................96


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Chief EditorShikha JainEditorChe:ena Kanwal

Managing EditorPrabhil Prabhakar Bh tudwajAssistant EdHOI 'Pand G Milllja l

Consulting Ed itorsAjay Khare,KewaJ Khanna,Suchandrrs ity,

Pennsylvania, USARima Hooj


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Bharat Dave Is currently Associate Professor at the Facutty ofArchitecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne,Australia. He has completed doctoral studies at the SwissFederallnstitut.e ofTechnology (ETH Zurich). Funded bynationally competitive grants, his research revolves aroundinnovative spatial design practices and futures supported bydigital technologies. Bharat Dave has served as president ofthe Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia(CAADRIA) Association.

Jay Thakkar is currently an Assistant Professor and ResearchHead at Faculty of Design, at Design Innovation and CraftResource Centre (DICRC) at CEPT Uni-.:ersity, Ahmedabad.He is a professional consultant in visual1communication aridtraditional building practices and crafts and the HonorarySecretary of Institute of Indian Interior Designer (IIID)Ahmedabad Regional Chapter. Jay Thakkar has a Mastersin Visual Communication from the Birmingham Institute of Artand Design (BIAD), United Kingdom.

Mansi Shah is currently Research Assistant at DICRC. Shehas completed Masters in Urban Design from tl:le DomusAcademy, Milan, Italy. Her prOJect , 'Beyond Green' a guerillaIdea to promote green movement was displayed during'Salone del mobile', a design festival in Milan, 2010. MansiSh.ah's work 'Beyond the city of science' in Luxembourg has.been published in- the magaz ine 'Architec).ure and E}artiment'.


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Detai ls of Re sistanceIndigenous construction systemsin Himachal PradeshBHARAT DAVE, JAY THAKKAR AND MANSI SHAH

ABSTRACT

A vernacular building technique called Kath-khuni construcli0l1 is widelyencountered in the upper hills oj Himachal Pradesh. It provides aneffective mechanism for buildings La resist frequent seismic tremors thatrock the landscape a/Himachal Pradesh. Thi s method ojconstructionhas been practised and perfected with empirical knowledge over a longperiod oj ime. Various construction elements, materials andjoinerydetails are used in the traditional Kalh-khuni construction, resulting ina compositional richness in the making a/walls, openings, and corners.Fur/her, various sustainability and environmental responses werefoundto be embedded in this traditional building practice based onfieldresearch conducted in parIs ofShim/a and Kinnaur Districts.

I NTRODUCT ION

Diverse indigenous se ttlements and shelters are encoul1l"ered throughoutthe indian landscape. These range from houses i.D he desert of laisa lm erto bhullgas (mud huts) in Kutch io the We st, the distinctive mountainvillages in the East, to traditiooal courtyard houses in the South , eachrespondlng to a particular way of livLng , avaHable materials and resourcesand peculiarities of the place. Such indigenous traditions show that thelocal builders possess a deep understand ing of social patterns, buildingrequiremen ts , cultural aspirati ons and c limatic conditions. Over time,

Com pil i ng recoLds 5

, ,II!\-

I I( . /1 ( )0 ' ,Village settlement spread alongthe contour. Source: Thakkar &Morrison (2008)

r

!/


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6 Cornpil ng records

Darbargadh, Sainj

such building traditions evolved the most appropriateconstruction techniques while achieving aestheticallysatisfYing results. Whereas some indigenous buildingtraditions have changed or weakened over time inindia, others have remained large ly intact until recently.One such place where indigenous building traditionsstill survive mostly unchanged, is in the land of Gods,Himachal Pradesh in Northern India.The state of Himachal Pradesh ranges in elevationfrom 450 metres to 6,500 metres above mean sealevel. The region ex tends from the Shivalik range,which is the lesser Himalayas, to the Great Himalayas(5,000 metres to 6,000 metres) in the Northern zone.Despite its varying topography, the region displays arelative consistency and homogeneity of traditionalconstruction and material with slight variations. In themid and central HimCllayas, a particular architecturehas extensively deve loped which is locally known as


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material and its qualiLy, seasonal changes in temperatureand humidity, need based sizes of various spaces, toolsand technology, all ofwh ich are reflected in traditionalbuilding techniques.The three types of materials extensively used in Kath-kbuni cons truction are hard stone, soft stone and wood:

Hard stone: It isobtained from the local quarriesand is mostly used in building foundation and wa ll s.Left ove r rubble is also collected and used in the wa llfilling .Siafe: The metamorphic rock is heavy but lends tocutting into thin sheets that are used as slate tiles onroofs of trad itional buildings of Himacha l Pradesh.The slates cu t into rectangular or triangu lar units aretypically placed on roofs in row s with an over lapbetween them .An altemative technique is to drivenails to fasten them to the wooden roof frameundemeath. The dead weight of s late tiles is enoughto keep it in place. Containing high quartz content,slate reflects sunlig ht, is frost resistant, absorbs heataud provides moisture barrier.Wood: Sou rced fmm the nearby forests, woodprovides the other main building material. Amongmany other trees in this region ) the most famousfor building purposes is 'Deodar' or Cedrusdeodara. One of the strongest of Indian conifers,it is extensively found in the Western and Central

Comp i li ng re co rds 7

Tower temp/e. Ba/ag


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8 ComF i l i ng r ecord_s

r l fI r l.111 ~ i n l J IH I l I I::lc'... _. -. V, Il!I !!m um "I

~ 0 rDl .- 0H..Schematic illustration shows the smallest houses are single cuboids slacked in two or three layers. The size of the houseincreases by placing cuboids side by side. Source: Thakkar &Morrison (2008)

Himalayan region on the mountain slopes betweenheights of J 370 to 3,350 metres above the mean sealevel. It is very durable and used for structural worksof all kinds , such as posts, beams, floor boards,window and door frames, shutters and panelling. Itis not however a suitable wood for polish or paintwork since th e oil in old wood especially near theknots seeps tbough finishes and discolours tbem.The popularity of deodar as timber for constructionpurposes is largely because it is soft wood that iseasy to work witb especially in tbe absence of hightech tools and instruments. The softness of the woodalso enables beautiful relief work that is found ontemple structures and palaces.

SE I SM IC VULNERAB I L I TY

Himachal Pradesh lies in an active zone of frequentseismic tremors. According to the Global SeismicHazard Assessment Programme COSHAP) data, thestate falls La the region of high to very high seismichazard that is zone rv and V. Historically, parts ofthi s state have experienced seismic intensity of upto magnitude 8.0 Ricbter scale in Kangra in j 905.The Himalayan chain of mountains is a result ofgradual upward thrust caused by grinding, slidingand occasional fission between tectonic plates. Thisotherwise imperceptible movement sometimes gathersenough energy to shake and pound the mountains andcan cause extreme deslTuction including land slides


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False ce -Iling

In -bui lt wall storage

Stone rubbl eWall beamSecond floor plank>Second noor beam

Firs! floor sta ircaseFrs( noor doorFirSl noor planksFim noor beam

Stone slabsWaH beam

Mezzanine floor pl anksMezzanine floor beam

~25 0 05 I.S melfe5

Stone sare rile-) Roof joist

Compi l in g records 9

Roof canlileve!edbeam

Eaves board-) Balcony waUceiling beam;. Balcon)' rals,e Ceiling) Balcony wa ll CU5Ped arch~ ~ = ! ! E _ _ '1- - -- --> Balcon)- wa ll baluster column, :....,c--"II. " " - - -) Baleony wall planb

Stone rubble nnll

--- ) Balcony wall parapet beam- - ~ Baleon)- in-buih benchB a l c o n ~ bench column

-) Balcon)' wall planks~ - Balcony Wall sill beamBalcony noor canillevered beam

;. Balcony nool planksBalcony wa ll ceiling beamBalcony wall planksDoor shune lBaicooy wall parapet beamBa lcOl1Y wall planksBiJ!cony wall beamBako ny floo r planksBalcooy floo r cant ilevered beam

Detail of wall section depicting the different components. Shri P C Aukta House in Old Jubbal. Source: Thakkar & Morrison (2008)


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10 Comp il i ng' record s

Wall construction constitutes placing of two wooden beams witha gap in between filled with random rubble on alternate courses

and collapse ofbuiJdings. The indigenous bu!ldingtechniques, especially Kath-Khuni construction,have evolved in response to this ever present realityand incorporate materials and details in a way thateffectively increase resistance of buildings to destructiveseismic forces.K A T H - K H U N I C O N S T R U C T I O N

The widespread technique ofKath-khuni, tbat is , 'Catorand Cribbage' construction can be found in buildi.ngsof various scales, from quite large darbargadhs andkots (forts), to intricate and majestic temples, to humblehouses and even small stand alone structures likegra naries in Himachal Pradesh. With its characteris1iclayered bands of wood and stone topped of f by slateroofs, the Kath-khuni buildings are eas ily recogni sable.

Typica lly the building plintbs are coosh'ucted entirelyof stone_ Above this level, layers of stone and wood areconstructed w ith a double skin and its internal cavityis filled wi th rubble. Tbe exte rnal and intemal skins ofwa lls are held together by cross-braces. The layeredconstruction of wood and stone a nd double skin is mos tdistinctly vis ibl e at the wa ll comer. The cross sectionsof wood beams exposed at the comer exp lain the veryname of this construc tion tech nique, kalh (wood) andkhuni (corner).

Construction detail of the corner of the ground floor levelof a typical house with layers of wood-and-stone includingprolruding truncaled pyramid shape comer stone. Source:Thakkar & Morr;son (2008)

As the walls rise, stone courses decrease in height andwood sec lions gradually increase. The heavy slone basecarries the lighter wooden structure at upper levels. Nomortar is llsed be tv.teen the courses and the sheer weightof dry masonry holds it down in place. Tradit ionally, nometal nails were used in wooden COlll'SeS either; instead,strategically inserted wooden braces and joints held thestructure together. T hi s nOll-rigid Kath-khuni allows thebuilding to "flex with seismi c waves and to effectivelydissipate the destructive energy of earthquakes. Furtherdetails ofKaUl-khun.i are elaborated upon and illustratedil1 subsequent sections.H O U S E S : A R C H I T E C T U R A L A S P E C T SA N D C O N S T R U C T I O N D E T A IL S

Building configurationsThe houses, buildings and temples are constructedaround simple rectangular plans that follow naturalsite contours. The character ofa vernacular house inHimachal Pradesh is governed by a 'story unit' whichis basically cuboida l. The sma llest houses grow fl'Om asingle cuboid that is stacked ve liica lly in two or threelayers; ground leve l, first level and second level. Thesize of houses may also increase horizontally withcuboids placed s ide by side and then extended upwardby one or two levels.


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Units and inhabitantsEach house including those buildings which arevelti ca lly stacked in two or three levels is usuallyshared by members of the same family. The numberof inhabitants in a house may vary according to theseasons; however, it is typically around four toten members.

Pattern ofusageThe buildings usually have a single room on everyfloor with ve rtica lly distributed usage. Th e lowerleve l is primarily used for storage and livestock. Thebody hea t generated by animals rises up and keeps theupper floors warm. Th e first floor is exclusively usedfor living purposes. The kitchen is generally on thetop floor. Addi tionally, the upper floors have externalbalconies or wooden verandas that are constructedwith wooden railing running all around the building.These 'boundary' spaces act as buffers between insideaDd outside and the levels in the house, with varyingdegrees of enclosure and envelope.Rituals related to constructionThe rituals associated with house construction are lessintense and elaborate than those involved in a templeconstmction. At the time of selection of site in case of

Ground floor ofa house under constructIon inalternate layering of wood and stone

Comp ili ng reco r ds 11

a house, a chela (communicator of the village god) isconsulted and puja (ritual) is performed by the p!Uari(priest) and many times it may involve a sacrifice ofgoat. Similar rituals are performed at the time of layingthe foundation stone and top ridge beam.Constrllction detailsThe houses in the region are composed of five primarycomponents. Their associated construction details areelaborated and illustrated next.Foundation and plinthTh e constructio n follows a systema tic a nd sequentialprocess. Th e layout and orientation is decided by thecarpente r, sometimes in consultatio n with the chela andthe house profile is marked on site. This is followed byexcavation of a trench 0 .6 to one metre or more to layfoundations. Th e depth of the trench is relative to theheight of the structure. It is filled with loose sto ne orrubble without any binder up to the ground leve l andthen dry stone masonlY is erected on top of it up to theplinth level.Walls and feneslJ"a/ionsThe typical hOllses are between four to eightmetres long and between four to five metres

po ....Corner unction of he gro(Jnd structural wall showingKath-khuni wood-and-stone layers

..


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12 Compiling cecords

Two paraJlel crossbeams held in place by a double dove/ailedwooden member (Iocalfy known as maanvi). The gap betweenthe beams is filled with stone rubble that acts as insulation andgives mass to the wall

Carpenter fixing a wooden log In the wall construction atDevidhar vii/age

Typical doorway of a house in Gavasvii/age with multiple thick wooden framesand a small entrance door

Common comer detail of a door of a house inGavas village Small window opening of a housein Janog viflage typical of oldconstructionw ide. The buildings may comprise betwee n twO tofour storeys. The workin g d im ensions of buildingsare ca lculated in halhs (length of the a rm ). Ge nera lly,eve n numbers in halhs are empl oyed in construct ionof a house whereas odd numbers in halhs are used fortemples. Thus di mensions of a house may be measuredas 12 halhs by 8 halhs, 16 by 8 and so on. A halhconesponds to app roximate ly 1.5 fee t and thus typicallengths of houses may vary between four and eiglltmetres and the widths between four and five metres.The typical floor he ight in suc h build ings is relati ve lylow at around 2.20 to 2.50 metres .

The Illos t common type of Kath-k huni walls areconstructed with alternate courses o f dry stone masonryand wood without any cementing mortar. This type ofwa ll construction in volves lay ing two wooden wa llbea ms longitudina lly paralle l to each oth er with a gapin between . The thickness of wa lls is detennined bythick ness of the two paralle l wooden logs and th e s pacein between, which may add up to between 50 and 60ce ntimetres total wa ll width for hOlses, and even morefor temples. Two para llel wooden cross hea ms areheld in place by double dove ta iled wooden memberskn own as maanvi inserted at in terva ls a long wooden


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beams. Th e structure is further reinforced by woodenbeams, which are attached perpendicularly to the woodenlogs at the middle of the wa lls co nnec ting two parallelouter wa lls. These beams provide the joists s upportingthe floorboa rds of eac h story. The perpendicu lar woodenmembers are held in place with a kadil (wooden nail).Usually no iron nails are used in the older constructioo.The whole wooden frame is kn ow n as chea l. The outerfaces of the wall as well as the comer have large stonepieces. When the solid load bearing walls are builtabove the plinth level, the stone pieces are arranged inan alternating manner strengthening the corners withstaggered joints, both diagonally and laterally impartingstrengti1. As the wall rises up, the height of the stone layerdecreases and ultimately it is only the wood frame thatis stacked on another wood frame which completes thestructural wall.The walls of the interior are usually finished with mudplaster and lined with wood on account of its easyavailability, good insulation and good binding properties.Exterior walls are sometimes fini shed in mud or usuallyleft exposed. GeneraiJy storage areas s lich as cupboardsmay be built in peripheral wa lls on upper lev els, whichalso serve as insulation against summer heat and winters.All houses and other structures generally, have a smallentry and relati vely s mall openings (0 reduce th e inflowof co ld air dudllg winters. At the gro und floor, tbe heightof the doors follow that oHhe livestock (cows) but on

Cupboards fixed in pen"pheral waf! in a house underconstruction in Devidhar village

Comp i l ing r ec o r ds 13

Wooden balcony of a house in Oe vidhar village, underconstruction

Windows of arger sizes incorporated in new construction inhouse at Devidhar village


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14 Compi l ing record s

A typical two-storey house with a cantilevered balcony on lopfloor at Gavas vilfage

the upper floors this height is increased a bit such thatinhabitants still need to bend down to enter a r00111.The doors are sUJTounded by strong wooden frames.Sometimes the door frame is mitred at the comer, atother times precisely crafted with innovative tensionco mpress ion joints visible at comers of the doorframes. The door panel is oflen made out of a sol idplank held in pos ition with two pi vots all a strongwooden latch for locking the door from inside. Earlier,there were hardly any windows within the wall.Mere small openings were placed for ventilation. Butin recent times open-able windows have become acommonplace in houses.

Windows provided in the walls are solid plank shutterswith a stone piece used as a lintel in the wa ll. They areeither attached w ith side pi vo ts o r grooves for slidinghorizontally. These details are improvised in the newstructures wherein windows are comparative ly larger.Floors and stairsThe flooring on the ground level is of stone while therest of the Roars consist of wooden beams and planks.Wooden planks rest on wooden joists supported bybeams or wa lls. These floo r beams are shear pilUledwith the wa ll logs. Staircases, steps and ladders areincorpo rated as the fundamental connect ing elementwithin the house. There are three primary types offloor-la-floor stairs. These are a ll standa rd woodenstaircases with railing, wooden ladder and a stepladder,that is a cross between a standard sta ircase and a ladder.There is an opening on the fioor, which allows oneperson to pass through.Projecting JVOOl/en balcolliesBalco nies are the most di ve rse and integral part ofthe house. They are built around the perimeter of thebuilding either on one side or in an ' L' or 'e' shapeor at times circumnavigate the entire building. Forbalcony projections, cantilevered beams are placedalong the entire length and on th e comers to provideadequate support at these points. The most interestingaspect about these cantil evers is that there are nodiagonal bracings. Balconies used to be open but withthe passage ortime. va rious fomls ofenclosnres arenow being observed, from partial to entirely closedfacades. These are made of a row or wooden postsused at regular intervals with planks in between. Thewooden posts also SUppOlt the roof structure and inmany cases, these are moulded and richly carved.All vertical posts are connected through a horizont(1 1member on top, that rests on the perpendicularmembers (connected with a lap joint) projecting fromtbe wa ll.RoofsThe roof shapes subtly vary in different parts ofHimachal Pradesh. The houses in the Sutlej valleyusually have pent and gable roofs although therealso exist pure gable and pure pent roofs in the sameregion. The variations in roof fonns reflect differentways to shed snow aod rain while maintaining a bufferbetween internal and external environments. The pitchand geometry of roofs change as one climbs to higheraltitudes in Himachal Pradesh in response to changingpattems and intensity of precipitation in these parts.


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A two-storey house with a pent and gable roof finished inslate stone cut in proper rectangular shapes, Gavas vii/age

The roof construction consists of a wooden frame,which acts as a flexible diaphragm. The roo f frame iscomplete once the ridge beam that wa s ea rlier madeout of a single tree trunk is raised to the highest leve l ofthe building. Slate shingles are then la id on top of thisframework. The shingles ma y he fixed to the woodenframe underneat h with meta l nails at a s ingle point.This allows the slates a degree of movement that helpsin shedding of snow and moisture as we ll as adjustinglo any movement during earthquakes.Architectural clWtllcteristics llnd embellishmentsIn t.erms of typical building massing and structure, thelower portion of houses comprises of heavy masonryand appears rock solid. The upper floors are generallyI ght wooden structures and appear to genlly rest andfloat on a solid base. The projecting balconies onupper floors sometime feature rhythmic post and archopenings on the periphelY and also provide amplespace for motifs and carvings. Structural woodenelements are also highly carved in many instances. Theornamentation enables the local people to express theircu lture, whether the motifs are based on abstraction ofnature , spiritual awareness or replica of patterns foundin local flora and fauna. Woodcarving is integrated intothe construction of the building and not added lateron, Majority of the woodcarving is two-dimensional ,that is planar or surface or iented. In tbe houses, folkmotifs in carv ing are very popular wbile in temples anddarbargadhs . there is a juxtaposition of classical andfolkfonns.K A T H - K H U N I C O N S T R U C T I O N S Y S T E MA N D S T R U C T U R A L R E S I L IE N C E

The indige nous buildings of Himachal Pradesh reflecta remarkable understanding of appropriate use of

Compiling r ecords 15

II,

Slate shingles of vaded sizes laid and finished on the roof of ahouse in Janog village

Variation in pent-and-gable roof with a conical roof in centrewhich is indicative of a temple building, Kamru villagelocal materials and highly effect ive constructio ntechniques in a harsh env ironment. This understandingand knowledge underpin the lradition of Kath-khunicons truc tion system.The compo site layering of wood-and-stone in wallsdraws upon strengths of both the materials, with woodbeing under tension and stone under compress ion. Theinterlocking frames formed by the stone and wood heldtogether without any rigid joints provides an effectivemechanism for building frames that are flexiblewith the rocking movements of earthquakes without


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16 Com pi l i ng reco r d s

House witt) profusely carved balustrade and arc/led opening,Gav8s vii/age

completely collapsing. These walls are configuredto also resist the sliding or overturning during landmovement. As quoted, 'Wo od fram es the stone thatanchors the structure to gravitational forces. Thisresults in higher damping and allows dissipation ofthe energy of the earthquake mOre quickly and evenl y'(Thakkar & Morrison 2008).Another interesting feature is the dry masonryconstruction, which allows the stones to uodulatewit hin a flexible wooden framework and allows energyof the earthquake forces to disperse.The Kath-khuDi system di stributes mass optimally byemploying a heavy base aDd plinth at lower levels and alighte rwooden frame construction on upper levels. Thebuildings also taper just a fraction as they rise whichmakes it harder for the buildings to topple over easi lyduring rocking and pounding movements caused byearthquakes .The buildings are composed of cuboidal volumes,genera lly sited along co ntour lines and avoid usingin-egular building profiles_ The regular box shaped

Carving on tile openings ofa house in ChitkuJ

vo lumes are more etl"ect ive and stab le during sidewaysmovement compared to other configurations such as Lor C shaped buildings.The Kath-kbuni system uses s ingle length componentsas far as po ss ible, for example long deodar beams.The jo in ts are located at the periphery of structuralframe which makes use of flexible joints using dowels,wedges and metal pin s. These detail s allow ulter-component adjustments by distributing load transfersand shear forces during earthq uake tremors. Similarly,the use of dry masonry in this system allows stones toshift and res ettle in response to rocklug movementsduring tremors. The sla te shingles on roofs pivoted tothe wooden frame also accommodate similar sh ifts andmo vements. The doors and windows are much lesserand sma ller in size. This allows even and quick loadtransfer and minimises the effect of movement duringearthquake.Tbe components and their joinery details in Kath!


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buildings constructed using this technique showgreater resistance against seismic shocks compared lobuildings constructed using more rigid constructiontechniques. During a number of earthquakes, grearerproportion of indigenous Kath-k11Uni buiJdlngs havebeen recorded to withstand and survive, which suggestsinherent resilience of this constmction tecJmique. Thusthe Kath-Kuni constTuction system is one of the mosteffective responses against seismic forces.FUTURE CHALLENGES

The constmction practice in parts of HimacbalPradesh today appears poised at a proverbial fork inthe road. The incessant onslaught ofmoderoisationspurred by Jaster communication, changing urban

Acknowledgements Bibliographic References

CornpiJ i.ng I('.'l:O:: ds 17

llfestyles, advent of roads and influx of alien, cheapermaterials and techniques may overrun traditionalknow-how and building systems. The urban sprawland associated degradation visible in the plains isslowly but inexorably inching higher and farther intothe Himalayan interiors. Further, the stringent laws 011timber felling, quarrying rights, scarcity of materialsand increasing cost have also deterred builders fromusing local lliaterials and resulted in greater acceptanceof newer building techniques that may appear cheaperand efficient in short tenD but are not sustainable norappropriate in the long run. :rt is in such a context thatthere is an urgent need to analyse, understand anddisseminate lessons embedded in the time-tested andproven indigenous building traditions such as the Kathkhuni construction systems of Himachal Pradesh.

This paper is based on the colla bora iveresearch between the Faculty ofArchitecture, Building and Planning, theUniversity of Melbourne, Australia. andDesign Innovation and Craft ResourceCentre (DICRC), CEPT University.Ahmedabad, India. The :)roject is funded

A m a ~ e u r Seismic Cenjre (ASC) 2000, ASC.Pune, viewed December 2011, .

Bachelors Thesis, School of Architecture,Ahmedabad.Mishra. GODa12012, The Const ruclo r- CivilEngineering Home. viewed January 2012,'lore information about the project includinginteractive multimedia data is availableonline at .

Datta. Anirudh 1983, People, Placeand Vernacular Architecture - Study ofLakhamandal, A vilfage in HimalayanRegion of Jaunsar; UP, Bachelors Thesis,unpublished, School of Architecture.Ahmed8bad.Gupta, Aditya 2004, Understanding thevernacular dweiiings A study of Rajpu/houses of Bharmaur; Himacl1a! Pradesh,

se smic-zones-in-i ndia!22 1/>.Palel. Nanda 1990, Settlemen! and houseform- Kulu Valley. Thesis (B.AHCH). Schoolof Architecture, Ahmedabad.Thakkar, Jay & MOrrison. Skye 2008, Matra- Ways of Measuring Vernacular Buiil Formsof Himachal Pradesh, SID Hesearch Cen,CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

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