THE SandHI SERIES, Indian Knowledge series

House of commons
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/indian-knowledge-series/house-commons-195
(some awesome pictures are missing from this text below)

By Koumudi Patil & Joy Sen Apr 27 2015
Tags: THE SandHI SERIES, Indian Knowledge series
Sthapatis and their indigenous designs seamlessly adapted topographic
and climatic
House of commons

Scholarship in architecture and building techniques has time and again
urged us to study the scientific and sustainable rational embodied in
evolved indigenous systems. Such practices have often adapted seamlessly
to the topographic and climatic exigencies of our subcontinent.
Moreover, they are also perceived as collaborative rather than
confrontational; thus offering suitable solutions to the alarming
man-nature conflict.



However, much of what was known is either lost or inadaptable to the
contemporary living requirements. This study is not intended to eulogise
or museumise our past. Instead, through a few coll­ated ins­tances, we
attempt to bring on the table an urgent need to scientifically explore
methods of rejuvenating some of these valuable practices, by gaining
knowledge from onsite field experience as well as theoretical modelling
and historical reconstruction. With careful analysis, many of these
practices can address our contemporary needs of sustainability, safety
as well as frugal resources. After all, it will neither be intelligent
nor efficient to reinvent the wheel at every age.

As the summer settles in, it may be most appropriate to begin our
dialogue with climate responsive architecture. How did ancient India
survive the scorching summer, brutal winter, torrential monsoon and
humid spring?

Classical texts of architecture such as Mansara and Mayamatam explain
the established system of qualified sthapatis (architects), engineers,
carpenters, plumbers and local masons working under the patrons of kings
or kingdoms. A city described in these texts always comes across as
planned and systematically executed construction. Puranas, Agamas and
Shilpashastras list definite stages of city planning: bhu-sangrah (study
of the site), bhu-pariksha (examination of the site), dikpariched
(determination of the cardinal points), padavinyas (survey of the
ground), bhu-vidhan (transferring on the ground the layout conceived in
planning) and grihanirman (design/construction of the buildings). In
fact, the idea of the vastu mandala is as old as the Rig Veda, where a
whole sukta is dedicated to building traditions.

The 16 mahajanapadas, as recorded in the early buddhist and jain texts,
were just not socio-political confederations, but a system of regional
variations of architectural styles subject to varying impacts of
climate, available resources, riparian impacts and the intensity of
flora and fauna. For example, the Magadhan tradition in today's Bihar
(buddhist vihara) exhibited built-forms based on its relatively arid
climate compared with the Anga-Pragjyotisha (Bengal-Assam) belt in
response to the available fertile green land. Hence, even the colour,
size and nature of bricks (called istaka) varied in the two
mahajanapadas, besides the design of the courtyards and allied open
spaces. The distant Assam-Bengal and Kerala built-form traditions
displayed similar approaches based on a common pack of maritime and
saline impacts of backwaters and sea-based commerce.

Likewise, wind catchers, intricate jaalis or hollow walls, amongst many
others, are evolved techniques for temperature as well as humidity
control. Wind catchers are airshafts, which capture the prevailing wind
and circulate cool air to the underground halls of the royal durbars
during summer months. The twin towers of Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, called
the Sawan Bhadon pillars were perforated on the top to 'catch the wind'.
The base was connected to a reservoir of water ingeniously feeding the
fountain — chandan katora. The hot wind caught by the towers was cooled
down not only by its long downward passage, but also by the waters. Even
simple perforated walls like the jaalis (deeply carved patterns) in
Rajasthan minimise heat gain by providing shade. Such devices also
result in increased convective transfer of heat because of increased
surface area. Similarly, the thick wide walls sometimes made hollow, as
in the Bhool Bhualliya of Lucknow or Akbar's Fathepur Sikri complex near
Agra, were good insulators of heat as well as sound.

The common man's house, however, was a different tale. It is not known
whether the sthapati was involved with the typology of the common
houses. But irrespective of the sthapati, if there was any, it is well
known that the vernacular structures were a result of community-shared
knowledge. The vernacular knowledge of the courtyard effect, stack
effect, use of local materials and efficient adaptation to local
topography were well known in the practices of the past. In many famous
instances like Nath-malji's haveli in Jaisalmer built in the 19th
century by Diwan Mohata Nathmal, the prime minister of the local ruler,
as well as in most common houses, the courtyard is a common site. It
acts as an air funnel discharging indoor air into the sky, resulting in
improved thermal comfort of its adjacent areas. Similarly, recessed
windows, jaalis and the light wells of Lucknow's Imambara are not only a
source of light, but also of ventilation and thermal transfer.

The value of water to Indians can be understood from the plethora of
water harvesting and conservation systems found in different
topographies across the country. Zings, vavs, tanks, kund, surangam and
scores of other such structures are well established in the
architectural typology of India. The most ambitious amongst these might
be the water tank at Shringverpur, Allahabad, dating back to the 1st
century AD. If the current hypothesis of renowned archaeologist and
former director general of Archaeological Survey of India (1968 -72)
Braj Bansi Lal is held correct, this flood harvesting technique
channelled the flood waters of the Ganga for about a kilometre to feed
the tank with a capacity of 6.5 million litres (storage tank alone).
This huge construction (see pictures below) is divided into three tanks:
inlet tank may have been used purely for desilting through
sedimentation, from which water flowed into the storage tank for use by
citizens; another storage tank that even had wells in its dug in its
floor to further recharge the ground water during monsoon; and the last
tank, which might have been a small votive tank followed by the spilling
outlets through which the overflow was released back.





GO LOCAL: (clockwise) Votive tank at the excavated site of Shringverpur;
feeding tank and inlet channel at the back; storage tank

One of the ongoing studies at SandHI, IIT Kanpur suggests that the use
of the beautiful steps at Chand Baoli in a little town of Abhaneri in
Rajasthan made internationally famous by the latest Batman movie The
Dark Knight might not have served an aesthetic purpose alone (see
picture on cover page). The tank was built by King Chanda of the
Nikumbha Dynasty between 800 AD and 900 AD. Simulation of daylight on
this structure has revealed that an inverted pyramid with a stepped
motif is an optimal form for shadowing the wall which prevents its
heating (see computer simulations above). Of course, lower heating
results in lower evaporation. The folklore in Rajasthan, poetically
describes the rational behind such a form — paani ko suraj ki chori se
bachana hai. (Don't let the sun steal the water.) With this mantra in
hand, the non-engineering communities of Rajasthan have built ingenious
water harvesting structures that are a perennial source of water supply
in a region that receives less than 10 cm of annual rainfall. In
particular, by encouraging a shift from 'produce' to 'fixed' and then to
cash rents, the British administration upset the procedures and
protocols between tenants and landlords over the question of the
maintenance of such evolved water systems, leading to their gradual
demise.





Computer simulations of Chand Baoli in Abhineri, Rajasthan (picture at
the top) that replicate the ingenious optimal wall shadowing which
prevents water evaporation; A) east face at 12.30 in April; (B) south
face at 12.30 in April; (C) west face at 15.30 in April; (D) south face
at 15.30 in April

Wherever such colonial laws have been defied, indigenous systems are
again proving resourceful. Rajendra Singh, the waterman of Rajasthan
flouted these colonial laws umpteen times to build johads. This has not
only replenished several dried wells, but also miraculously rejuvenated
rivers that were lying dry for more than 60 years.

Not only the canals, but also much of the sanitation and storm water
lines in Indus cities had perfect rendition of slopes, privy
connections, inspection pits placed at grids, and a framework based on
geometric patterns of brick kerbing and corbelling.

Over 75 per cent of the built environment of Mohenjodaro and Harappa was
carved out of the famous 'English bond' known to Indians almost 5,000
years before the British claimed to introduce it in India. Knowledge of
orthogonal geometry and town planning layout based on the 'grid-iron'
pattern were known 1,500 years prior to the ancient City of Miletus
(1,500 BCE) in Anatolia.

Earthquake safety has also been a matter of concern in many regions in
India. Interestingly, it has been tackled effectively through simple
frugal solutions, that can only be described as beautiful. Construction
and design practices like dhajji diwari, kathkuni, koti-banal, taaq and
others have shown better seismic response than contemporary construction
in the same regions. It was astounding to see the dhajji diwari of the
Kashmiri houses withstanding the 2005 earthquake measuring a magnitude
of 7.6. The term dhajji diwari may have its origin in Persian, referring
to a "patchwork quilt wall". The wall is made of a timber frame with a
stone-mortar infill. Observing its seismic resistance, close to 10,000
houses in Kashmir were reconstructed in the aftermath of the earthquake
using this age-old technique.

Prof Durgesh Rai from IIT Kanpur has conducted multiple shaking-table
tests to draw a detailed analysis of the earthquake resistant mechanisms
of the dhajji diwari. Similarly, the kathkuni style cleverly uses
interlocking wooden sleepers (usually cedar) and stones, forming a
horizontal mesh with inherent elasticity to resist seismic force.

Of particular mention is the ingenious technique of using wedge shaped
bricks to prevent well walls from falling inwards during an earthquake.
Wedge shaped bricks lock together unlike rectangular or square bricks.
Even the well-known Roman engineers used rectangular linings in the well
walls, often resulting in their inward collapse due to the enormous
pressure of the soil. Interestingly, there is evidence of the use of
wedge shaped bricks in wells close to Allahabad, even until 1950s. This
is of significance considering the continuity of this knowledge from
Harappan times till now.

Besides building techniques, it is surprising to read the meticulously
drafted rules and regulations guiding the use of personal buildings as
well as other civic architecture. Amongst others, Arthashastra makes
elaborate mention of fire safety regulations. The regulations imposed
heavy penalty against any resident who did not separate the cooking
stove from the wall with a line of water pots. Kitchen window or walls
were prohibited from facing the kitchen wall of another house. In case
of a fire mishap at a site in which fire safety regulations had been
violated, the owner was forced to bear the reconstruction expenses of
not only his own house, but also that of the property of other citizens,
which was damaged due to his negligence.

Such detailed understanding of not only the design and construction of a
building, but also of the civic responsibilities of a citizen, give a
glimpse of the refined civic sensibilities of our civilisation. Alas!
such knowledge as well as its practice has slowly disappeared from our
contemporary living surroundings. Today, modernism has a tendency to
achieve a universal lifeless homogenisation by suppressing free and
creative attempts in local contexts and in local practice. Therefore, we
assert a contemporary need to establish a dialogue with tradition,
holistically framed through the lens of science and build a
science-heritage interface.

(Dr Koumudi Patil is assistant professor in the department of humanities
and social sciences and design programme at IIT Kanpur. Email:
kppatil@iitk.ac.in

Dr Joy Sen is professor in the department of architecture and regional
planning at IIT Kharagpur.

Email: joysen@arp.iitkgp.ernet.in)

know@mydigitalfc.com

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