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January 2008 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 19
growth of settlements in these valleys
flourishing by percolating the great les-
sons of nature in the form of climatic,
geological, topographical constraints,
availability of natural materials, flora and
fauna, accustomed to present soil condi-
tions, geographical conditions and trying
hard to survive amidst such harsh physi-cal base, have with ages of time evolved
from patterns of nature itself a unique
technique for existence and this tech-
nique is called vernacular architecture.
One important aspect of vernacular
architecture of hills of Himachal Pradesh
is regarding the conservation of energy.
More research is being carried out in
this field to harness even more benefits.
One such field is the propagation ofsolar passive technology which when
optimally utilized would harness immeas-
urable gains.
DHARAMSALA - KANGRA
REGION OF DHARAMSALA
Kangra region comprises of 14 subdivi-
sions namely Deragopipur, Nagrota
Surian, Pragpur, Rait, Indora, Kangra,
Fatehpur, Nagrota Bagwan, Nurpur,
Bhawarna, Sullah, Panchrukhi, Baijnath,
and Lambagaon and is spread over an
area of 29 kmand population density of
300 persons per hectare. It is located in
western part of Himachal Pradesh state of
North India.
This area has a particular climatic
feature in the form of the area receiving
maximum rainfall after Cherapunji and it
makes it one of the coldest places of
Himachal Pradesh and like Shimla only;the summer capital of the state this win-
ter capital of the state has also made
progress in the field of application of
conservation of energy and mainte-
nance of comfortable temperatures
even in the harshest minimum tempera-
tures of 5c -10 c in months of
December-February. These techniques
have been evolved from vernacular
architecture over the ages. Yet, the tech-
niques need to be modified and some
new parameters need to be included in
it that have remained unknown to the
people of the area either due to lack of
knowledge about these ways or simple
ignorance about their application. The
paper gives an idea to solve this prob-lem of hills of Himachal Pradesh with all
the areas having similar or near similar
climatic and geographic conditions.
TRADITIONAL
CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES
Five styles of construction on hills pre-
dominate the area. These are: fill, cut, cut
and fill steps and erection on poles.
Fill: The gradient is filled to make aneven levelled land to serve as uniform
grounded platform to act as base for con-
struction purposes. But it has certain dis-
advantages as well like it disturbs vegeta-
tion and the material in filling is liable to
erode easily thereby increasing the risk to
stability of structure and uneven settle-
ment of the structure.
Cut: The gradient is cut suitably to
make a levelled and uniform surfaced
ground /platform for the future construc-
tion purposes. It involves cutting of vege-
tation as well. Therefore in case of fragile
ecosystems and ecology, it makes the
structure prone to the risks of landslides.
Moreover the earth recovered from cut-
ting the gradient has also to be disposed
of properly.
Cut and fill: It involves the advan-
tages of both cutting and filling as well. Iteliminates for the need of very deep cut-
ting (up to 3 meters) and also very high
level filling thereby providing stability to
the structure. Moreover it doesn't inter-
fere much with the vegetation cover.
Staggered or stepped: The construc-
tion is made on a platform made of steps
in line with the gradient or the slope ofthe area. The lowest step however needs
to be strongest to take the load of subse-
quent steps. This is also one of common
practices to construct stable structures.
Added advantages include the better
usage of contours, least cutting -filling
operations involved, least disturbing of
vegetation and most importantly maxi-
mum benefit of sunlight.
Filling the gradient
Cutting the gradient
Cut and Fill
Staggered or stepped
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ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People January 200820
Buildings on poles: Here, the entire
structure is raised on poles. In this case,
less area on ground is covered and used
and it does not interfere at all with vege-
tation and land covers. However it is
preferable to use this technique only in
the area where subsoil conditions are
good and substrata does not involve slip-pery and porous stones since in that case
settlement would take place, making the
structure unstable. Moreover here no
retaining or fence wall is required. It is
therefore economic solution for construc-
tion on sloping gradients.
General considerations in orienta-
tion of built masses on hills:
1. In order to exploit maximum and bet-
ter views, sunlight and wind effects,
built mass shall be oriented along the
profile of the slope.2. Buildings are planned in steps in two
different ways: 1). by placing main
building at back and smaller at front
to avail maximum benefit of the cli-
matic considerations like light, winds
views etc. and 2). By downhill or uphill
planning and orientation of the build-
ing. In downhill, the private areas are
designed at bottom or down level
and public areas are placed at the top
while in up hill planning; the pubic
areas and parking etc. are placed at
the bottom or down level and private
spaces are placed at the top.
3. Generally activity of the building (or
the built mass) decides for the type of
view to be preferred and hence orien-tation is governed. For eg. In case of
valley private areas are avoided view
on the side of roads while less private
areas are preferred on side of roads
4. Access: in case of access, if the entire
built mass is to be placed on the same
level for all entrances to be from same
level, (for varied reasons)then build-
ing has to designed at the same level
using any of the above mentionedconstruction practices.
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
OF HIMACHAL PRADESH
Land of traditionally built mud houses,
Himachal Pradesh is the area that has
stored and embodied traditional styles of
nature in all aspects of life, be it making of
structures or methods of livelihood.
Houses are traditionally of mud mortar
and sun -dried masonry, given fine coat-
ings of bhusa or husk mixed with either
cow dung or mud. Sometimes the houses
are also made of stone masonry as lime-
stone is available in abundance here.
Reinforced with heavy wooden beams,
the walls are sufficiently weather and
earthquake, temperature resistant be it a
case of single storey of even double
storey structure. Generally traditional
houses (mainly in villages nowadays) are
double storied, elegantly plastered with
mud plasters.
The floors are also well plastered with
a mixture of mud-cow dung-bhusa or
husk. This makes the floors heat insulat-
ing that helps in maintenance of comfort-
able temperatures inside the areas even
in extreme colds and hot months. Heavywooden beams are also sometimes intri-
cately carved in case of areas of special
importance; like living room, etc. (Plate 9)
Building on poles
Building in steps
Traditional houses made of mud masonry &slates
Sloping roof houses
Plate 9: Intricately carved wooden beams
Carved wooden brackets
Wooden columns and beams
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January 2008 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 21
W a l l s a r e
f i n i s h e d b y
cladding with
wooden panel
f o r i n s u l a t i o n
reasons.
Staircases in
traditional hous-es are generally
of small width of
flights (generally
of 3') and that is also made up of
completely wood with treads plastered
in mud or cow dung and husk. Roof top
is made up of wooden rafters and bat-
tens supporting framework of slates
with slope perfectly maintained.
Sometimes it is double sloped or some-where it is single.
Design of a typical house comprises
of two to three rooms (general size
10'x12') with generally one or two or
maximum of three small sized openings
that are meticulously placed so that no
direct impact on living space is felt. One
small sized kitchen in the house with
sometimes attached chimney, one
bathing space and one small sized
detached toilet that is often at some dis-
tance outside the house are essential part
of a traditional house in hills of Himachal
Pradesh. Sometimes if the owner has cat-
tle, a separate double stored or even sin-
gle storied house is made in near vicinity
of the residential complex. In the lower
storey, cattle is kept while in upper storey,
cattle feed, or husk, etc. is kept.
Large sun spaces in front as veran-
dahs form an integral part of the houses
either be it of stone masonry or typical
mud. Stone masonry houses are also very
much prevalent in the area owing to the
easy availability of limestone.
These are sometimes plastered from
inside with mud or with lime plaster pro-
vided either with wooden reinforcement
or steel reinforcement to strengthen the
structure but in most of the case exteriorwalls are left exposed without any treat-
ment to stone masonry (either random
rubble or ashlar masonry).
In stone masonry also, the roof is gener-
ally made up of wooden rafters topped
with slates or sometimes with steel truss or
other light weight material at the top like
asbestos sheets, G.I sheets or even mud tiles.
Wooden interior & ceiling
Wooden brackets & covering over stonemasonry
Sloping roof of Slates
Wooden Paneling onWalls
Heavy Woodenbeams
Wooden staircase,paneling, beams & columns
Stone Masonry without plaster or exteriortreatment
Harmony of stone masonry with woodenstructural members
Sun spaces or porticos in front
Insulation achieved with heavy woodenpaneling inside
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ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People January 200822
Shapes for stone masonry structure
vary from complete rectangular forms to
hexagonal rooms at either ends or well
mixture of varied shapes. At some places
sometimes North light truss is used or
roof light is used for ample lighting.
Yet another form has been recently
developed by Didi-Contarctors; an
organization active in preservation of tra-
ditional vernacular architecture of the
hills of the area which is not only cost
effective, but also is easy to maintain,
work with and most importantly resist-ant to all harsh climatic conditions, earth-
quake etc natural hazards and leads to
least damage in case of unfavorable and
unforeseen circumstance and that is
bamboo architecture
INTRODUCTION TO SOLAR
PASSIVE TECHNOLOGY
While in active solar system and energy
conservation methods, special external
accessories are used and attached to the
structure to enhance the heat gain, pas-
sive systems involves design, construc-
tion and orientation of the structure itself
in such a way that the structure itself
becomes the absorbent and retainer of
the solar energy thereby eliminating the
need to use the external methods and
accessories of heat gain. If used at all the
supplementary accessories like curtains,
carpeting etc, is so cheap that hardlyaccounts towards extra energy consump-
tion and energy losses. Therefore the pas-
sive solar technology methods have
proved to be very energy conserving and
cost effective over the methods of active
solar technology. Nowadays, over these
parameters and calculated gains from
such successful experiments in Shimla
like buildings of HIMURJA, H.P. Co-opera-
tive Bank, Shimla, Solar passive building
of State Bank of Patiala, Shimla, propaga-
tion and advocating the use of such
methods and construction of such struc-
ture would definitely be a boost towards
energy conservation aspects for the cold
regions of Himachal Pradesh.
DETAILING OF SOLAR
PASSIVE TECHNOLOGY
Here, natural methods of heat flow, con-
vection, radiation and conduction are
studied and applied to capture heat dur-
ing daytime and its release during night
time. These therefore provide for excess
amount of free energy. A structure can be
injected with solar passive technology in
several ways. These are: Design considerations
Construction considerations
Materials considerations
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
1. Structure design
Proper planning can make struc-
ture save and conserve a lot of
solar energy in daytime.
Shapes like, square, rectangular, L
&T and variant of these can be
used advantageously. However,
sometimes, owing to topographic
Hexagonal or rectangular shapes of sun spacesin front
Provision of chimney over sloping roof
Linear forms with expansion joints preferred
Massing in hills
Use of North light truss for lighting purposes
Treatment of glass with doorframe to admitlight
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January 2008 ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People 23
constraints and earthquake
considerations of a region
(Dharamsala), preferably rectan-
gular and square shapes are pro-
posed to be most effective.
Largest area of roof and walls is
exposed to sun in case of rectan-
gular shape. Buffer spaces can be used to
reduce temperature fall of the
main areas/living areas. In this
case some rooms /areas can be
made as antispaces to arrest the
heat loss.
Porticos in the front can be
provided in front that enhance
heat gain.
Attics in the roof can be usedadvantageously to collect and
retain heat in the built mass
under the sloping roof.
2. Orientation
For maximum absorption of solar
radiation; the built mass shall be
oriented along east-west axis and
faced between south to 30 east
of south.
Since north facing wall is least
gainer of solar radiations, it shall
be protected against heat losses
by either painting it with dark
colours to absorb maximum
amount of solar radiations and be
having high thermal mass to slow
down temperature cycling.
Windows shall be small and
well insulated
Heavy masonry work like stone
masonry etc. shall be preferred East and west facing exterior walls
shall be maximum exposed to
solar radiations
Windows shall be given to
greater extent in east and west
facing walls.
South facing walls since are most
absorbent of radiations, shall be
maximum exposed with open-
ings/windows to great-
est extent
3. Landscaping
Proper landscaping can
also add to solar energy
gains in winters while
p r o v i d i n g a s h i e l d
against the same insummers.
In case of north facing
walls, evergreen plants
s h a l l b e u s e d t o
cold winds
In case of east and west
facing walls deciduous
plants shall be used for
shade in summers and
heat gain in winters
CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERA-
TIONS
Solar window s: windows
are efficient way of increasing
heat gain. Double glazing: in it,
the air cavity between the two
glasses acts as an insulation
resulting the overall insulation.
Solar wall: a solar wall con-
sists of thermal storage wall
constructed between the solar
glazing and living space. South
facing glass functions heat trap-
ping material. The solar wall
also reduces the temperature
fluctuations in the room during
daytime and allows the heat to
be delivered into the rooms in
the evening till late hours.
Sunspaces: the green houseatria, sun porches and garages
are known as attached sun
spaces. Thus extra heat avail-
able from these sunspaces can
be used to augment the heat-
ing of rest of the buildings.
Attached sunspaces not only
supply solar heat but also
reduce heat loss from building
Maximum exposure to east facing walls
Orientation shall be east-west axis and faced betweensouth to 30 east of south
Proper landscaping contributes towards solar gains
Judicious and wise use of deciduous and evergreenplantation helps in solar gains
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ARCHITECTURE - Time Space & People January 200824
by acting as buffers between the build-
ings and outside.
Sola r trombe wall: trombe wall is a
modification of solar wall in which
openings are kept at top and bottom.
The heat flow into the room is available
for 2-3 hours after sunset till the wall
surface gets cooled.Air cavit y: air cavity within walls or
an attic space in the roof ceiling combi-
nation reduces the solar heat gain fac-
tor. Heat is transmitted through the air
cavity by convection and radiation.
Skyl ights : Skylights for winter solar
gain and illumination: skylights and
roof windows bring solar heat and light
into the house especially on the north-
ern portion unexposed to the sun, inwinters. The skylight assembly and the
supporting frame must be insulated.
Roof insulation: sloping roofs are
mostly preferred in hills and to make it
more efficient in terms of trapping
solar energy, attic spaces shall be pro-
vided that would act as b uffer zone. Air
cavity in the form of attic spaces in
roof-ceiling combination reduces the
heat loss when false ceiling insulation
is adopted.
Roof covering and drainage: prop-
er drainage of water and efficient roof
covering are most important consider-
ations as leaking roof cannot provide
effectively heat insulation. Over the
steel truss, G.I sheets and slates shall
be used.
Better water/weather proofing :
These measures at the openings would
help to reduce infiltration. Rubber strip-pings at the junctions of shutters and
frames and below doors would help in
sealing of all cracks. Keeping windows
closed and immediately replacing bro-
ken panes help to considerably reduce
infiltration.
Windows: size of windows /openings
shall be small from 1.2 to 1.5 m/ to mini-
mize hest loss due to openings.
MATERIALS CONSIDERATIONS
For walls facing north, preferably cav-
ity wall construction is considered
ideal but wooden paneling can be
used advantageously however walls
facing south shall be not be insulated
against heat loss.
For floors either carpeting or woodenfloors are an ideal solution.
In case of doors and windows, proper
insulation can be done using rubber
gaskets as and where required since
proper insulation can reduce heat
loss more than 50%.
Since timber and plastic have lower
conductivity than steel therefore they
shall be given preference for doors
and windows. In case of roof, covering shall be such
that adds to heat gains both by
absorption and also by retaining
heat trapped and best for this are
slates (readily available in hills) or
light weight roofing tiles like GI
sheets, asbestos sheets, Corrugated
sheets etc.
However roof shall be provided for
drainage of storm water as well by
adequate provision of purlins and
gutters otherwise it will lead to water
retention and ultimately leading to
dampness and great heat loss.
Better weather proofing: better rub-
ber stripping at the junctions of shut-
ters and frames and below doors
would seal the gaps that otherwise
lead to heat loss
In case of areas of extreme concern
in terms of comfortable tempera-ture zones, heavy curtains can also
be used to scale off the reduction
of heat.
CONCLUSION
With the changing needs and require-
ments, our environment is getting
depleted of natural resources at an
alarming rate. Today therefore, is the
need to not only think about our living
styles that consumes, rather wastes, the
invaluable energy reserves but also to
take a closer look at our old rich heritage
like vernacular architecture that not only
blends well with the contextual in fills of
the area but also conserves our
resources for the future generations tocome. With great emphasis on energy
conservation, today many innovations
are being done in the field with com-
mendable work being done especially in
case of solar passive technology propa-
gation but until and unless common
masses understand and inculcate the
very concept of soar gains in the form of
very small and easy steps in day to day
life, much progress cannot be done.
REFERENCES
1. Sharma Vandna, 2005, Unpublished
work, B.Arch Thesis, Mini Secretariat
in Dharamsala.
2. Sharma Vandna, 2007, Unpublished
work, M.U.R.P Dissertation, Planning
for a new hill town in Kangra region.
3. Sharma Aniket, 2007, Unpublished
work, M.U.R.P Dissertation, Industrial
Development Planning for Himachal
Pradesh.
4. http://hpkangra.gov.in/welcome.asp
Ar. Vandna Sharma, Faculty
D e p t t . o f A r c h i t e c t u r e , N I T
Hamirpur, Gold - medalist, B.Arch-
Hons., Masters of Urban and
Rural Planning, IIT Roorkee and
Ar. Aniket Sharma, B.Arch-Hons.,Masters of Urban and Rural
Planning, IIT Roorkee, former
Faculty, Deptt. of Architecture, NIT
Hamirpur & presently Assistant
Project Manager, Jones Lang
LaSalle, Hyderabad.
Photographs: Courtesy the
Authors.
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