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Typology & Mapping of Housing ZonesBook Review by:LavanyaReshmaVII Sem Sec DTypologyTypology is the art and scienceof studying types.

About the book

The book deals with the studyof house typology in the western arid zone of India,i.e some districts of Rajasthanand the state of Gujarat with thehelp of case studies.

Rajasthan Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer

Gujarat Kutch, Banaskantha

ObservationsHouses in these desert areas bear several similarities in their forms, construction methods, irrespective of their geographic location, but undergo subtle variations due to factors like:

- Regional characteristics

- Micro climate patterns

- Cultural Differences

- Population & Type of community

- Human factors

- Available materials

-Techniques and skills

- Living patterns

The western arid zone of India experiences:

Hotter climate, Dryness and DroughtScanty rainfallLack of vegetationMore dominating action of dusty wind with varying directions.

Therefore variations are observed in the house forms like:

No openings for the built spaces except the door openingsLarge central courts for more light and ventilation surrounded by rooms.

Occupational patterns and skills of people played an important role in the form determination process of their vernacular style houses.

Places were people had greater skills and craft capabilities, built betterand beautifully decorated dwellings.

Outdoor spaces were widely used in the entire arid zone belt but the manner of use and its making differed from region to region depending on the culture, the people and their occupations.

Availability of natural materials for construction was affected by regional variations.Easy access to stone and wood got reflected in the buildings of that region, otherwise mud continued to be a prominent materal, being easy to handle. In plains, rectangular, gable roofed units were found. Walls of clay or brick, roofs covered with weeds, grass, leaves and stone slabs were stone was easily available.

Whereas, villages in arid region had irregular shaped clusters and streetswith conical huts having thatched roofs supported on mud walls. Logs of wood were used as columns to support large projections of the roof.

Transportation and road-link systems largely affected the availability of new materials like cement, bricks etc. This could be seen from the differences in house forms and materials used in villages near road and away from roads.

Larger villages, toward the center, showed more of an organized pattern with regular streets. Whereas, some were irregularly shaped clusters with unplanned streets.

Peoples participation in their house building as well as planning process was considered very important. All the house forms in these regions were closely linked with the life-styles of people as it was not desirable to plan for them in isolation.

House TypologyFour types of houses identified according to the plan forms are:

Type P: Houses with parallel walls, open courts within, constructed with stone or wood or brick with stone or country tiled pitched roof. E.g. Houses of Bikaner, Barmer

Type C: Rooms with circular walls built around an open court, rectangular room built as a kitchen or store room made out of mud and thatched roof.E.g. Houses of Kuran, Dinara.

Type R: Rectangular walls as major spaces, one room with a circular wall as service, space built around an open court and constructed out of stone or brick and pitched tiles or with flat stone roof. E.g. Houses of Luni, Nokha

Type RC: Combination of rectangular walled rooms and circular walled rooms, constructed around a courtyard of stone, brick and mud walls and with a pitched tile or thatched roof. E.g. Houses of Mangta, Palana

Case StudyAmarurams House Pugal, BikanerBikaner DistrictSituated on the north of Jaisalmer, forming the topmost portion of the western arid zone.

Has the maximum density of houses.

Is made mainly of sandy soils with sand dunes and rocky hills, not very fertile soil, very little vegetation and also experiences heavy sand storms forming very high dunes.

In semi-urban set up of town or city of Bikaner, houses are generally made of stone or mud, with houses densely packed and area per house is leass than that of a village. Construction is mainly load bearing with stones either dressed or randomly placed.Whereas, in villages, mud is the predominant material for construction and availability of land is more.

1m high thorny hedges are used to demarcate the boundaries of plots, to keep away desert creatures and to stop the blow of sand.

Amarurams House Pugal, BikanerHouse is organized around a central court which occupies 50%of the house area and is the mainsource of light and ventilation.

Rectangular living room, cookingspaces, circular mud store, all linkedby a compound wall, encloses the court.

Built spaces are devoid of openingsexcept the doors.

Also has 5cm high mud base with 3 holes, serving as temple and storage place for water.

Devoid of decorations.Conical mud roofBrick wallsFlat stone slabsMud plastered floorsConstruction & TechnologyFollowed rural vernacular architecture with locally available materials and traditional building techniques.

Houses are self built with very little use of machines.

Single floor constructions were applied, except in towns where 2-3 storeyed buildings were seen.

Used simple and direct joinery details.

Wood used was left in its natural state. Mud was usually used as the covering material.

TypeThis house belongs to Type P, i.e houseswith parallel walls, open courts within,constructed of stone, brick with stone slabpitched roof.

Faade Typology: Street faade is very important as its the only faade seen.

Zarookhas, which are intricately carved projections on doors provides an ideal design solution for arid climate and narrow streets.

Brass utensils for storing water is an important belonging and is proudly exhibited in the house.

ConclusionThe process of form crystallisation has a strong contextual validity.Any external intervention can lead to incongrous and unsuitable changes.

Therefore it is important to retain the typicality of houses region wise. Also, improvement in certain areas of dwelling units can be considered and the optimum use of local skills and crafts is necessary.

The role of modernisation and advancement has to be respected too along with tradition and regional context.

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