West Bengal 2g5s1m

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF

WEST BENGAL (পশশম বঙ)

Guided By : Dr. Kamini Sinha

Contents 1. Introduction 2. West Bengal: At a Glance 3. Classification on the basis of climate. 4. Northern Bengal (the hills) 5. Central Bengal (the plains) 6. Southern Bengal (the coasts) 7. Conclusion 8. Bibliography

INTRODUCTION "Folk building growing in response to actual needs, fitted into environment by people who knew no better than to fit them with native feeling“ – Frank Lloyd Wright •The term vernacular is derived from the Latin vernaculus, meaning "domestic, native, indigenous"; from Verna, meaning "native slave" or "home-born slave". •Vernacular architecture is a category of architecture based on local needs and construction materials, and reflecting local traditions. •All forms of vernacular architecture are built to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies and ways of life of the cultures that produce them. •The study of this type of architecture is of utter importance as 90% of world architecture is vernacular and only 5-10% structure designed by architect.

WEST BENGAL: AT A GLANCE (History, Geography and Climate)

•Prior to Partition of Bengal in 1947 (a part of Partition of INDIA), The British Indian Province of Bengal comprised of Modern day Indian state- West Bengal and Independent country- Bangladesh. •This Religion based partition ( as a result of MOUNTBATTEN PALN) resulted in formation of WEST BENGAL (Hindu majority) and EAST PAKISTAN (Muslim majority). •In 1971, East Pakistan became BANGLADESH (independent nation) after the BANGLADESH LIBERATION WAR. •West Bengal has a Long and narrow territory stretching from the Deltas of Ganga at The Bay of Bengal in south to the high mountains of Himalayas in North.

• West Bengal shares International boundaries with Nepal Bhutan and Bangladesh. • Its neighbouring states are Bihar Jharkhand and Orissa. • It is located between 210 31’ N and 27014’N latitude and 860 35’E and 89053’E longitude.

CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF CLIMATIC ZONES Northern Bengal (the hills) Jalpaiguri, Kochbihar, Darjeeling •Alpine cold + tropical heat •348 cm average rainfall •Avg. max. temp : 16.80C •Avg. min. temp: 9.40C

Central Bengal (the plains) Nadia, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Bardhaman, Bankura

•Tropical heat •Avg. rainfall: 104.2cm •Avg. max. temp: 31.50C •Avg. min. temp: 20.70C

Southern Bengal (Coast of Bengal) Midnapore, Howrah, Jhargram, •Sub-tropical Monsoon + heavy storm. •Avg. max. temp: 31.80C •Avg. min. temp: 210C •Avg. rainfall: 131.1 cm

NORTHERN BENGAL (THE HILLS)

Materials used for Building Construction: •Timber •Plaster •Stone •Slate •G.I sheets

Design Strategies • Thermal insulation of structure – Use of wood in construction • Inlet of solar radiation – Large openings on south face •Keeping off the snow/rain – Slope roof GI Sheets for protection of timber walls.

Stone/ Brick masonry up to Sill level to impart strength to the South facing windows structure. A typical house in Darjeeling

Wooden lintel

Wooden s

G.I Sheet

Stone masonry wall

Sectional view of a typical wall

CENTRAL BENGAL (THE PLAINS)

Materials used for Building Construction: •Mud/ Clay •Terracotta

•Thatch

•Rope made up of coconut fibres and •Tar (waterproofing ) weaver bird’s nest •Bamboo •Palm tree barks

Typical BANGLA curved roof (made of thatch) Bamboo structural elements

Mud wall

Raised plinth

Typical rural house in Central Bengal (JairambatiKamarpukur)

Courtyard (Angan)

Bangla style roof

Verandah on all four sides (Sushthita ghar)

Raised plinth (Postha ghar)

Terracotta temple (RADHAMOHAN TEMPLE, BISHNUPUR )

CLASSIFICATION OF TRADITIONAL RURAL HOUSES

CHOUSHALA: Rooms on four raised sides and a courtyard (uthan ; উঠঠন)

SUSTHITA GHAR: House with a verandah on all four sides.

BRITIGHAR: House along with all its rooms fenced within one boundary.

DISHALA BANDH GHAR: Two separate rooms with a open space between them

POSTAGHAR: House made on a raised platform

ICONIC FORMS INHERITED FROM ARCHITECTURE OF THIS REGION CHARCHALA: House with 4 sloping roofs

ATHCHALA: House with 8 sloping roofs; 4 on the main structure and 4 on the verandah on each side.

EKABANGLA: A separate house with typical BANGLA curved roof.

JORBANGLA: Two separate houses with roof attached to each other in order to form a VALLEY.

CASE STUDY OF A RESIDENTIAL PLACE IN KAMARPARA, BANPAS, DIST: BARDHAMAN, W.B •Site location: Site is located in a small village (Kamarpara) in Bardhaman district of West Bengal.

•Transport: -The site is 15km from N.H-2A and 3 km from N.H- 2B. - 7km from Banpas Railway station (Bardhaman-Rampurhat loop line)

Site plan

Ground floor plan

45cm thick mud walls with bamboo reinforce ment and tar coating on outside.

First floor plan

Techniques employed for construction • To make the envelope of the building, bamboo with branches are placed in a thick plinth of mud and rammed earth. These serve as reinforcement for the wall. •Then thick mud (mixed with suitable aggregate) is put on both the sides of the bamboo (45cm approx). •After it has dried, a coat of COAL TAR is put on the exterior to make it waterproof.

•To make upper floors, PALM TREE BARKS are used as Beams. •Vertically cut palm logs are placed at regular intervals on the fully dried walls. •A mesh made of bamboo is then placed upon it and secured by ropes. •Then mud/rammed earth is put on the mesh. •A mixture of Cow Dung, Clay and water is used to apply (as a coat) on the walls and the floor . •For the roof, thatch was used upon bamboo frame.

SOUTHERN BENGAL (COAST OF BENGAL)

MATERIALS USED FOR CONSTRUCTION •Bamboo •Thatch (preferably tiles as this region demands more strength for it is predominantly affected by Cyclonic storms and heavy rainfall.) •Rammed earth •Due to Colonial rule, a lot of structures showing amalgamation of colonial and traditional architecture may be seen. Those structures are mainly made up of : -Timber -Bricks -Lime -Iron

Tiles

Thatch

Clerestory (Adapted from colonial architecture) Mud wall Tar coat for waterproofing

A typical rural house in South Bengal (Midnapore)

CASE STUDY OF A TRADITIONAL HOUSE IN JAGACCHA, HOWRAH, (W.B) •This traditional house is 120 years old and lies in “Howrah” district of West Bengal. •It is a house of zamindar and was constructed during British rule in India. •The form of traditional house has emerged as a result of economic, social, cultural, physical features and climatic considerations of the region.

•Open space is on all four sides to promote ventilation. •The building faces the east. •The building is rectangular in shape to receive minimum solar radiation from east and west side. •Flat roof is used for activities like drying masala, clothes, playing, sleeping in the night, sitting etc. •Since the area is prone to floods during monsoon, the plinth is 1 m. •For protection against rain and solar radiation, deep verandahs are provided on both east and west sides and the walls are 500 mm thick. •The height of the room is 3.6m.

N

Ground floor plan

First floor plan

Front elevation

Rear elevation

Techniques used

Inducing diffused daylight in the house through high windows.

E-W orientation of building reduces the solar heat gain.

Louvers on the eastern face to keep off sun and rain.

CONCLUSION •Vernacular architecture is a Realistic and replicable option for improving building techniques for the local people using low cost , low energy and locally produced building materials, like: rammed earth, compressed earth blocks, fibre cement tiles and bamboo. •Focus on climate in design reflects the local micro climate with special focus on Cooling, shading, natural ventilation, cross ventilation etc. •Protection from monsoon damages are achieved by: raised ground floors, eaves, galleries .

THANK YOU

BIBLIOGRAPHY WEBSITES: •Wikipedia •Bengalarcheology •Archinomy •mapsofindia BOOKS AND DOCCUMENTS: •West Bengal State Marketing Board- Climatic data •State Forest Report – Directorate of Forests, Govt. of West Bengal •Himalayan Architecture- by Ronald M. Bernier

Prepared by:

Swati Shushmita Lakra (1105002)

Manohar Kr. Gupta (1105020)

Rahul Roy (1105022)

Saurabh Suranj (1105024)

Harish S. Chauhan (1105032)

Somnath Bhui (1105036)

Vikash Kumar (1105023)

Sudhakar Kumar (1105060)