Friday, May 22, 2009


A Dwelling in the Agraharam


The house has a verandah at the entrance for social activities and a platform, slightly raised from the street, which runs the entire length of the row houses. It also acts as a transition from the street to the dwelling. A passage which starts at the street face, runs through the house ending at the backyard. There are some open spaces too, in the form of sunken courtyards or backyards which are highly functional. The concept of ara and pathayam, the storage spaces of Kerala houses are seen to be followed here. The storage areas keep the grains safe and dry during the wet monsoon season. This particular double storeyed unit has rooms on one side of the passage and also has a small open-to-sky courtyard attached to the living space. The court has provisions of taps for ablution and also outlets for water drainage which takes the rainwater outside. The opening in the roof provides light to the windowless rooms. As in the traditional Kerala houses, there is a well attached to the kitchen and water can be drawn through the opening on the wall. Another courtyard, larger in size is seen next to the kitchen and toilets which is functions as a washing and bathing space.


Tribal House in Waynad


The tribal huts found in the highlands of Kerala are minimal in their spaces and structure. Locally procured bamboo, grass and mud are the basic materials of house construction. Each plot is fenced with bamboo sticks to mark boundaries and for protection against wild animals. Bamboo framed roof is covered with a thick layer of hay thatch. The roof slope is so steep that there is no chance of rainwater seepage to the inside spaces. The edge of the thatch roof is hardly 150 cms high from the ground- the roof being very deep to protect the walls and plinth from lashing rain. The walls are made of woven bamboo screens and finished with thick layer of mud on both sides. Certain portions are left unplastered for the provision of ventilation. The mud walls keep the inside spaces cool even during summers. The plinth is low, of about 10-30 cms height and is extended outwards by about a feet, with wooden logs or stones, which protects the walls from getting damp during rains. This part of the extended plinth is known as the ‘thinna’ and forms the main social and activity space. Then there is the ‘kolaya’ which is the side open verandah and the ‘akam’, the inside private space which has few openings and is used for living and storage. There is a separated ‘adukkala’ or kitchen space within the house. The floors are finished with cow dung. Most of the houses also have a ‘thattu’ or attic which is built as a part of the bamboo structure itself.




Thekkedathu Illom- Residence in Aranmula



A typical nalukettu of South Kerala, symmetrical with courtyard in the centre, is about 450 years old according to the residents. The rooms on both sides of the courtyard have few openings. There are no windows in the entire house. The walls and roof are entirely made of timber. There are loft spaces within the roof with gable openings at the ends. Though the opening over the courtyard is very small (0.6M x 1.2M) letting in minimum light, during the day, this space around the courtyard is the most used. The courtyard, 1.2M x 2M in area and 0.6M deep, is paved with stones and has a drain outlet which takes the rainwater outside the house. The poomukham or the entrance verandah with sides open is the social space which also becomes the space for relaxation. The well is located on the north-western part of the house, easily accessible from the kitchen. The plinth is more than 1 meter in height which ensures protection of the wooden members and the inside spaces from humidity. There is an upa-pitha, or second plinth for the poomukham, which created a social hierarchy in levels. The most remarkable feature found here is jalagam, an intervention made for better protection from rain. A special joinery of rafters makes their ends curved upwards and lets the rain water driven away. This ensures the protection of poomukham from getting wet during heavy downpour.




Nalukettu in Changanacherry
Nalukettu is the dwelling type in which the habitable spaces are built around a central courtyard. In this house, the courtyard is towards one end, which functions more as a utility space for the kitchen and not used as a major living space. The ara is located in the inner south, where as the kulam, kinar and kitchen are located in the north and north-east as per vastu prescriptions. The courtyard is unpaved and lets the water drain off without getting collected. The verandah around the courtyard is finished with terracotta tiles which absorb the sweeping water. The slight slope of the plot lets the water drain to the north, thus keeping the southern side comparatively dry. The kinar which is connected to the kitchen and the kulam located outside facilitates washing activities. It has an elevated plinth of more than a meter and a high roof with loft spaces inside. There are shaded verandahs all around the house.
The house has undergone extensions over years and the major living spaces have shifted to a side open verandah in the front and a living room with wooden jali on the longer side. Since the overhangs are not deep enough, there have been later additions of corrugated sheets attached to the roof ends. At the open ends, drain pipes are also attached to avoid water falling down directly. The kulam remains as a lotus pond, being rarely used these days.

Friday, May 15, 2009





CHAPTER 3




Homestead in Ponnani




A homestead forms the affluent house prototype in the midlands of Kerala. The large compound accommodates a dwelling and its related entities as separate units. They include the main house, guest house, store house or granary, cow shed, serpent grove, tanks and wells. The inhabitants act as connectors between these units which are generally anchored to the main house. According to vastu, these have assigned positions within the site which is followed in most traditional samples. The selected homestead at Ponnani in Malappuram district is a typical example which holds a two-storeyed main house, a two-storeyed pathayapura or store house which is also used as a guest house, a granary, a thozhuthu or cow shed, a serpent grove, two tanks and a well attached to the kitchen. The structure which is over 100 years old, had inhabitants till recent who vacated with the occupational shift of the younger generations. The compound is covered with trees leaving some clearance all around the structures. In the centre is a raised platform with koovalam tree, which is considered auspicious. Each of these built structures has a semi open verandah all around. One kulam is located in the north-east, while the other is in the south-west corner which is against the vastu prescriptions. These collected rain water as well as percolated ground water. They do not have a bath house or steps attached, but are accessed from the sloping sides. The well which is attached to the kitchen is located in the north east as prescribed. The sacred serpent grove which is located in the north-east, adjacent to the tank, with its thick vegetation and deep roots help retain ground water. The compound is adjoining agricultural fields and hence the water table remains high except for summers. The house as well as the pathayapura has a loft which is ventilated by means of small openings around. This remained as the storage space which was rarely accessed. The verandah of the main house has charupadi lined on two sides. This used to be the family gathering space which also allowed viewing the rain. The lower roof of the main house is further extended to provide a larger shade. This probably was used to gather the fruits and crops grown within the compound.




CHAPTER 3



Padmanabhapuram Palace Complex



The Padmanabhapuram palace complex is considered the epitome of domestic architecture in Kerala. The whole complex though organic in growth and hence not symmetrical, consists of different units built at different periods and hence giving rise to a series of built and open spaces. The open and closed spaces are sewn together by the semi open spaces which outline the blocks and sometimes connect the separate blocks to each other. Each unit had its own open space/central courtyard, closed secure rooms and verandah spaces all around, thus functioning as independent units, yet part of the complex. The huge longitudinal scale is broken by the low height buildings and narrow open spaces. The unique, non-repeating structures gave every space an identity of its own, and hence the experiences varied from place to place.The huge compound of 6.4 acres also accommodated water sources in the form of two tanks and a well. One of the tanks is attached to the kulapura or bath house, which had provisions for oil massage and pre-bath procedures. This used to be the commonly used tank for all general needs of bathing, washing, etc. From this tank, there is a flight of steps leading up to the Bhagawathi temple on its east. This takes the worshippers to the temple directly after bath and thus the act of bath becomes part of the ritual. The kitchen which is adjoining the tank has an opening and provision to draw water from a separated portion of the same tank. There is another tank on the north east side, which is away from the centre of activities and more private in nature. It adjoins the homa pura or place of rituals and thus considered to be a part of holy activities, and is not commonly used. There is a separate well located near one of the side entries to the complex, which is well connected to the saraswati temple, navarathri mandapam or dance hall and the administrative sections. It can therefore be inferred as public in nature, used by visitors and non-residents. Thus a hierarchical division of water sources in terms of privacy and diversity in functions can be drawn.

Contents
CHAPTER 1: MONSOON IN KERALA
1.1 Monsoon
1.2 Kerala
1.3 Climate of Kerala
1.4 Monsoon in Kerala
1.5 Influences of monsoon
1.5.1 Monsoon and Economy
1.5.2 Monsoon in Art and Literature
1.5.3 Monsoon and Lifestyle
CHAPTER 2: INFLUENCE OF MONSOON ON THE ORIGIN, GROWTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR OF SETTLEMENTS
2.1 Society and Culture
2.2 Morphology of Settlements
2.2.1 In the highlands
2.2.2 In midlands
2.2.3 In low lands
2.2.4 In coastal areas
2.2.5 In plains
CHAPTER 3: INFLUENCE OF MONSOON ON THE SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES IN DWELLINGS
3.1 Architectural elements responding to Rain
3.2 Dwellings of Kerala
3.2.1 Palace complex
3.2.2 Individual homestead/cluster
3.2.3 Individual residence-1
3.2.4 Individual residence-2
3.2.5 Individual residence-3
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION
4.1 Summary of the study
4.2 A look into the present context
4.3 Parallel studies and conclusions

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

CHAPTER 2

Tribal Settlement in Waynad


Waynad is a plateau located on the windward side of Western Ghats; with jungle clad slopes as well as farm plains, and rivers down the slopes. The climate is cooler compared to the other parts of the state. It is said that when Aryan invasion occurred, the original inhabitants of India were pushed down south and when they reached Kerala, the aboriginal tribes of the state were driven further into the hilly forests. The highlands are still occupied mainly by the tribes, inhabiting the remote areas, as loose settlements among the evergreen forest lands. They remain isolated from the rest of the people and culture and live an independent life, confining themselves to their own tribe and settlements. Since it is located on the windward side of the Western Ghats, it stops the south west monsoon winds and thus receives extensive rain. Within the highland area, there are regions of heavy rainfall as well as moderate and few of scanty rainfall according to their locations on the slopes.
Fig.9 The tribal settlement in waynad, with houses built using the local materials- bamboo, thatch and mud.The settlements consist of houses loosely arranged among the farmlands and forests. A few houses can be seen together clustered, but not in any order. They don’t follow any orientation criteria, unlike the rest of the state which strictly follow the orientation principles of vastushastra. No focal points or social places of congregation mark these settlements, but they share all the natural resources in the near proximity for their living. The houses are small with minimum requirements. There are no designated front yards or backyards, but they make use of the spaces left between two houses for outside activities. The major building materials are mud and bamboo which are locally available.

CHAPTER 2
Temple Town of Thripoonithura
The ancient port town later developed into a temple town with Poornatrayeesha temple as the focal point and palatial buildings in the temple precincts. It was considered auspicious to live in proximity to the temple. Initial developments happened along the temple periphery and then extended outwards, of which many of them had colonial influences in their construction style and spatial layout. With the roads and streets laid in access to the temple and other buildings around, the ceremonial road leading to the temple remains the central spine of the town. Temple tank was attached to the temple complex which served the local inhabitants as the abundant source of water. Not only temple, but many individual palaces and residences too had their own individual tanks. With the initial buildings in pure traditional Kerala architecture, the later ones with Dutch and British influence, and the contemporary buildings, there exists a mix of styles within the temple precincts.Individual houses with their private water bodies did not have to depend on the common water sources or temple tanks which were more of social in nature. These water tanks were placed within the site based on the vastu principles. The earlier homestead culture of placing the building within the yard and the narrow entry through padippura was replaced by road-side residences of colonial period. Due to the colonial influences, the side open verandahs with charupadi were replaced by glazed ribbon windows and wooden louvers. The interior courtyards and the water bodies vanished and the room heights increased though they used the same materials-laterite, timber, lime plaster, etc which were available locally. The climatic response was poor as compared to that of traditional structures. Sun shading and protection from rain became minimum since the deep and wide eaves disappeared. The use of glass and larger heights provided more light to the otherwise darker interiors of traditional buildings. The street character too changed where they were lined with buildings on both sides, as against the traditional streets/walkways with no building in near vicinity, but located far and inside the yards.
CHAPTER 2
Agraharam of Palakkad
The mass migration of Tamil Brahmins to Kerala 6 to 7 centuries ago led to the establishment of Agraharams- a group of houses which is repeated more or less in the similar fashion, forming a typical settlement. Palakkad is home to nearly 96 agraharams in the district and nearly 18 within the town. The Agraharam, though Tamil in its culture and character, has adaptations from Kerala too. The temple is the central focus with the dwellings lined on both sides of the road leading to it. The tube houses are either single or 2 storied with traditional pitched roofs and a very few with terraces. The wide streets (therveedhi) facilitate the chariot festival (ratholsavam, ratha=chariot, utsavam=festival). The temple tank, along with the Peepal tree (sthalavriksham) forms another focal element and interactive community space. The Brahmins being agricultural land owners and highly associated with temple activities, have their social life closely connected to the temple and farm lands. The linear organization of settlement has linear dwellings perpendicular to the street, which have shared walls with the adjacent ones. In each dwelling, they follow a hierarchy of spaces in terms of privacy- public, semi-public and private areas. The public realm of street touches the semi-open thinnai, an immediate transition between outside and inside, which leads to the inside private spaces. Most of the dwellings have an open courtyard, yet not a central element as in traditional Kerala houses. The small opening to the sky provides light and the rainwater brought in is drained outside or recharged to the open well. Open wells are a part of every house, near the kitchen or at the rear end. The original dwellings did not have bathrooms attached with them, as they depended on temple tanks and the nearby rivers/streams. But it is seen that, with later of extension to the houses, bathrooms have been added in most of them. The dwellings have pitched roofs with Mangalore tiles which appear continuous with the series of houses. Though they follow the sloping timber roofing system as in traditional Kerala style, they differ in their construction patterns and layouts. The pitched roofs shed off the rainwater, but the eaves are not deep enough as in the Kerala houses. Recent additions of corrugated sheets to the existing roof edges are also seen to maximize the protection.
CHAPTER 2
Village of waterways- Kuttanad in Alappuzha
Alappuzha is the only district which is fully under low lands and midlands. Kuttanad is the 75 km stretch of low lands in the district, starting from the coast, accommodating the backwaters, low lying farmlands and the settlements within. Waterways form the backbone of its layout and planning, and are natural in form, varying in width from 5 to 100 meters. Compared to the water towns of China and Venice, the settlements here are not entirely waterfront. Here the water penetrates through, and is an active part of the village interiors with wide to narrow backwater branches through the fields and grooves. People made good use of these waterways, organizing them into systems for the transportation of goods and materials. The settlement prospered as a result of these activities and gradually, teashops and houses were built along the banks. These activities not only provided services to the village residents but also became the focus of village life. The dwellings are strongly connected to the water, yet following Kerala’s segregated dwelling system. People, who live here cohabit with water, walk along and cross canals every day and travel in boats of many sizes. They have no centrality or axes, no ceremonial or defense patterns but boundaries marked by water channels which allow continuous communication. The streets are closely linked to waterways, since they have to facilitate the loading and unloading of commodities and transshipment between road and water traffic. The development of these settlements occurred in natural ways. The formations were usually decided by the structure of waterways- sometimes along the banks, sometimes at the corners or around the intersection of waterways. Narrow bridges of single or double coconut trunks served as connectors of circulation in the interiors.

thesis: monsoon in kerala: an enquiry into the architectural responses

Introduction
Rain is a part of the hydrological cycle in which moisture from the Earth's surface evaporates, turns into clouds, then condenses into bubbles and again in due course returns to the Earth in the form of droplets of water to repeat the whole cycle.1 But it has lot more to it when it reaches the ground and people starts interacting with it in many ways. Rain, not just have physical uses. It refreshes all five senses- you see the rain, smell the fresh shower, (The source of this effect is petrichor, oil produced by plants, then absorbed by rocks and soil and later released into the air during a rainfall)1, listen to the downpour and thunders, touch the drops, and taste the water. Rainfall is the source of the water in rivers, backwaters, wells and tanks. Here I consider the water that is already present on the ground and is already an integral part of the soil as well as the water that is actually in the process of falling down from the sky as rain.
In India, the State of Kerala is considered as the “Gateway of summer monsoon” since it is the first state to receive the south west monsoon and the last to receive the retreating monsoon. As a popular advertisement says, “The only thing that covers Kerala better than us is the monsoon”, rain has a strong influence all over Kerala and its people.
Urban designer Jacek Krenz1 wonders how rain can be celebrated and rainwater be incorporated into architecture as
- a cleansing element,
- a climate control and ecological balance element,
- a visually refreshing element,
- a spiritual element, and
- a nourishing element of refreshment.
But here in Kerala, without intentionally incorporating it, is a part of architecture and they do celebrate the rain in their own ways. How and why such an architecture evolved, which controls, conserves and enjoys rain? What went behind in the making of spaces, elements and techniques which respond to the downpour in specific ways? Was that the sole reason for such developments or there was something more?
With the changes in society, globalization and urbanization, culture changed and so as architecture. With changes in environment, rainfall distribution has varied, quantity has reduced and measures have been adopted to collect and conserve the falling rain. Water repellant paints are used to keep the surfaces neat. Open to sky spaces are made to let the rain be viewed. But other than these direct responses, strong connections between the contemporary architecture and rain are missing.