VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Chapter-1 COLD & SUNNY CLIMATE ZONE RUCHY & SONIA

1.1 Introduction

Regions that lie in the cold climate zone are situated at high altitudes. The temperatures
range between 2030 C in summers; while in winters, it can range from -3 C to 8 C,
making it quite chilly.
This type of climate is experienced in Leh (Ladakh).
The region is mountainous and has little vegetation, considered as a cold desert
The solar radiation is generally intense with very low percentage of diffused radiation
The building is an innovative articulation of material like stone, mud, clay.
In Ladakh houses are

very close to each other.

Settlement on Leeward Side

Mud & Clay Houses in Ladakh

1.2 Special Features

Timber paneled wall will be used instead of brick or stone masonry.

Thick wall will be used with sound insulation.
Bedroom will be on south west of the building.
Kitchen will be on south east of the house
.Windows will have wooden panel
Bathroom will be on the north west of the house.
Dining will be on the south Orientation and shape of building. Use
of trees as wind barriers
1.3 Design criteria
Roof insulation, wall insulation and
Objectives double glazing
Physical Fenestrations
Thicker walls
1. Resist Heat loss Air locks/ Lobbies
Decrease exposed surface area Weather
Orientation and shape of building.
stripping
Increase thermal resistance Darker colors as wind barriers
Use of trees
Increase thermal capacity (Time lag) Roof insulation, wall insulation etc.
Increase buffer spaces Thicker walls
Decrease air exchange rate Air locks/ Lobbies
Walls and glass surfaces
Sun spaces/ greenhouses/ Trombe
walls etc
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Objectives Physical manifestation

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Increase surface absorptivity Weather stripping

Darker colors

2. Promote Heat Gain

Reduce shading Walls and glass surfaces

Sun spaces/ greenhouses/ Trombe

walls etc.

1.4 Materials used in Construction

For plinth and floor: stone masonry with mud mortar or cement mortar finish
For walls: unburnt bricks masonry with mud mortar and cow dung finish
For ceiling and roof: wooden planks and twigs with a layer of dry grass, covered with
mud.

1.5 Passive Features

Increase of solar heat gain

By direct gain through thermal storage walls exposed to the sun -Glazed windows on
east, west, south sides.
Increase of internal heat gain
By utilizing heat produced by smokeless
stove
By utilization of warmth developed by
livestock Decrease of heat loss
by high thermal insulation of roof and walls
By high compound wall providing shelter
from wind Humidity control by
absorption/desorption of unburnt brick walls.
Balance of temperature fluctuation by massive wall construction.

1.6 Settlement Pattern

Leh is the biggest town of Ladakh.

The settlements of various sizes are located along the meandering river Indus flowing
from east to west. This creates northern settlements facing south to allow maximum
sunlight

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The houses are located on slopes of the mountains rather than the plains or valley in
order to increase the time duration of sun
Also they are close to water bodies and fertile land.

1.7 Urban Planning

Leh is typically located on plateau on northern banks of Indus River

The old town is on the southern slopes of mountains whereas newer developments are
extended in plains in south west direction
The highest point of Leh is occupied by houses of nobles and lower sides by commoners
and main bazaar area
The vertical staging of buildings ensures the sunlight to all individual houses.
The houses are placed in such a manner so that its 2-3 sides are shared with other houses
to reduce heat loss.
The street pattern of old town is such that it allows maximum solar penetration.
The important streets are laid in north south axis.

1.8 Architecture- Spatial Layout

Most of the houses are two storey buildings

Larger houses are based on courtyard while smaller ones dont have the courtyard
The ground floor is low in height, used in keeping livestock, storage purposes and also
to collect toilet waste.
Upper floor used for living purposes usually consists of prayer room, store, toilet,
kitchen, drawing and bedroom.
Sometimes kitchen area and sleeping area are same to add warmth inside the house.
Main hall is furnished with carpets and smoke chimney.
The main living room is fitted with large window facing the sun. It traps solar radiation
as indigenous greenhouse mechanism without opening the windows in some cases.
These windows are provided with double glazing to enhance the insulating properties.

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Quartzite stone is used in making lower storey palaces or forts where protection from
water is required.

1.9 Flat Roof

Courtyards Kitchen Stones are used in lower

parts of walls to provide
protection and strength

Sun dried earth block- The sills and jambs are

300x150x150 mm used for
walls of thickness 300 or 450
mm.
Soil available is alluvial soil
found in banks of Indus
articulated by the plaster
band often coloured in red or Floors of lower storey are
black. These timber lintel made of mud while upper
sand plaster bands are the storey by timber
distinct features of ladakhi
architecture
Capital and post supporting the roof
Beams are placed 50-60 cm
apart having 15cm diameter

and 3-4m long.

These beams are covered by popular willows spread in
the other direction
Its thickness is 20-30mm.

1.10 Structure System

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1.11 Typical Wooden Design in Ladakh

The lintels of doors

and windows are
corbelled features

with ornamentation
Doors and windows are
made of timber brought from Kashmir

1.12 Temporary Rebo Tents

1.12.1
Materials

Panels of
woven yak
hair sewn
together to
form the
covered
portion of a
Rebos
Wooden poles
With five to six members of a family weaving daily, it will take approximately two
months to weave a tent.
The rebo tent lasts for 10 years.

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1.12.2 Planning

The yak hair portion of the Rebos covers a fairly large area
Four feet deep and lined with boulders.
Stone walls are draped with blankets.
The Rebos are snow and rain proof.
A large opening is located at the top which allows sunlight inside the Rebos during most
of the day and allows smoke from the interior fires to exit easily
Can withstand adverse climatic conditions
No wear and tear

1.13 Druk
White Lotus
School,
Ladakh

Buildings clustered to reinforce sense of community

Hence classrooms , kitchen , dining hall , clinic , dormitories for residential students and
homes for teachers serve as buffers against climatic extremes
Planners also wanted a school that could operate year round in the extreme climates (-22
f to -56 f) , region having earth tremors and snowfall prone
Solutions to problems of fresh food, clean water, fuel and building materials.
Walls hence are made not of concrete but of granite with a mud core , a traditional
material ensuring adequate insulation

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Using the latest in green

technology and building
design , students will grow
food in a system of indoor
cottage gardens ;energy will be
produced by solar power ,
which also will pump fresh
ground water that later will be
recycled.

Use of clere storey window for

lighting

1.13.1 Passive solar heating

Ladakh is hot in summer and very cold in winter. But even in winter , there is often
intense sunlight and the teaching spaces heat quickly thanks to their optimal 30 degree
south east orientation , combined with fully glazed solar facades that gather the suns
energy and store heat in high thermal mass walls
The residences are oriented due south, and use trombe walls, which are coated externally
with dark heat absorbing material and are faced with a double layer of glass.
Heat is stored in the wall and conducted inwards o the dormitories at night time.

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1.13.2 Trombe Wall

A Trombe wall is a sun facing wall separated from the outdoors by glass and an air
space , which absorbs solar energy and releases it selectively towards the interior at
night
The simplest form of Trombe wall consists of a glass pane held against a wall with an
air space behind it. Connecting this air space with the inner room are two vents, one at
the top and one at the bottom of the air space
During the day the Sun heats first the air in this space, then the solid wall behind. Once
the air is heated it rises and enters into the room, giving it additional heat. Also the rising
air pulls in cooler air from the room below to then be heated. But for some time after the
sun goes down the now hot wall will still keep heating air and exchanging that heat into
the room.
To avoid heating up the room in summer, the roof overhang is used. If it is deep, the
higher summer sun will be able to heat the glass.
Guidelines
o Space between the thermal mass wall and the glass should be a minimum of 4
inches
o Vents l must be closed at night.
o Thermal wall thickness should be about 10-14 for brick, 12-18 for concrete, 8-
12" for
adobe or
other earth
material
and at least
6 inches for
water.

Trombe walls can also be used to create ventilation in sub floor

spaces. If there is adequate height in the sub floor space set it up
so that the top vent goes into the sub floor space and that the
bottom is open to the outside instead of the inside. In effect a solar
chimney is created, feeding into the sub floor space. This will
raise the average temperature in the sub floor area that should
lower the relative humidity.

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1.13.3 Ventilation improved pit latrines

Traditional dry latrines have been enhanced to 'VIP latrines'. These eliminate fly and
odor problems and most importantly in a desert environment - do not require water. A
double chamber system with an

integrated solar flue allows their

operation as composting toilets and produces humus that can be used as fertilizer
The latrine blocks are clad in solar panels that dry human waste, permitting it to be
compacted into an all but odorless
fertilizer. Fresh air is drawn through
the latrine blocks, to dissipate an
unpleasant odor, which in turn
discourages flies and other disease-
carrying insects.
The architects particularly are pleased
with the design of the latrines, which
could help to revolutionize health in
much of the developing world.

1.13.4 Energy

The school aims to manage the electricity demand within the constraints of solar energy
As the school expands and electricity demand increases, they will need to increase
installed capacity of both photovoltaic panels and inverters.
Around half of the initial investment in solar energy was co-financed by carbon offset
funds.

1.13.5 Carbon Off-set

Due to frequent electric failures the school was previously forced to use a diesel
generator to produce power

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However, the generator was polluting a fragile environment and the school therefore
determined to become energy self-efficient through the use of solar energy.
Hence the installation of photovoltaic panels and inverters, but it is necessary to increase
the capacity to meet the demands of the expanding school.
The solar scheme was independently audited and approved by TICOS, the Travel
Industry Carbon Offset Service, and travelers may offset their carbon travel footprint via
their travel agent end TICOS.

1.13.6 Water

Water supply in the Leh Valley comes from snow-melt. The volume of water potentially
available at any time depends on the amount of accumulated ice stored in glaciers and
permafrost, and on snowfall each winter.
Through spring and summer, the snow and ice gradually melt, and the water runs down
numerous channels and eventually joins the Indus River that runs through Ladakh and
into Pakistan.
Weather patterns seems to be shifting and glaciers are tending to recede. Therefore water
supply could be at risk in some areas in the medium-term.
The solar pumps raise water from a depth of about 30 meters into above-ground
reservoirs at
the top of the
campus, from
where water is
distributed
under gravity
through separate
potable and irrigation
systems.
Grey water is used
for irrigation,
including for
willow saplings.

1.13.7 Seismic Design & Safety

Timber frames are used to resist seismic loads and ensure life safety in the event of an
earthquake
The timber frames are independent of the walls, and steel connections and cross bracing
provide earthquake stability.

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1.14 SECMOL School

SECMOL Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh is a fully

sustainable school located in a village called Phey, 20 kms away from the main city of
Leh. Sonam Wangchuk and a group of Ladakhis founded it in the year 1988 with the
aim of achieving educational reform in Ladakh. It is a residential school that can
accommodate approximately 30 students and as many volunteers.

1.14.1 Green construction

The school building is constructed largely using a combination of mud and clay.
Its traditional Ladakhi thick rammed-mud walls have high thermal capacity, while the
rear end of the buildings push into the hillside so that the temperature inside does not
fall below the soil temperature
The campus is oriented to face southwards, allowing it to make optimum use of the
sunlight it receives. This helps in temperature regulation within the rooms/spaces.

The main features that keep the buildings warm are:

South facing windows, as the sun moves low in the southern sky in winter.
Greenhouses are attached the south side for winter.
Greenhouses are
removed in springtime to
prevent overheating.
Skylights are covered
with glass or clear
plastic to keep warm air
indoors.

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Thick earthen walls and floors to store collected heat (thermal mass).
Insulation in the roof, outer walls, and in some places under the floor.
Natural lighting so electricity is not needed for light in the daytime.

Thermal mass in walls and floors

Most of the buildings are at least three feet (1 m) below ground on the north side. The
earths temperature at that depth is relatively warm in winter and cool in summer.
The earth dug out becomes the walls of the building. All buildings are made of earth,
so the building material comes right from the site and is not transported hundreds of
miles. When construction is finished, there is no debris to be thrown away: no addition,
no subtraction.
Earth buildings stay warm in winter and cool in summer, and also moderate the
humidity of the building.
The walls of the big building at Phey campus and the Leh office are rammed earth.
This means the earthen walls are cast in place, in a simple wooden frame. Sand and clay
are mixed in the right amounts to get a very strong constitution. It is then packed in the
frames and rammed with pounders.
Some buildings here are made of straw clay bricks for insulation. Our earliest buildings
were made of the common local style earth bricks.
The thick earth walls are not just structural (to take load) but also have an essential
function as the heat bank (thermal mass). They absorb the excess solar heat during the
day and release it to the rooms at night. The same property also keeps rammed earth
buildings cool in summer. Rammed earth is an ancient technique used in monasteries,
castles and forts around Ladakh. These structures have survived, unprotected and
exposed to the elements, for hundreds of years.
Natural lighting: the sun
Windows and skylights ensure that no place in the building needs electric lights in the
day.
Insulation in ceilings, outer walls and floor
The wood waste generated during the construction is stuffed in the ceiling to stop heat
loss through the roof.
Insulation below the floor also helps. Layers of various sizes of rocks create insulating
air-pockets between the rocks. A top layer of gravel and cement acts as a heat bank.
Sometimes the top layer of the floor is slates from nearby mountains. This reduces the
use of cement, and the slates also become a thermal mass or heat bank as they are now
cut off thermally from the cold ground.
This kind of floor absorbs the excess heat during the day and releases it during the night.
Otherwise floors can be an area of big heat loss.
The outer walls are insulated by a jacket wall outside the main structural wall. The six
inch gap between the two walls is filled with low cost insulation: saw dust, wood
shavings or sometimes paper and plastic garbage like bottles and bags. Sometimes cow
dung is used as an insulating plaster. Mixed with the right amount of earth and clay, it
makes a strong and thermally effective plaster.
Aesthetically painted black bands absorb the sun's heat while in winter the slanted
frames hold polythene sheets to produce greenhouse heating.
Solar energy has been utilized for cooking. The setup consists of a parabolic reflector
(made up of a lot of smaller mirrors stuck to a dish-like structure) that concentrates the

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sunlight on a smaller area on the ground. This is then reflected upwards to the bottom of
any cooking vessel and is thus able to use sunlight directly without the need of any
semiconductor material.

1.14.2 Nothing goes to waste in this place

The excess food goes to the cows; the dry Ladakhi toilets ensure that the human waste is
used as compost; the excess water from the bathrooms goes to the trees and the rest of
the waste is segregated into five different sections depending on how reusable or
recyclable they are.
The only time a discreet amount of plastic is seen is an old 500 ml soft drink bottle full
of sand being used on a pulley, instead of the spring-loaded hinge, to shut doors.
SECMOL produces and uses 15 KWh of solar electricity for the entire school without

sacrificing convenience.

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