Vernaclar architecture of ladakh

VERNACULAR STUDY OFLEH LADAKH“land of passes”

LOCATIONo region in Indian state of Jammu

and Kashmir o extends from the Kunlun

mountain range to the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent.

o A no. of  valleys, passes, mountains ranges, valleys  complete the beauty of Ladakh

o Highest altitude plateau region in India (much of it being over 3,000 m)

CLIMATEo The weather

of Ladakh remains chilly and cold for most time of the year. 

o Ladakh's climate is a little extreme – the summers can get a little harsh with direct sunlight falling at such a high altitude

o winters can be really cold, with temperatures dropping below freezing point.

TEMPERATURE VARIATIONSSUMMERDuring day: 17-24 CDuring night: 4-11 CWinterduring day: 7-9 CDuring night: -14 - 0 C

VEGETATIONa. ANAPHALIS

TRIPLINERVISo Herbaceous perennial planto Attractive, but not brilliant

display of bloom in late summer fall

o Hanging them in cool airy shaded place

o Flower buds are eaten raw as salad

b. BERBERIS LYCEUM ROYLEo Used in food and in folk

medicinec. LACTUCA SATIVAo Annual planto Used for salad d. RUNEX PATIENTIAo Used in leather tanningo Used to make mustard color

dye

Location of ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir

Avg. temrature, LehVegetation, ladakh

CULTURE o famous for its rich cultural

heritage and Honesty.o known as land of monks and

monasterieso People of all the communities

live here in peace, free from any prejudice

o Jabro, Shondol, Marriage Dance and Kampa Sumsak are some of the well known traditional dance.

o Zunglu, Tallu, Marriage songs and Alley Yato are well known folk songs of Ladakh.

o The Buddhist influence on Ladakh culture started as early as the 7thcentury

TRADITIONSo Monastic and other religious

festivals, which fall in winter, provide the excuse for convivial gatherings.

o Summer pastimes all over the region are archery and polo.

o Among the Buddhists, these often develop into open-air parties accompanied by dance and song, at which 'Chang', the local brew made from fermented barley, flows freely. 

o Staple food are sku and thukpa

Hemis festival, Ladakh

Cultural events at ladakh-

o Traditional dance formso Traditional folk music

OCCUPATIONo The economy of Ladakh is mainly

agricultural. Most of the people earntheir livelihood by growing barley, wheat and peas.

o Keeping livestock, especially yak, cows, dzos, sheep and goats.

o the people of Ladakh are also engaged in business, trading in textiles, carpets, dyestuffs and narcotics between Punjab and Xinjiang, tourism industry and government jobs.

DEMOGRAPHICSo Leh, Ladakh population-

150,371o State- 13,338,542o The major races found here

are the Tibetans, Mons and the Dards.

o the predominant religions in the region are Buddhism,Christianity and Islam.

o The Buddhists and Muslims comprise the majority, concentrated in the north and east and to the south respectively

o the Christians form a smaller minority.

agriculture

Goat/sheep herder

LIFE STYLEo  The Ladakh people are

simple and cheerful and they prefer to remain close to the nature.

o The main culture of Ladakh is Buddhism with other bit part of religion of Hindu, Muslims and Christians.

o Their clothes and appearance are more alike to the Asian and Tibetan people.

o women works not only athome but also works outside the home and they are free to interact with the men outside their home.

Traditional dresses "Goucha“ and "Kuntop"

URBAN PLANNINGOld Leho The old town is located on th

e southern slope of the mountain terrain allowing the settlement to face the Sun.

o The newer parts are extending in the plans in the south west direction

o The highest point of the leh town is occupied by the Tsemo Gompa followed down the slope by leh palace and then the houses of nobals

o The lower part of the settlement is occupied by commoners and then trhe main bazar

ARCHITECTURE SPATIAL LAYOUTo Mostly the building are 2 storiedo Large houses have courtyards

while small houses do not haveo the ground floor is usually a

dwarf storey for keeping livestock, storage purposes and also to collect waste

o Upper storey is used for living purposes usually consists of prayer room, store, toilet and a large room combining function of drawing, kitchen, bedroom

o The timber post is characteristic of architecture of ladakh

o The main living room has a large window facing sun

Ground floor plan

First floor plan

South slope Leh, ladakh House in leh

DESIGN CRITERIA AND FEATURES

OBJECTIVEResist heat losso Decrease exposed surface areao Increase thermal resistanceo Increase thermal capacity(time

lag)o Increase buffer spaceso Decrees air exchange rateo Increase surface absorptivity

Promote heat gaino Reduce shadingo Utilize heat from applianceso Trapping heat

PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONo Orientation and shape of

building.o Use of trees as wind

barrierso Roof insulation, wall

insulation and double glazing

o Thicker wallso Air locks/lobbieso Weather strippingo Darker colorso Walls and glass surfaceso Sun spaces/green

houses/trombe walls etc.

House in ladakh

Double glazed glass

Trombe wall Thermal insulation in trombe wall

MATERIAL AND TECHNIQES o Primary building material is earth and

timber available locally which offer climatic comfort in wide diurnal range of Ladakh

o Quartzite stone is used only in the partial construction of forts and palaces especially the lower storeys to impart additional strength and provide protection from water.

o Sundried earth blocks(alluvial soil) are the primary unit of masonry construction.

o Roofs are constructed in flat spans by using trunk of the local poplar tree as beams placed about 50-60cm apart. The diameter of the trunks is 15cm

o A 15 to 20cm layer of drygrass, hay etc. is spread over the layer of willows and finally finished with plaster of clayeymud

o  Floors of lower storey on the ground are made of mud while the upper storey in timber

o The lintels of the doors and windows are corbelled features with ornamentation.

o The sills and jambs are articulated by the plaster band often coloured in Red or Black. These timber lintels and plaster bands are the distinguishable features of the Ladakhi Architecture

Construction of roof

mud bricks

Timber lintelMud plaster to improve insulation

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