VERNACULAR

ARCHITECTURE
OF

WEST BENGAL
( )

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 27014N latitude and
860 35E and 89053E 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 panels

G.I Sheet

Stone masonry
wall

Sectional view of a typical wall

CENTRAL BENGAL (THE
PLAINS)
Materials used for Building Construction:
Mud/ Clay Thatch

Terracotta Rope made up of

coconut fibres and
Tar (waterproofing ) weaver birds nest

Bamboo

Palm tree barks

 Typical
BANGLA curved
roof (made of
thatch)

Bamboo
structural
Mud wall elements

Raised plinth Courtyard

(Angan)

Typical rural house in Central Bengal (Jairambati-

Kamarpukur)
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 SUSTHITA GHAR: BRITIGHAR: House along

four raised sides and a House with a verandah with all its rooms fenced
courtyard (uthan ; ) on all four sides. 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 45cm
thick mud
walls with
bamboo
reinforce
ment and
tar
coating
on
outside.

Ground floor plan 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 Clerestory
(Adapted from
colonial
architecture)

Thatch
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.
N
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.

 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 Manohar Kr. Gupta Rahul Roy Vikash Kumar
(1105002) (1105020)
(1105022) (1105023)

Saurabh Suranj Harish S. Chauhan Somnath Bhui Sudhakar Kumar

(1105024) (1105032) (1105036) (1105060)