??? ????: Vernacular Architecture Inspired by Environmental Aesthetics

The ancient monuments in the Himalayan interiors are already well-known to scholars the world over for their artistic grandeur. However, not much is propagated about the equally interesting traditional secular architecture — the dwelling houses and other such structures. Made of local material, mostly wood, these buildings form an organic part of the Himalayan biosphere. These indigenous and traditional construction practices evolved in the context of local culture, environmental constraints and empirical knowledge, but in recent years have seen a rapid decline, replaced by reinforced cement concrete (RCC) construction.

As the recent spurt in extreme climatic phenomena and degrading environmental conditions compels us to look for sustainable solutions in our subsistence systems and growth processes, climate responsive building design has emerged as an important agenda, and vernacular architectural styles are now being researched through the lens of scientific appropriateness and technical finesse.

Kath kuni literally means ‘timber-cornered’. This type of architecture is found predominantly in central Himachal Pradesh and parts of Uttarakhand. Several of the buildings are about 100 years old, and some of the more massive structures, like temples or palaces, are several centuries old. This type of architecture was noticed by officers from the Geological Survey of India after the 1905 Kangra earthquake, who were impressed by the remarkable lack of damage to these buildings.

Apart from the aseismic qualities of kath kuni architecture, this type of construction shows great adaptation to traditional livelihoods, environmental conditions and cultural norms. Firstly, in terms of materials, the use of stone, slate, wood, mud and bamboo reflected primary use of local resources, and an intimate knowledge of the qualities and manner of using these materials with each other. Furthermore, kath kuni houses reflect a communitarian style of living, with the clustered layout of houses, and families living together and often sharing storage space or livestock, corroborating the fact that “Technology is as much a product of a society’s culture as its knowledge or resource base”.