STUDY OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE BHUJ(KUTCH,GUJARAT)

RACHANA SANSAD ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE VINAY.D.ANAMROLL NO . 1

INTRODUCTION• STUDY OF REGION OF BHUJ ITS LOCAION AND CHARACTERISTICS

• STUDY OF REGION OF KUTCH

•ARCHITECTURE TYPES

•LAYOUT OF THE HOUSES

•BHONGA ARCHITECTURE

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Bhuj, Kutch

LocationBhuj is a city and a municipality in Kutch district in the state of Gujarat, IndiaHistoryIt was established by Rao Himirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarj i In 1549Bhuj for decades, even centuries, has beckoned travelers and traders with the promise of release from the restrictions of civilization. In January 2001, the city was struck by a major earth quake which caused a great deal of damage to the city. of BhujDemographicsThe total population of Bhuj was 136,429 in the year 2008, which consisted of 71,056 males and 65,373 females. GeographyBhuj has an average elevation of 110 meters (360 feet). On the eastern side of the town is a hill known as Bhujiyo that separates Bhuj city and Madhapar town. It has one big lake named Hamirsar and several small lakes.

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Bhuj

Kutch

Ramkund is a typical step-well architecture at Bhuj The Bhuj is Famous for the

swaminarayan temple which is made of Rs 100 crore,with pure white marble,andit is located in the heart of the city

Bhuj, Kutch

Culture • Bhuj is a famous destination for

shopping of handicraft work. • Artists of nearby villages bring

their art work for sale in Bhuj.• It is the Important landmarks for

people wishing to study and know more about Kutchi embroidery

Religion• The dominant religions of Kutch

are a form of Vaishnav Hinduism, Jainism and Islam

•  The Swaminarayan Sampraday has a huge following in this region.

Language• Kutchi & Gujarati are the

predominating languages spoken

Bhuj is famous for its various Silver crafts work

Aina Mahal (palace of Mirrors) in Bhuj,is famous for displaying the History of the region of Kutch

Bhuj is Famous for its handy-crafts market

The historic Hamirsar lake is situated at the Heart of the city of Bhuj

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ABOUT , REGION OF KUTCH (GUJARAT),

Map of Kutch,(Gujarat)

INTRODUCTION

Kutch is district of Gujarat state in western India Covering an area of 45,612 km², it is the largest district of India. The district has 966 villagesKutch means something which intermittently becomes wet and dry a large part of this district is known as Rann of Kutch which is shallow wetland & which submerges in water during the rainy season and becomes dry during other seasons

Traditional wall interior of kutch

Tribal women of Kutch with traditional clothing

GeographyKutch District is surrounded by the Gulf of Kutch and the Arabian Sea  in south and west, while northern and eastern parts are surrounded by the Great and Small Rann  The border of Pakistan lies along the northern edge of the Rann of Kutch. Kutch is virtually an island, as it is surrounded by the Arabian Sea in the west;

Religion OF KutchAs per the 2001 census, the district's population was 1,526,331, of which most around are Hindu. the remainder of the population adhere to mostly Jainism and Muslims.LanguageThe languages spoken predominantly in Kutch is Kacchi and to lesser extent Sindhi and Gujarati

PeopleKutch district is inhabited by various groups and communities. Many of these have reached this region after centuries of migration from neighboring regions of Marwar(Western Rajasthan), Sidh,Afghanistan and further. Even today, one can find various nomadic, semi nomadic and artisan groups living in Kutch.

History of Kutch Remote and sparsely populated the district of Kutch , it has had an interesting history. The Indus valley civilization, known to be one of the first ever civilized societies consisted of the ancestors of Kutchis as well as others. However now most of the river lies in Pakistan after India was split up.

Street pattern (Y shaped) and housing layout

CHOWKS

STREETS

Architecture types of Bhuj

Internalcourtyards

Cattles-shed

street

PLANNINGS OF HOUSINGS IN BHUJ

THE HEIGHT WIDTH PROPORTIONS OF COURTYARDS AND STREETS PROVIDE SHADE FOR MOST PART OF THE DAY

SCHEMATIC SECTIONS OF HOUSES

BHUNGA HOUSES, KUTCH

BHUNGA HOUSES

BHUNGA HOUSES

The Bhonga is a traditional construction type in the Kutch district of the Gujarat state in India, which has a very high earthquake risk.

A Bhonga consists of a single cylindrically shaped room.

The Bhonga has a conical roof supported by cylindrical walls. Bhonga construction has existed for several hundred years.

This type of house is quite durable and appropriate for prevalent desert conditions.

Due to its robustness against natural hazards as well as its pleasant aesthetics, this housing is also known as "Architecture without Architects.“

BHUNGA HOUSES

Bhonga is circular in plan, with cylindrically shaped walls and topped with conical roof.

The inner diameter of the Bhonga is typically between 3m to 6m.

  A Bhonga generally has only three openings one door and two small windows.  

It performed very well in the recent M7.6 Bhuj earthquake in 2001.

Very few Bhongas experienced significant damage in the epicentral region, and the damage that did occur can be mainly attributed to poor quality of the construction materials or improper maintenance of the structure.

It has also been observed that the failure of Bhongas in the last earthquake caused very few injuries to the occupants due to the type of collapse. 

CONSTRUCTION OF THE BHUNGA

DURING EARTH-QUAKES

IVIEW OF BHUNGA HOUSES

ROOF CONSTRUCTION OF BHUNGA HOUSES 

The conical roof of a Bhonga is supported at its crest by a vertical central wooden post, which rests on a wooden joist.

The base of the roof and the wooden joist are generally directly supported on Bhonga walls.

Sometimes, the roof load on wooden joist is transferred to diametrically placed timber posts (vertical members) adjacent to the cylindrical wall.

This reduces the roof-load on the walls. The Bhonga wall is usually extended below ground

up to the required foundation depth, and separate foundation is not traditionally constructed.

In newer constructions, proper strip footing is also used.  

WALL CONSTRUCTION OF BHUNGA

Due to circular shape of wall in plan, inertial forces developed addition, the thick walls required for thermal insulation have high in-plane stiffness which provides excellent performance under lateral loads.

The roofing in wall are resisted through shell action providing excellent resistance to lateral forces.

In materials are generally very light weight, and develops low inertia forces. Since the roof is constructed from extremely ductile materials such as bamboo and

straw, the performance of.these roofs is usually very robust

NEW TYPES OF BHUNGAS Recent Bhongas constructions have used wide variety of construction materials. These include the stone or burnt brick masonry either in mud mortar or in cement

mortar. Traditional roof consists of light-weight conical roof, while some recent constructions

have used heavy manglore tiles on roofs. Some recent constructions have used circular strip footing below the wall, while

traditional construction simply extended the walls below ground level t.   

Bhungas construction details

• In several Bhongas, the roof joist is not directly supported on the cylindrical walls, but is supported by two wooden vertical posts outside the Bhonga, which further improves seismic resistance of the inertia force generated in the roof.• In some instances, reinforcing bands at lintel level and collar level have been used to provide additional strength.• These bands are constructed from bamboo or from RCC. These increase the lateral load-carrying strength greatly and increase the seismic resistance of the Bhongas.•Even in situations where the roof collapses, its low weight ensures that the extent of injuries to occupants is very low.

•Labours who constructs Bhungas and materials used

•These constructions are carried out by local village masons.• The locally available soft stone can easily be cut or chiselled into rectangular blocks, which are used for wall masonry. •The local soil is used for mud mortar and to make adobe blocks. Locally available timber and bamboo are used for roof.• The entire construction process, which is carried out by the mason with very few unskilled laborers, can be completed within 30 days.•  The construction of this type of housing takes place in a single phase. • Typically, the building is originally designed for its final constructed size.•  Bhongas are never "designed" in the modern context. However, Bhonga architecture is a very unique aspect of traditional desert architecture of Kutch region in which the size, location and orientation of the Bhonga are planned for very good structural and functional results. 

Bhungas are connected through plinths and circulation is also carried out in that way.. A cluster of bhunga is built on one plinthus ually the cluster contains settlements of one whole family

INTERIORS AND DECORATION

Rural art on walls Windows decorated with mirrors

• Interiors of bhungas

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Referenceswww.mapsofindia.comwww.asanjokutch.comwww.gujaratcrafts.comwww.wikipedia .comwww.indiancrafts.comwww.timesofindia.org

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