Vernacular Architecture of Bengal region

Vernacular Architecture of Bengal region

1. VernaculararchitectureofBengal

2. GEOGRAPHY
Capital Kolkata
Established 1November,1956
Largest MetroKolkata
Latitude
27°13'15"Nto21°25'24"N
Location
Latitude
85°48'20"Eto89°53'04"E
Neighbouring Countries
Bangladesh,Nepaland
Bhutan
AreaTotal
88,752Km2
(34,267sqmi)
L
O
C
A
T
I
O
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TheHimalayasintheNorth
BayofBengalintheSouth
Broad regions are the Himalayan Region, Terai Region, Rarh
Region,Western Plateauand Highlands
Ganges Delta in the South having Sundarban Mangrove
Forest
CoastalArea
G
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F
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A
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S
•
Mountains
•
Plateaus
•
Hills
•
Plain
•
SandyCoasta
l
L
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N
D
F
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R
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S

3. THEBENGALDELTA
The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta (also known as the
Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta, or the Bengal
Delta) is a river delta in the Bengal region of the South Asia,
consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West
Bengal.
It is the world's largest delta, and also one of the most fertile
regionsintheworld,thusearningthenicknameTheGreen
Delta.
The delta stretches from the Hooghly River on the west to the
Meghna River on the east. It is approximately 354 km (220
mi) across at the Bay of Bengal. Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
and Haldia in India and Mongla and Chittagong in
Bangladeshare theprincipal seaportsof thedelta.
RiversthatflowthroughtheBrahmaputraDelta
•thePadma(maindistributaryoftheGanges)
•the Jamuna (main distributary of the Brahmaputra),
which merge and then join the Meghna before entering
thesea.

4. INFLUENCE
OFTHEGEOGRAPHY
•The hostile nature, great rivers and flood, jungles, marshy land, uncertainty of life-systems, health hazards, and mosquito
constitutesBengal's Geography.
•Natural barriers played a vital part in the making of Bengal's historyby determining the easiest and logical access
forthe invading and adventurous outsiders from North-West. Let us notice the situationat the periphery:
North:KochBihar,Meghalaya—Garohills(HillyTerrain)
East: Assam, Tripura —Garo hills, Tripura marshes (Hilly Terrain, Jungle, Marshy land)
West: West Bengal —Rajmahal (More or less plain land with subtle variation of contour)
South:Bay of Bengal (Sea)
GAROHILLS TRIPURAMARSHES RAJMAHALPLAINS SEASHORE

5. •The connection with central and northern India is through a long narrow corridor along the Ganges plain. The pass way is the
narrowestnear aplace namedTeligiri.
•In the North-West of the country, in between theGaro hills on the north and Rajmahal on thewest, there lies awide sweeping gap
called 'the Duars', covering most of the northern districts of Bangladesh.
'Throughthis gap,the Brahmaputra (Yamuna),the Ganges (Padma)andTistaflew into Bangladesh and also the ancient
Himalayanpeople named Kochas, Mechas, Kambojas etc.
•People who tried to rule Bengal from avery distant place, hardly succeeded. Anyone that became good ruler in Bengal had to fuse
into it, with its culture and in fact, the whole of it (examples from all Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, European and Pakistani rulers can be
drawn).
•People who had other intents than to rule (migrants, missionaries, travelers, peaceful agricultural settlers) were always welcomed by
thelocals and at time, their culture had been partially/fully absorbed by the locals.
•Persistenturge for independence(inthe true sense) made Bengal adifficult place to rule for rulers who were mostly outsiders.

6. WestBengal'sclimatevariesfromtropicalsavannainthesouthernportionstohumid
subtropicalin thenorth. Experiencesextremeseasonalvariationoverthecourseoftheyear.
Themainseasonsare:
1)DrySummer(MarchtoMay)
2)Monsoon(middleofJunetill theendofSeptember.)
3)Autumn(OctoberandNovember.)
4)Winter(DecemberandendsinFebruary)
•The highestdaytimetemperaturerange:38 °C(100 °F)to45°C(113°F)-
(Atnight,a coolsoutherlybreezecarriesmoisturefromtheBayofBengal.)
minimumtemperaturesrange:15°C(59°F).(Acoldanddrynorthernwindblows
in thewinter,substantiallyloweringthehumiditylevel.)
In earlysummer,briefsquallsandthunderstormsknownasKalbaisakhi,orNor'westers,oftenoccur.
•WestBengalreceivestheIndianOceanmonsoonthatmovesa southeasttonorthwestdirection .(fromJunetoSeptember).
Averagenormalrainfallis1830mm;fortheState,2486mminSub-HimalayanWestBengal;1502mminGangeticRegion
•Duringthearrivalofthemonsoons,lowpressureintheBayofBengalregionoftenleadstotheformationofstorm sinthe
coastal areas.
•Winddirection: highlydependentonlocaltopography(4.9to9.9miles/hour)
•Cloudcover:12%–88%
CLIMATICCONDITIONS

7. SOILCONDITION:Natureof land: 'Amorphous’ (Vedic Aryans considered this part of the land as 'Impure' and also demanded ritual
purification for everyindividual that visits that land.)
•ThreeArterial rivers:Padma, Brahmaputraand Meghnathat dividesthe regioninto severalislands.
-The‘Varind':solidredearth,westernmostandnorthernpart
-Madhupur(Dhaka/Mymensingh):redearth,centralpart
-SurmaValley:Ancientland,easternmostpart
-NearEstuary:Newerland-swampymangrove,southernmostpart
-Hillytracts:Contourterrain,south-easternpart
SPECIALITIES:
•Rivers determine the fate of the land as they constantly shift and change course.(as fortune makers and destructive as well in all
sense;yet they guided the formation of the civilization.)
•Landis formedprimarily by siltdeposits andconstantly being shapedand reshapedby rivers.

8. •Historicallysilt madeit aprosperousland as itmade cultivation easier,rivers produced enoughprotein and
junglesproduced enough to burn.
•Outsidersother than the native were attractedto this land very easily dueto this ease of living.
•Siltyclaywasthe natural,obvious andlogicalchoiceas abuildingmaterial.
It was the base material (in accordance with bamboo, thatch, gol-patta, palm leaves, jute stalk, timber etc., that grows
alsoin plenty on this particular formation of geology for building.
GOL-PATTA
JUTESTALK
BAMBOO
PALM
LEAVES

9. AncestryofBengalis
The Bengali are of diverse origin, having emerged from the confluence of various communities that entered the region over
thecourse of many centuries.
InhabitantsofBengal
Vedda-peopleof
Sri Lanka (Proto
Australoids)
IndoAryans Arab
Turks
Persian
Dravidians

11. History
Themostancientinhabitantsofthesubcontinentwere”the
ancientancestralsouthindian”people.Withthespreadofrice
agriculture,Austroasiaticspeakingricefarmersfromsoutheast
asiaenteredinbengalandgotmixedwiththelocals.They
spreadtheirlanguageandcultureandmoderndaytribesare
theirdescendants.

12. GuptaPeriod:
300A.D.
ChandraDynasty:
Later7thCA.D.–
Early8thCA.D.
PalaPeriod:8th
CA.D.–10thC
A.D
Sena Period:
10thCA.D.–
13thCA.D
SultanateofBengal
MughalEmpire
EastIndiaCompany
(British Colonial
Rule)
system
initiated
Caste
was
here
MauryanPeriod:3rd
CB.C.-3rdCA.D.
Buddhism
spread
VariousempireswhoruledinBengal
DelhiSultanate
Islamwasrooted

13. ReligionmajorlyfollowedinBengal
Buddhism Hinduism Islam
Most of the Bengali in Bangladesh are practitioners of Islam, while the majority of the
Bengaliin West Bengal follow Hinduism.
Buddhism
BengalbeingincloseproximitywithKapilavastu(Nepal,thebirthplaceofGautama),attractedthe
attention ofAshokaandFollowingthetradition,Buddhismconstantly gotpatronage fromlater
royaldynasties(Palas,Khadgas,ChandrasandDevas)afterAshokanrule wasover.
ThefirstregionalstateinBengalwas establishedbytheMahāyānaBuddhistdynastyofthePālas.It
isalsoimportanttonotethat thePālaperiodwasresponsiblefor culturallinkagesbetweenBengal
andNepalandTibet,throughthetransmissionnorthof Tantric(Vajrayāna)Buddhisttextsand
practices.

14. Islam
TheMuslimrulersofBengalbelongedto
threeracialgroups-theTurks,theAfghans
andtheMughals.IslamenteredBengalboth
bylandandwater.Turkscamebyland,Arad
tradersusedwaterways.
Hinduism
Commonpeople,whoconstitutedthelargerpartof
thesociety,easilypickedthisMonotheistic(concept
ofasingleGod)religion;‘Bhakti(devotion)’wasthe
keyelementofit.ChantingthenameofKrishnaand
dancingaccompaniedbymusicalinstruments-was
theprimarywayspiritualattainment.•Mosttemples
builtthisparticularphasewerededicatedtoKrishna
andRadha
Of the different religions, Hinduism claims the adherence of more than three-fourths of the population. Most of
the remainder is Muslim. Throughout the state, Buddhists, Christians, Jains, and Sikhs constitute small
minoritycommunities.

15. OccupationofpeopleinWestBengal
OftheruralBengali,alargeportionareengagedinagriculture,
theirprincipalcropsbeingriceandjute,followedbyassorted
pulses(legumes)andoilseeds.Bengalisareagrarianandthisisby
influenceofAustricinfluenceinBengalinpast.
JuteisespeciallyprominentalongtheborderwithBangladeshand
southoftheGangesRiver.Mangoes,jackfruit,andbananasare
widelyproducedinthesouthernandcentralportionsofthestate.
Wheatandpotatoesareproducedaswintercropsthroughoutthe
south.

16. Roleplayedbymenandwomenin variousoccupation
In the rural context, men are typically responsible for most of the work outside the home, while women manage
domesticmatters.
Inagriculture,manyoftheunpaidjobsdonebywomencontributesignificantlytofarmincome(egworkingon
thefamily land,processing paddy or dhan siddho ,taking care ofcows, goats, ducks and hens etc.) .
Womenaremajorlyteapluckersandinfishingtheydoactivitieslikedryingoffishesorsellingto
neighbourhoodvillages

17. Food
●Fish,Rice,Dal,Vegetables,Milk,Pickles,Pitha,Fruits,
Sweetmeat, Paan,Tea
●Meat (mainly introducedby Muslims)
●ThePortuguesebroughtchili,variousfruits,vegetableand
spices withthemFood
Festival
MajorMuslimBengaliholidaysarethetwocanonical
festivals,ʿĪdal-Fiṭr,the“FestivalofBreakingFast,”which
markstheendofthefastingmonthofRamadan,and ʿĪd
al-Aḍḥā,the“FestivalofSacrifice,”whichisthe
culminationoftheannualhajj (pilgrimage)toMecca.
ImportantHinduBengaliholidaysincludetheannual
festivalsdevotedtovariousHindudeities,mostnotably
Shiva,Kali,Durga,Lakshmi,andSarasvati.Holi,aspring
festival,iscelebratedbybothMuslimsandHindus.

18. Clothing
Bothruralandurbancommonpeoplewearthe
climaticallysuitableandoccupationally
comfortablelungi-genjiorlungiwithshirtformenand
sareeblouseforwomen,whichhasbeentheunofficial
nationaldressofBengalforcenturies.ThintowelGamcha
hasmultipleuses.
Middleandupperclassmenwearthelungiathome,
usuallywithstylishpunjabi.
Jointfamilystructure,traditionalagrariansocietywere
transformedandoverpoweredbystrongcolonialinfluence
andindividualismwaspromoted.

20. Alongriversandcanals,
homesteadsclusteredon
earthenmoundsamongst
ricefieldsandgroveshave
createdakindoftimeless
landscape.

21. Zo
ne
A
BuildingtypologyZoneAischaracterizedbyitsdiverseclimate,
geographyand vastness.The Zone lies
predominantly in the Ganga flood plain with the far western
regionaround Puruliadistrict prone to
drought. Most parts of the zone fall under high temperature
areasand regionswith closeproximity to
the Ganga are prone to flooding. The Zone falls under seismic
zone3.
ZoneB
The physical & the climatic features as described earlier are key to
derivingthe design configurations
& identifying the context of the same across the zone. the typical
housecomprisesof averandah
wrapped around the house & generally a ground or ground with
mezzaninelevel structure.The
distinct differences in the plan types of this zone arises from the
difference between the mainland
coastalareas&theislandareasoftheSundarbans.

22. ZoneC
This zone lies in close vicinity of Bhutan, Nepal & Tibet. The hills are the
eastern extensionof the
Himalayas&theDooars.Thepeoplenativetothis regionaretheLepcahs,
Bhutias,Raietc.basic
plan comprises of a verandahin the front & rooms within. It is a ground structure
&mostprevalent
The verandah is generally a simple indent within the rectangular footprint of the
builtform.This is
usuallydonetopreventtheadditionofanadditionalroofoverhang.
ZoneD
Theforestvillageswereoftenrelocatedbytheforestdepatement.
Protectionagainstwildlifewasextremelyimportant.Thiscausedtheprotectionfrom wildlife
creatingstiltstructures.
The sizes of houses varied with different configeration of verandahs, interior rooms & position of
staircase. The Terai region is fairly tucked away in the dooars & are accesible through hill roads.
althoughcommutingwithroadsismaintained,itisstillrelativelyremote.Richinnaturalresources.

23. VernaculararchitectureofWest
Bengal
The traditional Bengali house form, ‘Bengal Hut’, in its basic form is a cluster of single-storied dwelling units
aroundacourtyard,which is ‘Uthan’
inlocallanguage.
Thehousingpattern incoastalBengal fallsinto twomajortypes:linearandclustered.
The main factor influencing is related to the availability of local building materials which includes twigs,
leaves,thatch, countrytile, Mangaloretiles for roofingmaterials.
Most of the people live near their farmland. The village is
thus a settlement area, surrounded by paddy fields and
made up of several small linear settlements, each of these
comprises two or more subdivisions as per different
castegroups
Arrangementofspaces:
Atypicalvernacularhouseconsistsofacommon
verandah,smallroomforcattle,entranceroom(Bata
Ghara)andotherroomsarrangedaroundthecourtyard.
Itdoesnotincludetoiletwhichislocatedattheback
sideofthehouse

24. Typesof house -
Asperthe socio economicstatus ofinhabitant, there are two typesof Vernacular
dwellings suchas Chalahouse(Thatch roofand mudwall)andPuccaHouse (Thatchroof/ puccaroofand stonewall)
inwhich there isacourtyard inthe centerandrooms arearrangedaroundthe courtyard withverandah
.The agriculturists and higher castes have houses
withrectangulargroundplanwithroomsalong
all the sides (bhita-ghara), leaving an open space
(courtyard) at the center. Mud walls with a gabled
roofof thatchmade ofpaddy stalks
Poorpeoplehadhouseswithmudwallsandstraw
thatchedgableroofs,withoutenclosedcourtyards
ordoubleceilings.

25. Therearevastopenspacesinthefrontandback
sideofthebuilding.Thefrontsideisusedas
gardensandthebacksideshavegardensandpaddy
fields.Theexternalgardenisacomfortableplacein
themorningandevening
In coastal Bengal major types of houses
are commonlyfound:
1.
Gacherghor–housemadeofwood
2.
Basherghor–housemadeofbamboo

Basedonroofmaterials,housesareclassified as-
1.
Nararroofofstraw(khord).
2.
Patar-roofofbigleaves
3.
Choner-chaal-roofofbiggrass.

26. Lower Bengal has a unique architecture of its own, which is primarily
focused on roof typologies. In other words,roofsare themain
identifying features ofthe vernaculararchitecture inthis region.
1.Banglaroof
2.Chalaroof
WhenEastIndiacompanycametoIndia,themilitaryespeciallystayedinCanvastentsandthescorchingsunused
toheatup thetents.Thisled tochangein formof thetent inot bentroof,tothwart rainfalland sun

27. Soontheeavesextendedandverandahs
wereformedandactedastransitional
space.
Furthertheytransformedintopyramidal
structure.
ThedoorshavematscalledJhanpand
weresplashedwithwatertocoolthe
passingbreeze.
Furtherthesechaladevelopedinto
Dochala,Charchala,Aatchala

28. Tomakethebuilding climateresponsive,severalbasictechniques are usedsuchassteeproofsto protect
against the thrust of the wind and high plinth to protect against floods are used. The thatch roof is generally
projected beyond the walls to provide additional shelter from rain and one side of the roof is often extended four
to five feet beyond the wall and supported by stone pillars to form verandah. In summer "Courtyard effect" takes
placekeepingthe adjacent roomscool.
kitchens (ranna ghor),granaries (gola ghor) and cowsheds are built gradually over time around a central
openspace,and thus begin to define thecourtyard
Upper space design came from the user demand. In the post monsoon periods, people accumulated a
huge amount of paddy, wheat, beans, etc at a time. So people need a huge storage space and the upper
spaceservesthis purpose

29. People in coastal Bengal live in large families. In the typical housing, there is a long verandah connecting all the
roomswhich permits socialgathering as well as thestorageof paddy.
Rooms are aligned on four sides (choumata) arranged around an inner courtyard known as utthan
(courtyard)with separatecattleshedoutside.
In summer "Courtyard effect" takes place keeping the adjacent rooms cool. In winters people sit in the courtyard
in day time.The place is also used for various religious activities and festivals and also for cooking, drying of
firewood,cropetc.

30. Mostly they had mats if they had windows ,they were also covered with Jhanp. Its main function
wasto allow comfortableventilation.
•
The coolness of vernacular buildings during summer is very satisfactory without the use of
modernbuilding technology.
•
All buildings have been designed in rows and are not exposed to the sun due to front and rear
verandah and the internal courtyard. It prevents heat but it also keeps hot winds out while
ensuringmovementof coolerair through the buildingsand open areas.

31. Two distinctseparateparts:
1.Inner house (The female domain) -spaces with functional values (sleeping, cooking and eating)
2.Outerhouse (Themaledomain)–spacesfor formalfunctions suchas
socializingwiththecommunity.
Inadditiontopublic/privaterealms,religiousbeliefsalsoinfluencethelayoutofhut.Muslimhutsare
laid out following the cardinal directions of the Qibla for prayer a On the other hand, a spatial dimension
ofHindu Hut emphasizes ritualpurity within the
houseorthehomestead.

32. Buildingmaterials
The materials used in the Building are stone wall, (slopingroof with mud ceiling with
bamboo/timberrafter)and Plain cementfloor.
Verandahswith projected roofonfront and rearareto protect the wall fromsunand rain.
Duetoporosityof
the(MudCeiling)
builtonbambooor
woodenframes;hot
airgoesout,keeping
thebuildingcoolin
also
fire
summersand
aidsin
protection.

33. BUILDINGMATERIALS
In the simple village houses there are some very sophisticated design arrangements like sloped thatch roof with
Attu (Mud ceiling with bamboo/timber rafter) and Kadi Baraga Roof. The Kadi (timber beam) and Baraga
(timberrafter) applied for flat roof construction.
.Areasrichintreesandrice
production use thatch roof,
wood and bamboo as
buildingmaterial.

34. Housingnear
forests
The forest villages were often relocated by the forest depatement. Protection
against wildlife was extremely important. This caused the protection from wildlife
creating stilt structures. The sizes of houses varied with different configeration of
verandahs, interior rooms & position of staircase. The Terai region is fairly tucked
away in the dooars & are accesible through hill roads. although commuting with
roadsismaintained,itis stillrelativelyremote.Richin naturalresources.

35. •It is a light framed
structure in timber
withtiesatplinth,sill
linttel & roof level for
protection against
seismeicactivity.
•Efficient use of
material is acheived
byusingupstanding
brickwork as in fill
walltillsill.

36. •Raised plinth protected
with brickwork on its
periphery against water
logging.
•Space for toilets, wash
areas, common
courtyard & entrance
enclosure has beem
providedfor.•Infill walls
arelight.

37. Evolution
Manyof the conditionsdictatingacourtyardform forthe traditional ruralhousein Bangladesh are in theprocess of change.
The rural women folks, for example, are gradually coming out of their
seclusion through literacy, family planning and women's cooperatives.
Agriculture is being organized on a cooperative basis eliminating the need
ofacourtyardfor everyhouse forpaddy thrashingand graindrying.
Moreover, paddy thrashing is now done using locally made small
mechanical devices which do not require large spaces. The traditional
courtyard layout may eventually be transformed in favor of a more
appropriate layout, maybe a linear one which will not only conform better to
the socio-climatic requirements but which will also ensure convenient and
efficient layout of utility servicesand utilizationof land.
The geometry of the house structure may remain basically unchanged
although the size may be increased and the interior maybe sub divided into
morethan one spaceand utilities added

38. TheBanglaBattonhouse
AveryuniquestyleofarchitecturalbuiltformlocatedinSylhetcityknown
as“TheBanglaBattonhouse”.Sylhetcity,historicallydevelopedasapart
of Assam province in colonial India, where this signified style of Bangla
batton house intensely denote the socio cultural context of that
period.
Urban vernacular archetype which is modified from
indigenous primitive house with a mixture of Assamese house type
andlateradaptationhastakenfromcolonialarchitecture.
Thisisanearly‘urbanhouse-form’ofSylhetcitystartedinearly20th
century
Theseclassyresidentialhouseswere mostlyestablishedbythenoble
families
ofthattimegenerallylawyers,governmentofficialsandteachersin
occupationand
locatedinadiscreteresidentialareasofoldSylhet .

39. Form&Spatial
Planning
➤
The formal expression of the house is
symmetric compact type single story
structure
➤
The indoor and semi outdoor spaces
are held under a single pitch. Indoor room
height is also spacious (varied from 4-5
meters)andloftythatoffersbetterclimatic
comfortandluxury ofspace
➤
Expose timber panel walls and posts
supporting the roof. Walls painted in white
lime and the modular wooden panels with
black bitumen create a contrast aesthetic
elevation
➤
The roofing system is similar to our
vernacular rural house with gables and
floralornamenteddropsatedges.

40. Structure &Construction
Technology
Initially structural system was purely timber posts and beam
frames and plastered walls with bamboo mesh. Later on iron
angle bars were used for larger spans and to strengthen the
joint areas. Some houses have bamboo-reinforced concrete
posts specially located at semioutdoor areas as also aiding
decorativepurposes
‘Bangla Batton’ houses have shallow foundation or no
foundation as these are light weight structures but the plinths
areof masonrystructure
The roofing system is commonly wooden frames and false
roofbywood plankslaidon rafterpurlinsupports.
The construction process is customary simple modular
system engineered by local craftsman and masons as the
system is similar and originated from indigenous abode
structureby mudwooden members

41. Wallsectionshowingplasteron
bamboofence
Timberpostreplacedbyconcrete
postwithbambooreinforcement
Clearstoreylightingprovidedand
uniquehighwindowwithmosquito
nets

42. Modernism
ArtDecoinfluences continueinChittagongduringthe1950s.EastPakistanwas
thecenteroftheBengalimodernistmovementstarted byMuzharulIslam.Many
renowned globalarchitectsworkedin the region duringthe 1960s, includingLouis
Kahn,RichardNeutra,StanleyTigerman,PaulRudolph,RobertBougheyand
KonstantinosDoxiadis.LouisKahn designedthe JatiyoSangshadBhaban, the
preeminent symbol of modern Bangladeshi architecture.The cityscapesof modern
Bengali citiesare dominated by midsizedskycrapersand often calledconcrete
jungles.Architectureservicesforma significantpartofurbaneconomiesinthe
region,withacclaimedarchitects suchasRafiqAzam.
In2015,MarinaTabassumandKashefMahboobChowdhuryweredeclaredwinners
of the Aga KhanAward for Architecturefortheirmosque and communitycenter
designs respectively,which wereinspiredby theregion’sancient heritage.

43. Bengaliarchitectureincludesancienturbanarchitecture,religiousarchitecture,ruralvernaculararchitecture,colonial
townhousesand countryhousesandmodernurbanstyles
.
HINDUANDJAIN
ISLAMIC
CHOTASONAMASJID BENGALSULTANATE
DHAKAHIGHCOURT
COLONIALISM
MARBLEPALACE
INDO-SARCENIC
VICTORIAMEMORIAL
BUNGALOWS
MODERNISM
-ARTDECO
JAMUNA
BHABAN