Applying the Lessons of Indian Vernacular Architecture: The Bungalow as Example of Adaptive Climatic Response

ABSTRACT: As Britain’s political influence in India grew and spread in the middle of the 18th century, so too did its settlements. Faced with the challenge of building comfortable and affordable dwellings in a climate very different from their own, the British settlers took many of their cues from traditional local architecture. The building form that resulted, commonly known as the bungalow, incorporated many traditional Indian strategies for improving climatic response. Built from natural local materials, it utilised vernacular solutions to the challenges of maximising natural ventilation and shade for environmental comfort and providing protection from the heavy monsoon rains. This essay examines the environmental design and climatic response principles of traditional Indian architecture, and the application and adaptation of these principles in the creation of a modern dwelling built to meet European expectations of both form and comfort