Sustainability in Vernacular Architecture

Architecture is nothing but creating buildings which are more user friendly and functional along with its aesthetic aspects. Architecture has passed through stages of evolution and has been modified to satisfy the needs of the society of the present day. The modern or contemporary architecture adopts the materials and methods which have proven to be non-eco friendly. They are harming the environment and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The buildings created with these methods and materials are not climate responsive and are thermally inefficient. There is a need to adopt the methods and materials of construction which are more friendly to the environment and create thermally efficient and comfortable buildings. Vernacular architecture is the style of construction which uses local materials and construction methods. The vernacular architecture has started when man started creating shelter for himself. It goes with local conditions of climate, materials, methods, and surroundings. This paper presents sustainability aspects of vernacular architecture. Sustainability is nothing but fulfilling the needs of the present day without compromising the needs of the future generations. According to Brutland report, sustainability can be defined as, “ development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". There is an effort to analyse the climate responsibility of the structures created in the hot arid regions of north interior Karnataka. Hot arid regions of north interior Karnataka include districts of Vijayapura, Gulbarga, Bagalkot, Bidar and Raichur. The surveys are conducted in the residential buildings in the districts of Vijayapura , Bagalkot and Belgaum and comparative analysis of contemporary buildings with traditional buildings is made to check for the comfort factors. There is an effort in this paper to emphasise the thermal efficient/ climate responsive methods and materials of construction used in vernacular architecture. This paper concentrates on the climatic zone of northern interior part of Karnataka namely the districts of Bijapur, Gulbarga, Bagalkot, Belgaum and Raichur. It also emphasises on thermal efficiency of the building, that is the creation of a strong envelope so that the building is protected by the extremes of the climate