CHAPTER 3 STUDY AREA AND STUDY HOUSES

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1 46 CHAPTER 3 STUDY AREA AND STUDY HOUSES 3.1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION The principles that produced the traditional architectural solutions must be respected. This is the only way modern architecture can surpass human and ecological quality; the achievement of vernacular architecture in the hot arid regions of the world (Fathy and Shearer 1986). This chapter discusses about the delineated study area and the houses selected for study. Further it describes about the climatic zone in which these houses are located. The macro climate analysis has been explained, so as to co-relate the same with the micro climatic study of the houses selected for experimentation. A brief about the chettiyar dwellings and their lifestyle, culture, traditions and occupation are also explained. An insight into the houses under study has been introduced. 3.2 GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF DELINEATED STUDY AREA, KULIPIRAI VILLAGE PUDUKOTTAI DISTRICT. Karaikudi is known as the capital town of Chettinadu villages. The district lies in between 9 50 and north latitude and and east longitude. The study area lies at north latitude and east longitude (Figure 3.2).

2 47 The boundaries of this district of the study area are Thanjavur and Tiruchirappalli districts in north, Sivagangai in south, Tiruchirappalli in the west and Thanjavur district and Bay of Bengal in the east. Pudukottai district has an area of 4657 sq km. 3.3 GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF THE STUDY AREA The Kulipirai village has a population of 2843 with 1315 males and 1525 females according to 2001 census of Government of India. It has a household of around 925 in number. Among that, the traditional houses constitute 550 in number covering 60%. The rest are modern houses. This semi arid zone lacks in good vegetation which results in scorching radiation in the tropical conditions. This village topography is in majority plains and is gently sloping towards the north-west, where the village pond is located. The Figures 3.1 to 3.3 are self explanatory describing the location of the study area in India. The Google aerial map as shown in Figure 3.3 shows the houses selected for study. The orientation of the streets and houses are self explanatory.

3 48 Figure 3.1 Map indicating the Geographical location of the study area

4 49 Figure 3.2 Way to Kulipirai village the study area Traditional house no 1 (PLCT HOUSE) Traditional house no 2 (TNRM HOUSE) Modern House 1 and 2 Figure 3.3 Aerial View of Kulipirai village (The Delineated study area) indicating the Traditional and Modern houses. Map Source: Google Earth

5 50 DELINEATED STUDY AREA Kulipirai - Chettinadu, Pudukkottai district, Tamilnadu Warm humid climate Year of study-2009 and 2010 Year Traditional house 1 (PLCT house) 2. Modern house 1 Year Traditional house 2 (TNRM house ) 2. Modern house 2 Figure 3.4 Flow diagram indicating the study area, study period and study houses 3.4 CLIMATIC ZONE OF THE AREA OF THE HOUSES SELECTED FOR STUDY It is this intuitive adaptive capability to respond to the forces of climate like sun, wind and humidity that sets apart bioclimatic architecture from senseless, arrogant, and merely style-based creation (Rappoport 1969) and bioclimatism integrates the micro-climate and architecture to human thermal comfort conditions (Singh et al 2009). All the houses selected for study are located in the warm humid climatic zone where the maximum temperature in summer reaches up to 40º celsius with the humidity normally ranging from 65% to 85%. This type of climate is mainly found in the coastal belts, in some cases this warm humid climate extends for about 50 to 60 kilometers from the coast towards the land. However, the study area - Kulipirai village lies at around 35 kilometers west

6 51 of Bay of Bengal, and hence the warm humid zone prevails over the study area. The summer would be sweating because of more humidity and high air temperature causing a high discomfort for the habitants. And hence, as Olesen says the People in warmer environment reduce their activity level and change their posture as an unconscious action to adapt themselves to the environment (Olesen and Parsons 2002). India is a tropical country with diverse climatic conditions resulting in diverse shelter forms (Edward and Kurian 2008). The atmospheric parameters air temperature, relative humidity and air movement have an important role in providing thermally comfortable indoor environment. Researches on the aspect of thermal comfort and energy efficiency of buildings are underway throughout the world (Arens Humphreys et al 2010). India is a country of varied climate; various regions having similar characteristic features of climate are grouped under one climatic zone. The influence of climate in the evolution of forms is evident from various styles of architecture that we see today. The layout, orientation, scale of buildings and settlements should therefore be controlled in relation to the climatic zones. According to a recent code of Bureau of Indian Standards, 2005 Part 8/ Building service, vide section 1: Lighting and ventilation Cl-3.2.1, Fig 2, page no. 9 of part 8) the country may be divided into five major climatic zones: Hot and Dry (mean monthly temperature >30 and relative humidity <55%); Warm and Humid (mean monthly temperature >25-30 and relative humidity >55-75%); Temperate (mean monthly temperature and relative humidity <75%); Cold (mean monthly temperature <25 and relative humidity all values); Composite (This applies when six months or more do not fall within any of the other categories).

7 52 Figure 3.5 India map showing the various climatic zones (Source: National Building Code 2005 Part 8/ Building service, vide section 1: Lighting and ventilation Cl-3.2.1, Fig 2, page no. 9 of part 8)

8 MACRO CLIMATIC DETAILS FROM METEOROLOGICAL STATION Season wise Macro Climatic details from Meteorological station-2009 and 2010 From the data of the nearest meteorological station shown in Tables 3.1 and 3.2, it is clearly understood that the summer season of this region used to be very hot and sweaty. The monthly mean maximum Table 3.1 Climatic Details from Government Meteorological Station-2011 Average temperature Average high temperature Average low temperature Highest recorded temperature Lowest recorded temperature Average dew point over 13 years Average number of days with fog Average morning relative humidity over 15 years Average evening relative humidity over 15 years Average wind speed over 14 years Average number of days above 29.5 C Average number of days above 24.5 C Average number of days below 19.5 C Average number of days below 14.5 C Unit Average /Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec C C C C C C days % % km/h days days days days

9 54 temperature during the hottest month (May) is 39.4 C and the monthly mean minimum temperature during the coldest month (Jan) of the year is 18.9 C. The Relative Humidity during summer was found to be around 75% to 85% and during the most humid months, the relative humidity is in the range of 78% to 92%, whereas the air temperature is in the range of 34.5 C to 39 C (Source-Meteorological Station Kudimianmalai, Tamilnadu). Table 3.2 Season wise Macro Climatic details from Meteorological station Factors S.W. Monsoon N.E Monsoon Winter Summer Mean Monthly Temperature (Out side) Relative Humidity Wind speed (Km/Hr) (Outside) Sunshine (Hrs/Day) Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Rainfall The Rainfall starts with the arrival of the monsoon from the middle of June. The regular rainy season continues up to the middle of September. The total annual rainfall is 940 mm. The normal rainfall for the district has been recorded as 800 mm. However, during the two decades the district has experienced rainfall only below normal. Most of the rain occurs during North East monsoon. The season wise rainfall details are given in the Table 3.3. The mean monthly average rainfall of the district was mm and the heaviest

10 55 rainfall in the district used to be recorded normally in the month of November (162.2mm, 2009). Table 3.3 Details of the season wise rainfall Details of the season wise rainfall 1 Season Normal (mm) Actual (mm) 2 South west North east Winter Hot weather The Wind Speed The average wind speed has been indicated as 4.2 (km/hr).the average wind speed is in the range of 13.4 to 15 (km/hr) from May to September. The predominant wind direction is from East to West The Sunshine 8.57 hours per day. From the Table 3.2, it is clear that the sunshine has been noted as 3.6 CHETTINADU - AN OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION TO CHETTIYAR DWELLINGS Vernacular buildings are the structures built by local people using locally available materials and affordable technology to deal with the local and day-to-day needs (Singh et al 2009).

11 56 Chettinadu, in the South-Western part of Tamil Nadu situated approximately 35 kilometers west of the coastal Line of Bay of Bengal, is spread across the districts of Sivagangai and Pudukkottai. The cities-madurai in the west and Tiruchirappalli in the north are the two important cities nearest to Chettinadu region. Both are located at around 75 kilometers approximately from this region. Chettinadu is a region which includes Karaikudi and 74 other villages spread across Sivagangai and Pudukkottai districts of Tamil Nadu state in India. Karaikudi is known as the capital town of Chettinadu villages. The district lies between 9 50 and North latitudes and and East longitudes. The study area - Kulipirai Village lies at North latitude and East longitude as shown in Figure-3.1. The traditional houses of Chettinadu in Tamil Nadu, India represents the principle of climate oriented architecture. The climate is warm- humid, based on the climatic zonation map of India. The design of vernacular buildings is the outcome of the traditional knowledge based on trial and error approach. This type of architecture addresses the local climate constraints and shows maximum adaptability and flexibility. This provides uniqueness to vernacular architecture and is often used as a symbol to represent a particular community or cultural setup (Plemenka 1982). These Chettinadu houses are naturally ventilated buildings and are in accordance with traditional lifestyles. Having created an interest, this traditional architecture attracts many researchers attention to evaluate its specialty. Majority of these studies focus on qualitative analysis of the relationship between the building types, materials, construction techniques and the local climate but lack field tests and quantitative analysis. It is difficult to establish the real performance of traditional buildings in providing a comfortable indoor environment without quantifying and monitoring the actual comfort parameters over a period of time.

12 Territorial Chettinadu is a semi-arid zone of 1,550 Square kilometers, in the heart of Tamil Nadu (South India). It is inhabited by majority of Chettiyars who are spread over two cities and 74 villages. Since the foundation of these settlements, the Chettiyars have upheld a vision of urban planning and development which makes this area unique Historical background The Chettiyars belong to a heredity of wealthy traders and financiers who make their wealth by expanding their business to the whole of Southeast Asia; they are into the gold and diamond business since 19 th century. Now-a-days, most of the young family members migrate to many other parts of the world. Chettinadu is also famous for the traditional Chettinadu food. The most important part of Chettinadu are their mansions, which are rich in cultural heritage, art and architecture Street Planning and Buildings The Chettinadu villages have unique settlement patterns that were constructed following the grid iron pattern of streets, specific water management, artistic creativity, etc., Every traditional house is built on rectangular plots with 5 to 8 high plinth platform. These houses are essentially composed of inner courtyards, and in some huge houses there are around 3 or 4 courtyards.

13 58 North West East South Figure 3.6 Plan and Section of the typical Chettinadu house selected for study Chettinadu House Planning Sustainable buildings can be defined as those buildings that have minimum adverse impacts on the built and natural environment, in terms of the buildings themselves, their immediate surroundings and the broader regional and global settings. The traditional house taken for study is about 200 years old. The houses were built on rectangular plots. The front door opens into one street and the back ends into the next street. A floor plan for a Chettinadu house as

14 59 shown in Figure 3.6 illustrates an outside veranda for guests in the front of the house, a series of courtyards for ceremonial functions, cooking and it ends with the rear side of the house leading to female section of the house. The houses are linearly designed. The basic idea behind planning such a huge house is that the Chettiyars have, Combined living/joint family To conduct family rituals in the house The reason for such huge buildings is that they were diamond merchants, who sold diamonds and precious stones - that richness refelcted in their houses, resulting in the construction of huge houses. The individual house planning details are discussed in Chapter CONCLUSION From this chapter, a clear understanding of the study area, its geographical location, the study area climatic zone and its various macro climatic variables are clearly witnessed. This chapter also explains the house planning and traditions of the Chettiyars which paved the way for the researchers to undertake the research in these palatial houses. But these traditional palatial houses which were built on bioclimatic principles are vanishing one-by-one in these modern days. Bioclimatism is an integral part of vernacular architecture and a deciding parameter towards achieving sustainability of modern architecture (Plemenka 1982). Therefore to bring out its legacy back to these modern days, it is important to understand climate responsive architecture imbibed in these houses, so as to put it back once again in the future sustainable society.

Average temperature ( F) World Climate Zones. very cold all year with permanent ice and snow. very cold winters, cold summers, and little rain or snow

Average temperature ( F) World Climate Zones. very cold all year with permanent ice and snow. very cold winters, cold summers, and little rain or snow P r e v i e w Look carefully at the climagraph of Mumbai, India. What is the wettest month (or months) in Mumbai? What is the driest month (or months) in Mumbai? What effects might this city s climate