Traditional Pattern
Traditional Pattern
HOUSING DESIGN
Traditional patterns
Row Housing and Cluster Housing
Layout concepts
Use of open spaces
Utilities and common facilities
Case studies
High Rise Housing.
TRADITIONAL PATTERNS
India’s city landscape is progressing each year, further and further away from
the beautiful designs of the past.
Most of these traditional house designs still flourish in villages or, more rarely,
in the isolated, untouched suburbs of the cities.
• If you’re in the market for a house or flat you may find yourself
wondering where those beautiful houses have disappeared??
OR
The most popular architectural form is the Chang house, which is probably what you
imagine when you think of the North-East.
These traditional house designs feature bamboo walls raised by stilts and typically
found in hilly regions; this construction was inspired by the frequent flooding and
landslides.
In general, homes are one storey high due to the threat of earthquakes.
These houses are also an extremely social creation with open spaces at both ends for
people to be seated.
Most of these Indian house plans feature gardens in the out front where some families
cultivate some of their own crops.
The kitchen usually lies at the heart of the house in this joint family culture.
TRADITIONAL PATTERNS - PUNJAB
A cattle enclosure is usually set within the courtyard – the one feature that hasn’t carried
forward to the urban version.
The baithak, or living room, lies at the centre of the family’s socialising with simple furniture
like charpais spread out.
All other rooms lie lateral to it with the courtyard leading off it and a door that opens out to the
street.
Meanwhile, the verandah that runs all along the house is where most household activities and
daily female socialising take place. All this lies wrapped behind a baked boundary wall with
idyllic painted doors leading into the street or the next door house.
TRADITIONAL PATTERNS - KOLKATA
These homes had large centred courtyards or Aangals with the Vrindavan or tulsi plant set in the middle of
it. Along one side of this courtyard is a puja mandap with apses set behind ornate arches where the idols
are placed. Next to this is usually where the women’s pavilion, a balcony from where women could watch
the goings on of the street below, is set. The bedrooms are set along the opposite side of the courtyard
with the Zenana or female quarters placed on the final side at a distance from the living room. The living
room, in addition to the verandah, was used to receive and entertain guests or by officers’ to hold
meetings. The various sections’ floors were all connected by curved corridors and winding stairways.
The furniture set within was just as extravagant with ornate four-poster beds with canopy curtains draping
them, and carved sandalwood tables and chairs, while the walls were adorned with paintings. The
gardens were also very spacious and carefully maintained with beautiful fountains and birds laid through
them.
If you’re confused about the architecture of your unbuilt house, go with the long-established Indian arts
and designs. Model your dream home with an inspiring traditional house plan that features an
aesthetically pleasing style of living. Take your pick for a traditional domestic look.
ROW HOUSING AND CLUSTER HOUSING
HOUSING: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Housing Types
Homes can either be stand alone or cluster units.
Stand alone refers to individual houses while cluster units refer to individual homes that share
walls.
It is important to consider and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of these building
styles before moving forward with preliminary designs.
Cluster Units Stand Alone Housing
The contiguous open spaces are good practice in terms of agriculture, conservation and wildlife habitat,
or outdoor recreation or woods to wander in.
Grouping homes together reduces the initial investment in roads, streets, and utility lines, as well as the
public sector's maintenance and infrastructure replacement costs.
Relatively close proximity to neighbors means that one is more likely to get acquainted with neighbors
and develop a sense of caring community.