Learning from the past is often perceived as an old-fashioned statement by many. The reason probably might be our present-day’s culture that puts a premium on originality and often striving for it, for its own sake. This might result in a contemporary designer of built environment assuming that analysing and learning from the vernacular processes of building would inhibit his creativity, as the product created needs to be modern.
The catastrophe that hit us in the form of the flood last month taught us a lesson to look deep into the wisdom of built environment, vernacular as well as traditional, to rediscover the hidden lessons embedded in them along with reviewing modern constructions and its fuzzy boundaries. This calls for a state-of-art survey of samples of vernacular architecture that have survived, which need not be limited to sentimental regionalism. But, when such a survey is thoroughly analysed, one can find out how it yielded to responses that are balanced with forces of nature.
Local knowledge
One such example is the single house that stands head and shoulder above the rest of the flood-affected houses in Azhoor, located close to the Achancoil river in Pathanamthitta. Mattathil House survived the flood and not even a single drop of water gushed into its humble interiors. Its high plinth rising to about 5ft was the design criterion that kept it safe. The house has been built on an additional plinth and that is thought to be a lesson that might have been learned from the 1924 flood mark.
Mattathil House in Pathanamthitta
What is surprising is that none of the neighbours cared to learn from this old house while they constructed their houses. It did not seem to have raised in any questions in the minds of the builders who constructed the other buildings in the vicinity. Or we learned to overlook such evidence handed over to us by our ancestors? Taking this plinth level as a bench mark, it should be analysed and taken into consideration in all rebuilding activities.
The timber buildings in Thazhathangadi along the river Meenachil also narrate a similar success story of overcoming the deleterious effects of flood waters.
Timber buildings at Thazhathangadi
The architectural vocabulary of each of these buildings consists of verandas, drawing rooms, bedrooms with pathayam (granary), dining and kitchen spaces, work areas and toilets along with ara and godowns. Although not placed on a very high plinth, these wooden houses follow the traditional prefabricated system of construction.
The ara with nira , which are wooden-panelled walls, are used not only for storing but also as a vent in case of calamities, as spatially it is located within another walled enclosure.
Such houses have a mezzanine and attic floor inside, which are made of wooden planks on beams called machu , connected vertically using wooden stairs. The attic constructed in this manner provides required ventilation and can be used to safeguard human life and property at times of a natural calamity. It is extemely important for modern house construction to take clues from this vernacular wisdom of constructing buildings.
Built to last
Moothampakkal house at Edayaranmula, Chengannur, is one such example that has withstood both the floods. In 1924 as well as in 2018 it kept itself, its occupants and properties safe.
The ara , placed at six and a half feet above floor level, and the attic housed inside this building played a vital role in providing protection from flooding waters. Made of timber, these sort of chambers keep the interiors warm when it is cold outside and cool when it is quite warm outside. The ventilation provided keeps these interior spaces good for habitation in times of need. There are many such buildings of similar typology but with geographical variations located in many regions of Kerala. They leave us with a plethora of vernacular wisdom.
Traditional and vernacular buildings preserve a history of their construction. To the seeker, it provides an array of reasoning about why and how they were constructed in a specific manner. Many lessons are to be learnt from them without which we will be repeating failures causing more loss of human lives and property. They should not be regarded as mere isolated objects worthy of preservation, but as sources of inspiration and living evidence of the construction practices, theory and deep understanding of the material science that the older generation has handed over to us to be protected and passed on to future generations.
Vernacular and traditional systems of construction were mostly studied because they are mostly organic, ecologically responsive and energy efficient. But now they have proved that they could even be crusaders in saving life and property. This learning needs to be adapted in the rebuilding process that we undertake as Kerala prepares to effectively design disaster resilient homes and shelters for all.
The author is professor and head, Department of Architecture, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam
