Vernacular Architecture of Jaisalmer

JAISALMER

THE GOLDEN
CITY

MADE BY
BHAVYA GAUR
HARKARAN
AHLUWALIA
NEHAL SETHI
VIJAY MEENA

INTRODUCTI
Jaisalmer is named
ON after Maharawal Jaisal
Singh, a Rajput king who founded the city in

1156 AD.
"Jaisalmer" means "the Hill Fort of Jaisal".
Jaisalmer is sometimes called the "Golden City
of India" because the yellow sand and the
yellow sandstone used in every architecture of
the city gives a yellowish-golden tinge to the
city and its surrounding area.
The district is situated at the extreme west of
Rajasthan and forms the major part of the
great Indian desert.
It lies in the heart of the Thar Desert (great

Indian desert) and has a population of about
78,000.
Jaisalmer is the largest district in the state and the
second largest in the country, yet it is the least
populated district in the state
The arid climate of the area and the scorching heat,
the uncomfortable hot winds and erratic rainfall have
combined to make the area very sparsely populated.
CLIMATE
The climate of Jaisalmer is
typically of a hot desert
region.
There is scanty and
unreliable rainfall (average
annual precipitation being
less than 200mm).
Two seasons predominate,
summer and winter.
In summer the day-time
temperature can reach up
to 45C and down to 25C
at night. Similarly in
winter the temperatures
vary between 25C and
5C.
The diurnal range of
temperatures is between
15C and 20C.
Relative humidity in summer can be less than 10% in the day.

The sky is mostly clear and solar radiation is intense
throughout the year, the average solar radiation on a
horizontal surface in June being 22.2 MJ/m2/day.
During the summer months, wind velocity is usually high and
there are severe dust storms during May and June.
HOUSE FORM
Depending upon the socioeconomic status of the
inhabitant, there are three types
of houses in Jaisalmer.
The simplest town house consists of
a single room, a verandah and a
courtyard.
-Larger houses of this type have
another verandah over the entrance
and some houses have an additional
room on one side of the courtyard.
-Three single storey structures are
owned by the poorest people and
have been built in the peripheral
areas of the town.
The second type of house

belongs to the middle
income people.
A two or three-storey
structure, this house type
can be considered the
typical house of Jaisalmer.
It is similar to the first
house type in plan, with
the only difference that
additional rooms and small
enclosed terraces are
located at the upper
floors.
The front part of the first
floor has a balcony
The most complex and interesting residential buildings in

Jaisalmer are the havelis built by the rich merchants or
courtiers.
In these four or five-storied houses, the courtyard is
surrounded by rooms or verandahs on all sides.
There are underground rooms as well, sometimes at two
levels one below the other.
The uppermost storey comprises terraces enclosed by wind
pavillions and high parapet walls.
In some cases, the house is built around two courtyards.
TOWN
LAYOUT
A 5 to 6 metre high wall surrounds
Jaisalmer town.
A number of gates called Prols, define
the entry points of the town.
There is one major bazaar, which
connects the Amar Sagar Prol at the
eastern end to the Garhisar Prol on the
western side of the town.
The famous havelis and the major
residential area are located to the north of
the bazaar
There are major streets oriented almost
E-W and minor streets at right angles t
o these
Panorama of Jaisalmer
from top of Maharaja Palace
BUILDING
The common CONSTRUCTION
building material used in Jaisalmer is stone of which
there are two types.
Light yellowish sandstone is used for walls, which are 0.45m or

more in thickness.
In better quality construction the stone is dressed and joints are
made accurately without any mortar. The individual stones are held
together by stone keys cut into the blocks themselves or by iron
cramps.
In poorer people's houses the stone is undressed and the walls are
built in mud mortar and finished with mud plaster.
At upper floor level, where the building faade projects out, 50mm
thick panels of limestone are used as wall elements.
These are deeply carved in various geometrical patterns and from
outside the building they give the appearance of latticework (jali).
Two types of construction are used for roofs and floors.

The traditional method is to taly closely spaced timber beams and
cover them with a layer of reed or grass matting and a thick layer
(0.45 to 0.60m) of earth on top.
In all cases the roof and floor are finished only with mud plaster.
This presents no problem of water seepage, as there is little
rainfall.
Windows are generally small and are fitted with solid timber
shutters.
Because of the need for privacy, the use of windows was limited
to upper floors only and it is only in recent construction that
windows have been built at the street level.
Doors are built with stone frames and fitted with thick timber
shutters
NATURAL COOLING SYSTEM

LAYOUT
In Jaisalmer, the layout of the
town is the first defence against
the harsh climate.
The street orientation of WNWESE ensures that the building
facades are either shaded by the
balcony and sunshade projections
or by the buildings opposite.
For streets oriented N-S, the
summer sun shines on the east
facade till 11.30am and the west
facade after 12.30pm. Basically
houses will be receiving direct
sunlight only for an hour . This is
taken care of by the massive wall
construction.
TEXTURE
Buildings have a lot of extended surfaces
( wind pavilions, balconies, sunshades
and simply carved walls ) resulting to transfer
of heat to air keeping the building cool.
In the evening, when the ambient air-cools
down, the extended surface will also cool down
faster than a plain surface.
Textured surface are usually used for the upper
floors of the building which are always exposed
to sun whereas the parts under shade have
plain facades .
Because of their thermal load levelling
characteristics, thick walls of materials like
brick, stone or mud are capable of reducing
heat gain due to solar radiation, even without
surface texture. (wall exposed to sun-450mm to
650mm & shaded wall50mm)
VENTILATION
In jaisalmer ,buildings are tightly
clustered together, it is generally
difficult to let winds into the
house and air movement due to
temperature differentials.
In Jaisalmer buildings, a number of
interconnected vertical shafts are
used for ventilation.
The courtyard effect is well known
and used in almost all hot-dry
climates.
In addition to the simple
courtyards, very narrow vertical
ducts and staircase shafts are
used to deflect wind down into the
house
DESERT VILLAGE- SAM

Sam is a village located in the midst of the
HOUSE
desert, near Jaisalmer.
Always confronted with severe climatic
conditions, the habitat had to respond to
very clearly identifiable forces.
Intense heat, strong dust storms and a
lack of building materials are the key
constraints.
Nevertheless the house forms emerge
beautifully from their surroundings.
The sameness that one experiences in the
materials of construction and the
surrounding landscape is offset by painting
motifs around the openings on the walls
that surround the courtyard.
ROOPSI
LOCATION
VILLAGE
ROOPSI is a village of about 2000
people, located about 20 KM WEST of
Jaisalmer town.
Surroundings have patches of
cultivable land and people live by
Sheep Breeding and Agriculture.
VILLAGE LIFE
Life is organised on the basis of
Community groups. A cluster
accommodating such a group has
closely knit dwelling which are introvert
in character.
MATERIAL
Rubble is available in vicinity. Houses
constructed in Rubble masonry are
bound in mud mortar.
COURTYARD
The central Courtyard is the key
element of the house. All surrounding
rooms open into the courtyard .
The closed periphery of house shares
its walls with other houses. Effective
in dry hot climate and is thus well
protected from sandstorms.
ROOMS
Rooms are large and spanned with
rough Wooden Rafters closely
arranged with their bearings on walls
and stone pillars which have wide
capitals.
Rafters are covered with a layer of
Rubble and Mud 25 30 cm thick.
Heavy Walls and thick Roofs keep
house cool during summer days and
warm in Chilly nights.
BHUNGA
BHUNGA It is a Typical house of Jaisalmer
VILLAGE
enclosed
by Mud wall used for dwelling purpose.
It is circular in Plan and does not share common
walls with adjacent houses.
Generally has one door and two windows.
WALL IS CONSTRUCTED IN 2 WAYS
DEPENDING UPON ITS LOCATION1) Areas with NO water logging during rains
Walls are made of Dried Clay Blocks and finished
with Mud plaster. These walls cannot carry the load
of the roof as they are not rigid enough. But the
Roof load is cleverly transferred above head level.
Wooden Prop placed in centre of Beam supports
conical roof and helps to transfer the loads to the
posts through the beam.
2 Posts carrying the Beam are placed outside the
circular wall and left exposed or embedded in mud
wall.
HAVELIS
DIWAN NATHMAL JIS
HAVELI
The feudal style of living of the rajputs warranted

residence in semi-luxurious mansions by nobles,
ministers as well as top ranking bankers in their
states .
Besides , some powerful bankers and councilors had
their own havelis constructed with all the regal pomp
and
show jis haveli started around the early 80s and completed in the 85. it
Nathmal
was commissioned to serve as the residence of Diwan Mohata Nathma.
The architects of this haveli were Hathi and Lulu who happened to be
brothers.
There are other minute details worth appreciation.
For example there are two Elephants made of yellow stone. These life-size
replicas have been put in front of the main entrance so that it looks as if they
are guarding the Haveli. Other than these, there are pictures engraved on
pillars and walls.
It is famous for its stone-carved

screen windows, exquisitely executed
murals, jewel like balconies
Though built on one building plan
and the architectural brilliance, the
two wings were built differently.
However,
wings
seem to
whole ofthe
thetwo
haveli
is carved
outhave
of
faultless
raw stoneharmony.
boulders.
roofs are often made of large stone
slabs spanning across the width of the
room.
THANK
YOU

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JAISALMER

Singh, a Rajput king who founded the city in

It lies in the heart of the Thar Desert (great

Relative humidity in summer can be less than 10% in the day.

The second type of house

The most complex and interesting residential buildings in

Light yellowish sandstone is used for walls, which are 0.45m or

Two types of construction are used for roofs and floors.

NATURAL COOLING SYSTEM

DESERT VILLAGE- SAM

The feudal style of living of the rajputs warranted

It is famous for its stone-carved

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