Building typologies
AR 6413 – ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 3
MEMBERS:
PRARTHNA ROY
KARPAKAM
KEERTHIDHARAN
NIHMATHULLA
PRAVEEN KUMAR S V
What is building typology?
Why is it important to study building
typologies?
What does it building typologies tell us in a
rural context, viz., with respect to form,
materials used, daily life, local traditions and
culture, etc.?
Building typology is the study and documentation of buildings into
distinct types by characteristics of function or form.
They can be classified on the basis of form and function.
Under the functional classification, we have building types such as
hospitals, houses, offices, shops, temples, etc.
And under classification on forms, we have buildings with different
stories, buildings with/without courtyards, buildings with/without a
complex, etc.
Documenting a type is the process of discovering and recording the
distinct elements and features of similar forms.
Usually building types are distinguished by their basic form, site
configuration, and scale, not their specific architectural style, color, or
even precise use.
They may also be related to the era, the culture, and the environment in
which they arise.
Most buildings can be easily recognized as belonging to a building type.
Anyone can begin to identify types simply by observing the common
buildings in a place.
Architectural and urban designers document types more thoroughly, by
measuring them, dating them, noting similar changes to the type that
arise over time, and identifying their recurring locations in the city.
IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING TYPOLOGIES:
Building types are critical to architects because they are a starting point
for designing. Typologies often speak for themselves.
One need not reinvent the form if a common building type, say an office
building, is wanted.
Most architects develop a sense of common building types over time,
with respect to their approximate dimensions, bulk, site placement, and
internal circulation.
Historians, anthropologists, and architectural historians use the
documentation of type as a key to other characteristics in a settlement,
for example events, political control, or economic changes.
As theory tells us, when a type evolves over a period of time, this is an
indication that conditions have changed.
They can help identify house characteristics by component (which
influences the ability to retrofit), occurrence of existing efficiency
measures, prioritizing, i.e., which groups need most attention, etc.
RURAL BUILDING TYPOLOGIES:
There are divergent views on what constitutes “rural areas”, where rural “ends”
and urban “begins”. The dividing line is blurred.
Rural areas are often referred to as those areas outside of the city or urban
boundary or periphery where populations are spatially dispersed.
Agriculture is the main economic activity that provides job opportunities. In these
areas opportunities for socio-economic development are often limited, leading
to the migration of able bodied individuals.
These households are often largely dependent on social grants and remittances
from family members working in the cities.
Rural houses in India are mostly made of non-durable materials taken
from the locality.
Since India is diverse in her natural resources and geographical
conditions, a large number of building materials are obtained from her
biological and geological sources.
These are clay, mud, stones, grasses leaves, bamboo and wood.
These materials are used both for the walls and the roofs of the houses.
Houses there can be classified as kutcha, pucca and semi-pucca based
on the type of materials and methods of construction used.
Houses made of non-durable materials are classified as kutcha and those
of durable are pucca houses. Some houses are made of mixed materials.
Such type of houses are known as semi-pucca.
The design (aesthetic and planning) requirements of the buildings are influenced
by their durability (kutcha/pakka), occupancy, religion, usage (public/private),
facilities, ages, detailing and features, etc.
Much of the above are influenced by the traditions and culture of the people
and their way of life.
REFERENCES:
Typology studies - The Architectural Review.
A Methodology for documenting housing typologies in moderate –severe seismic
zones – C.V.R Murthy, Durgesh Rai, Hari Kumar, Keya Mitra, Amit K Bose, Hemanth B
Koushik, Aravind Jaiswal, Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla.
Type and typology in architectural discourse – Yasemin I Guney
Census of India 2011
Sustainability of traditional rural mud houses in Tamil Nadu, India: An analysis related to
thermal comfort – A. Madhumathi, J. Vishnupriya, S. Vignesh
Housing Typologies – Ian Page, BRANZ
Typology and Design – Andrea Sooyeon Kim
A study on housing typologies in rural areas of Assam, India - Prachuryya Kaushik,
Praschaya Kaushik
Housing for Rural India – Samirsinh Parmar
