Vernacular Architecture:

• Vernacular architecture means the ordinary/ local technology with

local available materials used in making particular structure, where
existing knowledge is used with utilizing the locally available
materials and builders.
• Vernacular buildings are built by ordinary people without the help of
formal experts.
• Vernacular strictly belongs to the place, to its past and untouched by
foreign influences, while modern architecture can help transform
traditional societies into modern societies that resemble the
advanced-west.
• It is based on an indigenous traditional knowledge of both design
and construction, which exhibits a social, environmental and
economic demands of the place and the people in the austere
aesthetics of sustainability.
• Indeed, vernacular architecture is valuable for its dynamism and its
capacity of continuing evolution.
Vernacular Architecture
• Vernacular architecture is a dynamic cultural heritage and it is not
“frozen in time” like a historical heritage.
• Its local appeal makes it an important attraction in trekking and
nature tourism.

• Their grandeur and significance lies in their naturalness and local

belongingness. They respond precisely to the site, climate and
materials.

• Nepalese rural vernacular architecture is as varied as the

topography, natural environment and ethnicity of Nepal.
• however, on the basis of major construction material in use, may
divide Nepal into three broad vernacular architectural divisions in
different ecological regions such as eg. Tarai, Middle Hills and High
Mountains.
 Nepalese Architecture : Materials & Technological context

• In Nepal, Vernacular architecture retain their local material and

technology relevance
– Regional and Ethnic identity
– Ethnic groups are location specific
• Kathmandu valley and its geology: Hills and Valley floor, Monsoon
rain, fertile soil

• Locally available materials :- Clay, brick , timber, stone, tile(jhingati)

and metal.
• Limited stone deposits of working possibility and transported from
nearby area. E.g. Chobar.

• Technology: Primarily and Mostly of trabeated (post and lintel)

structure in almost all buildings. The absence of the term “arch” .
 ARCHITECTURE OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF NEPAL:

• THAKALI – From the Inner Himalayan Valley

• GURUNG, PAHADE – From the Midlands in the Hill
• NEWAR – From the Midlands in the Kathmandu
Valley
• THARU – From the Siwalik chain and of Terai

• These Four zones of the settlements are thus represents

the whole settlements of Nepal in terms of its
Geographical Classification
 THAKALI ARCHITECTURE:
• Thakali came into Nepal from the North and settled in trade route
between India and Tibet.
• The name of the Thakali derived from the location of “Thak- Khola”
of Kali Gandaki valley. Generally these settlements have spread in
Manag, Marphais, Mustang etc area also in transition of hill and
mountain area.
• “Tukuche” being Capital of Thak-khola is the most laterally settled
Thakali Village. Example of Thak khola shows it is also lies on the
present day trekking route to the Annapurna as it lies on the ancient
route of the salt trade.
• As with the Tharus and Grungs, the Thakalis – Marphalis never
developed their own written language.
• The language of two groups is related to that of the Gurungs and Tamangs.
According to their legends both Thakalis and Marphalis originally settled on far
west Nepal. Then subsequently migrated to the Thak Khola area.
• The area is almost a desert. Strong daily wind blows. However
approximately half of the Marpha’s population moves south to the
warmer parts of the Nepal.
• Families generally migrated south for only three months. Now they
stay for as long as six months and some have permanently settled
there. The reduction of the strength of the trade route, the main
profession is only agricultural.
• In the settlement, THE SETTLEMENT OF THAKALI is supported by the
Gompa, Chorten and Temple.
• The Village Gate, Prayer Wall demarcates the settlement.
• Inside the settlement, there is some Social Center, Low Caste House
to support the Agricultural Land and Garden for the Residential
Buildings.
• The rectilinear settlement of the Thakali is developed comparatively
in independent line which is justified by their location.
• They live in fairly large sized houses.
Source : Padma Mainalee
• The Terraced / high land is used for housing and other sides are used
for agricultural land.
• It has single band housing and agricultural land behind. Generally
the size of the village ranges from dozen to 100 inhabitants,
compactly organized in the main road. Thakali settlement gives a lot
of urban taste.

• Gompa is the religious structure at the center of the settlement or

near to the prayer wall.
• It is also social, cultural & religious important place, where used for
the Lama to read their religious book at the time of person’s demise
and at time of birth etc. these are Buddhist influenced.
• The village gates are the guard of the settlement. The main function
is to demarcate the settlement in the trade route giving a sense of
the place for the traders, where you are and where you are going.
• In every case Buddhist Gompa and Gate are in the outskirt of the
settlement. Source : Padma Mainalee
• Chorten is a small sculptural structure. It is the symbolization of the
Lord Buddha. It is available in the Gompa complex and in the middle
of the village dwellings.
• It is a religious center as a centre of the worship area. Small
sculptural temples dedicated to the tutelary deities of the Sherchan
and Bhattachan.
• The prayer wall in the settlement shows or established as the main
city element. It is also reflection of the tradition in the public area.
Some element painted with white and red mud colors.
• The service men are the lower caste in the settlement and live in the
periphery of the settlement. They are Kami and Damai.
• In dense and scattered settlements, they have a place somewhere
back of the main settlements and in lower terraces.
• As in every settlement has flourmill, people used watermills for such
function near to the river.
• The other elements are VDC, school, health post and post office
building
 Chorten

Prayer wall
• In the building, the Front Courtyard, Cattle Shed and General Store
after the Entry Porch.
• The Thakali houses are fairly larger sized, these are stone wall
construction with flat roof and timber are used.
• In all houses, climate of place, culture of people and material
availability affects the house form.
• In front courtyard, there is a partially covered canopy above the
porch. The courtyard in house is not arranged in the central of the
mass. The fairly large enclosed courtyard in the front used for
livestock and for the storage.
• The another side lead to the staircase.
• Large space used for livestock and storage.
• There are Decoration in external windows.
• Ladder used for the other floors. Stone steps lead to the first floor
and the house complex does not have separate building for animal.
• But the spaces nearby to the main entry in courtyard are used for
the purpose of the cattle shed.
• In upper level, Room for the Ancestor inside the Living Room is the
most important room special character of the room called Thim Then
(ancestor room) as heart of the building function.
• There is a central part of the house function, for the worship and
other social function in marriage and in birth. This room and Kitchen
have a Fire place (Angenu)
• The fire place has a great extent to use in village for preparation of
the food and heating up the building. Thim Then is used only in the
ceremonies like in the worship of the ancestor and other sacred
function.
• The Kitchen reflects the functional centre of the house called KOTO.
It is near to the living room and easily functional to the stores.
• The living room is the central and busy room called Kuncher.
• It’s main function is gathering of the family members.
• The Thakali house is the spacious with required numbers of rooms,
living, sleeping, store, kitchen and ancestor room. This all is achieved
through the lightweight partition in the flexible space.
• The stores are different from the upper floor store(agro-production,
trade goods) to lower floor storage (agricultural tools, etc).
• The upper floor store area is used for the initial storage of the by-
product of the agriculture as well as storing of the trade good.
• The stores are different categories such as Norkhang, Rakhang,
Pikhang, Chikhang etc. These are arranged in the periphery of the
main rooms, which reduced the heat loss to the central rooms.
• In the Terrace, Roof Room and Roof Terrace are extensively used for
the harvesting of the grains.
• The function of the roof terrace is grain drying yard and vegetable
drying yard. This space is used for the sunbath, dining purpose,
viewing area etc.
• This is upper most roof room from the family area, which is used in
the time of festival in the house. It is multi purpose space used to
relax with guest and other functions.
• It serves as the kitchen store and other functions. It is covered from the
three sides with walls and open colonnade in front looking courtyard.
 GURUNG ARCHITECTURE:
• Gurung are settled on the southern flank of the Annapuran.
• It their settlements are adjoining of the Tamang, then they spreads
outward to south east and even west in Lamjung, Gorkha, Kaski-
Pokhara in Gandaki.
• They are also settled in higher slopes of the Himalayan.
• Generally Gurung houses are two-stored, made up of the large walls,
neatly constructed with dry wall and covered with slate roof.
• Average size of the village ranges 150-200 houses clustered together
to form a uniform.
• Gurung also live at duality of two great traditions of Hindu culture
and Tibetan Buddhism.
• Gurung villages can be generalized as an assembly of the houses
clustered together in the terraced lands within their territory.
Source : Padma Mainalee
• The shape of the house is different in different locations.
• They are Rectangular shape in the west of Pokhara but Oval shape
with elliptical thatch roof is practiced in the southern side.
• They have migrated from the Tibet during the period of Tibetain
expansion between the seventh and tenth centuries A.D. Initially
they settled at high elevations on the southern slopes of the
Himalayas in the areas of Lamjung Himalaya and Himal Chuli in the
central Nepal. Gradually they moved west to southern slopes of the
Annapuran (Kodang).
• In the settlement, Gurung settlement is supported by the GOMPA,
CHORTEN and MANE.
• The TERRACES of the hills are used for the building spaces and with
DHANSAR (small building).
• The settlement of the Gurung is developed in clusters form in the
hill with small physical features.
• They have a small family so houses are relatively small and
distributed in the terraced land with the central walkway.
• Major houses are forming stone walls with courtyard.
• Being in the hill the different level of the entry without
interconnection between ground and main floor is the common
feature in west of Nepal where as oval house being a special in the
eastern part.
• Gompa is the religious structure at the top of the hill of the each
settlement. It also connects the people of the settlement in different
social function.
• It is culturally important place for Lama to read religious book at
the time of death & birth of the people.
• Chorten is a small religious sculpture. Same as Thalkali community.
• It is constructed at the centre of praying area. It is symbolization of
the Lord Buddha.
• It is available in Gompa complex or in the middle of the village
dwellings.
• Mane is also small structure in the center or distributing throughout
the village like gate, near to the street side or any spiritual place.
• Which constructed in the name of God, by some family to get rid of
suffering thus opening a way to Nirvana.
• It is defining entry and exit.
• Being in the hillside, terraces are the main gift of the nature to hilly
settlement.
• The terrace acts as social spaces of the family. The cluster form of
the buildings can be seen in hilly areas for shelter purpose.
• The basic function of the house is to provide the sleeping units and
shelter.
• The unit contains the store in ground floor and storage area for the
firewood and other whereas upper floor serves people for the
household function.
• The small house called Dhansar, is one more service building in
same complex. It serve the grain storage, household materials (fire
wood, fodder etc).
• This is two storied building with grains store in the upper floor. The
upper floor also serves the separate bed rooms and guest room in
verandah.
• In the building, the FRONT COURTYARD, OPEN VERANDAH leads to
the CATTLE SHED in the LOWER FLOOR and have internal connection
to the UPPER FLOORS.
• ATTIC as a part of the interior space. The NICHES of the walls make a
small STORE spaces nearby the Fireplace.
• The GUEST ROOM is not separately made only used either in the
Dhansar or in the open verandahs.
• The courtyard in the Gurung house is outside space. It functions as
the main feature such as harvesting of the grains and as a drying
yard, children playing area, other household functions, religious and
other occasional ceremonies also to perform.
• The lower floor accessed from the lower terraces, which are main
storage spaces of the Gurung settlements.
• Generally they are used for the storing the firewood, animal shed and for grain in
• In Gorkha the Lower floor are used for only cattle and store but in
the Kodgaon used for the living purpose.
• The central spaces used for the living and cooking (kitchen) area. It
has centered fireplace (angenu), plays the vital role in the family
function. These are flexible spaces.
• The upper floors are the main activities area of the Gurung
community.
• The spaces are used commonly for the sleeping, storing, other
activities purpose.
• Being the slate roofed, the use of the attic is not restricted to any
function. But Gurung practice made them to the use for the storage
of general kind and for the grain store.
• It is lies in upper floor. Which is important element for the storing of
the locally made alkohal (Raksi).
• Niches in Gurung houses are available on the walls to keep the
household goods.
• Fire place is used in the building for the cooking as the heart of the
in-house function.
• Only store is closed by some wooden partition. It heats the buildings
as well as binds all family members for the household activities.
• There is no any separate animal shed in the courtyard or nearby the
building complex.
• Having different level of the floors in housing, this create the lower
level floor inside the open verandah where other functions like
firewood and agricultural production are stored and used as animal
shed etc.
• The pidhi is built to act as the plinth protection. The plinth is
covered by lean to roof porch for the open verandah.
• The element also acts as the receiving spaces for the guest performs
other household activities.

Source : Padma Mainalee

 PAHADE : Dhading - Brahmin Houses
• The Brahman and Chhetri groups came from India’s present
Kumaon, Garhwal and Kashmir regions.
• The village in Dhading district in the middle hills.
• The building units are dispersed in hill slopes and laid out in
terraces to catch sun as well as to maximize agricultural land.
• In recent years, the village houses have been built in low-lying areas
as well as land exposed to winds due to increasing pressure on land.
• The vernacular roofing materials of thatch (khar) and slate (dhunga)
is giving way to corrugated iron sheets (CGI).
• The change in roof material has affected the form of the house as
the roof slope is considerably less for CGI as compared to thatch and
slate roof.
• The building have made up of mud bricks which are sun dried on the
inside while kiln baked on the outside.
Dhading - Brahmin Houses
• The mortar for the brickwork is mud from around the land and building
site.
• Mud plaster is used in the interiors. It is mixed with cow-dung, sand, mud
and saw dust. This provides good insulation; the house stays warm during
winter and cold during summer.
• Sometimes the builders also used bajra instead of cement mortar which is
also a mixture of beaten brick or brick dust, black sticky oil and lime.
• The house was built by locally available materials like wood and mud.
• This house is warm in winter and cool in summer. The house was mostly
designed according to site conditions.
• There were some principles like keeping the ridge of the house, dhuri,
along the east-west axis. It had to face east-west for reasons of sunlight
coming into the house.
• As the windows for lighting were placed parallel to the ridge, the ridge of
the roof had to be oriented according to bringing in adequate light, and
heat during winter, from the east and the south. a house is a type of
culture, it keeps on changing.
• Earlier the roofing was of khar, or kind of branches, now it is of tiles; even
recently, the CGI sheet were used
Traditionally built houses in Dannchhi.

Thatched-roof and tiled-roof houses

side by side in Dannchhi. Corrugated
sheet roofing at the pidi.

The roof also symbolizes the status of

the person

Source: Gaurab KC
 The picture shows a dhiki
which is operated with the foot
The doors of older to grind rice.
houses are shorter, Other picture shows a sitting
about 5’.One has to place, sometimes used for
usually bend a bit to sleeping. The seating has a
enter the house. It is store below for storing mud
considered a sign of and soil from the fields used for
respect to bow and kitchen work, to repaint the
enter the house. floor, or similar activities.
The front semi-covered area pidi is used
for sitting, enjoying the sun, washing,
cleaning and drying food grains.
The pidi is also an interactive space for the
inhabitants to chat with guests and other visitors
who need not enter the rest of the house. This
space is usually between a colonnade that supports
a projecting roof and the wall and is defined by the
raised floor, from the ground level.
It is usually orientated towards the south, south-east Source: Gaurab KC
or the east.
The staircase has a
horizontal door to
The first floor has two
separate the ground
bedrooms with a corridor in
floor from the first. All
between. Part of the main
grains have been
bedroom is for grain
stored at upper levels
storage.
which are closed off
There is no specific living
from the ground floor .
room in the older houses,
 Chulho traditional
hearth. Utensils
placed over the
hearth to dry it .
They use the
traditional method
of cooking, using
wood.

The kitchen is usually located on the ground floor in

most Chettri-Brahman houses while on the top floor of
Newari houses. In the case of Chettri-Brahman houses,
the kitchen and dining forms the entry room along with
the Puja room. Some have a centrally placed,
colonnaded hall for kitchen and dining, while some have
separate rooms for cooking, eating and puja.
Sometimes the puja, the cooking “chulho” and eating are
done in one room using the sitting posture.
 Box called “dhukuti” for
storing rice grains, usually
kept inside the bedroom.
The attic or top floor is Sometimes it is converted
used as storage where into a bed.
all the wealth is kept.
Other people are usually Wall storage niche,
not allowed to see this wooden frame and
floor, Usually rice grains cupboard. Storage of
and other grains are food which ventilated
stored here. Usually through the window
used for the storage of openings.
unused materials.
Puja room , niche for puja in old house

The puja space ranges from a room to a more specific place on

a wall, a niche, or even stones on the outdoor flooring devoted
to the functions of offering and praying to gods.
The rear view of the
Bamboo forming the main structural
house: only the front
element for the floor. Bamboo joists
is painted blue the
and planks. The layer of mud plaste
rear is mud colored.
forming the floor finish.
The smaller holes on
Most vernacular houses have
the walls are used for
bamboo floors. They are built by
inserting bamboo
placing shorter bamboo pieces
scaffolding which
horizontally on bamboo beams. The
are left as they were.
top is then leveled with a thick paste
The building to the
of mud finished with a mixture of red
side is a store and
mud and cow-dung plaster. The floor
cow-shed.
thickness is about 6 inches, and is
Source: Gaurab KC occasionally re-plastered.
 THARU ARCHITECTURE:
• Tharu are found within the boarder of Nepal and Indian state. In
Nepal they are found throughout the Terai and inner Terai valley.
• This group is the oldest known inhabitants of southern Nepal. They
are probably the product of marriages between Rajput women
(Northern India) and natives, at the time of Islamic invasion.
• According to J.C. Nesfield, it must have been derived from the
language of the group, “Thar” which it means “Man of the Forest”.
• The religion is composite in Nature and Hindu (Narayan Mahadev
etc). Their own deities are spirit of good and evil, mountain gods,
forest sprit etc.
• Bamboo, Neem and Pipal trees are the sacred trees in the
settlements planned close to the dwelling units.
• In traditional dwelling they symbolized the ancestoral spirit or Kul
Devta of " Kali, Bhagavati, Mainyan, Parvatiya and goraiya by a large decorated
silo placed at the North-East house in the room for the deities.
• The Tharu language has the composition of Nepali words of 40% ,
Hindi 40% and 20% words have been taken from various languages.
• The Tharu density is in the 150 population per sq. mile spreading
into Central and Western Terai .
• In the settlement, THARU SETTLEMENTS connected and separated
with MUD PATHWAYS, which combined by the HAT BAZAR AREA and
the SERVICE POINT of different hierarchy.
• The abundant AGRICULTURAL LAND made THARU HOUSE and living
rich with SACRED TREES in the house plot.
• Most of all settlements are in rectilinear organizations.
• They have mud road and interconnected of the pathways.
• The villages are closed on all sides with the bamboo hedge and
trees.
• The number of houses are varies from the 15-30 and construction
pattern is long low houses with adjoining kitchen and garden.
• This settlement has two courtyard- front and back courtyard.
Source : Padma Mainalee
• The width of the main road is maintained for the movement of the
animals and cart. It combines through hat bazaar traditions.
• Every house complex contains a main house, cattle shed and god
house laid in scatter form.
• The market is like barter system-based but nowadays transactions by
the money based which called Hat Bazar.
• The exchange of the information and message transfer are also the
function in market.
• The location of the service point in each settlement is like a small
agro-processing industry, it act as the meeting place and social
interaction. Such as rice husking, oil mill, flourmil. This act as a
community- based industry.
• The main profession is the agriculture. Tharu village is not active in
dwelling area but it is active in the agricultural land.
• The Tharu house is generally one -storey hut with bamboo walls and
thatched roof, often rectangular in shape.
• Traditionally oriented north- south and running across the entire length of the
• Tharu house is a good example of the gaining a thermal comfort with
local material and local technology as context ( Vernacular
architecture).
• It consist a series of parallel rooms with central corridor in between.
The radiation made less in the sleeping room with low height and
high ceiling with ventilation.
• The air layer in roof by the curved tile also made less of radiation.
• The south portion used for the cattle area. The cattle shed generally
in one or double bay in most of cases used to create the buffer zone
between living space and exterior.
• They used to worship the god and other natural god like trees,
mountain and other forest related objects or Scared trees.
• In the house plot the series of open spaces like FRONT COURTYARD,
BACKYARD, DRYING YARD and CATTLE AREA supports the house.
• Inside the house have ENTRY HALL, separated the LIVING AREA and
ANIMAL SHED.
Source : Padma Mainalee
• The front courtyard lies in an open space in the road front. It is
multiple used for social and cultural activities with in the
community.
• Tharu houses are agro based society. So they extensively used the
courtyard area for cattle shed and threshing of the grain.
• It has also social inter activities area to talk and take rest for a while.
• Gents use front courtyard and females use backyard for household.
• The back yard is nearby the kitchen garden. The backyard is also
used pre-harvesting and preparation of the primary work in any
social function. Such as cattle and storage function of the by-
product, collection of the firewood, drying yard and making guitha.
• The use EARTHEN SILOTS provide the partition to the SLEEPING
ROOM, KITCHEN and GOD ROOM. It has also STORAGE for the
harvested grains.
• That of the bamboo or reed walls with mud plaster from both sides.
• The Tharu house has two levels of storage space.
• Most of the rooms have suspended baskets to store the some daily use materials.
• The rooms are relatively small measuring about 9' by 10'. Being
simple structure of wooden pillars and partition is flexible.
• The main entry hall functions as a general and primary storage of
the household and agricultural goods. Such as rice husking (Dhiki),
flour mill (Jato).
• It is transitional space between private and cattle shed. The back
house is used for the large animals to be housed.
• Also provided storage space in the upper floor.
• The kitchen is extremely private zone. There are Traditions of distinct
line separating husband and wife. The space is used as cooking and
dining area.
• It is near by the grain store and a pooja room in the side.
• The earthen silos are enclosed the kitchen.
• In most of the case, no extra door is providing from the kitchen, only
the side door is using from the entry hall.
• This hall will link to the backyard and kitchen yard.