MUD CONSTRUCTION: Case Study of Ladakh and Kutch Mud Houses Rudra Vyas UI8217 Bachelr of Interior Design, CEPT University 4991 9374311299 rudra yas. bid 7@ceptacin Abstract The most esential building material since years is Mud and is one of the materials that are natural aed abundantly available on carth Using mud as construction material is healthy, durable low energy consumption, low environmental impact of mining, transportation also. Mua construction is economical ane relatively less complicated and it provides better interior climate control India is a country where you can sce various types of mud houses as per its regions People of India used to make their ow houses by using mud and any ther material which s locally available in nature. There are different rypes of mud houses in various regions of India which are located in Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Ladakh and other south regions. So, this article fs about mud used as construction material in region of Ladakh and Kutch There are diferent kinds of processes and techniques to ‘uild @ mud house. Even if the material is same there arc differences in construction process, technology and components in that material So, this article wil help you to understand hone maud can have different 'ypes of construction technologies, components and behaviour as per soil conditions of particular region. Methods of mud wall construction are ‘rammed carth, cob, compressed earth blocks. This article is about understanding mud architecture of India through case study of Ladakh and Kutch Ths wil hep students, of architecture to do study of mu construction and technology through casestudies. Key words: Technology, Process, Construction, Lada, Kutch Introduction Inancient times people used to live in caves naturally made of stones. At that time for human, stone was the only material which was familiar to work with, After period of time people started exploring new materials to build their houses which is strong and stable enough to live in. They explored that if water is added in sand is becomes wet material like clay which they can give shape or mould. And once it becomes dry ithardens. This is how mud was explored and used as construction material, Mud is the material which is sustainable in both cold and hot climate but it has to be dry and less humid climate. In India, Ladakh and Kuteh, in both region there are Mud houses constructed by local people Ladakh and Kutch are very different in context of climate, topography and soil type Ladakh (“land of high passes") isa region in northern India, [tis partof the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Itislocated between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Himalayas to the south. © Ladakh has cold and dry ‘weather in normal condition. Whereas Kutch is a district of Gujarat state in western India and it is surrounded by the Gulf of Kutch and the Arabian Sea in south and west, while northern and eastern parts are surrounded by the Great and Little Rann (seasonal wetlands) of Kutch. Basically Kutch is desert and it has hot and dry weather conditions most of the ‘time. So, in both region Ladakh and! Kutch people used mud as construction material. Mud an be used in construction in hot ‘or cold climate but it has to be dry region, In Ladakh region most of the house are two storey. The houses are entirely made of mud, sometimes reinforced with timber or other nearby available materials which can be used as reinforeement. But, In Kutch mud house whieh is also called as ‘Bhunga’ have only ground floor. Most of the Bhunga are circular in plan, Curved round walls are made of mud and then the roof 4 ‘Clusture of Kutch Bhungx [a}heps/simple wikipedia org/wiki/Ladakh laintes/fenwiipeda org/wikvKutch_dtriet,Ladakh Mud House Ladakh is mountainous region which contains little vegetation and it is considered to be a cold desert. During summer temperature range is 4° to 24 C throughout the day and its range decreases -14° to 9° C in winters, As it is known as cold desert wind flow is, occasionally intense. But, sky is fairly clear throughout the year. Overall cold and sunny type of climate is experienced here throughout the year. House of thi kind of region demands heat loss resistance and inerease thermal resistance. People of Ladakh build their own houses with group of people. They decide their own method to build house. Normally they prefer Sun dried mud bricks. Because it is convenient and takes lesser time to build a house. Only when if you can afford it or you already have mud bricks. Otherwise some people also goes with rammed earth technique which is quite more laborious. Construction of Ladakh house is executed in phases, First phase will include collection of materials, selection of site and discussions with the master local meson. Once first phase is satisfactory done they start digging and laying foundations. Next phase is erection of superstructure in which erection of openings and lintels will happen. Then they do placement of pillars and beams. After this they move on doing completion of floors for each storey. Next phase is inserting enclosures like doors and windows. The final phase is finish it up by doing plastering and adding some decorations, In first phase after deciding site they do evaluation of soil. Ladakhi people have strong believe in religion and for that they do some rituals at the beginning of the construction. They consult astrologer to confirm Whether the site is suitable or not to build a house Astrologer perform some rituals to do soil evaluation Once all the rituals are done and astrologer approves the site then only construction starts and if not people do as astrologer says they changes site until it gets approved, (Once site is finalized owner discuss with mason how they should go ahead. There are no architects or similar professions in Ladakh. Masons decide what to do and what will be the size of rooms and all after discussing with family members. Houses are mostly constructed without architects and drawings. People believe in local craftsman and their experience Construction of Ladakh mud house can be done in two ways, with foundation and without foundation. Built a house without foundation represents great ability of ladakhi mesons. They erect stone walls directly from the rocky mountain sides so it need to have an adaptive basement. Walls will rise from that sloppy and irregular surfaces of basement. In house with foundation, Foundations are always made of stone and raised up to the plinth level. Foundations can form a small plinth of only few centimetres or include the whole ground floor. The plinth height can also be different according to the ground slope. When a house is on flat land, the plinth can be lower as compared to constructions on steep ground, It is only when foundations are built on sloped terrain that the lower floor is constituted of wooden joists resting on foundation walls. The plinth is, often wider than the wall to ensure more stability to the masonry; a larger base is useful to partly prevent the wall from bending, Before digging a trench, the mason draws the building plan of the supporting walls on the ground using a thread on the pre-established construction area. Very simple tools were used in the past to dig a trench; wooden planks were used to lever large stones that were foundation Wall Foundation Soft soil Hard soil ‘Schematic Section eee Foundation to Rooftop important to check the soil quality to understand how deep the foundations could go. The soil is evaluated according to what local peoplecall hard soil or‘soft soil: Hard soil is generally found in areas closer to mountain slopes and it is richer in rocks, while soft soil is found closer to agricultural land, which has little or no stones. The ground floor of some houses might not only have walls but also wooden pillars, Since stone is the only material that can prevent damp from rising, in sites near springs or very close to water courses, foundations are laid without mortar to prevent water infiltration, In the past, since the ground floor was used mainly for keeping animals there was no particular way of detaching the ground floor from the soil. The ground was compacted by the weight of the animals moving. Therefore only the walls had a base under the earthThe main load bearing structure is the masonry which also insulates the building with its consistent thickness Walls were often tapering, and their thicker width gave the structure more stability, together with better insulation in the lower storeys, Masonry is essentially constituted of stone and mud, while afew spread!-out timber lcings are inserted inside the walls. Rooms are quite small and partition walls are not always used since distances between stone walls are limited, Sun dried mud bricks and rammed earth are employed as mud based! materials for walls. Walls at the hase are made of stone the upper layer of rammed earth and the last storey is brick made, A wall can be built without using scaffoldings when every storey is erected one after the other. Sometimes they also use rammed earth technique. Rammed earth walls are usually built in areas where the soil available is considered ‘hard soil, a sandy gravel soil that has enough clay to bind the mixture. In the past it was common to use a willow mesh asa shutter board when ramming the earth, The walls made \with this temporary formwork can be recognized because the wattle imprint can be seen on the wall surface. This method was particularly useful in areas with scarce wood, since planks were not needed for making the shutter boards. Small willow sticks are woven vertically around Ionger horizontal cones, which all together constitute the shutter boards. Larger vertical sticks are connected with similar horizontal ones to brace the frames and clamp them together. Rammed earth walls can also be made using wooden planks that create a sturdier shuttering. In fact, walls made with a willow wattle present a protuberance in the middlle of their section. This is, due to the fact that while the earth is tamped, the formwork tendstoexpand because of ts reduced tensile strength, andl the result sa swollen section of the wall. Formwork can be made of different dimensions, but always considering that they have to be preferably moved by two people. Ladakh roof starts with ceiling of wooden beams, joists anc! rafters. The fat roof is an essential part of the house, not least because it represents one of the more visible features of the house outer volume. Among the reasons why the Ladakhi house is commonly built with 4 flat roof is the need for a flat surface to be used in winter ‘when most of the ground can be snow covered. The fat roof, with its poplar beams, wood and brush lathing, and layers, of clay finish, is a much better insulator than a curved roof that consist ofa single layer of bricks with amud coating, The construction of a roof is the same as for a floor. The difference is due to the fact that the layer of earth used to finish it has, to be more resistant against weather agents. What makes 3 roof different from a normal floor is its capacity to be more \water resistant. In Ladakh rain was not an issue and a certain amount of markalak in the roof strata was sufficient to prevent leakage. Once all the phases are done completely, houses are finished with mud plaster. Earth used for plaster can be of different types. A certain amount of markalak is needed for plaster, and first class finer clay is preferable. Depending on the use of one or two plastering layers the amount of markalak can be different. After plastering has been completed, the building can be white washed. House entirely made of mud bricks and making of roof Kutch Bhunga Kutch region is located in western part of Gujarat. Kutch is, dlry region and is desert near Arabian Sea, Normally climate is sunny and hot, Sometimes sand storms happens because of intense wind flow. Kutch mud houses which are well known, 5 “Bhunga” by local people. Bhunga are built by certain communities in northern part of Kutch. Northern part of Kutch where che Bhunga are made isa flat plain area with silty clay soil type. As it is deserted area there are no construction material available. So people started making their own houses with whatever was available naturally and that is, Mud, People of Kutch were aware that it is earthquake zone that they intuitively or by experiences made circular houses ‘which resolves ll the structural and lateral forces. Bhunga are placed in particular distance so that they don't bother each other during natural disaster. Bhunga are only single storey and have conical roof ‘Traditional Bhunga with exterior decorationsAsthereare lack of material availability and construction technology people usually make theirhouses by rammed earth or wattle and daub technique. Construction of traditional Bhunga starts with the walls itsell. Walls are extended below ground level which acts as foundation. Walls are made either rammed earth or wattle and daub method, Some might be reinforced by using locally available material. Whatever which strengthens it Alter casting wall some finishes are applied. Layering of plaster, locally called “gobar lipan*. Once wall is done leave it for drying. After wall is completely dried roof construction starts with main thick wooden beam. Then vertical wooden post which will distribute load evenly con the wall. In the centre of that wooden beam which helps to hold the roof in place and also transfers the load to the beam. Then babool wood rafters are placed and after that space is covered by long dry grass. Kutch traditional Bhunga takes 10 to 15 days to complete as it requires time to get dry layer by layer. Exploded view Construction of Bhunga CONCLUSION ‘There are some key differences between Ladakh mud houses and Kutch Bhunga even after they are built with same material bbut indifferent region and climate, © Ladakh mud houses have stone foundations whereas, Kutch traditional Bhunga have simple wall extended foundation, © Ladakh houses are normally two storey, But, Bhunga have only ground floor. © Tadakh houses are relatively large and have more ‘openings compare to Kutch Bhunga. Bhunga have small and not more than three openings. © Ladakh houses are designed or planned but Bhunga are just one closed space, things get onganized in one place @ Ladakh houses may have variations in mud construction techniques, material usage and looks also. Bhunga might have slight variation in construction but all traditional Bhunga are almost same in looks with different decorations © —_Ladaleh Mud houses can have flat or slant roof. All Bhunga have conical roof © Ladakh Mud house takes lesser time compare to the Kutch Bhunga. Because of variety of construction method and. climate also. As it is dry and cold, people can comfortably ‘work compare to hot region.