STUDY OF VERNACULAR

ARCHITECTURE BHUJ(KUTCH,GUJARAT)

RACHANA SANSAD ACADEMY

OF ARCHITECTURE
VINAY.D.ANAM
ROLL NO . 1
INTRODUCTION
• STUDY OF REGION OF BHUJ
ITS LOCAION AND
CHARACTERISTICS

• STUDY OF REGION OF KUTCH

•ARCHITECTURE TYPES

•LAYOUT OF THE HOUSES

•BHONGA ARCHITECTURE

. 
Bhuj, Kutch Kutch

Location
Bhuj is a city and a municipality in Kutch
district in the state of Gujarat, India
History
It was established by Rao Himirji in 1510 and
was made the state capital by Rao Khengarj i
In 1549
Bhuj for decades, even centuries, has
beckoned travelers and traders with the Bhuj
promise of release from the restrictions of
civilization. In January 2001, the city was
struck by a major earth quake which caused a
great deal of damage to the city. of Bhuj
Demographics
The total population of Bhuj was 136,429 in
the year 2008, which consisted of 71,056
Ramkund is a
males and 65,373 females. typical step-well
Geography architecture at
Bhuj has an average elevation of 110 meters Bhuj The Bhuj is Famous for the
(360 feet). On the eastern side of the town is swaminarayan temple which
a hill known as Bhujiyo that separates Bhuj is made of Rs 100 crore,with
city and Madhapar town. It has one big lake pure white marble,andit is
named Hamirsar and several small lakes. located
in the heart of the city
Bhuj, Kutch
Culture
• Bhuj is a famous destination for
shopping of handicraft work.
• Artists of nearby villages bring
their art work for sale in Bhuj.
• It is the Important landmarks
for people wishing to study and
Bhuj is famous for its
know more about Kutchi Aina Mahal (palace of
various Silver crafts work
embroidery Mirrors) in Bhuj,is
Religion famous for displaying the
• The dominant religions of Kutch History of the region of
are a form of Vaishnav Hinduism, Kutch
Jainism and Islam
•  The Swaminarayan Sampraday
has a huge following in this
region.
Language
• Kutchi & Gujarati are the
predominating languages spoken

The historic Hamirsar lake is

situated at the Heart of the city of
Bhuj Bhuj is Famous for its
handy-crafts market
 ABOUT , REGION OF KUTCH (GUJARAT),

INTRODUCTION

Kutch is district of Gujarat state in

western India Covering an area of
45,612 km², it is the largest district of India.
The district has 966 villages
Kutch means something which intermittently
becomes wet and dry a large part of this
district is known as Rann of Kutch which is
shallow wetland & which submerges in water
during the rainy season and becomes dry
during other seasons
Map of Kutch,(Gujarat)

Geography
Kutch District 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 Small Rann 
The border of Pakistan lies along the northern
edge of the Rann of Kutch. Kutch is virtually an
Tribal women of island, as it is surrounded by the Arabian Sea in
Kutch with the west;
traditional clothing
Traditional wall
interior of kutch
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Religion OF Kutch
As per the 2001 census, the district's population
was 1,526,331, of which most around are
Hindu. the remainder of the population adhere
to mostly Jainism and Muslims.
Language
The languages spoken predominantly in Kutch
is Kacchi and to lesser
extent Sindhi and Gujarati

People
Kutch district is inhabited by various groups and
communities. Many of these have reached this
region after centuries of migration from
neighboring regions of Marwar(Western
Rajasthan), Sidh,Afghanistan and further. Even
today, one can find various nomadic, semi
nomadic and artisan groups living in Kutch.

History of Kutch
Remote and sparsely populated the district of
Kutch
, it has had an interesting history.
The Indus valley civilization, known to be one of
the first ever civilized societies consisted of the
ancestors of Kutchis as well as others. However
now most of the river lies in Pakistan after India
was split up.
 Architecture types of Bhuj

CHOWKS

STREETS

Street pattern (Y shaped) and housing layout

 street

Internal
courtyards

Cattles-shed

PLANNINGS OF HOUSINGS IN BHUJ

THE HEIGHT WIDTH
PROPORTIONS OF COURTYARDS
AND STREETS PROVIDE SHADE
FOR MOST PART OF THE DAY
SCHEMATIC SECTIONS OF
HOUSES
BHUNGA HOUSES, KUTCH
BHUNGA HOUSES
 BHUNGA HOUSES

 The Bhonga is a traditional construction type

in the Kutch district of the Gujarat state in
India, which has a very high earthquake
risk.
 A Bhonga consists of a single cylindrically
shaped room.
 The Bhonga has a conical roof supported by
cylindrical walls. Bhonga construction has
existed for several hundred years.
 This type of house is quite durable and
appropriate for prevalent desert conditions. BHUNGA HOUSES
 Due to its robustness against natural
hazards as well as its pleasant aesthetics,
this housing is also known as "Architecture
without Architects.“
 CONSTRUCTION OF THE BHUNGA

 Bhonga is circular in plan, with

cylindrically shaped walls and topped
with conical roof.
 The inner diameter of the Bhonga is
typically between 3m to 6m.
   A Bhonga generally has only three
openings one door and two small
windows.  

DURING EARTH-QUAKES
 It performed very well in the recent
M7.6 Bhuj earthquake in 2001.
 Very few Bhongas experienced
significant damage in the epicentral
region, and the damage that did occur
can be mainly attributed to poor quality
of the construction materials or
improper maintenance of the structure.
 It has also been observed that the
failure of Bhongas in the last
earthquake caused very few injuries to
the occupants due to the type of
collapse.
 
  I
VIEW OF BHUNGA HOUSES
 ROOF CONSTRUCTION OF BHUNGA HOUSES 

 The conical roof of a Bhonga is supported at its

crest by a vertical central wooden post, which rests
on a wooden joist.
 The base of the roof and the wooden joist are
generally directly supported on Bhonga walls.
 Sometimes, the roof load on wooden joist is
transferred to diametrically placed timber posts
(vertical members) adjacent to the cylindrical wall.
 This reduces the roof-load on the walls.
 The Bhonga wall is usually extended below ground
up to the required foundation depth, and separate
foundation is not traditionally constructed.
 In newer constructions, proper strip footing is also
used.  
WALL CONSTRUCTION OF BHUNGA

 Due to circular shape of wall in plan, inertial forces developed addition, the thick
walls required for thermal insulation have high in-plane stiffness which provides
excellent performance under lateral loads.
 The roofing in wall are resisted through shell action providing excellent resistance
to lateral forces.
 In materials are generally very light weight, and develops low inertia forces.
 Since the roof is constructed from extremely ductile materials such as bamboo and
straw, the performance of.these roofs is usually very robust

 NEW TYPES OF BHUNGAS

 Recent Bhongas constructions have used wide variety of construction materials.
 These include the stone or burnt brick masonry either in mud mortar or in cement
mortar.
 Traditional roof consists of light-weight conical roof, while some recent constructions
have used heavy manglore tiles on roofs.
 Some recent constructions have used circular strip footing below the wall, while
traditional construction simply extended the walls below ground level t.
  
Bhungas construction details

• In several Bhongas, the roof joist is not directly supported on the cylindrical walls, but is
supported by two wooden vertical posts outside the Bhonga, which further improves seismic
resistance of the inertia force generated in the roof.
• In some instances, reinforcing bands at lintel level and collar level have been used to provide
additional strength.
• These bands are constructed from bamboo or from RCC. These increase the lateral load-carrying
strength greatly and increase the seismic resistance of the Bhongas.
•Even in situations where the roof collapses, its low weight ensures that the extent of injuries to
occupants is very low.

•Labours who constructs Bhungas and materials used

•These constructions are carried out by local village masons.

• The locally available soft stone can easily be cut or chiselled into rectangular blocks, which are
used for wall masonry.
•The local soil is used for mud mortar and to make adobe blocks. Locally available timber and
bamboo are used for roof.
• The entire construction process, which is carried out by the mason with very few unskilled
laborers, can be completed within 30 days.
•  The construction of this type of housing takes place in a single phase. 
• Typically, the building is originally designed for its final constructed size.
•  Bhongas are never "designed" in the modern context. However, Bhonga architecture is a very
unique aspect of traditional desert architecture of Kutch region in which the size, location and
orientation of the Bhonga are planned for very good structural and functional results. 
Bhungas are connected through plinths and
circulation is also carried out in that way.. A cluster
of bhunga is built on one plinthus ually the cluster
contains settlements of one whole family
INTERIORS AND
DECORATION

Rural art on walls Windows decorated with

mirrors
• Interiors of bhungas
References
www.mapsofindia.com
www.asanjokutch.com
www.gujaratcrafts.com
www.wikipedia .com
www.indiancrafts.com
www.timesofindia.org

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THANK-YOU