This presentation gives an overview about kath-khuni construction practice prevalent in Himachal Pradesh. More information about the same is available in the book "Prathaa: Kath-khuni architecture of Himachal Pradesh" http://mansi-shah.weebly.com/book.html by Mansi Shah- Adjunct Assistant Professor at CEPT University

1. Kath-khuni architecture of
Himachal Pradesh:
A timeless way of building

2. When we say Indigenous architecture, what do
we mean?
Dwellings and structures that have responded to the topography and local
climate of the region
They have been built using locally available resources
They have emerged out of hard necessities of the place and the lifestyle
They are built by user themselves without professional architects
They represent a far less degree of specialization
They are dwellings that are a product of traditional customs and practices

3. Factors influencing vernacular architecture are
Topography
Climate
Materials and Resources
Users and lifestyle
Construction Technology
Culture and Traditions

4. Source: http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-137842
Topography and Context of Himachal Pradesh
Himalayan mountain stretches from India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Length of Himalayas is
2500 km from east to west. Average altitude is 4000 meters.

5. Source: http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-137842
Topography and Context of Himachal Pradesh
Himalayan mountain stretches from India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Length of Himalayas is
2500 km from east to west. Average altitude is 4000 meters.

6. Himachal Pradesh
Land and People

7. Physical landscape of Himachal Pradesh
The land of Himachal Pradesh rises from the plains at an altitude from 350 meters mean sea level on the
southwest to an altitude of 6816 meters in the east towards the Tibetan plateau.

8. Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/India_earthquake_zone_map_en.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Himalaya-formation.gif
Seismic Zone
According to the Global Seismic Hazard Assesment Program (GSHAP) data, Himalayan region falls in a region of
high to very high seismic hazard rated as Zone IV and V. From the low-lying plains along the south-west to the
mountains along the north-east, the change in altitude is a result of upward thrust cause by grinding and collision
of the Indian and Eurasian plates. This drift continues causing Himalayas to rise accompanied by seismic activities.

9. Altitude
Type of
area
Climatic
condition
s
Rainfall in
mm.
Shivalik
Zone
Mid-Hill
Zone
High hill
zone
TranceHimalayan
Zone
Up to 800 m
800m-1,600m
1,600m2,700m
2,700m3,600m
Valley areas
and foothills
Hilly and
mountain
ranges
Alpine
zone
Lahaul Spiti
and Kinnaur
range
Sub tropical
Slightly warm
temperature
Cool
temperatu
re with
humidity
Dry and
extremely
cold
conditions
1,500
1,500-3000
1,0001,500
500
Climate
There is a huge variation in the climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh due to variation in altitude (450–6500
mts). The climate varies from hot and sub-humid tropical (450–900 metres) in the southern low tracts, warm and
temperate (900–1800 mts), cool and temperate (1900–2400 mts) and cold glacial and alpine (2400–4800 mts) in
the northern and eastern high elevated mountain ranges.
Source: http://www.hpagriculture.com/agro.htm
Character
isticsrs

10. Source: http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/himachalpradesh/himachalpradesh-forest-map.html
Forest and farming
64% of land area is covered with forests in Himachal Pradesh. Because of the existence of these forests, the most
predominant material of construction is wood. Primary rooted in a difficult landscape, the lifestyle and economy
revolves around farming.

11. Cedars of western Himalayas
Stones hauled from the quarries
Slate stones
Materials
The primary materials of construction here are wood and stone. Among variety of trees, deodar and kail are best
suited for construction.

12. Glimpse of socio-cultural landscape
Nearly 90% of the population in Himachal Pradesh is spread in thinly in small village. The rural population has
traditionally depended upon agriculture and animal husbandry as prime economic activities. The patterns of built
forms and settlements also reflect centrality of these activities .

13. Artisanal activities
Relative isolation , combined with harsh climate, and being cut off in the hills, appear to have encouraged
artisanal activities such as wood carving, weaving, embroidery, brass work etc. with a very refined aesthetic
sense.

14. Mohara. Mask as an object
of worship, Pujarli 4
Land of Gods: Socio-religious traditions
It is no wonder that every hamlet and village in the mountain- no matter how small it may be, worships one or
more devatas. This is perhaps the reason why temples occupy site that are experientially highly charged.

15. Village temple
Family
courtyard
Granaries
Indigenous
dwellings
Settlement patterns- Typical village along stepped contours
Temple is at the heart of most settlements and usually sited at the highest spot. The surrounding areas of the
temple is mainly used during festivals and religious gatherings by the inhabitants of the particular village

17. Settlement patterns
The traditional settlements appear to have the ‘color of the land’ and appear just right, almost ecologically
planned. The landscape, materials, techniques of making, all contribute to a common formal language of
settlements in Himachal Pradesh.

18. Settlement patterns
Typically located along the contoured sunny slopes amidst the backdrop of hills and snow-clad mountains and
appear to organically grow out of the folds of the landscape.

19. Kath-khuni
An empirical building technique of Himachal Pradesh

20. Examples of kath-khuni houses
A typical house in Himachal Pradesh is built using kath-khuni construction technique and is usually two or three
storey high. The lower floor is for the cattle and the upper floors are for residing, storing, and kitchen

21. Examples of kath-khuni temples
The layered treatment is the same as that in a house but they often appear as standlike sentinels in the landscape.
The temples may rise much higher from a single storey to a tower with seven storeys.

22. Darbargadh at Sainj
Granaries in Chitlul
Other Kath-khuni buildings
The darbargadh built in Kath-khuni has very different proportioning system. However the method of construction,
remain mostly similar in each case.

23. Slate roof
Wooden
projecting
balconies
Floors
Wood and
stone walls
Stone
plinth
Typical components of a kath-khuni building
It shows a typical house, with guashala at the bottom, and living area on the top capped off by a pent-and-gable
roof; temple feature similar elements but different proportions.

24. 1. Foundation and plinth
Stone plinth is filled upto a meter from the ground level and higher in case of tower temples. The depth of the
trench is relative to the height of the structure. For a two storey house, the depth is 0.6 to 1 meter and incase of
tower temple it may be as deep as 3 meters.

25. 2. Wall (Wood-and-stone walls)
The walls are constructed with alternate courses of dry masonry and wood without any cementing mortar.

26. Courses 2,4,6
maanvi
Kadil
(wooden nail)
Courses 1,3, 5
Wall courses
This type of wall construction involves laying two wooden wall beams longitudinally parallel to each other with a
gap in-between. The space between the two members is filled with rubble stone and edge is secured with kadil
(wooden nail)

27. First wooden
members
Corner
stone
Typical Kath-khuni wall junction
Detail showing layering of wood and stone including a truncated pyramid shaped corner stone to protect the
wood

29. Two parallel crossbeams held together by a
dovetailed member
Wall construction
Dry masonry wood-and-stone wall of a temple construction in Devidhar .
Carpenter fixing a wooden log in the wall
construction in Devidhar

30. Wall punctures
Windows are provided in walls with solid plank shutters on all four sides and are usually very small. The same
window has rhythmic floral carvings on the outer face with a small opening.

31. Wooden shelves
Wooden side boards
A typical wall storage unit which
flushes within the wall thickness.
Wall storage units
A typical wall storage unit is fixed in the peripheral wall and flushes within the wall thickness.

32. Wall storage units
The in-built wall storage was an integral part of the wall.

33. Wooden posts
Diagonal braces
Cantilevered
beams
3. Projecting wooden balconies
A typical two storey house with a cantilevered balcony on the top floor. The wooden members supporting the
balcony rest on the wall.

34. 3. Projecting wooden balcony
All the vertical posts are connected through a horizontal member on top, on which sit the perpendicular members
(connected with a lap joint) projecting from a wall

35. 3. Projecting wooden balconies
Sometimes the balcony façade is open with a parapet or may be closed but with a series of openings to catch all
the possible warmth of the sun.

36. The upper floors are finished in wood and
cut is made in the ceiling to connect the
first floor and the second floors internally.
4. Floor and stairs
The ground floor is raised above the stone plinth and finished with adobe. It functions as an insulating layer and at
the same time remains warmer than stone finished surface.

37. Maanvi
Wooden wall
beam
Floor beam
Wooden floor
planks
Wall and Floor
The floor beams are shear pinned with the wall logs.
Wooden
flooring

38. 5. Roof
The roof structure is constructed out of wooden beams followed by purlins and rafters, topped with slate or wooden
shingles.

39. Masonry wall
Wooden rafters
Slate stones
5. Roof
The slate stones also weighs down the structure against strong winds.

40. Site leveling and foundation trench
Wall construction and door frame
Plinth and retaining wall
Wall construction with balcony
Construction sequence of a typical kath-khuni house

41. Top floor with balcony with posts
Roof structure
Fixing the roof structure
State stones laid on the roof

42. The structure contains two storey with two houses side by side. Top level are the living areas and kitchen. The lowest
area is used as the gaushala.

43. A Timeless way of
building?

44. No external help
required
Locals can construct their
own houses.
Time and resource
efficiency
Wood and Stone are used
as an alternative against
slow setting mortar. All
materials are available in
the vicinity of the village
Low maintenance
Requires very low effort to
maintain and repair
Structural resilience
Non rigid construction
helps to dissipate the
stresses developed in the
earthquake.

45. Resource re-use
There is hardly any wastage
and since materials don’t
deteriorate for a long time
and can be reused.
Bio degradable
materials
No synthetic materials are
used or fixating materials
like mortar are used. Very
limited use of metal is seen.
Built form and
climate
Infill traps air within the
walls creating an insulation
zone.

46. Energy efficient
configuration and
elements
Cuboidal stacking along
contours, fetching
maximum sunlight.
Slope of the roof allows
snow to fall off whereas the
flatter part holds some
snow which acts as an
insulation layer
Cattle are kept at the
ground floor which keeps
the upper floors warm

47. Related building
practices
Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Sikkim, Bhutan, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Turkey, Germany, France,

48. Map of the silk route
The Silk Road is a historically important international trade route between China and the Mediterranean
The present day Hindustan-Tibet road that passes through Himachal Pradesh follows an old trade route
that branched from the famous Silk route into India.
Source: http://virtuallabs.stanford.edu/silkroad/SilkRoad.html
.

49. Source: http://mongolschinaandthesilkroad.blogspot.in/2013/07/xinhua-launches-campaign-to-protect.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Shiny-History-of-Silk
Map of the silk route
As people and goods moved across the routes, knowledge about building techniques probably moved with them,
which helps the many related building techniques found throughout this landscape. Kath-khuni construction
technique is complementary to many other techniques that are found throughout the Himalayan settlement.

50. Source: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=10561
Taq construction in Kashmir
The typical ladder bands of timber runners and crosspieces embedded in masonry walls in traditional taq construction
at floor level and at the window lintel levels.

51. Bhatar construction in Pakistan
Bhatar is a pashtoo word for beam. Wood is the main structural member and the crosspieces tying the parallel
wooden beams shows the characteristic bhatar construction.
Source: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Pakistan/General_Tips-Pakistan-Northern_Areas-BR-1.html
One of the most impressive structures using Bhatar
construction is the Baltit fort in Hunza valley dating
back some 800 years ago.

52. Koti-banal, row houses in Kumaon
People of the same caste or family come to live together and form linear settlements made out of
wood and stone, plastered with mud and slate roof on top. This is a very common typology of
building.

53. Bracing boards
Posts
Stone filling
Timber braced style in Sainj, Shimla
Dhajji-dewari model with diagonal bracing
Dhajji-dewari tackles shear forces due to their tensile nature as well as the way the bracing
pattern is made.

54. ‘Himis’ construction system in Turkey: A house in Safranbolu,
The silk route passed through this region which may explain diffusion of ideas from distant
regions in many local architectural traditions along the trade route.

55. Source: http://www.efenditravel.com/Safranbolu-Highlights-of-Turkey-Tour--13-days-efendimenu6876435897436-tid110
Settlement in Safranbolu, Turkey
In traditional construction of Turkish houses the space of wall framing was filled with various materials which
was obtained from at the region. Especially brick, stone, abode and timber were preferred material for the infill.

56. Source: http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/herefordshire/black-white.html
http://blog.willamette.edu/worldnews/2013/10/27/the-role-of-art-and-art-history/
http://frenchholidaychateau.com/guide_to_normandy.html
‘Half timbered’ in Britain, ‘Fachwerk’ in Germany and ‘Columbage’ in France
There are many variations of this construction technique in different parts of the world with regional differences
in rationale for it adaptation and the way it is constructed.

57. Traditional knowledge and skills
Sometimes similarities arise due to shared histories and at other
time they arise as pragmatic responses to similar needs even if
societies may be separated in terms of time, space and
technologies.

58. Prepared by
Mansi Shah
Senior Researcher
DICRC
With
Jay Thakkar
Head of Research
DICRC
For more information refer:
Prathaa: Kath-khuni architecture of Himachal Pradesh