Vernacular Passive Cooling techniques - A case study of a Vernacular House in Allur Village, Kalaburagi, India

Abstract

In Traditional Architecture buildings were designed by the local builders who are unschooled in the formal architectural design and their works reflects the diversity of local climate, local available materials, tradition and culture of that particular place and most comfortable for all the activities. Climate had a major effect on the performance of the traditional building architecture and its energy consumption in hot dry area of North Karnataka region. These strategies include: layout orientation, distance between buildings, building orientation & form, climatic elements such as Roof projections, jharokhas, central courtyard to mention a few Many Vernacular Technologies are Energy efficient and sustainable although some of them are currently no longer functioning properly because of changed culture and ecological situations. In this regard the key challenge is to learn fundamental lessons and principals of Vernacular Architecture, and to find the ways of integrating those principles into development programmes to plan new residence. Studying Traditional Techniques to understand the sustainable strategies used in hot-dry region to achieve thermal comfort should make a valuable contribution to the field. The paper depicts empirical study of a vernacular residence of Kalaburagi.