Passive design strategies for rural mud dwelling units in Jharkhand

Janmejoy Gupta, PhD (Architecture), Assistant Professor, Dept. Of Architecture, Birla Institute of Technology, (BIT) Mesra, Ranchi. B. Arch (BIT, Mesra), M.Planning (Urban) (SPA, New Delhi), PhD (BIT, Mesra), IGBC AP.

Since thousands of years, earth architecture has been practiced steadily. In Jharkhand, a state in the eastern part of India, 75% of the total population lives in rural areas. (2011 census) The needs of the rural folk of states like Jharkhand, who also deserve to live in reasonably thermally comfortably conditions, is neglected. Mud architecture is a form of vernacular architecture prevalent in Jharkhand, the major part of which falls under the composite climatic region. Mud architecture of Jharkhand offers a lot of untapped potential to create dwellings which offer thermal comfort to inhabitants throughout the year in a non-polluting way. Other than the inherent property of mud walls of thermal mass, no other aspect related to passive design has been highlighted upon in previously done work concerning the mud huts of Jharkhand. In this work, two fundamental aspects of planning of dwellings: Compactness of dwellings and courtyard based planning is worked upon in relation to the thermal comfort inside the dwellings. The analysis would be helpful to architects working on how architectural design strategies affect thermal comfort levels inside traditional dwellings. Mud=Eco-Friendly.