KOTI BANAL

A Case Study on an architecture style of

Himalayan India

| SREEJITH | 170823013 | B.ARCH V | AR546-A |

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1. Introduction
‘Koti Banal’ architecture of Uttarakhand is a reflection of indigenous
realities and community involvement. It demonstrates a profound
knowledge of local materials and native sensibilities. It is an earthquake-
safe construction style done in timber and stone, which evolved as
early as 1000 years ago.Koti Banal architecture is much like the framed
construction of modern times. The structural design suggests that these
buildings responded well to the forces likely to act upon them during an
earthquake.

Koti Banal comes from the Rajgarhi area of Uttarkashi district in

Uttarakhand. Large number of these multi-storied traditional houses
exhibit antiquity and distinct construction style. From the detailing and
technique used in construction, one can easily infer that our ancestors
who designed these structures some 900 years ago had fairly good
understanding of the forces acting upon the structure during an
earthquake event.

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Buildings of this construction type can be found in in the northern part

of the state Uttarakhand and the southern part of the state Himachal
Pradesh in Northern India. The most magnificent examples of the Koti
Banal architecture are observed in the valley of the river Yamuna in
Rajgarhi area where many villages have a fair number of these houses.
Similar structures are however also present in the valleys of the rivers
Sutlej and Tons. However, buildings of comparable typedenoted as
‘cribbage’ or ‘timber reinforced stone masonry’ are known over the
whole northern part of the Indian subcontinent including Afghanistan,
Pakistan, India, and perhaps Nepal and Bhutan.

The area in Himalayan India where Koti Banal is practiced.

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2. Architecture
Placement

These buildings are typically found in flat, sloped and hilly terrain. They
do not share common walls with adjacent buildings. In most cases,
Koti Banal structures were erected separately without any buildings in
the immediate vicinity and are typically at a distance of about 2.0 - 4.0
meters from a neighboring building.

Building Configuration

Koti Banal buildings are characterized by very simple rectangular plan

configurations while the lengths and widths are varying between 4 and 8
meters. The ratio between both dimensions varies between 1:1 and 1:4.

Internal walls only exist in the 2-unit buildings separating the main living
area on each floor at the buildings rear side from a vestibule at the front.
The upper two floors additionally have external balconies which are
constructed with a wooden railing running around the whole building.
The balconies are supported by cantilevering wooden logs of the flooring
system.

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It is this projecting balcony which gives the house the false appearance
of being top-heavy and unstable.

Generally the buildings rest upon a raised and elaborated stone-filled

platform out of dry stone masonry which is the continuation of the
foundation trench made of field and rubble stones. The height of the
platform varies between 2 and 4 m above the ground. Interstory heights
of the structure range between 2.20 and 2.50 m.

In the lower part, the walls consist of a wooden cribbage configuration

with orthogonally arranged wooden logs interconnected at the junctions
by wooden pins/tenons (Gujja Khoonta).

For the two bottommost layers single wooden logs while for the upper
layers double wooden logs are used. The open spaces (30 cm) between
the horizontal logs are furnished with well-dressed flat stones which
are dry-packed or by using a paste of pulses (lentils) as mortar. This
wooden cribbage structure is not used for the upper parts of the wall
where the dressed stones have a load-bearing function.

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Vertical cross-section illustrating the wallconstruction principle in the lower

‘cribbage’ part and the upper part.

Arrangement of wooden logs and

well-dressed flat stones for the walls.

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The thickness of the walls is determined by the thickness of the two

parallel arranged wooden logs which is mostly between 50 and 60
cm. The structure is further reinforced by wooden beams which are
perpendicular attached to the wooden logs at the middle of the walls
connecting two parallel outer walls. These beams provide the joists
supporting the floorboards of each story.

Detailing of the flooring construction.

The walls parallel to the floor beams are supported in out-of plane action
by providing a large timber log, longer than the building dimension and
having holes at the two ends. A vertical member (shear key) having length
equal to several storey heights, is inserted into the hole which provides
support to the walls in out-of-plane direction.

Vertical members (‘shear keys’) attached to the outer facade.

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Koti Banal structures in general have a single small entry and relatively
small openings which are surrounded by strong wooden elements to
compensate for the loss of strength and in general, no windows are
provided at ground floor level.

Wood planks resting on wooden joists supported by beams or walls: The

floors consist of wooden beams and planks. Since no cross/inclined
planks are used, it is expected to act as flexible diaphragm. The floor
beams are shear pinned with the wall logs and thus provide support to
the walls orthogonal to the beams, in out-of-plane action.

Woodplanks or beams that support slate tiles: The roof construction

consists of a wooden frame which is expected to act as a flexible
diaphragm. It is further furnished with large slate tiles.

Foundation trench filled with rubble and field stones. In case of

outcropping rock at the surface, the platform out of dry stone masonry
is directly erected onto ground without any embedded foundation.

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Dimensions

The typical plan dimensions of these buildings are: lengths between 4

and 8 m, and widths between 4 and 5 m. Typically the building has 3 to
5 storeys.

The main dimensions of the buildings are 9 haths by 9 haths, 11 by 9,

15 by 9, 15 by 11, and 18 by 11. A hath is approximately 1.5 feet which
means that the widths of the buildings vary between 4 and 5 m and the
lengths between 4 and 8 m.

The typical span of the flooring system in general is half of the building
width. The typical storey height in such buildings is 2.20 - 2.50 meters.
The typical structural wall density is more than 20 %. Precisely, the
structural wall density ranges between 40 and 45 %.

Materials

The timber is of very high quality, strength and resilience. In most cases,
wooden logs which were even exposed to all kinds of weathering are
intact even after several hundred years, without any special maintenance.

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3. Structural Detail
Gravity Load Resisting System
Gravity loads from the floor construction (dead loads) or from live loads
on the roof (e.g., snow) are transferred to the massive wall system
which basically consists of a hybrid timber-reinforced stone masonry
system. In the lower parts of the walls the timber logs are interconnected
establishing a very solid cribbage while the timber elements on the upper
parts are mainly of a reinforcing purpose. The walls further transfer the
loads to a stone-filled base platform which is the continuation of the
stone foundation.

Lateral Load Resisting System

The system of horizontally pairs of wooden logs which are connected to
each other by wooden shear pins/tenons act like a wooden frame which
is braced by well-dressed flat stones in between the logs increasing
the bearing and lateral capacity of the construction. This especially in
the lowerparts of the walls where the wooden frame is continuous in
three dimensions and the stones do not carry any loads. The stones
between the logs are mostly assembled without any grout or mortar
thus enabling a certain level of flexibility and allowing lateral deflections
of the building without damage effects. The bottommost wooden logs
are embedded within the base platform. Outer walls parallel to the floor
beams are supported in out-of plane action by vertical shear keys over
several storeys.

Seismic Features
The building configuration provides adequate safety against lateral
shear, but there is no apparent safety measure against overturning. These
buildings which are up to five storeys tall have survived the overturning
effects even of strong earthquakes due to two reasons:
• Good aspect ratio of the buildings.
• The use of lighter timber construction in the upper two storeys.

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Both mass and stiffness are uniformly distributed in elevation and in

plan. Thus allowing pure lateral deflection during dynamic shaking while
avoiding torsional effects.

The primary structural system mainly consists of wooden elements. If

designed and used properly, wood assemblies offer a high strength-to-
weight ratio compared with other modern work materials. This results in
low inertia forces during an earthquake.

Siting of these buildings is another important aspect for their safety

against earthquakes. These buildings are generally situated at firm ridge
or plane ground having rock outcrop.

Section of a typical Koti Banal House.

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4. Lifestyle
Each building typically has 1 housing unit. Normally one family occupies
one building. In those buildings which are vertically separated two living
units (of the same family) are present. Due to successive division of the
property, nowadays different storeys are owned by different people but
having the same family roots.

Generally the buildings have a single room on every floor with a vertically
distributed usage. While the ground floor is used for cattle or grain
storage, the upper floors are used as living and bed rooms. The kitchen
is generally on the top floor. In some buildings, dry toilets are located at
the cantilevering parts of the balcony at forth story.

While the original occupancy was pure residential, nowadays these

buildings are mainly used for storage purposes. Reasons for this lie
mainly in the buildings’ inconvenience caused by low ceiling heights,
small openings and the kitchen at the top.

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5. Facing Modern Times

In order to improve the comfort of the buildings a number of variations
and modifications to the original construction style had started to creep
in. In some cases larger doors and windows have been provided for
better ventilation and comfort. Externally arranged verandas made of
timber and resting on massive columns have also been added in order to
gain additional living space.

A modified type of Koti Banal architecture can be found in Gona village

where the principles of Koti banal architecture were not strictly followed.
The roofs of these structures are observed to be comfortably high while
the internal wall layouts vary on every floor.

The basic elements of seismic safety have been compromised within

these buildings. The Gona type may well represent earlier stages of the
evolution of the Koti Banal architecture. The use of horizontal wooden
logs in the vertical walls is similar to the concept of seismic bends (ring
beams) in modern masonry buildings.

Somehow, the practice of the Koti Banal constructions was slowly

abandoned such that modifications of the original construction principle
can be observed in the region. The major reason for this appears to be

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the unavailability and scarcity of timber. A gradual shift from the closely
spaced timber logs to increasing heights between them filled with stones
is visible in the local construction. For contemporary constructions in
the region, no such logs (ring beams) are used anymore.

Recently, many Koti Banal structures face serious adverse effects being
caused by the surrounding building development. Unplanned construction
directly taking place next to Koti Banal buildings and encroaching upon
these old structures as well as the partly demolition in order to use the
disassembled building materials for new buildings seriously affect the
dynamic behavior of these traditional structures during earthquake
shaking. In addition, these negative effects are accelerated by the
structural deterioration due to the lack of maintenance and preservation.

Today the construction of these buildings is starting to become

inefficient due to the high timber prices and the necessary construction
technology. It is supposed that several tens of workers had been required
to build these structures which points towards these structures being a
community effort.

Koti banal is a type of architecture that has been protecting people

from past hundreds of years from nature and its calamities and needs
to be preserved. The major techniques used in Koti banal to make it
strong are something that can be used and accommodated into modern
architecture to make it more strong and resilient. This knowledge of the
past should be built upon with knowledge of today to be passed on to
the future generations.

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