Typology Study of Vernacular Courtyard-House in Kerala, South India
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TYPOLOGY STUDY OF VERNACULAR COURTYARD-HOUSE IN KERALA, SOUTH INDIA STUDI TIPOLOGI VERNAKULER RUMAH “COURTYARD” DI KERALA, INDIA SELATAN Indah Widiastuti Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, Planning, and Policy Development (SAPPK), Institut Teknologi Bandung [email protected] ABSTRACT This paper is based on observation about vernacular courtyard-house architecture in Kerala, South India. Traditional architecture in India is generally governed by a knowledge, prescribed in a traditional book. However, from the field observations, we identified many exceptions against the prescribed traditional knowledge. In the case of Kerala, some of the exceptions indicate shared architectural features with indigenous architecture in Indonesian. The analysis uses typology method and unfolds six typologies and three styles of courtyard-houses. They have distinct spatial characters that give importance to women, kitchen, main orientation to water and river, and granary concept. Keywords: courtyard-house, south india, residential architecture, kerala, nalukettu, manusyalayacandrika ABSTRAK Makalah ini ditulis berlandaskan hasil observasi lapangan terhadap arsitektur vernakuler rumah court- yard, di Kerala India Selatan. Arsitektur tradisional di India pada umumnya taat pada pengetahuan, yang ditulis dalam sebuah kitab tradisional. Namun, dari pengamatan lapangan, kami mengidentifikasi adanya pengecualian desain dari yang telah diatur dalam buku tradisional tersebut. Dalam kasus arsitektur rumah courtyard Kerala, beberapa pengecualian tersebut justru menunjukkan kesesuaian dengan arsitektur asli di Indonesia. Analisis dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode Tipologi, dan mengungkap enam tipologi serta dua langgam. Pada rumah courtyard Kerala aspek perempuan, dapur, orientasi utama terhadap air dan sungai, serta konsep lumbung mendapat tempat yang penting. Kata Kunci: halaman rumah, india selatan, arsitektur hunian, kerala, naluketuu, manusyalayacandrika INTRODUCTION alien to the classical text. Courtyard-house is typical archie- Kerala is the southernmost cultu- tecture in South Asia. It is a common ral unit and federation country in India. typology in India with various terms, Except for earthquake, they have tropi- such as, haveli in North India, wada in pical equatorial monsoon climates, pad- Maharasthra, rajbari in West Bengal, dy farming tradition, and history of cathurmukham in Tamil nadu (Rhanda- traditional maritime network, like Indo- nawa: 1999). In Kerala, it is called nalu- nesia. Given different climatic and cultu- kettu, which means 4 (four)-halls-house ral background from the rest of India encircling an inner-yard. The design subcontinent, but the shared ecological follows a book of traditional architectural context with Indonesia, courtyard-house (vaastuvidya), the Manusyalaya Candri- in Kerala becomes interesting and rele- ka (Achyutyan Prabhu: 1998). However, vant topic to discuss about the shared the field observations indicates that not architectural characters between India all nalukettu faithfully follow the tradi- and Indonesia. This research is a part of tional book. Courtyard-house in Kerala study with the purpose to explore archi- seems to have more grounds on daily and tectural interlinkages between South popular architectural practice that may be India, and Indonesian or Southeast Asia. 365 Tanggal Submit: 11-06-2018; Tanggal Revisi: 29-11-2018; Tanggal Diterima: 3-12-2018 DOI: 10.5614/sostek.itbj.2018.17.3.4 366 Jurnal Sosioteknologi | Vol. 17, No 3, Desember 2018 The aim of the study is to uncover the construction is allowed to stand and hinder aspects that indicate the Indic and Indo- the energy flow. Therefore, the marmam or nesian characters in Kerala’s architecture. dotted area is usually functioned as fenes- Specifically, the objective of this research trations and openings. Visually, the is: 1) to identify variations of typology of mandala, sutram, and marmam constitute court-yard-house in Kerala, and to learn the geometrical orientation principles that general architectonic characters of each govern the ordering system of a nalukettu. type; and 2) to explore common principles Formally, a nalukettu is compos- of Southeast Asian architectures in the ed of four independent halls (salas) typology of Kerala courtyard-houses. around a courtyard facing the four car- dinal directions (Figure. 2. a). A single Literature Review proper hall (sala) is composed of the Courtyard-House in Kerala according main hall (vidik sala) which is struc- to Manusyalaya Candrika turally identified by a ring-beams or wall Manusyalaya candrika is the tradi- plate, extended beam (diksala) to adjust tional book about the architecture of Kera- the hall with the length of the building, la, claimed to be written in 17th Cent.AD and a connecting structure or alindam (Achyutyan and Prabhu, 1998, Thampu- (Figure.2.b). Altogether, the multi-laye- ran, 2001). It contains prescription of ring principles of the mandala, marmam- Kerala’s traditional residential architec- sutram, fourfold salas, and diksala- ture, including courtyard-house or naluke- vidiksala constitute the structural prin- ttu. Achyutyan and Prabhu (1998) elabo- ciples of a nalukettu (Figure 2.C). These rated it in a commentary text from which I prescribed configuration consequently draw some relevant principles for analy- constitute axis mundi of the house. zing the courtyard-houses. Ideally, an abs- tract gridiron called mandala guides the Commonality of Kerala’s Vernacular configuration of nalukettu. The giridiron Courtyard House with Indonesia demonstrates concentric order that situates Architecture the highest rank god in the center of the Courtyard-house is the signature mandala where no built form is allowed of South Asian architecture. It is a dwel- there. Superimposing the concentric order, ling configuration commonly found in the is first, a diagonal hierarchical orientation semi-arid environment. In general, in gradually sloping down from northeast to India, a courtyard is believed to be a navel- southwest corner (Figure 1.a). The hiera- void containing primordial memory of rchical placement of rooms follows this trees, cut to construct houses (Bhattachar- diagonal and concentric orientation (Figu- yya, 2007). In Kerala, the memory is re 1.b). Second, upon this mandala, marked by basil flower planted in the conceptual lines and dots are drawn, inner-yard – the tulasi. However, factually, guided by the rules of sutram and marmam the gravitation of spiritual activities orients (Figure 1.c). Sutram (threads, Sans.) is a toward granary (ara). According to her, the conceptual line(s) pulled perpendicularly oldest nalukettu mostly appeared as a and diagonally from every intersecting line single open hall, extended by the width to of the grids and yielded intersecting dots some extent that leaves vertical vent stack (marmam, Sans.). This line represents in the middle and yielded courtyard. positive energy flow. Upon this conceptual Closed space is situated in one or two intersecting dots and lines, no objects or | Typology Study of Vernacular..... 367 Indah Widiastuti sides of the halls,where one of them was directly onto the ground. Kerala’s roof granary (ara). The important spatial concept relates to the discussion about the placement of granary and inclination to insular Southeast Asian roof design wide living space are characters of (Vrocklage, 1936 in Waterson, 1997). vernacular architecture in Indonesia. Wooden construction combined with Some characters of Kerala’s Court- foliage construction is not the nature of yard-house contain architectural characters Vedic Architecture. The Vedic or pre- of the tropical Indonesian regions. Reimar Aryan architecture is rather established on Schefold (2004) generalized characters of solid construction material, like brick mud Indonesian houses, but called it Formal fea- and stone rather than temporary and tures of Southeast Asian type-houses. foliage construction. Kerala architecture According to him, all architectural characters dedicates its space to feminine characters found in Southeast Asia are available in and the importance of granary. This relates Indonesia. Three of them confirm Kerala’s to Koji Sato’s elaboration on granary characters. They are the tripartite house, dwelling in Southeast Asia (Sato, 1988). outward slanting gable, and treatment of Its grand-built character related to Proto- wood and timber. The roof is overwhelming Austronesian characters of South-east Asian architecture (Sato, 2015). Like and steep; therefore it allows rain to fall Figure 1a Mandala Figure 1b Typical of Figure 1c Marmam Scheme House Plan and Principle Figure 1 Geometrical Orientation Principles of nalukettu (redrawn from Achyutyan and Prabhu, 2001) Figure 2a Four Sala Figure 2b Vidiksala Figure 2c Illustration of a Principle Principle design and the Superimposed Principles Figure 2 Structural Principles of nalukettu (redrawn from Achyutyan and Prabhu, 2001) 368 Jurnal Sosioteknologi | Vol. 17, No 3, Desember 2018 Minangkabau Kerala adheres matrilineal diagrammatic elaborations are available kinship and take granary as its elemen- in Table I. tary residential structure (Widiastuti 2013). Type of Architectural Style The study identifies two general architecture styles in Kerala, namely: 1) METHOD Typology is a study of architectural Travancore Style of the Southern Kerala, type. It assumes a common abstract form and 2) Malabar Style of The Central and governing the variations of architectural Northern Kerala. Travancore