Red thick walls and sloping roof surrounded by sky touching coconut trees and lush green paddy fields is the common scene if you take a simple ride by Konkan railway through this region. If you go closer, the simplicity will make you fall in love and you will carry a dream of spending all your life close to nature and nature-loving people. Amid of urbanization, this region has successfully retained its tradition and its reflection can be seen in the way houses designed. In this Houses of Konkan series, we are going to see some typical form.
Let's start with the simplest form- Linear arrangement Angan –Otti - Majghar (surrounded by small room) - Kitchen with store area – Padvi – Paras (Backyard)
- Angan - Open area in front of the house. Regularly finishes with cow dung. Adorn by Holy - Tulsi Vrindavan- Meant for social gathering. seasonally covered with a temporary covering made up of natural material such as thatch, coconut leaves different outdoor activities which vary from harvesting the fruits, drying, cutting, peeling, making by-products, or utilizing various parts of trees such as wood, leaves, branches, etc. These activities are manually carried out and take place in Angan, Padvi and Paras during the summer season only. During summer, Angan is covered with temporary roofing in the form of interwoven coconut leaves supported on bamboo posts which can be dismantled as per climatic needs.
- Otti- semi-open space with low height seating covered with a permanent roof. Transition space leading to an enclosed environment. Sometimes sides are covered by wooden jali walls. Otti generally is the most comfortable space considering Hot and Humid climate of the Konkan region; it offers temporary resting space to house members during the afternoon and evening time.
- Majghar- Large open room situated at the center of a house, surrounded by small rooms like Pooja Ghar, kitchen, and private areas.
- Kitchen- Elaborate, most important and busiest room with in-build shelves in walls and levels to facilitate women gatherings. Mangalore tiles roof for the kitchen are designed in a specific manner to regularize natural air circulation and to capture maximum daylight. A small storeroom is situated adjacent to the kitchen to store yearlong food items like grain, pulses, and pickles, etc.
- Padvi- semi-open space covered by a permanent roof and connected with washrooms. This area generally has a specific area for Chulha (Firewood burning) which is mainly used for heating bath water during the day to day life.
- Paras (Backyard) – Open to sky area at the rear of a house having entry through kitchen. Seasonal vegetable, medicinal plants, Local fruit plants, flowering plants are planted in this area. For big houses, water wells are situated in this area.
This sequencing is climate-responsive. This systematic transition promotes much-needed air circulation throughout the year intern most comfortable stay.
Cluster formation is one of the prominent features of coastal Konkan settlements with unique arrangements, placements, sizes, etc. These clusters are not arbitrary but strongly guided by the social structure. Moreover, they are named by the caste and subcaste of people leaving in - Brahmin Vadi, Gurav wadi, Vani Aali etc. Sometimes by Family name- Jadhav Vadi, Parab Vadi, Kubal Wada, Naik wadi etc. and sometimes by family ancestral occupation like Gawali wada, Kumbhar wada, Chambhar wadi, Sutar wada/ wadi, Koli Wada etc.
Though Cluster looks organic pattern, it follows two basic patterns, closed arrangement which is generally named as 'Wada' or 'wadi' and Linear arrangement which is generally named as 'Ali. Within these universes of patterns, one can find smaller clusters reciprocating micro-climate and usability. It is really interesting to see the influence of various generations on building styles that forms a lineage.
Thick mud wall and sloping roof house extended by load bearing laterite wall structure to further RCC structure. These clusters are surrounded by a vast vista of family-owned land. Each of the houses from the cluster has open, semi-open, and built spaces called 'Aangan', 'Padvi' & 'Oati'. The number of houses in one cluster may also depict the number of close relatives. Angan can be a shared amenity among a few houses.
Following are factors are responsible for the physical format of the cluster:
Social & cultural values: Clusters are series of houses formed due to the expansion of the family. It happens around common space that is meant to come together to celebrate the festival, social gatherings of families, Traditional rituals etc
Climatic conditions: Cluster housing also provides continuous connectivity among houses to create a safe environment, especially during the monsoon season.
Land Topography: Flatter terrain provides a typical cluster pattern for ex. Common open space surrounded by houses at the same level whereas contour land topography may result in subdivision of common spaces of clusters.
Family occupation: Family occupation plays an important role in cluster forms. eg. land owner farmers create large storage spaces. Housing clusters of Kumbhar wada/ wadi (clay Potters) requires different type of working spaces, dedicated areas for kilns etc. Sutar wada/ wadi (Carpenters) required large working spaces; Koli wada’s (Fisherman) are design with common spaces for drying fish, knitting fishing nets, sorting of fish etc; whereas Gawali wada/wadi (Dairy Business) requires spaces like cattle shed and for ancillary activities. etc.
