Havelis in Shekhawati Region

Introduction
Nestled in the dusty and semi-desert part of Rajasthan is a group of towns that constitute the colourful region of Shekhawati. Here the streets are lined with residential buildings popularly known as Havelis. Shekhawati meaning the land of Shekhas clan derive its name from Rao Shekha (1422 AD 1488 AD, a king). is is a study of Haveli as a building form in response to the climate and the surroundings. e social factors contributing to the design are not covered in this part of study. Most of the Havelis were created 75-200 years back but they present before us the most appropriate solutions to the climatic constraints even today. For the study and analyses purpose one of the case studies is documented here. It is a small scale Haveli having only two courtyards that according to the yardsticks of Shekhawati is the minimum number of courtyards.

Climate of Shekhawati Region

Temperature- Maximum temperature in summers rises up to 118F while night temperatures fall to 69F. Winter days are temperate around 70F while night temperatures reduce to just above freezing. Rainfall- Annual rainfall is 23 inches falling largely in the months of July-October. Humidity- Apart from monsoon season, RH is terribly low- categorising the climate as Hot Dry. Wind- roughout the year dominant wind comes from NW quadrant and late in the monsoon SW winds are experienced. e winds temperature is hot in summers while very cold in winters. e only times when winds are preferred inside the building are NE region of Rajasthan state is called Shekhawati which summer nights and monsoon days covers three districts namely Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu Sandstorms- Dust storms and sandstorms are very common both during day and night. Solar radiation- the solar radiation in intense around 700-800 Kcal/Sqm with sky being clear almost throughout the year.

Climate Responsive features identi ed in Shekhawati Have1. Compact settlement plan- the heat COURTYARD 1 production from the buildings is very COURTYARD 1 low thus a compact planning helps in reducing heat gain. It also allows mutual shading by buildings. It reduces the area of exposed surfaces. COURTYARD 2 2. Narrow streets with tall buildings COURTYARD 2 around- it helps in shading the streets thus allowing less of direct sunlight during daytime and makes the movement easy for people. It also helps in lowering the ambient air temperature surrounding Ground Floor Plan and First Floor Plan of a Small Haveli, Dund- the building envelope by shading. lod, Shekhawati, Rajasthan 3. Courtyard planning- internal courtyard with high building mass all around it leads to induced ventilation, lowering of temperatures by convective cooling and natural lighting Since the inner courtyard generally have some vegetation (generally Tulsi) while the outer courtyard generally have hard surface, the inner one would be cooler as compared to the outer. In between the two is a transitory space with deferred entry and a small opening. is induces dra of cooler air from the inner courtyard. us the transition space always received cool air dra and and is the favourite place to sit during day and rainy season
COURTYARD 1

Transverse Section

rough Internal courtyard

From inner courtyard to the outer courtyard through transition space

COURTYARD 2 COURTYARD 1

Figure 8: Longitudinal Section

Arrangement of semi open areas around courtyard 4.Construction Technology- Heavy building envelope stores larger amount of heat due to large heat capacities and creates a larger time lag. is helps in keeping the inside cool during daytime when it is most inconvenient outside. Wall Construction - 16 thick locally available stone plastered with lime. Columns - are either assembled with laterite stone or are monolithic with timber type joints. Flat roofs with insulation layer - Roof is also 1 6 thick, double layered with a layer of stone veneer with lime mortar on it. Lime , jaggery and hesian are mixed together in the roo ng plaster. is mixture is applied on stone slabs. A layer of inverted clay pots is then placed on it with a layer of lime mortar nished with re ective broken pieces of porcelain which re ects most of the sunlight.
Building Envelope- HW1 1 Pallavi Kulshreshtha

rough Both Courtyards

5.Small openings with thick shutters, jali screens and Jharokhas- due to hot and dusty winds, natural ventilation inside the building during day is not desirable. us small openings are provided. which allow a dra of air inside .All the openings are shaded with projections covered all around with perforated stone screens known as Jharokhas. is allows cooling of air by venturi e ect phenomenon.

7.Wind towers e staircase room has high ceiling and each room opens through it. is allows convective cooling during night and induced ventilation during day.

6.Ceiling heights- e habitable rooms have ceil ceiling il height of minimum 15 feet . e uninhabitable spaces are only 9 high. is implies a larger air mass resulting in lower temperatures in the habitable spaces.

8. Materials of construction- e stone was used along with lime mortar. Lime mortar allowed keeping lower temperatures inside the building. Stone helped in creating time lag due to high thermal capacities.

A Typical Haveli Facade

9. Light coloured External Facade - Carving was not possible on the local stone available around Shekhawati. us instead of providing a rough surface, which would also have allowed inter granular shading, a smooth surface was created. To break the monotony of the at white surfaces, painting was done with variety of colours all obtained from natural stones or vegetables.

Inferences
With the combined e ect of all features, the inside of the building always provided a comfortable environment when the environment outside was uncomfortable (throughout the year) e same space could not provide the desired comfort in all seasons. us there were a variety of spaces (open, semi open and enclosed), which were used, in di erent seasons and times of day. e temperature di erence created due to heavy thermal mass and many other passive features is most e ective in summers and winters. is allows comfort at all times of the day. e indoor temperature is generally 20F lesser than the outdoor air temperature without the use of any arti cial means of cooling and ventilation. Winters- e Courtyards are the center of activities during the entire days. During night, the enclosed rooms are preferred as they have higher temperature than the ambient air outside. Summers- e Semi-open spaces and enclosed rooms are used more during the daytime. e high ceiling and the nature of stone to heat slowly contribute to the thermal comfort during the daytime. e courtyards are used during the nighttimes as the rooms inside become hotter than the outside temperatures. Rains- Movement of air in the Semi open spaces and the transition spaces more comfortable than the rooms.

Bibliography
1. Energy-e cient buildings in India By Mili Majumdar, Tata Energy Research Institute, India. Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources. 2. Dundhar Havelis-Amber and Jaipur by Shikha Jain http://www.coa.gov.in/mag/feb08/Shikha%20Jain-(34-41).pdf 3. Avlokita Agrawal, Architecture of Shekhawati- Aesthetic prevails, National symposium on Aesthetics in Indian Architecture, at MES School of Architecture, Kuttipuram, Kerala, India. 4. Shekhawati: urbanism in the semi-desert of India A climatic study by Avlokita Agrawal1, Prof. R.K. Jain2 and Prof. Rita Ahuja3

Building Envelope- HW1

Pallavi Kulshreshtha

Parameter Description

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ann POR #Obs.

ABS AB S MAX TM TMP P (F) 89 9 96 109 112 2 11 118 117 7 116 107 7 10 107 108 97 88 8 118 8 50 -54 -543 543 54 3 MEAN MAX TMP (F) 73 77 88 98 106 103 94 91 93 94 85 76 90 50 -43 MEAN MIN TMP (F) 47 51 56 69 77 80 78 76 73 64 54 48 64 50 -43 ABS AB S MIN TM TMP P (F) 29 29 9 38 49 60 69 6 68 8 70 61 1 5 50 30 31 2 29 50 -54 -543 543 3 MEAN NO DYS TMP = OR GTR 90(F) 0 - 12.6 29.2 31.0 30.0 24.5 18.7 21.8 24.5 6.5 0 - 50 -29 MEAN NO DYS TMP = OR LES 32(F) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 -29 MEAN NO DYS TMP = OR LES 0(F) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 -29 ME MEAN DEW EW PT T TMP P (F) (F) 38 43 42 2 44 51 64 74 7 75 7 72 53 3 44 41 4 5 53 3 4 2 273 739 9 2739 MEA MEAN EAN REL EA L HU HUM M (PCT) (PCT (P CT) ) 55 45 3 35 5 27 7 2 26 44 74 8 81 1 77 7 5 54 4 48 5 57 7 5 52 2 10 9 980 807 7 9807 MEAN PRESS ALT (FT) 1139 1200 1295 1413 1527 1640 1666 1595 1474 1313 1182 1123 1381 0 -50 MEAN PRECIP (IN) 0.44 0.32 0.34 0.17 0.57 2.24 7.74 8.06 3.22 0.48 0.14 0.30 24.0 60 -43 MEAN SNOW FALL (IN) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 -29 MEAN NO DYS PRCP = OR GTR 0.1 IN 1.1 0.8 0.9 0.5 1.4 3.8 10.7 11.0 5.0 1.1 0.4 0.8 37.5 60 -29 MEAN NO DYS SNFL = OR GTR 1.5 IN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 -29 MEAN NO DYS W/OCUR VSBY LES 1/2 MI 0 0 0 0.6 1.3 1.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 0 0.8 0 6.0 4 554 MEAN NO DYS TSTMS 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 6.0 9.0 10.0 8.0 5.0 2.0 0.3 1.0 47.3 15 -24 P FREQ WND SPD = OR GTR 17 KTS 0.5 0.1 0.6 1.3 2.1 3.6 0.9 0.9 0.2 0.1 0 0 0.9 10 9986 P FREQ WND SPD = OR GTR 28 KTS 0 0 0 0 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 9986 P FREQ LES 5000 FT A/O LES 5 MI 62.1 57.2 58.2 62.7 70.8 73.2 68.3 65.9 56.7 50.3 58.0 64.0 62.3 3 9730 P FREQ LES 1500 FT A/O LES 3 MI FOR' 00-02 LST - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 03-05 LST 1.3 1.4 0 2.3 21.3 14.6 7.4 10.3 9.8 0.8 0 0.9 5.8 3 1198 06-08 LST 21.1 16.7 6.8 7.9 13.1 12.4 17.4 20.4 12.6 8.2 14.4 20.8 14.3 10 3416 09-11 LST 3.9 2.8 1.1 2.4 16.3 17.5 10.0 12.1 9.9 0.9 0 0.8 6.5 3 1189 12-14 LST - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 15-17 LST 1.2 1.2 5.7 1.8 10.3 9.3 5.9 8.8 9.4 1.8 1.0 2.5 4.9 8 2193 18-20 LST - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 21-23 LST 1.4 0 0.6 2.8 4.4 11.1 2.4 4.6 5.0 0.4 0.7 0.6 2.8 6 1734 P FREQ LES 300 FT A/O LES 1 MI FOR 00-02 LST - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 03-05 LST 0 0 0 0 7.8 6.3 0.9 1.7 0.9 0 0 0 1.5 3 1198 06-08 LST 7.4 1.5 3.4 0.8 2.5 2.5 1.2 1.5 0 0 1.4 5.1 2.3 10 3416 09-11 LST 0 0 0 2.4 5.9 5.9 0 0.9 0 0 0 0 1.3 3 1189 12-14 LST - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 15-17 LST 0 0 1.8 0 2.1 3.1 0.5 1.1 0.5 0 0 0.5 0.8 8 2193 18-20 LST - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 21-23 LST 0.7 0 0 1.4 2.9 2.4 0 0 0.7 0 0.7 0 0.7 6 1734

MEAN NUMBER OF DAYS

CIG = GTR 1000 FT AND 05 LST 30.6 28.0 31.0 29.3 24.4 25.8 29.6 29.4 28.1 30.7 30.0 30.7 347.6 3 1198 VSBY = GTR 3 MI 11 LST 30.2 27.2 30.6 29.3 25.9 24.8 29.2 29.1 28.1 31.0 30.0 30.7 346.1 3 1189 17 LST 30.8 27.7 29.8 29.5 28.8 27.4 29.9 29.2 28.1 30.7 29.7 30.5 352.1 8 2193 23 LST 30.5 28.0 30.8 29.2 29.6 26.6 30.8 30.1 28.8 31.0 29.8 30.8 356.0 6 1734 CIG = GTR 2000 FT AND VSBY 05 LST 29.0 25.8 30.3 29.0 23.3 22.0 26.4 26.6 25.5 29.9 30.0 30.2 328.0 3 1198 = GTR 3 MI W/SFC WND LES 10KTS 11 LST 27.0 26.8 28.5 23.8 16.9 18.1 17.7 18.9 18.8 28.2 30.0 29.2 283.9 3 1188 17 LST 29.8 26.0 26.4 25.4 21.8 20.5 25.6 26.8 25.9 30.3 29.8 30.3 318.6 8 2193 23 LST 28.8 27.1 29.5 28.2 27.5 24.3 27.7 28.6 27.4 30.6 29.8 29.6 339.1 6 1728 SFC WND = GTR 17 KTS AND 05 LST 0 0 0 0.3 0.7 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 1.2 3 1204 NO PRECIP. 11 LST 0 0 0 0 2.5 1.7 1.0 0.5 0.2 0 0 0 5.9 3 1196 17 LST 0.2 0 0.3 0.6 0.1 0.3 0 0.3 0 0.1 0 0 1.9 8 2193 23 LST 0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.9 0.2 0.2 0 0 0 0 2.5 6 1736 SFC WND 4-10 KTS AND TMP 05 LST 13.5 13.0 16.3 17.4 16.5 13.8 14.8 13.4 14.2 12.7 12.5 12.4 170.5 3 1204 33-89 DEG F AND NO PRECIP. 11 LST 21.0 20.8 19.0 3.2 0 1.0 8.6 12.8 14.9 16.4 19.2 20.8 157.7 3 1196 17 LST 15.5 16.5 12.5 2.2 0.1 0.4 6.4 12.2 9.8 11.5 9.8 11.4 108.3 8 2193 23 LST 14.7 15.6 17.2 17.1 11.0 5.2 12.4 12.9 12.7 10.9 12.5 15.3 157.5 6 1734 SKY COVER LES 3/10 AND 05 LST 26.4 23.5 25.2 23.5 18.9 14.8 5.2 7.8 12.9 26.0 25.7 25.7 235.6 3 1205 VSBY = GTR 3 MI 11 LST 21.0 21.6 22.7 24.2 23.1 17.8 2.3 4.6 11.0 25.9 25.2 23.1 222.5 3 1192 17 LST 21.2 16.7 19.8 19.7 22.2 13.4 4.2 1.7 11.3 23.9 24.0 21.2 199.3 8 2193 23 LST 26.6 24.1 24.0 23.4 26.3 18.9 8.5 7.0 17.0 27.9 27.6 26.0 257.3 6 1740 CIG = GTR 2500 FT AND 05 LST 30.2 27.2 31.0 29.3 24.0 25.1 27.0 26.6 25.0 30.7 30.0 30.7 336.8 3 1198 VSBY = GTR 3 MI 11 LST 29.4 27.2 30.6 29.3 25.9 24.1 24.7 22.8 23.3 29.9 30.0 30.5 327.7 3 1189 17 LST 30.3 27.1 29.7 29.3 28.4 26.5 27.8 25.6 26.2 30.5 29.7 30.4 341.5 8 2193 23 LST 30.5 28.0 30.6 29.2 29.6 26.2 29.1 27.2 27.2 30.6 29.8 30.6 348.6 6 1734 CIG = GTR 6000 FT AND 05 LST 30.2 26.5 31.0 28.6 23.3 23.5 21.9 23.4 22.9 30.2 30.0 29.9 321.4 3 1198 VSBY = GTR 3 MI 11 LST 29.4 27.2 30.6 29.3 24.9 22.7 17.5 15.9 18.0 28.4 29.7 30.0 303.6 3 1189 17 LST 29.1 26.3 28.9 28.5 26.9 23.4 23.0 20.2 23.4 30.1 29.4 29.7 318.9 8 2193

Building Envelope- HW1

Pallavi Kulshreshtha