HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17
VASTU KALA ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE


Used from Neolithic times.

Mud construction is mainly found in places which are:

Relatively dry areas.
Have mud in abundance.

Used for different purposes and is used in different ways!

SOIL TYPE
1.

SILT

2.

SAND

3.

GRAVEL

4.

CLAY

5.

ORGANIC
SOIL

SIZE
0.002mm-0.05mm

SOIL SOURCE
Mud required for building can be taken from the plot itself.
The soil is collected after depth of 60cms only.
As the top layer is full of organic matter, it isnt used.
Soil to be used should be devoid of organic matter.
Top should be replaced after excavating.
Advantage: Does not require a lot of energy

SOIL USABILITY

By itself is also no good for building walls. It will

hold together but is not strong. Furthermore, it
will not compact so it is also of no use for
pressed blocks or rammed earthwork.

0.05mm-2mm

Similar to gravel, it is of no use for wall making

by itself - but if mixed with clay, it is the ideal
mud wall building soil.

More than 2 mm

Alone is of no use for mud wall building - the tiny

lumps of stone have nothing to bind them
together.

Soil that stick when

wet, very hard when
completely dry.

Can be rammed or compressed but in drying out

they often shrink. During the monsoon they get
damp and expand again and crack form.

Mainly composed of
rotting, decomposing
organic matters such
as leaves, plants and
vegetable matter.

SILT

SAND

GRAVEL

Spongy when wet, usually smells of decaying

matter, is dark in colour and usually damp.
Are mainly useless for wall building.
CLAY

INTRODUCTION
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

03

COB is good for anything except

height. It is particularly good for
curved or round walls.

ADOBE or SUN DRIED BRICKS can

easily cope with two storey houses.

EARTH
TECHNIQUES

PISE OR RAMMED EARTH is strong

and ideal for solid, squat, single
storey houses.

EARTH TECHNIQUES
MUD CONSTRUCTION

WATTLE & DAUB is elegant and fine

for Seismic Zones.

PRESSED BRICKS smooth and very

strong and can build three storey.

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

04

COB

With only a little water to form a very stiff

mud, a large lump is roughly moulded into
the shape of a huge elongated egg.
The usual size is anything between 12 to
18-inches, (30 to 40-cm) long and about 6inches (15-cm) in diameter.

A row of these cobs of mud are laid neatly

side-by-side - preferably
somewhat pressed together.
Another row of cobs is laid on top.
After 3-4 courses, the sides are smoothed
over so that the holes and cracks
disappear.

Openings for doors, and windows are

made by using temporary vertical
planks or shuttering.
Simple shuttering for openings is to
use empty kerosene tins.

For drainage, build a rubble trench below

the perimeter of cob building. Located
beneath the stem wall and is filled with
drain rock (small stones or round gravel).
Once the trench is dug, it is good to cover
the bottom with a few inches of drain rock
and then lay a 4-inch perforated
polyethylene drainpipe along the bottom to
improve the drainage runoff. The bottom of
the trench should also be sloped.

Cob buildings are built as monoliths huge,

thick, solid walls. Traditionally they were built
approximately 600mm (2 ft.) wide, up to a
storey-and-a-half or more.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: COB

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

05

COB BALLS

PARTIAL WALL

FOUNDATION

ROOF OF STRUCTURE

COMPLETE WALLS

EARTH TECHNIQUES: COB

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

06

COMPOSITION OF RAMMED EARTH WALLS are a damp mixture of earth (containing gravel, sand and clay). Lime is frequently used as a stabilizer,
historically animal blood was used, and in modern times cement is often favoured.
Wall shuttering:
The soil used must be high in sand and low in clay, 70% and 30% being the usual proportions. About 10% water is added in modern practice.
Using plywood or metal panels.
Clamped together a set distance apart to avoid bulging.
Earthy mixture is added 10 25mm thickness at a time
and compressed to roughly half the original height.
Pneumatic backfill tamper

Visible layers of earth

Reinforced plywood frame

1.
2.
3.
4.

Framework is built and a layer of moist earth is

filled in.
The layer of moist earth is compressed.
Next layer of moist earth is added.
Successive layers of moist earth layers are added
and compressed.
Framework is removed leaving the rammed earth
wall.

Good compressive strength.

Wall thicknesses are usually at least 12 inches (30 cm), a mass that results in a high thermal capacity, keeping the internal conditions uniform in
climates having large variations in temperature from day to night.
For increased resistance to weather, the wall surface is often treated with plaster, bitumen, or linseed oil.
Stabilizers may be added to the soil to increase weather resistance and strength; Portland cement and bitumen are commonly used.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: RAMMED EARTH

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

07

More recently, rammed earth walls are often build off of

concrete foundations to provide a more durable base.

In wet climates, the walls should be suitably covered with

wide eaves or used internally, this is because over time, rain
will erode the walls.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: RAMMED EARTH

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

08

COMPOSITION: Made of clay mixed with water and an organic material such as straw or dung.
The most desirable soil texture for producing the mud of adobe is 15% clay, 10-30% silt and 55-75% fine sand.
ADOBE BLOCKS

Bricks are made in an open frame, 25 by 36 cm (10 by 14 in) being a reasonable size.

The mixture is moulded into a frame, and then the frame is removed after initial setting.

After drying a few hours, the bricks are turned on edge to finish drying.

Slow drying in shade reduces cracking.

Blocks shall be kept covered with air tight polythene sheets for first 48 hrs with relative humidity up to 100.

ADOBE BLOCKS

ADOBE WALL CONSTRUCTION

The ground should be compressed as the weight of adobe

wall is significantly greater than that of a frame house, and
foundation settling may cause cracking of the wall.
The footing is dug and compressed once again.
The footing and stem wall are commonly 24 and 14 inches
respectively, much greater than for a frame house due of the
weight of the walls.
Adobe bricks are laid by course. Each course is laid the whole
length of the wall, overlapping at the corners on a layer of
adobe mortar.
When creating window and door openings, a lintel is placed
on top of the opening to support the bricks above. Atop the
last courses of brick, bond beams made of reinforced concrete
or heavy wood beams are laid to provide a horizontal bearing
plate for the roof beams
To protect the interior and exterior adobe wall, finishes can be
applied, such as mud plaster, whitewash or stucco. It protect
the adobe wall from water damage.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: ADOBE

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

09

ADOBE ROOFING
Constructed using a mixture of soil/clay, water, sand, and organic materials.
The mixture was then formed and pressed into wood forms, producing rows of dried earth bricks that would then be laid across a support structure of
wood and plastered into place with more adobe.

Chicken wire is often added as a supporting

layer over the adobe bricks, before the
surfacing layer of adobe clay is added. This can
help delay erosion of the walls.

Ceiling detail
Large shaped logs are laid across the walls as
supporting roof beams (and are seen protruding from
the front facade of the house). Then covered with a
layer of sticks or branches before the roof.

Raising a traditional adobe roof

To construct a flat adobe roof, beams of wood or metal should be assembled and span the extent of the building.
The ends of the beams are attach to the tops of the walls..
A combination of the bricks and adobe mortar that are laid across the beams creates an even load-bearing pressure.
Once the vigas, latias and brush are laid, adobe bricks are placed.
An adobe roof is often laid with bricks slightly larger in width to ensure a greater expanse is covered when placing the bricks onto the roof.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: ADOBE

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

10

Earth bag construction is an inexpensive method to create structures which are both strong and can be quickly built.

It is a natural building technique that evolved from historic military bunker construction techniques and temporary flood-control dike building
methods.
The technique requires very basic construction materials: sturdy sacks, filled with inorganic material usually available on site. Standard earth
bag fill material has internal stability.

CONSTRUCTION METHOD

This trench can then be partially filled with cobble stones

or gravel to create a rubble trench foundation.
several rows of doubled woven bags (or tubes) are filled
with gravel and placed into the trench and one or two
courses above grade to form a water-resistant foundation.
The next row of bags is offset by half a bag's width to form
a staggered pattern.
The weight of this earth-filled layer pushes down on the
barbed wire strands, locking the bag in place on the row
below.
A light tamping of the bags or tubes serves to consolidate
the moist clay-containing fill and creates interlocking bags
or tubes of a strength between adobe and rammed earth.
The same process continues layer upon layer, forming
walls.
A roof can be formed by gradually sloping the walls inward
to construct a dome. Traditional types of roof can also be
made.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: EARTHBAG CONS.

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

11

Earth bags filled with free local materials, barbed wire, bamboo poles, hemp rope, cardboard insulation and trapezoidal corrugated roofing, and a
skin from whatever local material is appropriate, such as clay, adobe earth and paper Crete. Community living decreases costs, materials and labour
while increasing insulation, security and shared facilities.
Windows and doors can be formed with a traditional masonry lintel or with corbeling or brick-arch techniques, usually on temporary forms. Light
may also be brought in by skylights, glass-capped pipes, or bottles which are placed between the rows of bags during construction.

The roof timbering is made of local material: Bamboo, wood or even metal(Roof has a slope to the outside)
The bamboo (or wood, metal etc.) is secured with ropes.
A layer of cardboard is placed on the roof timbering (for insulation)
Finally the roof is sealed with corrugated sheet metal.
An alternative of corrugation may be bio components- Sustainable plant fibres can be pressed with resins to form light, strong roofing panels.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: EARTHBAG CONS.

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

12

Wattle and daub method is an old and common method of building mud structures.
There bamboo and cane frame structure that supports the roof.
Mud is plastered over this mesh of bamboo cane and straws
Due to excessive rainfall the Wattle and Daub structures gets washed off.
However, the mesh of cane or split bamboo remains intact and after the heavy rain
is over the mud is plastered on again.

The wattle is made by weaving thin branches (either whole, or more usually split) or slats between upright stakes. The wattle may be made as
loose panels, slotted between timber framing to make infill panels, or it may be made in place to form the whole of a wall.
Daub is usually created from a mixture of certain ingredients from three categories: binders, aggregates and reinforcement.
Binders hold the mix together and can include clay, lime, chalk dust and limestone dust.
Aggregates give the mix its bulk and dimensional stability through materials such as earth, sand, crushed chalk and crushed stone.
Reinforcement is provided by straw, hair, hay or other fibrous materials, and helps to hold the mix together as well as to control shrinkage and
provide flexibility.
It is then applied to the wattle and allowed to dry, and often then whitewashed to increase its resistance to rain.
This process is similar in modern architecture to lath and plaster, a common building material for wall and ceiling surfaces, in which a series of
nailed wooden strips are covered with plaster smoothed into a flat surface.

EARTH TECHNIQUES: WATTLE AND DAUB

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

13

 Bhungas are closely linked to the identity of Kutch desert areas.

They are single cylindrical structures put close to each other to form a house.
In common terminology, each bhunga would be equivalent to a room in a house.

Location
Bhungas are mainly found in desert islands (fertile land in the middle of the desert
in the northern parts of Kutch region of Gujarat- specially Banni and Pachham.
Certain communities build the bhungas in the other rural areas of Kutch.

Small Openings

Chitrakam Inside a Bhunga

Thatch roof overhang

Climate response

In mud or stone construction of bhungas, the walls are thick. This makes the surface less penetrative for the heat. The Lipan done on the walls
is also less conductive which adds to the thermal comfort inside the bhunga.7
Bhungas have small openings, this helps in extreme climate of the region.
Thatch roof is a weak conductor of heat and adds to the thermal comfort.
The roof overhang of a bhunga comes quite low casts shadows on the walls and protects the walls from the direct sunrays.
Due to its circular shape, there is only one line which is directly perpendicular to the sunrays hitting the surface of the structure at a time.
Hence, most of the heat is reflected away, making it more comfortable during the hot season.

BHUNGAS: INTRODUCTION
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

14

CONSTRUCTION OF THE BHUNGA

Bhunga is circular in plan, with cylindrically shaped walls and topped with a conical
roof.
The inner diameter of the Bhunga is typically between 3m to 6m.
A bhunga generally has only three openings one door and two small windows.

Plan of Bhungas

Circular Bhungas

DURING EARTH-QUAKES

It performed very well in the recent M7.6 Bhuj earthquake in 2001.

Very few bhungas experienced significant damage in the epicentre region, and the
damage that did occur can be mainly attributed to poor quality of construction
materials or improper maintenance of the structure.
It has also been observed that the failure of Bhungas in the last earthquake caused
very few injuries to the occupants due to the type of collapse.

BHUNGAS: CONSTRUCTION
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

15

A Bhunga house with a courtyard

Painted walls of a Bhunga

A Bhunga house has low windows for

cross ventilation.

Painted exterior walls of the house in the

Bhunga cluster

A cluster of Bhunga houses

Low hanging roof shields the walls

against the sunlight.

BHUNGAS
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

16

Their frugal belongings are neatly stacked

inside the Bhunga

Mud-and-Mirror work adorns the

interior walls of a Bhunga

Storage spaces are built into the walls and

adorned with mud-mirror work

Mud-and-Mirror work also

accommodates the belongings stored
inside a Bhunga

Spiral frame on top of which the thatched

roof is built

BHUNGAS
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

17

There are mainly two variations of thatched bhunga roofs:

With a truss: The roof is constructed on a wooden beam supported

Without truss: At times the central beam and the prop are not

on wooden posts which are either embedded in the walls or left

exposed. From the middle of this beam rises a prop to which a series
of wooden members known as mals are tied which rise from the wall
all along the circumference forming an apex at the top and are
connected to the central element called man.

used, particularly when the walls are with wooden sticks. In that case
the wooden sticks rise from the wall and are tied to each other at the
apex. Sometimes, there is a presence of angular members
called kutaras connecting the mals to the walls and thus preventing
them from displacing.

The slope/angle of the roof is provided in such a way that it prevents water leakage as well as
falling away of the roofing materials.
If the slope is less than required, there can be problems of water leakage and if the roof is steeper, the
top grass roofing will break and fall apart.
Height of the bhunga wall is normally 7-8.5 ft. For a bhunga of 24 ft diameter the height of the roof
(from top of the wall) is around 8 ft and for a 15 ft diameter bhunga, the height is around 6 ft.
Kutara are key elements in providing stability to the roof structure of a bhunga, since they connect
the roof of the bhunga to its wall. These also help in stopping mals from displacement

BHUNGAS: ROOF CONSTRUCTION

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

18

CLIMATE RESPONSE

Thatch roof is a weak conductor of heat and thus the temperature inside the bhunga remains
cool.
The covering is mainly made of grass and jute, which allow for enough ventilation.
Height of the roof allows for the hot air inside to rise up and keep the living areas cool.
The roof overhang of a bhunga comes quite low casts shadows on the walls and protects the
walls from the direct sunrays.

Man - the Central Piece of Bhunga

Vali (Horizontal) and Vanji (Vertical)

Kutara

Under-structure:
After the walls are constructed, laying of the roof structure starts after a gap of two to three days. To start construction of the roof, the central piece
called man is placed at the required position and height with the help of wooden scaffolding. Angular pieces called HJYkutaras are attached to the
sides of the top of the wall. Then, mal (rafters) are attached. There are at least minimum 12 kutaras and 24mals in a bhunga roof1. Once
the mals are in place, valis are attached. Valis used to be made out of Tankaro2. The placing of valis starts from the top of the roof and progresses
towards the bottom. After the valis are attached vanjis (bamboo batons) are placed. These are placed closely to each other which will ensure easy
laying of the thatch roofing.

BHUNGAS: ROOF CONSTRUCTION

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

19

A bhunga with an outside seating area

Thatched roof

Roof Covering:

Jute (or occasionally tarpaulin) is used to cover this structure.

On that layer of jute, finely woven blankets of grass are laid with the help of a similar structure of mals and valis made out ropes.
For the vertical ropes a rope made out of cotton is used while for the horizontal ones, a rope made out of hemp/jute (kaathi) is used.
At the top point of the bhunga, all the ropes are tied with kaathi.
Dangar, kal, bir and shan/shaniyu (fibers from reeds) are used which are not as durable as grasses like darbh used to be.
Kal, bir and shaniyu have irregular structure with lot of knots and they dont make good covering grasses since there is a possibility of water
leakage through this covering which was not the problem with grasses like darbh and khip.
Grass comes in a bunch called pula and for covering one bhunga, about 800 1000 pulas are required.
If dangar is used for covering, its pulas come in smaller size and thus 1500 2000 pulas are required.
Mals are trimmed at the end to achieve desirable size and uniform appearance.

BHUNGAS: ROOF CONSTRUCTION

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

20

Due to circular shape of wall in plan, inertial forces developed addition,

the thick walls required for thermal insulation have high in plane stiffness
which provide excellent performance under lateral loads.
Materials are generally light weight and develops low inertia forces.

DECORATIVE WALLS

NEW TYPES OF BHUNGAS

Recent Bhungas constructions have used wide variety of construction

materials.
These include the stone or burnt brick masonry either in mud mortar
or in cement mortar.
Traditional roof consists of light weight conical roof, while some
recent constructions have used manglore tiles on roofs.
Some recent constructions have used circular strip footing below the
wall, while traditional construction simply extended the walls below
ground level.

BHUNGAS CONSTRUCTION
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

21

BHUNGAS CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

In several Bhongas, the roof joist is not directly supported on the cylindrical walls, but is supported by two wooden vertical posts outside the
Bhonga, which further improves seismic resistance of the inertia force generated in the roof.
In some instances, reinforcing bands at lintel level and collar level have been used to provide additional strength.
These bands are constructed from bamboo or from RCC. These increase the lateral load-carrying strength greatly and increase the seismic
resistance of the Bhongas.
Even in situations where the roof collapses, its low weight ensures that the extent of injuries to occupants is very low.

LABOURS AND MATERIALS USED

These constructions are carried out by local village masons.
The locally available soft stone can easily be cut or chiselled into rectangular blocks, which are used for wall masonry.
The local soil is used for mud mortar and to make adobe blocks. Locally available timber and bamboo are used for roof.
The entire construction process, which is carried out by the mason with very unskilled labourers, can be completed within 30 days.
The construction of this type of housing takes place in a single phase.
Typically, the building is originally designed for its final constructed size.
Bhongas are never designed in the modern context. However, Bhonga architecture is a very unique aspect of traditional desert architecture of
Kutch region in which the size, location and orientation of the Bhonga are planned for very good structural and functional results.

BHUNGAS CONSTRUCTION
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

22

STABILISERS

When the available soil is not suitable enough for construction then the
soil can be used by manipulating its composition by adding suitable
stabilizers.
Stabilizing enhances the given property of the soil type.
Increase Tensile and Shear strength.
Reduce shrinkage.
Most common and effective stabiliser is Soil itself.
Cement, is the best example of a modern contemporary stabiliser.

Various other indigenous stabilisers include

Straw
Plant Juices
Gum Arabic
Sugar Or Molasses
Cow Dung
Animal Urine
Tannic Acid
Oil

STABILISERS USED FOR CONSTRUCTION

MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

23

Mud construction has several advantages over conventional fired clay or concrete
masonry. The advantages include:
Low in embodied energy
Utilisation of natural resources and minimal use of manufactured products
Good sound absorption characteristics
High thermal mass
A claimed ability to "breath"
Suited to a wide range of soils
Easily manufactured and worked
Flexibility in design/colour/surface finishes
Insulation properties similar to those of concrete or brickwork
The material cost of building earth based dwellings is only a fraction of the cost of
building a conventional house with commercial materials. However labour is the
major cost.
Earth based houses are naturally insulated, so they will be cool in summers and warm
in winters.
They are extremely strong if constructed correctly, and proponents of earth houses
claim they are resistant to earthquakes.
Other advocates of earth houses claim that are very healthy with no irritant chemicals
incorporated within the mixture to cause any allergies, etc.

Entire homes can be constructed nearly

entirely of the earth upon which they stand

Mud is extremely malleable and offers

better insulation than steel-and-concrete
structures.

ADVANTAGES
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

24

Weakness

Buildings that incorporate the use of clay are particularly vulnerable

to deterioration and deserving of care and maintenance. This of course
depends greatly on the degree of stabilization and compaction of the
material used and its original conditions
In walls of compressed earth established and these weaknesses are
minimal while the maximum rise buildings using traditional adobe are
not stabilized.
Another weakness is so far down the popularity it enjoys in the field of
mechanization of industrial building systems due to its excessive
dependence on manual labour ( "work intensive"), which tends to make
the services of its professional production.
Regulatory ordinances construction
Cyclic maintenance requirements
Demands intensive labour
Growth of parasitic plants that stay in the interstices of the walls of the
building.
Ingress of pests, insects and rodents or birds that help accelerate the
deterioration process of building
Wind erosion in the upper part of walls or in extreme cases into a
curtain of vegetation as windbreaks
Undesirable vegetation close to the construction of adobe, as the roots
can penetrate the building leading to an excess of moisture inside of it.

Ingress of pests, insects and rodents or

birds in mud walls.

Growth of parasitic plants in mud walls.

DISADVANTAGES
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

25

TREATMENT
TERMITES
Mud is the natural home of termites so in areas where they are common the same precautions have to be taken as in
all buildings to prevent their moving up into the walls and eating wooden frames etc.
A one-inch thick layer of mortar (one part of cement to 3-parts of sand) can be laid all over the top of the basement
wall before building the mud walls above it. This is helpful in keeping out both termites and damp.
Even better is to construct an apron of burnt brick or stone (or it can be rammed earth) all round the building (to
prevent damage to the walls by splashing, of rain water) and this too can be plastered over with a rich cement
mortar.
Any thin sheet metal may be laid over the basement wall with a 3-inch downward projection before starting to build
the superstructure mud wall above. This is expensive but very effective.
There are various chemicals on the market, which can be used.

WATER
Water and dampness are one of the major problems for mud as construction material.
The best way of protecting any wall from either rain or sun is to have a good big overhang to your roof.
The sloping, or pitched roof is better because the walls need not be so high as for a flat roofed house.
Provide trenches round the house to receive dripping water and drain it away.

TREATMENTS
MUD CONSTRUCTION

NAME: HIMANI GOYAL

SECOND YEAR, B
ROLL NO:17

26