Traditional Mud Houses || Life in Pin Valley || Sagnam || Spiti Valley || Ep - 3/4

As we all know in today’s time traditional mud houses are on the verge of extinction. There is hope of saving these traditional mud houses . In Spiti valley mostly the houses are mud houses. Recently i visited Pin valley of Spiti valley and I was so amazed to know it’s benefits. Architectural Aspects 1 Siting These buildings are typically found on both sloped and hilly terrain. They do not share common walls with adjacent buildings. Houses in the valley are built on flat lands while those on slopes and ridges are located on flat plateaus that are artificially cut into the topographical feature. The houses are generally rectangular in plan without any verandah. A typical house is of two to three storeys with the lower storey used for cattle and the upper storey(s) for the family. Openings are generally of small size. In some cases, skylights are provided in the roof in order to provide natural light to the interior corridors and staircases 2.Functional Planning The main function of this building typology is a single-family house. In a typical building of this type, there are no elevators and no fire-protected exit staircases. The typical building has generally one door other than the main entrance door which can be considered as an escape route at the buildings rear. On contoured sites, these doors may be located at different levels. 3. Modification to Building It is assumed that buildings of Spitian architecture were designed and constructed under the influence of one particular architectural school that prioritized human comfort in the harsh weather conditions while being constricted to using locally available materials. In recent times, various experiments of construction using conventional building materials (bricks) have failed as these materials do not provide the same advantages with respect to insulation (both during winter and during summer) as mud. However, more contemporary materials have found their way into many Spitian houses, which replace wooden lintels. The small open-to-sky-and-sun bath spaces were recently replaced by enclosed winter gardens with large glass windows.