SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT - EXPLORING EXISTING AND EVOLVING DIRECTIONS FOR HIMALAYAN REGION

Abstract

The Himalayan region lies in ‘Seismic Zones IV & V’ in the seismic zoning map of India. This region has very high earthquake susceptibility and is among the major disaster prone areas in the republic. Due to climate change and impacts of related occurrence of natural disasters in this region is increasing day by day. Indigenous knowledge systems of shelter construction that have evolved over centuries have integrated disaster risk reduction features in the choice of materials, designs and construction technologies. These traditional methods of construction are quite sustainable in nature since they incorporate the indigenous knowledge system passed on through ancestors, thereby having a strong social significance. They are very economical since the materials for construction are locally available and are in abundance. They are quite environment friendly since they do not require kilns for burning of bricks and cement plants which emit a lot of smoke polluting the environment. These traditional materials do not require burning of fossil fuel in manufacturing/ production and transportation of construction materials. But in the last few decades, these have been replaced by modern technologies of brick, cement and steel that have invaded the region, without appropriate skills to use them. Due to the absence of trained architects, engineers and masons, local construction workers use the modern materials without technical knowhow – as concepts of reinforcement, curing, structural stability of frame structures and load transfers in such buildings are not properly understood and used. This reduces the pliability of communities against external shocks and stresses, and enhances the impact of future disasters. The objective of this paper is to analyze the traditional and current construction practices in the earth quake prone Himalayas and to point to possible directions for evolution of appropriate sustainable shelter technologies and processes for the region. It is also an attempt to explore the possibility of alternative materials and technologies such as ‘compressed stabilized earth blocks’, which are locally available, energy efficient, easy to work and are eco-friendly. Keywords: Indigenous knowledge, sustainable innovations, energy efficient, traditional construction.