Traditional Pol Houses of Ahmedabad: An Overview

Abstract

India has been rich in traditional and vernacular architecture throughout History. There were many traditional residential architecture typologies developed in the medieval period. The Pol houses of Gujarat are unique buildings that originated during this time and developed later on as per climate, using local building materials and the social needs of people. Due to globalization and the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1990, there has been a significant change in people's lifestyles and social systems. People feel that Pol houses are no longer able to fulfill the present need for residents. The importance of traditional Pol houses increased after the declaration of Ahmedabad's walled city as World Heritage City in 2017 by UNESCO. The method adopted for this study is a literature review. The analysis and discussions are divided into the following categories for understanding the urban context – a) origin and evolution of Pol houses, b) physical planning, and c) Pol houses' social system at the neighborhood level. The houses have been analyzed in various aspects, such as the spatial, environmental, behavioral aspects of design, and other aspects such as rainwater, harvesting, and earthquake resistance. The research concluded that the Pol houses have very functional design due to small neighborhood at the urban context to manage efficiently, climate responsiveness: streets, courtyards and use of sustainable building materials, use of rainwater harvesting to solve the scarcity of water in the present situation, use of construction and building materials to make it earthquake resistance structure. These houses also fulfill the aesthetic criteria because the ornamentation in homes is logically done, which is an integral part of the structure.