Local weather-conscious structure of Outdated Madras

Centuries earlier than it turned a metropolis, Madras was a cluster of settlements like Mylapore, Triplicane and later, George City. These settlements emerged from the interaction of sea, rivers and wetlands, and their inhabitants contending with a difficult local weather — a cycle of hot-humid summers adopted by torrential monsoon rains.

Throughout millennia, Madras developed an structure that ingeniously addressed this twin predicament: easy methods to keep cool in the course of the unforgiving warmth, whereas dealing with heavy seasonal rains.

One could at all times contend, that up to date life has significantly modified from a slow-paced conventional context. How can components of historical past be reinvented in new expressions, to design fashionable flats extra sustainably? The rules prompt by the United Nations Atmosphere Programme (UNEP) present new instructions to bridge this rising hole.

As cities like Chennai confront the brand new realities of the twenty first century — city warmth islands, unpredictable monsoons, and water shortage — the teachings of Madras’ previous provide a barometer for the long run. The artistic design problem lies in incorporating terraces, semi-open areas, shaded verandahs, shading gadgets, cool-roofs, water harvesting programs and recharging the groundwater into new, high-density housing tasks.

Concurrently, rising tree cowl, creating inexperienced areas round reasonably priced housing, and reintroducing water administration programs just like the eris (lakes) create climate-resilient city neighbourhoods that reply to the decision of environmentalists. Harnessing these time-tested passive cooling rules, whereas coping with speedy improvement, stays a problem for the rising metropolis.

On the coronary heart of this response lies the courtyard houses of Madras. Effectively-ventilated, and constructed with domestically sourced supplies, these constructions provide classes in sustainability, as cities worldwide face the prospect of utmost warmth, city flooding, and rising environmental challenges.

It’s no shock that environmentalists and designers, grappling with the results of urbanisation, have begun to look again at historic climate-responsive fashions. Because the Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change (IPCC) has famous, by 2100, cities throughout the globe may expertise document warmth waves. The standard structure of Madras, as soon as forgotten, now calls for renewed consideration, as town formulates its third masterplan. Listed here are some key options:

Courtyards: a pure cooler

A courtyard in a conventional dwelling.
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Particular association

The courtyard homes of Mylapore had been designed to serve a number of functions. These open-to-sky, introverted courtyards, did extra than simply present mild and air flow. They harnessed pure air circulation to maintain houses cool, lengthy earlier than the arrival of electrical energy or air con. Through the searing summers, the courtyards allowed scorching air to flee whereas drawing cool air into the inside rooms, making a pure cooling system that fashionable architects are as soon as once more eager to emulate.

Courtyard of a contemporary dwelling.
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Particular association

The development supplies additionally performed a significant function in temperature regulation. Terracotta tiles, lime plaster, native wooden, and dirt offered thermal insulation, retaining houses comparatively cool in summer season and heat in the course of the monsoon. The ‘Madras Terrace’, one other attribute function, served to insulate the roof, whereas the location of shaded verandahs and thick partitions additional minimised warmth.

In a contemporary context, a number of revolutionary alternate options to developing cool roofs exist: by both portray white reflective coat or China-mosaic flooring. Different alternate options like offering terrace shading with pergolas or inexperienced roofs, can considerably cool flats. Engineered wooden is a renewable supply of fabric that’s quickly being integrated in fashionable design.

The courtyards additionally functioned as environment friendly rainwater harvesting programs in the course of the monsoon. Rainwater was collected and channelled into storage tanks, making certain a sustainable water provide for the family, whereas concurrently decreasing the chance of road flooding. On this method, conventional Madras houses responded holistically to the challenges posed by each warmth and rain, providing inside cooling, water administration, and versatile dwelling areas all throughout the similar architectural creativeness.

Thinnai: a transitional social area

One other function of Madras’ architectural custom is the thinnai — a semi-open veranda that acted as a transitional area between road and home. The thinnai was extra than simply an architectural or environmental aspect; it was a logo of hospitality and social life. Right here, neighbours and travellers would meet, resting within the shade, sheltered from the solar however nonetheless linked to the colourful lifetime of the road.

Thinnai
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This area additionally had a novel multi-functional objective. By making a buffer zone between the exterior setting and the inside of the home, the thinnai helped to stop direct daylight from penetrating into the house, thus decreasing warmth, indoors. In a contemporary context, semi-open areas just like the thinnai provide invaluable classes on shading and transitional areas, built-in into the design.

Water administration: to stop floods

In a metropolis vulnerable to heavy rainfall, water administration was of utmost significance. The traditional city planning of Mylapore and Triplicane had an intricate system of roads with canals that channelled extra rainwater into reservoirs and rivers, stopping floods. These reservoirs, lakes and wetlands saved rainwater in the course of the monsoon, and had been a major supply of water in the course of the dry season. It created a sustainable system of water administration that supported each city life and agriculture.

The author is an architect, academician and environmentalist. He’s founder-mentor, Artes-ROOTS Fellowship.