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Part 2 - Why Rajasthan Built Cities Around Wells

When British officers began travelling through Rajasthan in the nineteenth century, they expected to find forts, palaces, and temples. Instead, they found entire structures built below ground. At places like Abhaneri, hundreds of stone steps descended deep into the earth. Some were larger than many buildings above them. To modern eyes, they looked almost impossible. Why would anyone invest so much effort in architecture that was largely hidden from view? The answer was water. For centuries, communities across western India faced a problem that remains familiar today: long dry seasons and unreliable rainfall. Their solution was the stepwell. In western India, stepwells became an essential response to hot, semi-arid conditions and unreliable rainfall, allowing communities to store monsoon water for use throughout the dry season.  Known variously as baoris, baolis, vavs, or vapis, these structures collected monsoon water and kept it accessible throughout the long dry months of the yea...
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SOLARIUM

In architecture, solarium is any glass enclosure that is exposed to the sun. The term also applies to the open sun porches or apartments on the roofs of ancient Greek or Roman houses.

Often the solarium is a feature of a hospital or sanitarium, a room in which patients may be exposed to sunlight in a controlled environment as part of their therapy.

Architectural design consideration 


A solarium needs to be user specific as planning it for a spa or family lounge or a sanitarium will have different purposes and therefore, will affect design strategies.  

Shape of the room- square, rectangular, circular, hexagonal, octagonal, etc


Size of the room (in feet) - 8x10, 10x10, 10x12, 10x16, 10x20, 12x12, 12x16, 12x20, 14x14, 16x16, 16x24, 18x18, 20x20

Material 
  • Flooring- stone (retains and disperse heat)
  • Wall Framing- window openings/ tracks installed with shades will help insulate and regulate temperature
    • aluminum - will never rust or warp 
    • glass - 1" thick double-pane insulated glass
    • wood
    • polyvinyl chloride (PVC) - Brick/wood is often used to make the base support for the PVC
  • Roof- Glass panels/ sun-permeable plastic materials 

Load- Live load, Wind load and snow load

Window placement- large windows facing solar south to allow maximum ventilation and sun exposure

Thick glass/ clear glass panels- energy efficiency

Roof- Insulation to keep the room from getting too cold during winter

Roof shapes:

Straight eave

Photo by: Ben Schonewille on istock

  • for projects with extreme height and roof pitch
  • can have single slope 
  • used as patio enclosures
  • aluminum interiors and exteriors
  • the beams are made of wood

Curved 

Photo by: Aaron Huber on Unsplash

Cathedral 

Photo by: OptoX on istock

  • sloped or vaulted roofs with a central beam. 
  • aluminum exteriors and interiors, while having insulated roofs
  • can have sliding or French doors with multi-locking features. 

Conservatory 

  • feature glass panels on the roof, which join together at a central beam. 
  • allows light to enter the sunroom at all angles. 
  • insulated roofs 
  • thermally broken glass panels

Water element- retains and disperse heat

Planting- grow plants and flowers, or to start your own herb or vegetable garden.



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