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Srinagar
Kashmir & the Western Himalaya
Snow-cold winters on an active seismic fault line.
ColdTemperate
Two problems, one answer: timber. Kath-kuni alternates deodar and stone so walls flex instead of snapping; dhajji dewari fills a timber quilt with masonry that rubs earthquakes into harmless friction. Small windows hold the warmth, and the wood insulates where stone alone would freeze.
Born here · 3 techniques
Kath-Kuni / Dhajji-DewariSeismic timber-stoneHimalayas (Himachal, Kashmir)
Alternating timber bands locked with stone (kath-kuni) or a braced timber frame infilled with stone-and-mud (dhajji-dewari) let the structure flex…
ResilienceCold
Dhajji dewariTimber-laced masonryKashmir · western Himalaya
A timber frame filled with small panels of stone and mud.
ResilienceColdComposite
Compact settlementNarrow shaded streets & self-shading massPersian desert towns · Chinese siheyuan groups · …
Buildings packed close, with tall light-coloured walls and narrow lanes, shade each other and the streets, cutting solar exposure of the urban skin…
Block & filter the sunHot & dry