I Have Arrived - Traditional and New Construction

 

By dint of building well, you get to be a good architect" - Aristotle

The homestay at Binsar where I was staying,
perforce it was a bit traditional and a bit modern
as everything came from the road which was
a two kilometre walk away. Though another homestay
nearby was being built completely the modern way
and everything for construction was carried
 by hand or on the back of mules.

Construction of houses in the Himalayas has traditionally been from locally sourced materials.  Stone, wood, and slate for roofing was all got from nearby.  Traditional methods of building had many advantages, that of insulation from extremes of temperature in this area, the vagaries of nature and from sound.

Slate-roofed and mud or mud-brick or stone walls...

...traditional houses were once the norm.
In very cold places, animals were kept in the basement,
the family lived on the first-floor so that the 
 warmth of the animal's would rise and keep them warm;
and the kitchen was the upper most floor.

It is remarkable how sound is attenuated by these materials.  There was an electric carpentry device running very close to me, outside I could hear it loud and clear, but inside my room I could barely hear it. Besides, these materials are at harmony with nature and stand for many years with minor maintenance. Mostly a lick of whitewash does the job.

Bricks, cement and an old wooden window,
sometimes old wood is too precious to throw away

It is understandable that traditional building materials are now difficult to obtain and are banned in some cases. 

Flourescent green walls and a white window,
the wood for the window is still wet,
and often it cracks or are ill-fitted

But unbridled construction demands an insatiable supply of “modern” construction material, trucks oblige and huge monsters can now be seen on narrow roads in the mountains.

...bright yellows...

...multi-patterned tiles

 These modern houses are in different colours, each more stridently brighter than the neighbour. Nay, in the same house one sees fluorescent greens, mauves, yellows, oranges and also tiles of many hues. What is it that makes these houses so colourful?

... a yellow house in the woods

I think it is because these colours scream “I have arrived”