THE INTEGRATION OF CLIMATE RESPONSIVE DESIGN AND TRADITIONAL SETTLEMENT IN HIGH ALTITUDE-A CASE STUDY OF SPITI VALLEY

Traditional architecture takes into account the styles that were popular to a region or area. The characteristics of traditional architecture used by architects and builders includes a commitment to maintaining a link to the past styles of building, reuse of materials or designing homes and building to stay consistent with the overall building design of the area. This creates a sense of continuity and connection to the past, which helps the area maintains its traditional look and feel for the residents of the community. In the traditional architecture, buildings were designed to achieve human comfort by using locally available building materials and construction technology which were more responsive to their climatic and geographic condition. This paper will try to bring out the wisdom of the local masons and builders, often the inhabitants themselves, about their way of living, and shaping their built environment, indoor and outdoor spaces, as a response to the local climatic conditions, from the findings of a field study at a hilly settlement in Spiti.