Critical Appraisal of a Contemporary Residential Building: A Case Study in the City of Uch Sharif South Punjab Pakistan

Purpose: In the city of Uch, if one looks critically at the current practice of demolishing old traditional houses and constructing new ones, it can easily be ascertained that in any society or a part of society there are internal and external factors that influence the local trends in every walk of life including building design and construction. Design/Methodology/Approach: Whether those trends are socio-culturally appropriate or not in their entirety, we need to enquire if there is a justifiable and positive balance between those internal and external societal factors that result in the demolition of the traditional houses. In the field survey of Uch Sharif, one contemporary building was evaluated as compared to a traditional building for selection based on the approximate age of the building. Findings: The degree to which the original design was modified, its cultural appropriateness, environmental comfort in terms of temperature and relative humidity audited inside the building, use of local materials and techniques, plan type and presence of architectural elements. The results show that traditional buildings are fast diminishing causing irreplaceable examples of traditional wisdom and ingenious craftsmanship to be struck down one after the other by the cyclone of urbanization supercharged by market forces. Implications/Originality/Value: Through research, it was concluded that the Contemporary buildings, which are replacing traditional buildings, are less responsive to the local climate, culture, skills, and the issue of cost which core of the design criteria of traditional buildings.