Features of vernacular architecture of Karnataka are varied and constitute the elements intricate designs and forms. The inter-relation between built-form and life-style can be better understood through specific examples.

Open Verandah-Platform or the Jagali
The jagali is the Kannada word for what may be rather inadequately described as an open verandah with a raised platform. This is invariably located in the front of the house. It is associated with a large number of functional and symbolic values. It is the buffer between the shared community area in the front of the house and the privacy of the inner house. The pleasant and relaxed feeling which a jagali often suggests is indeed an expression of the invitation and hospitality extended to a visitor. In its simplest form, it is a semi-open raised platform. In a rural household it is the major domestic activity space. One can rest here on a hot afternoon, friends can gather for a chat on the jagali and at other times one may find children playing on the jagali. It may also be used by a weary and unknown traveller for resting, and with no questions asked. The variety of uses to which this space can be put is really endless. It is probably the most versatile living space of the house, giving symbolic expression to its inner character.

Courts and Courtyards
A court, which is open to the sky and surrounded by a building, is a fairly common architectural feature throughout the tropical world. It serves essentially as a modifier of the local climate by providing lighting and ventilation in an area of complete privacy. It provides circulation space, knitting closely as it were the different parts of the household. There could be several household activities peculiar to the court even as it serves as a spill-over space for other activities in the interior.

In the case of naturally evolved row housing in small towns, a backyard court is a familiar feature. It provides space for extended kitchen activity and for washing and drying chores. Besides, it also accommodates the ubiquitous Tulsi altar, focussing on the religious activity of the household. Finally, it is the circulation space in order to reach the bath, the water closet, the well and the cowshed. Its use is also observed in government-sponsored row housing, though not in a developed form. Where land use is not restrictive, the colonnaded courtyard in the centre of the house is often seen. This type of court forms part of a large multiple activity living room. The bigger courtyard, besides performing the normal functions of a court, can act as storage space for food grains or a gathering place on the occasion of ceremonies and family rituals.

There is the other, more extrovert, variety of court, which is situated in the front of the house, acting as a garden-cum-activity space, separating the house from the street. This variety can also be found in some contemporary, architect-designed bungalows. The last and the most interesting variety is the semi-private courtyard, providing a common space for several independent households or the semi-independent members of a joint family. For agricultural or pastoral families it is a space for storage, grain processing and a shelter for animals at night. In towns and cities we find a different version of this, housing several middle-class families in one enclosure known as the vathara in Kannada. Such units are generally used by lower income groups, since the plan here facilitates a highly economical use of land. It is probably an interesting development in the economical organization of houses and may have relevance even in the modern context.

Features, Forms and Texture of Vernacular Architecture of Karnataka
The roofing of rural houses, in general, dominates the expression of the form of the house as well as the village cluster itself. Depending upon the climatic situation, we have the gabled tile and the gabled thatch, or the flat mud roofs of the drier tracts using stone slabs or wood as supports. The tiled villages are probably more common, the gables being of different proportions and elevations jutting out of the earth in a very, harmonious fashion. No two roofs are completely alike, even when they carry the same cultural stamp. The cluster of village houses is always of low profile, the succession of gables nestling in the surrounding greenery. This is significantly an expression of man as the child of nature and not as its master, in total contrast to the modern urban skyline which suggests an attitude of mastery over nature with a forest of skyscrapers soaring beyond the level of trees. The rural scene thus presents an image of harmony between man and nature while the urban picture is one of discord between the two. It is probably necessary to infuse some of the rural ethos into the urban architectural milieu if we wish to halt the progress of the city towards chaos.

There are other roofing forms to be found mostly in cities, such as the flat roofs of the Madras terrace and the Jack-arch terrace variety. These roofs used mainly local materials like brick, lime and wood while steel was introduced in the Jack-arch roof for the supporting structure. Soon after Independence, the freedom of form provided by reinforced concrete proved very attractive and the Madras terrace and the Jack-arch terrace made a quick exit.

At close sight, the textures of the walls and roofs in rural houses express the earthiness and simplicity of rural life-styles. The rural craftsman is in total control, producing a variety of textures. In areas which abound in stone, the rough-hewn stone in mud mortar with natural colours, covering a wide range, is generally left completely exposed. These wall textures have a kind of perennial beauty in spite of the coarse finish. Where mud mortar and whitewash are used, one finds a reposeful smoothness and whiteness which contrast with the natural strong colours of the roofing. In areas which abound in bamboo, very thin bamboo walls with elegant clay plastering immediately show the quality of the local craftsmen. The use of brick and laterite very often also goes along exposed masonry, which provides a harmonious match to the red tiles. The down-to-earth colours of the walls again suggest a strong affinity to nature. This approach to natural colouring may be contrasted with the modern urban taste for mass-produced paints and colours of every shade. The freedom in choice of colours and textures has actually led to a chaotic situation, where the houses in a street are coloured as per the tastes of individuals or the concerned architects. These urban houses in a street are no longer members of a vernacular family. The discord between house and house, house and community is often complete in such settlements.