Five blunders of Pakistani architcecture

Large windows vs small windows:

A large window is a curse in the hot climate of Pakistan. The larger the window more light (HEAT HEAT HEAT) it allows to accumulate in the room, resulting in exuberant electricity bills because of air conditioning. I have minutely observed building constructed during the British Raj in the sub continent. All of them have small windows. They allow less heat and light in the room.

No exhaust fans:

All the hot air in the room rises and collects near the ceiling. Exhaust can suck this air out of your room, helping your air conditioner to do little work. Ever wished your house to be as cool as the air outside post-rain, install an exhaust. It will blow the hot air out and suck in the cool air.

No clearstory (roshan daan):

Clear story is a natural cost effective way of removing hot air from your house. The clearstory (roshan daan) vanished from the Pakistani architecture long ago for unknown reasons. One reason was difficulty in shutting them before the rain or dust storm. They were a must in buildings constructed during the Raj, but now they are seen permanently shut down or inoperative in the few surviving buildings of the Raj. A roshun daan regulates the light and ventilation in the room. It has combined features of a clear story and sky light. In summer it is kept open to ventilate hot air and in winter it is shutdown and acts as sky light.

Sky lights:

Sky lights are large glass-covered holes in the roof, which allow plenty of sun light in the room during the day. They were also a basic feature in old buildings in the Subcontinent. The brown sahibs are so fond of renovating their offices that they covered the magnificent sky lights with plaster of Paris false ceiling and artificial lighting. Now they spend thousands on UPS and generators.

Bamboo blinds outside the window or curtains:

A bamboo blind (chiq) installed outside the window stops the light (heat) from entering in the room. Its more effective and cheaper than curtains. The curtain tries to confine the heat and light between the glass pane and itself. Most of the heat still manages to leak in the room.

Finding the rented house

I wanted to make an ideal house but my wish just died after I saw many beautiful, ideal and spacious houses available on rent in Rawalpindi's Gulraiz and Bahria Town housing societies. Why save for your whole life and spend millions on a house which you won't use for more than two decades. When such a house can be rented for a few thousands, then why burden yourself with such a costly dream.

Just find a property dealer, see all the houses available for rent. Select the one which suits your needs. Negotiating the rent is a fun part. I enlighten the mind of the property dealer with an offer that I will pay him extra commission if he brings the rent down. This has always worked for me.

Shifting to a new house in Gulraiz, Rawalpindi.

I was living in a rented house on the high court road, Rawalpindi for nearly an year, without any issue despite no water and lot of dust and tonnes of cobwebs. My mother visited the place and seriously rebuked me for living in a house like that.
I rented another house in the nearby housing society, Gulraiz. Gulraiz has everything except it being laden with flowers. Its a sprawling housing society with broken and dusty roads. Upper middle class is predominant here, so you can see as many cars moving on the roads and as many cars parked outside cash and carry shopping marts.
The first visitor in the house was a neighbouring aunty, who told my wife (who just arrived in the city) about the incidents of 7 thefts in the area during the past week. So everyday when I come home, I first have to convince my wife that the locality is safe enough to live in besides telling her that cockroaches, lizards and other such insects don't kill housewives (sometimes I wish they could do that:).