Srinagar, Aug. 28 -- In Srinagar, a few blocks away from the bustling roads and traffic snarls, an old Dhajji-Dewari house sits unassumingly behind a faded wooden gate. Its timber frame creaks softly when the wind shifts, the latticework of beams filled with mud holding centuries of memory and weathered winters.

On paper, it might look fragile next to the tall, angular brick-and-cement homes that now dominate the skyline. But inside, there is a warmth and rhythm that modern architecture often misses.

Over the past year, this contrast has been documented in a study that compares the age-old Dhajji-Dewari houses with their modern counterparts in Srinagar.

The research is as precise as it is intimate.

Temperature sensors were installed i...