With climate change and rising heat waves, the demand for energy has increased substantially. Take the example of Delhi. As per a recent study by the Centre of Science and Environment called ‘A Midsummer Nightmare’, on an average, 25-30 per cent of the electricity consumed in the city is because of what experts call thermal stress.

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“During peak summer, when energy demand soars, it is as much as 50 per cent of the energy consumption. Cooling energy consumption in buildings is likely to double in the next decade and become nearly four times in the next two decades compared to 2017–18 baseline,” it says.

Another troubling facet of peak power demand in Delhi is that it happens at midnight when most commercial establishments are closed. It’s not offices or other commercial centres that are responsible for peak power consumption, but our homes.

However, Delhi-based architect, Monish Siripurapu, and his architectural firm Ant Studio, are well on their way to reduce our dependence on air conditioners. Using terracotta and water, the studio has innovated the ‘CoolAnt’, an advanced version of a passive design employing traditional cooling methods and systems still in existence across the world in India, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“It is the re-adaptation of traditional methods, combining ancient systems with modern technologies. We are opening buildings to nature instead of building installations for conventional urban structures that shut their inhabitants into these closed boxes,” says Monish, in conversation with The Better India.

Thanks to their projects, they have also been working with potters from around the country. In Delhi, however, they are generating revenue for potters in the Uttam Nagar area of West Delhi, who have struggled in recent times because of plastic products flooding in from China. With their installation, Ant Studio is also looking to give this craft a new lease of life.

The Design

Monish, a graduate from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi, and post-graduate diploma in Robotics Application from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spain, says, “At Ant Studio, we do not have architects only, but also artists, engineers, scientists and designers from different backgrounds. We are a collective from different backgrounds who are interested to work at the intersection of art, nature and technology (ANT).”

The team incorporates two major components in the design—water and earth in the form of terracotta.

“Traditionally, earthen pots have been used for cooling water. We are using the same principle of evaporative cooling, but in reverse order, wherein we are pouring water on top of these pots and circulating it. The air passes through these pots shaped as cylindrical hollow tubes (through both the inner and outer surface), cools the room, comes back out and does not release hot air. It’s a very simple process, which we have customized using advanced computational analysis and modern calibration techniques,” informs Monish.

Working on the design, the Delhi-based Ant Studio team felt that a beehive suited their needs. The team found the geometry of a beehive structure very efficient. They use cylindrical cones for a larger surface area to maximise the cooling effect. So instead of giving out waste heat, it consumes existing heat around it.

“We must provide water and keep it sufficiently open to ensure that the air is continuously flowing. We arrived at the beehive design based on extensive research testing various configurations. The current shape, inspired by the geometry of a beehive, turned out to be the most efficient,” says Satyaki Ray, a design engineer at Ant Studio, who is overseeing the technical aspects of the ‘CoolAnt’.

Advantages

Besides helping homes and commercial establishments reduce their power loads, there are other major advantages of using this installation.

“The use of locally available eco-friendly materials and recycled water along with re-usable steel makes it a cost-efficient solution. This system requires minimal electricity (for water pump) and water requirement, since it’s circulated and pumped over and over again when the installation is in use. The water tank can be topped up monthly, or as per the capacity of the tank. No regular topping up is required,” says the Ant Studio website.

The inspiration for CoolAnt came from one of the projects the studio had been working on for Deki Electronics in Noida in 2015.

“I was initially asked to do an art installation in front of a diesel generator (DG) set. When I went to the site, I saw workers exposed to the radiator of the DG set releasing massive amounts of hot air at high velocities when they were working/passing by in the driveway of the factory,” says Monish, a native of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, who is now based in Delhi.

As the local temperatures were above 55 degrees Celsius, the team felt a need to come up with an economical solution to ease the discomfort of the workers. So instead of merely putting up an art installation they chose to create something that would give relief to the employees.

“We just wanted to change the working environment of employees at Deki, but what we found was a unique cooling solution made up of close to 800 pots. We used terracotta to build cylindrical cones. It was an obvious choice because of its high resistance to heat, robust structure and ease of manufacturing. It’s a traditional craft that has existed for thousands of years,” he adds.

Though the amount of heat that these structures reduce depends on external temperature, water temperature, humidity, and environment, in their tests through the summer, Ant found that this structure can comfortably reduce the temperature up to 30 degrees Celsius. It also depends on the water temperature.

“At the factory, we reduced the temperature from 45-47 to 32 degrees Celsius because the water temperature was 26-27 degrees Celsius,” informs Monish.

“Terracotta absorbs water really well and possesses a certain structural strength. It absorbs the water, more evaporation happens and cooling is improved,” adds Satyaki.

The number of terracotta cylindrical cones one can use for a particular installation depends on the size of the room. Ant arranges these cones like a wall, although it can be the size of a window or the entire building itself.

Their first installation was an outdoor one. They are proposing that these installations become a part of building facades and elevation, wherein you can cut down the heat coming in from outside besides reducing the load on ACs.

Replacement for ACs?

“Our emphasis is on reducing the impact of air-conditioning on buildings and not replace them. For example, the coolant can reduce the temperature to around 30 degrees Celsius (depending on the surrounding temperature and relative humidity). It can pre-cool the air entering the buildings and thus the AC only has to reduce it further to 22 degrees. Currently, with temperatures hitting 45-46 degrees Celsius in the summer, ACs are taking up all the load of reducing it to 22 degrees Celsius,” says Monish.

The studio can build a CoolAnt wall in a day or two. In the future, Ant Studio is looking to employ digital fabrication and robotic fabrication methods in their structures for complex geometries on their respective mediums of construction which is earth and clay.

Today, they have CoolAnt installations in Noida, Bengaluru and Lucknow, besides upcoming projects in Hyderabad and for a music festival called Serendipity.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which has recognized the work of Ant Studio says, “For now, he (Monish) is focusing on outdoor cooling systems, but he is also interested in using his devices to purify air, a bonus the team discovered during development. They used to use chlorine to remove the moss that grew on the terracotta cones. But then they realized that the moss could actually clean the air by extracting carbon particles.”

It was UNEP that came up with damning statistics on the quickening pace of urbanisation in the country and, in the developing economies of South Asia.

“The building sector in India consumes about 40 per cent of generated electricity and this is expected to rise to 76 per cent by 2040. Refrigeration and air conditioning account for a major part of this (consumption). Growing demand for air conditioning in the world’s emerging economies—such as those in Southeast Asia—could spur a 64 per cent increase in household energy use and produce 23.1 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2040,” says the global body.

In such a scenario, Monish and Ant Studio are finding interesting solutions and looking to help make Indian cities more bearable to live in at a time of rising climate change.

Also Read: Dump the AC, Use These 3 Green Cooling Solutions While Building Your Home!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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There is no question that the construction sector massively contributes to global warming.

In India itself, the industry emits 22% of the total annual CO2 emissions. And then there is agricultural waste—the country produces more than 500 million tons of it every year. While some of the waste is used as fodder, approximately 141 million tons are burnt every year.

Every time you inhale, you are breathing in dust, particulate matter, and much more. Give yourself the much need respite from air pollution, with these respiratory nasal filters.

Evidently, all this pollution takes a heavy toll on the environment and human health.

Fortunately, architects Priyabrata Rautray, who is also a PhD scholar in IIT Hyderabad’s Design Department, and Avik Roy, an Assistant Professor at the KIIT School of Architecture, Bhubaneshwar, have come up with a unique solution.

They have developed bio-bricks for construction from agricultural waste products. This innovation addresses both waste management and development of eco-friendly, sustainable building materials.

Guidance for the project came from Prof Deepak John Mathew, Head, Design Department, IIT Hyderabad and Dr Boris Eisenbart from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.

“Bio-bricks or agro-waste based bricks act as good heat and sound insulators and also have an overall negative carbon footprint. Additionally, they are also a deterrent to stubble burning, prevalent in northern India, which causes severe air pollution. Due to their low density, they reduce the dead load in high rise structures, thereby making RCC construction more economical,” they claim in a recent paper published by the Cambridge University Press.

Why not use clay bricks instead?

“Clay bricks not only use up fertile topsoil, but their manufacturing process also emits significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,” explains Priyabrata.

How are these bio-bricks made?

“The process of making bio-bricks starts with careful selection of the dry agro-waste like paddy straws, wheat straws, sugarcane bagasse and cotton plant. The team decided to use dry sugarcane bagasse for the first sample. The bagasse is first chopped to the desired size. A lime-based slurry is prepared, and the chopped agro-waste is added to the slurry and mixed thoroughly by hand or mechanical mixer, to create a homogenous mixture. This mixture is poured into moulds and rammed with a wooden block to make a compact brick. These moulds are left to dry for a day or two, after which their sides are removed, and the brick is allowed to dry for fifteen to twenty days. It takes approximately a month for these bio-bricks to attain its working strength by air drying,” says a recent press release issued by IIT Hyderabad, via email.

To make a single block, 900 grams of sugar bagasse is used, but if this waste were to be burnt, it would release 639 grams of carbon dioxide, they claim. Moreover, the lime content in each brick allows it to absorb 322.2 grams of CO2 from the air during the curing process.

“Bio-bricks are not only more sustainable than clay bricks, but are also carbon sinks because they fix more carbon dioxide than they produce during their lifecycle,” adds Professor Roy.

Admittedly, these bio-bricks aren’t as robust as their clay counterparts and are nonviable for structures that would carry massive amounts of load.

Nonetheless, the researchers believe that they are ideal for low-cost housing alongside a structural framework comprising of either steel or wood.

For the time being, both architects are looking to address design concerns to enhance its load-bearing capacity.

“Other than as bio-bricks, this material can be used as panel boards or insulation boards and designers we could explore such applications for this sustainable material,” adds Priyabrata.

By 2030, about 590 million people in India are expected to live in cities, and we will need massive investments in the field of housing.

Additionally, studies indicate that India’s raw material requirements are expected to be near 15 billion tonnes by 2030. Thus, we must find eco-friendly solutions.

Also Read: Dump the AC, Use These 3 Green Cooling Solutions While Building Your Home!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Torrential rains, floods and landslides batter certain parts of Kerala every monsoon, while residents, who have spent hefty sums building their homes, helplessly witness the severe damages.

In anticipation of these extreme weather conditions, many have resorted to innovative design structures or construction methods to minimise the damage. P Gopalakrishnan Achari, a  resident of Vazhappilly, is one such person.

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When the water level rises during floods, his design allows the house to literally float atop the floodwaters. Interestingly, it was not originally meant to be a flood-resistant house.

Speaking to The Better India, Achari explains, “For the past few years, the construction sector in Kerala has been facing a tough time in procuring rock, baby metal and sand. So, there was a need to look for other materials that are cost-effective and eco-friendly. First, I constructed a model house using steel pipe and multi-wood sheets. Taking me nearly five years to build the house, I built it in 2017. But next year, the floods hit Kerala. Then I redesigned it to ensure the house is equipped for a possible flood situation.”

Achari mentions that air tanks installed in the foundation of the house are what help the house rise. When the water level rises, so will the structure.

“To avoid the floating house from being swept away by the floodwaters, I have placed four steel pistons in four corners through the walls. These pistons are not visible from outside or inside the house and are entrenched 25 feet into the earth. The house stands on the inner rods of these pistons and doesn’t touch the earth. During floods, the house will move up along with the air tank with the support of the piston. When the water recedes, it will automatically come back to the normal level. The house will not move an inch on to the sides,” says Achari.

In this particular model, the piston extends up to 15 feet above the earth, and therefore the house can safely move up to 10 feet. The height of the pistons can be adjusted to any level, but the strength and length of the piston should be increased accordingly.

“I haven’t used mud, rocks, tiles, cement or wood. The entire structure is made of steel (GI pipe). The walls are made of multi wood sheet on both sides. There is an air gap of 1.5 inch between these sheets which help bring down the temperature in the house,” he adds.

The basement is also covered with multi-wood sheets so that the tank will not be visible from outside. The model house is made of aluminium sheet. Any material can be used for roofing.

Cost

If a good quality GI pipe is used, the house will cost approximately Rs.1,600 per sq.ft. Achari claims that he hasn’t compromised on the quality of materials.

“It took me four months to build this 1,300 sq.ft. house. The construction demands very less labour force as skilled workers are only needed for welding, carpentry and plumbing. Four welding experts worked throughout the construction period, while four carpenters also worked for a few days, besides getting a hand in the wiring and plumbing process,” he says.

Interestingly, Achari claims that the flood-resistant houses can be constructed on any type of soil⁠—from very loose sand to hard rock.

“I have also designed a model house which will help people living in low lying areas like Kuttanad, where water-logging and floods are part of daily life. It is an ‘extra height house,’ which again stands on many pistons,” he adds.

Recognition

After a video of his house became viral, more than 300 people have visited to learn about it. These people include architects, civil engineers and students, among others from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Also Read: Dump the AC, Use These 3 Green Cooling Solutions While Building Your Home!

“I have given detailed information to all and learnt that some people have started constructing houses using this model. I am happy that my experiment has turned helpful to people. I’m more than happy to share details to those interested,” he says.

(With inputs from Ranjith KR)

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Being a true Chettiar at heart, 60-year-old Suresh Veerapan always wanted to reside in a Chettiar house. At the same time, he wanted a home with all the modern architectural aspects of comfort and elegance.

An amalgamation of the two seemed impossible.

That was until STOMP (Studio for Modernism & Practical Aesthetics) stepped in. Headed by 26-year-old Vignesh Sekar, this architectural firm by four young architects is now earning accolades for their extraordinary work on Suresh Veerapan’s new house in Thiruppathur. Aside from being a perfect confluence of modern and heritage architecture, the 4,000 sq. ft. house is 100 per cent climate-responsive.

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The architects have already clinched two national awards as well as four international nominations for their splendid construction. Want to know the most astonishing bit? The Thiruppathur house was their very first residential project.

Before this, Vignesh and his team had worked on a couple of government and public projects. Their practice of juxtaposing tradition with modernity was what caught Veerapan’s attention. He decided to approach the young team to build his dream home.

A modern home with traditional essence

Speaking to The Better India, chief architect Vignesh Sekar shares the intricate features of their standout project, explaining the traditional ways they revived to render the house homothermic across all seasons.

Because Suresh Veerapan wanted a modern house with the traditional Chettiar essence, it follows a typical Chettinad mansion layout. At the same time, the house is climate-responsive. Vignesh studied the climatology of the area and identified that its north-east section had maximum solar radiation, where a filler slab roof was installed instead of normal concrete roofing.

“The filler slab roof is a concrete and terracotta structure mostly found in old houses of Puducherry. With terracotta pots installed throughout the concrete framework, the structure not only offers higher resilience but also acts as a thermal insulator. In fact, it reduces the room temperature by 6-8℃ as compared to the outside,” explains Vignesh.

Even in monsoons, the terracotta will retain the moisture and keep the interior cooler, while the residents can enjoy a pleasant warmth during winters.

Sunlight and greenery

For proper lighting, there are 16 skylights in the property. Since the house is east-facing, Vignesh has installed a terracotta jali (net) near the eastern entrance. Aside from screening direct heat, sunlight and dust, it will also provide a beautiful diamond-light effect on the indoor space. Another brick jali facade adorns the Puja room in the house.

There is also a designated meditation space that is illuminated by sunlight throughout the day. While it gets direct sunlight in the morning, the skylight holes keep the space bright and sunny as the day passes.

To add on to the sustainability factor, a vertical green wall has been erected in an extensive area. Comprising of air-purifying plants like Pothos and ferns, the green wall ensures a steady supply of indoor oxygen while enhancing the aesthetics of the property.

Additionally, they also retained the existing trees in the plot by translocating them or fashioning the house extensions around them.

The Athangudi tiles and the egg-white emulsion

Both Vignesh and his colleague Shamini agree that the main crux of the project was sourcing all materials locally, from within a radius of 50 miles or 80 km. “We made sure to use all locally available resources as well as employ local artisans,” says Vignesh.

The tiles for the house were sourced from Athangudi, located 10 km from Thiruppathur. This town is famous for its handcrafted cement tiles, with its artisans being involved in the tile-making vocation since the pre-British era. Historically, aristocrats and nobles would bring in spectacular marbles and stones from overseas, which were incorporated into square tiles in unique patterns. With vibrant colours and psychedelic motifs, the tiles are a characteristic feature of traditional Chettiar houses. The marvellous Athangudi Palace deserves a special mention in this respect.

For Suresh Veerapan’s house, the artisans from Athangudi retained the raw materials and structural integrity of the tiles; and Vignesh’s STOMP team provided the modern geometrical designs. Thanks to the use of all local resources, each tile was priced at merely Rs 25.

Nearly 80 per cent of the house has been plastered with the traditional concoction of cement, marble dust, sand and egg-white. “The house walls are tinted a mild grey because of this coating, which we chose over emulsion paints. White cement and marble dust provide the necessary colour, and egg-whites act as a weather coat. With a thickness of 2-3 mm, the coating poses a glossy barrier to sun, rain, and dust. Any marks or stains on the walls can be wiped off in an instant,” shares Vignesh.

Interestingly, the dyeing technique was accomplished by senior artisans from the region.

Awards galore

Since the completion of the project, it has been awards galore for Vignesh and his team. Among other recognitions, Vignesh highlights the gold medal at the Festival of Architecture and Interior Designing (FOAID) 2019 in Mumbai and the Young Designers Award from Indian Architect & Builder magazine. The house has also been featured in leading architectural magazines all over the world.

“Perhaps it is the local aspect that earned us so much appreciation,” believes Shamini, who assisted Vignesh with the drawings and blueprinting. “All in all, we wanted to provide the client with a humane experience – where he understands the socio-cultural and environmental significance of each aspect in his house.”

From empowering the local artisans to reviving fading trades, the project indeed portrayed socially sustainable architecture at its best.

“It was an enriching experience for us. We learnt a lot about traditional construction from these local stalwarts. We had been trying to excel at these traditional methods but never achieved that level of perfection. During this project, we interacted with the rural artisans and observed their work from close quarters. We will surely continue preserving such heritage through our future projects,” says Vignesh.

Shamini reinforces the importance of sustainable architecture in the present-day context. “In the wake of climate change, our architecture should reflect sustainability in its basic framework. All architects should follow these principles by heart. And what better way to exercise sustainability than to follow our traditional construction methods? If our buildings and homes do not adopt sustainability, the future is quite bleak.”

For details, get in touch with Vignesh Sekar and his brilliant team at stomparchitects@gmail.com.

Also Read: Building Low-Cost Green Houses Since 1996: Architect Brings Back Mud Homes In India!

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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Exposed brick architecture possesses a distinctive aesthetic quality. On the outside, it invokes a feeling of both familiarity and warmth. And this is precisely what Srijit Srinivas (45), a Thiruvananthapuram-based architect, envisioned when constructing ‘The Brickhaus’ for his client in the city. Covering an area of 4,250 square feet, this modern home stands out for not only its imaginative design, intelligent utilisation of space and natural light, but also the eco-friendly features embedded into the structure.

Commissioned in 2017, the structure was completed earlier this year.

This water-saving adaptor converts normal water flow to a gentle mist and saves around 95% water compared to a conventional aerator. 

“Brick in itself is a beautiful material. Each brick is different too. Usually people make houses with bricks and plaster them to cover up their imperfections. They go for polluting primers and several coats of paints that pollute the environment. Why should we pollute the environment? We wanted the house itself to become a piece of art in brick. Only a very well designed house having form, scale and proportion would look good in exposed brick,” says Srijit Srinivas in conversation with The Better India (TBI).

Laurie Baker, a pioneer of conservation (green) architecture in India, was a keen proponent of exposed brickwork who once said “such unique and characterful creations should not be covered with plaster.”

Although Baker’s structures did have some construction-related issues because of certain detailing and execution concerns, what he did was inspire a generation of architects to utilise not just exposed brick but link it to more substantial ideas, philosophies and principles of sustainable architecture.

“Growing up, I studied at the Loyola School in Thiruvananthapuram. On campus, Laurie Baker had built the beautiful Loyola Chapel, which remains a wonderful example of brick construction. I would go there often with a few of my friends during break time just to get a feel of the space even at an age we knew nothing about the technicalities of architecture,” he recalls.

Brick Structures

Despite its soothing texture, warmth and character, brick structures come with their own set of concerns. The primary being the potential for water seepage through the mortar joints.

“Srinivas and his team added Pidicrete, a waterproof compound to the cement mortar to prevent any seepage. Even during construction, there were heavy rains. But The Brickhaus still did not experience any seepage. Another important construction practice was applying Stone Clear (done usually over stone, granite, etc.in temples) on brick and over pointed mortar joints instead of paint for sheen and to prevent any probable seepage,” says this detailed description in the Architectural Digest publication.

“Stone Clear is applied so that brick will retain its look. This is a clear coat protecting it from rain,” Srinivas tells TBI.

“The Brickhaus is filled with several nooks, corners and jali designs that allow plenty of sunlight inside the home. The gardens and the lotus pond too work together to bring in light as well as open up the building to glimpses of the world outside. Additionally, the skylight creates an ever-changing pattern of light throughout the day which gives the inmates, a unique experience at different times of the day,” adds Architectural Digest.

However, the standout element of this structure remains its adherence to the environment.

“This is a Net Zero Energy building where the total amount of power consumed by the house’s inmates for various activities is equal to the power produced by the house. This is thanks to the ‘Grid Tied’ power system we helped set up with a 5 kWp of installed on-site solar capacity that produces 20 units of electricity per day. The surplus is fed into Kerala State Electricity Board’s (KSEB) main power grid. At night, power is supplied to the house by the KSEB mains power grid. The owner pays nothing at all for electricity in the house,” says Srinivas to TBI.

Meanwhile, rainwater from the roof and rear terrace is filtered and let into the well to replenish the underground water table. However, this water is also treated, according to Srinivas.

“Turbidity is removed with pressure sand filter. Iron is removed with an iron removal filter. Odour, however, is taken care of by an activated carbon filter. In many cities, the public water supply cannot always be trusted. So, we need other sources. Well water can dry up, and that’s why we set up this rainwater recharge system as well. In a city like Thiruvananthapuram, the groundwater contains chemicals and isn’t suitable for drinking. So, we went for the purification system as explained earlier,” he claims.

There is also a biogas unit located in the backyard. The organic waste is converted into biogas and used in cooking.

Also Read: Pune Couple Builds Cement-Free Breathable Homes That Don’t Need ACs or Fans!

“The owner was very particular about needing eco-friendly elements in his home. In fact his ideas for solar net zero energy, biogas and water recharge requirements needs to be well appreciated by the larger society,” he says.

Moreover, it’s good practice and realistically reduces the running cost of the house. Who doesn’t want that?

(You can reach Srijit Srinivas here.)

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Here is an exercise renowned architect Malaksingh Gill wants you to do:

You recently moved into a new house made from traditional and sustainable materials like mud, bamboo or wood. You saved a lot on construction costs by using locally sourced materials and employing local masons.

Seventy years down the line, your house stands steady as a rock and if you wish to dismantle your house, all the debris you generate is recyclable and can decompose without hampering the environment.

If this image gave you a sense of satisfaction, then here’s your cue to opt for a house that is durable, damage-free and cost-effective.

“I have always wanted to work for a greater common good and did not fancy the work which conventional architects were doing in Mumbai. As a student, I was critical of how contemporary buildings were not sensitive to the local cultural, and natural environment,” says Mumbai-based renowned architect Malaksingh Gill.

In the last 17-odd years, the 43-year-old has prevented thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere by using traditional construction materials like mud, bamboo, brick, lime and wood to build structures across India.

His projects boast of independent bungalows, community houses to farmhouses.

The Better India (TBI) spoke to Gill to know more about the techniques of sustainable architecture he employs and learn the reasons behind his fascination for eco-architecture.

Finding Inspiration From Anthills, Beehives and Nests

As a student of architecture, Gill always dreamt of creating uncomplicated, budget-friendly sustainable homes perfectly in sync with nature. And Laurie Baker’s low-cost building techniques with maximum efficiency, fired Gill’s imagination.

Known as ‘Gandhi of Architecture’, and the ‘master of minimalism’, Baker offered India and the world a unique architectural tradition blending man and nature.

Once he completed his course from the Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture in Mumbai, he moved to Thiruvananthapuram to work with Baker’s organisation COSTFORD.

“Here, I understood that my teachers were in the fields. My university was in villages, my classrooms were dilapidated buildings and the workshops of the local crafts-persons. All habitats in nature like anthills, beehives and nests motivated me to build sensitively,” he tells TBI.

Underlining the benefits of sustainable homes, Gills says, “I have studied century-old village buildings of various sizes, to validate my argument about their durability, longevity, thermal comfort, bio-sensitivity and cost-effectiveness. Pick any old structure when cement was not available and notice how they still stand the test of time with little or no degradation.”

Gill always eschewed modern architectural techniques like Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC), steel bars, steel plates, steel mesh as construction material as they cause carbon emissions.

And facts back Gill’s claims on pollution-free or eco-friendly structures. For instance, cement generates around 8 per cent of the global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Making A Mark

Gill started out when globalisation was booming in India, and issues like climate change were not dinner table conversations.

He entered with ideas of eco-architecture in an arena littered with carbon-emitting construction materials. But it was a risk Gill was ready to take. Gill also had to deal with the high costs of sustainable construction materials in urban spaces.

“When I built my first eco-friendly house in Mumbai, I engaged professional contractors from the city to execute Baker’s set of techniques. I realised that people in smaller towns and villages would not be able to afford the prices of these materials and professional contractors,” he explains.

As a solution, Gill explored the ‘intrinsic’ link houses had with their makers and users in tribal or rural settlements. “I saw an opportunity in the problem; I realised that I need not use the same construction material palette we use in cities while designing buildings in small towns and rural areas,” he adds.

Thus, he began interacting with rural masons and builders, and to his surprise, found a sense of palpable excitement among them to collaborate professionally and improve their skill sets.

An Insight in Gill’s Projects:

For each project, Gill conscientiously follows four basic principles of construction:

• Construction at minimal cost.
• All materials should be from within 1 KM radius around the site of construction.
• Built by the locals.
• Meges with the landscape.

To understand how Gill applied these principles, we list three near-perfect eco-friendly structures he built keeping in mind the local conditions like weather, geography and history:

1) Gill’s First Eco-friendly in Malad, Mumbai

Named ‘Avatar’, Gill made his green architectural debut in Malad, and as per India Today magazine, it was the first eco-friendly house in Mumbai.

Well aware of the city’s shrinking spaces, the house is compact but efficient in design.

The stone and brick walls match the unique design of the spiral staircase made from treads of wood and stone. Brick corbels support the treads, while counterweights provide additional support from outside.

Brick jalis fitted with glass bottles provide indirect lighting and a stained glass effect, lending a distinct aesthetic to the spaces.

Using cross-ventilation to his advantage, Gill has provided built-in seats near the windows.

2) A Green Community House in Karjat

Gill addresses this project as ‘unique and inclusive’. It is built in the middle of a natural forest.

Gill employed the tribal inhabitants of Karjat for construction work who underwent a workshop on eco-friendly technology. He incorporated the knowledge and skills of the locals into the design and execution stages.

The architect gave utmost importance to the use of natural light due to the lack of power in the 60-acre forest.

The masons laid the foundation of the house in random rubble stone with mud mortar and built the plinth or lowest part of the house on a slope that helped with soil retention.

The masons mud prepared the mixture of cob and mortar in the pit with bare feet as it is the least damaging process to the environment. It neither involves any processing of the mixture, nor outsources the material as mud was readily available within the site limits.

Gill chose to use the extremely durable Kadappa stone lintels for openings and for storage purposes.

“For an Adivasi dwelling and a community living centre, an important part of the brief was to provide as much storage as we can. This was achieved by putting horizontal Kadappa stone shelves at different heights throughout the structure,” reads the feature of the community house.

3) Integrating Regional Features

Gill built two bungalows with a common pol or courtyard, an intrinsic to Gujarati houses. It is built with brick masonry in lime mortar, with an R.C.C. filler slab.

A series of segmental arches connect private living rooms to the pol, thus ensuring passive lightning and ventilation in Vadodara’s dry climate.

Meanwhile, the brick jalis fitted with glass bottles provide indirect lighting and a stained glass effect which is another feature of traditional pol.

From Finding Inspiration to Becoming One

Gill believes in passing knowledge as the ultimate goal of the learning process.

For the same, he gives lectures in architectural colleges and most of his teaching process is outside the classroom. Based on his observations, he offers deserving students a place in his team.

“This is my way of spreading the work which I believe can bring a constructive difference in society through architecture. Today, many of my students are teachers, practising in villages, and winners of awards at many levels,” he shares.

Architecture couple Dhruvang Hingmire and Priyanka Gunjikar were in their fourth year when they visited Satara in Maharashtra to study the regional architecture along with their professor, Malaksingh Gill.

There they visited an old lady’s house built entirely from mud and cow dung plaster. Adding colour and aesthetics to the house, were the bangles she had embedded into the walls.

This inspired the duo to make their career in sustainable architecture and even worked with Gill for three years before starting their independent company.

Read about the couple’s cement-free breathable home.

“Malaksingh sir always emphasised on how knowledge is overrated. True wisdom is to have the humility to always keep learning from everyone around you – especially from the often neglected vernacular contexts around us. He is beyond just a teacher who teaches a particular subject, about material or technique. His teachings transcend even the subject architecture – and are a huge support in everyday life,” Dhruvang tells TBI.

With ‘sustainability’ a war cry against environmental degradation, architects like Gill are true warriors bearing the flag of eco-living high.

Get in touch with him here.

Also Read: Jaalis, Baolis & More: Architect Couple Uses Ancient Designs to Make Sustainable Buildings!

Image Credits: Malaksingh Gill

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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One of the lesser known culprits of accelerated climate change today are architects. How, you ask? They are largely responsible for the built-up environment around us today.

“With 36 per cent of global energy devoted to buildings and 8 per cent of global emissions caused by cement alone, the architectural community is deeply entwined with the flows of materials, energy, and ideas that relate to climate change, both causes and solutions,” says this report.

In the past three decades, many have spoken of sustainability, but it is time to act. Everything we build from now onwards must be eco-sensitive, energy efficient, cost efficient, people-centered and value based. Otherwise our survival comes under question.

Here are 10 architectural firms/architects who have led the way forward in sustainable and eco-friendly architecture:

1. Trupti Doshi—Creating a Sustainable Environment

This Mumbai native first came into the limelight working on the Sharanam Rural Development Centre along with architect Jateen Lad located on the outskirts of Pondicherry. According to The Better India (TBI), the entire structure is made of unfired earth. In essence, the primary building material is the very soil upon which the building stands.

When she co-founded the Auroma Group with her brother Viral Doshi in 2013, she brought along other interesting facets of that project to her other work like employing local craftsmen, rainwater harvesting and waste composting.

This is an architecture company that works on residential and office space construction with an eco-friendly model. “Auroma is about how we can build places for communities that share an ideological connect and are willing to participate in the creation of a sustainable environment together. So we work on everything – the master planning, sustainability engineering, design, furniture, etc. The A-Z of design.”

2. Biju and Sindhu Bhaskar—Building in Harmony with Nature 

Founded by architect Biju Bhaskar and his wife Sindhu, the Tirvannamalai-based Thannal Hand Sculpted Homes base all their structures on eco-friendly indigenous knowledge systems.

“Houses are material extension of the way the people in it live. The components used in building a house are entangled in the day to day lives of the inhabitants. So, the materials which we use, the way it is used have a dominant effect on the way the house functions. Using natural materials without altering can minimise the effect on nature and thus can make us live in harmony with nature, just like a bird nesting on a tree,” they claim.

One such material is mud.

“Mud buildings are very much similar to the human body. Mud walls, being porous, can breathe, like our skin. This helps in maintaining comfortable indoor temperature, irrespective of extreme weather conditions outside,” said Biju, in a conversation with TBI.

The proportion of how much lime, clay, cow dung, among others, you use in the mud to construct the house may vary. But as the raw materials are local, they naturally complement the climate, weather conditions of the area and the needs of the residents.

3. Benny Kuriakose—Using Indigenous Knowledge to Build Structures

For three decades, this celebrated Chennai-based architect has built everything from residential homes to resorts using locally-sourced and eco-friendly materials like earthen, stone and timber.

Besides building structures from scratch, he also works on disaster rehabilitation, restoration and conservation work. Another fundamental aspect of his work is the use of indigenous knowledge in building structures.

Take the example of popular South Indian actor Mammootty, who employed him to build his home in 1992. He went back to old Kerala style architecture to make the terracotta flooring of his home.

For his exemplary sustainable work, Benny has several awards and accolades to his name like the Charles Wallace (India) Trust Award (1986), Designer of the Year Award by Inside Outside Magazine (2002), and the latest being Editor’s Choice for Exemplary Body of Work, Trends Excellence Award (2017).

“In addition to constructing building with eco-friendly materials, architects need to focus on recycling or conserving the existing buildings. We can reduce carbon footprint by recycling waste materials like timber, debris and so on,” said Benny.

4. Eugene Pandala—Learning from Traditional Building Techniques

For the graduate of Delhi School of Planning and Architecture, it was a meeting with the legendary architect Hassan Fathy, which turned his attention to mud construction.

“Exposure to traditional building techniques, an interest in sustainable ways of living, love for nature and a general passion for natural building materials, has amalgamated to form his architectural thinking and has led him to explore traditional technologies using natural materials. His works are highly contexture and distinctive to the environment they are situated in. He was involved with many government funded urban design and heritage projects including Trivandrum East Fort conservation, and Fort Cochin Renewal and Beautification project,” says this British Council description.

“Providing affordable sustainable solutions for the built environment is the challenge he has taken up so that the economically weaker section of the population, who account for more than two thirds can also construct and live in sustainable houses,” it adds.

5. Gopal Shankar—Building Quality Homes with Meagre Resources

Padma Shri awardee Gopal Shankar has stood at the forefront of sustainable architecture in India for the past three decades. With his Habitat Technology Group, he is committed to sustainable building solutions, cost-efficient, community-driven and eco-friendly architecture.

Shankar has been at the forefront of constructing nearly 1 million mass housing units (and over 100,000 green buildings) in more than five countries.

Shankar has religiously taken on the cause of sustainable architecture with his blood, sweat and tears, battling hostile contractors, the establishment and naysayers. His work also includes constructing the first township built with green building technology in India, which contains 600 houses, a community centre and temple, in Sirumugai, Coimbatore in 1995 and the largest earth building in the world measuring over 600,000 square feet in Bangladesh in 2006, among others.

More importantly, however, from his office in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, he has empowered those living on the margins to build quality homes with their meagre resources.

Today, vegetable vendors and traditional fishermen in the city come to his office to design their homes. The masses of this country have an architect they can approach.

6. Hunnarshala Foundation—Collaborating with Local Communities

The Bhuj-based organisation changed what the definition of disaster relief when they rebuilt homes following the devastating 2001 earthquake in Bhuj. Instead of the standard prefab homes, they collaborated with local communities to build eco-friendly and earthquake-resistant homes steeped in indigenous knowledge systems.

For example, for the pastoral communities living in the Banni grassland area near the Rann of Kutch, they chose to rebuild their homes constructing their traditional ‘bhungas’ made of mud bricks or an interior matrix of tree branches packed with mud instead of pucca cement houses.

Similarly, they rebuilt one entire village in Bihar following the 2008 Kosi floods using just bamboo. They essentially do community housing where decisions are taken by the community from day one, from design, community mobilisation, supervision of the house to even construction.

7. Dhruvang Hingmire and Priyanka Gunjikar—Merging Architecture with the  Surroundings

Have you met architects who build homes with their own hands? If not, meet this Pune-based couple Dhruvang Hingmire and Priyanka Gunjikar, whose work emphasises the use of locally-sourced natural materials and employment of local labour.

“We don’t believe that a design needs to stand out and speak of the architect who built it. The more the building merges with its surroundings, the ground and landscape around it, the better it is. I think that’s where the architect does a better job. Our motto is learning from the vernacular and giving back to the vernacular,” said Dhruvang.

Even using natural materials doesn’t make sense if they come from a place far off. Then, the building isn’t local anymore. While it is natural, the structure is not necessarily eco-friendly. Secondly, it has to be natural with minimal processing.

8. Malaksingh Gill—Going the Traditional Way with Lime, Bamboo, Wood

A mentor to both Dhruvang and Priyanka, Malaksingh has stemmed the flow of carbon emissions into the atmosphere for the past 17 years by using natural and traditional construction material like bamboo, wood, lime and mud to construct structures across India. He has built everything from simple homes, independent bungalows to even farmhouses.

“I have studied century-old village buildings of various sizes, to validate my argument about their durability, longevity, thermal comfort, bio-sensitivity and cost-effectiveness. Pick any old structure when cement was not available and notice how they still stand the test of time with little or no degradation,” Gill told TBI earlier this week.

Like his fellow sustainable architects, Gill collaborates with local masons and builders, utilizing their skill sets and enhancing them where he can.

9. Green Evolution—Design and Retrofitting to make Homes Nature-friendly

For Anupama Mohanram and Jaideep Vivekanand, the concept of sustainable architecture isn’t merely limited to how a structure is built or its design.

It’s also about how occupants minimise their use of water and energy, but ultimately live in an environment that is both healthy, comfortable and not to mention resource-saving. In living simply, occupants can play their part to save the planet. So, instead, these Chennai-based architects design and retrofit homes to make them nature-friendly. They believe it is possible to build sustainable feature into existing structures.

“As part of our efforts, we conduct an initial study of existing buildings to review current standing and check the feasibility of bringing in sustainable features. While some of these will incur low upfront costs, it would be of high impact such as fitting aerators on taps to minimise water use, changing water closet cisterns to minimal dual flush volumes, retrofitting lights and fans to energy conserving ones now available,” said Anupama.

10. Made in Earth—Using Natural Materials with a Taste for Experimentation

This is a Bengaluru-based collective of architects, engineers and artisans who are determined to promote a form of architecture that lessens the load on our environment.

“We work with local, natural building materials and techniques, with a taste for experimentation. We especially use earth to create distinctly contemporary expressions and strongly promote minimal environmental impact of the entire building process. We believe in an architecture that is simple and sensible; created with an understanding of the soil on which it exists; with an exploration of the materials from its place; and in collaboration with the skills and the imagination of its people,” says their website.

In their construction process, they employ materials like rammed earth, Wattle and Daub, Tadelakt, lime, natural plaster and paints.

Also Read: Pune Couple Builds Cement-Free Breathable Homes That Don’t Need ACs or Fans!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Like many of us, Arun KS, a Chennai-based financial consultant, was tired of the city life and longed for some peace and quiet, away from the maddening chaos of urban concrete jungles.

“I was born in Chennai, and after living most of my life here, I couldn’t take the traffic, noise and air pollution anymore. My daughters had grown up and on their way to pursue an education, so I decided to finally make a move,” says the 50-year-old.

To this end, he bought a 1800 sq ft plot of land at Ayappakkam, about an hour’s distance from Chennai, in 2017.

He wanted a simple, functional home, but the builders he contacted were unable to understand his vision. To make matters worse, the prices they were quoting were prohibitive.

“The ideas and inputs I received from these builders did not include any sustainable building processes nor were they functional keeping the sustainability factor in mind,” he explains.

Where sustainability meets functionality

When Arun began to research alternatives that would meet his requirements, he read about glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) panels that are used in the construction process, and was impressed by their properties.

GFRG panels are made from recycled industrial waste gypsum or natural gypsum, and their use substantially reduces the amount of cement, sand, water and steel during construction of buildings.

“Armed with this information, I started looking for sustainable builders in and around Chennai who could employ materials like GFRG panels and help me build my dream house. This was when I came across Cityrene,” he says.

Cityrene is a Chennai-based sustainable construction startup founded in 2016, by Dilipan Bose and A Nivethitha.

“Now that my house has been constructed, I know that 75% of cement and plaster that would’ve been used otherwise, has been saved. Also, since the house has been made from materials like GFRG, it is almost 4 degrees cooler than a house built using bricks,” says Arun.

Resource-saving aspects were also kept in mind while designing the house in addition to using sustainable materials in the construction process. In Arun’s case, his home has a bio-digester which disposes of waste and recycles water.

Meet The Founders of Cityrene

Dilipan and Nivethitha are civil engineers and design engineers, so taking notice of how homes are constructed comes naturally to them.

However, it was a devastating natural calamity that urged them to make a mental note of how sustainable practices in the construction process would be beneficial for home dwellers in the long run.

“In 2015, Chennai saw unprecedented flooding as a result of heavy rainfall, leaving many homes, including mine, severely affected. The walls of my home had cracked and water was seeping inside because of which the house was partly submerged. All lines of communication were cut off, and there was neither electricity, drinking water nor food supply,” recalls Dilipan.

At the same time, Dilipan was also volunteering in the rescue operations and helped flood victims with food packets, water cans, blankets and clothes.

“During the rescue operations in a locality called Saidapet, I saw that people were rushing to take shelter in a solar-powered house. The house was sheltering about 20 people in the locality. That’s when it struck me that if one could provide shelter to so many in such a catastrophic situation, how helpful would it be to have more of these,” asks Dilipan.

This was a turning point for him, and during the process of rebuilding his house, he started researching alternative construction technologies.

About eight months later, Chennai running out of ground water made front page news. The borewells were dry and the paucity of water wreaked havoc in the city.

“I read headline after headline and wondered about what had happened to the millions of litres of water that could’ve been collected during rainfall,” he asks.

Dilipan then became sure that he wanted to design and construct sustainable and resilient homes. He reached out to Nivethitha, who had been his classmate in college. Convinced by his vision, she decided to join forces with him and the duo established Cityrene in 2016.
Special features of Cityrene homes.

Resourceful and Resilient homes

Before we elaborate on the features of the homes built by Cityrene, let us mention the two models on offer to potential clients.

The first model is for a ‘Basic Economical Home,’ where the house is built using eco-friendly technology and comes with features like wastewater recycling, rainwater harvesting and an organic terrace garden. This construction cost of this model is about Rs 1700/sq ft.

The second model is for a ‘Self-sustainable home,’ which includes a solar set up for electricity, a device named ‘Water from Air’ which generates drinking water from the air, and a bio-digester for wastewater recycling.

“The bio-digester is buried underground and is an effective replacement for conventional septic tanks and STPs. It uses live bacteria to recycle wastewater instead of chemicals and electricity, is eco-friendly and also maintenance-free,” says Dilipan.

All the features of a basic economic home are also included in this model and they charge about Rs 2000/sq ft to construct it.

In case there is a need to install additional solar panels, the cost goes higher.

Cityrene uses modern building materials and technology in their building processes like the GFRG and Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks. AAC blocks are made using fly ash, a by-product in the industrial sector, which makes it eco-friendly and compared to the conventional red bricks, they are much lighter. AAC blocks are also more durable and easy to manage, which helps in hastening the construction process.

Cityrene also sets up organic terrace gardens for the homeowners so that they can eat the food they grow, informs Dilipan.

“We are collaborating with companies in the sustainability space that manufacture devices for conservation of natural resources like water. For example, we work with Geok Energy for the installation of bio-digesters and with Airowater for the atmospheric water generator,” states Dilipan.

Challenges and Impact

In the past two years, the startup has faced several challenges during its operations. The two biggest hurdles were transporting and storing raw materials. The team is still working around this challenge and looking for ways they can more efficiently transport the building materials.

“The other challenge that we face is the scepticism that exists among prospective clients about these modern technologies. However, once they get acquainted with the long term benefits and the feasibility aspects, it doesn’t take too long to convince them,” says Dilipan.

Despite these challenges, Dilipan says that a 1000 sq.ft. home built by them can save upto 5 lakh litres of water every year just by saving the rainwater and recycling the wastewater from the house.

Their work has also been validated by various organisations like the Founder Institute based in California which awarded them with the ‘Founder X Award,’ declaring them as the best startup in India in 2017.

They have also received a certificate of recognition by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

So, what does Dilipan hope to achieve in the future?

“I want to build a self-sustaining township of 100 villas. The township will be completely solar-powered, practise rainwater harvesting, and have wastewater recycling units. Government power and water supply will only be backup options. Imagine if we do this. Wouldn’t it be a great example for builders across the country?” he concludes.

Also Read: 10 Architects & Firms Building The Natural Sustainable Homes The Climate Needs!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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One of the earliest memories of an ancestral home I visited in Kerala was the red flooring. It was so fascinating, especially how it felt under my feet.

Oxide flooring (Kaaviyidal – red) is an age-old practice of using oxide colours (primary colours) in various combinations for flooring. This may be with lime, mud or cement. While it has traditionally been used in many parts of the country, the advent of industrialisation and mass produced materials like marble and tiles caused it to disappear from mainstream construction.

However, Chennai-based architect Thirupurasundari Sevvel of Studio Conclave and the founder of a social initiative—Nam Veedu Nam Oor Nam Kadhai (Our home, our city, our story)—has been working with artisans to revive this flooring. She speaks to The Better India about its aesthetic beauty and its environmental friendliness.

Sundari’s years at college

Having completed her architecture from SRM University in Chennai, Sundari had the opportunity to study at Birmingham City University. Speaking about it, she says, “It was when I got there that I found out that it was the same University where the famed Laurie Baker, the Gandhian architect studied. My happiness knew no bounds.”

Sundari completed her Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning in France (University Francois Rabelais) and worked on a project with their ministry of culture with a focus on social and economic development and returned to India in 2011 to set up her firm.

Her passion for red oxide

Growing up in a home that had red oxide flooring, she was naturally bent in its favour. But it took more than that for her to realise and accept its full potential. She shares, “However, it was only when I went abroad that its benefits dawned upon me. Perhaps going far away was what made me realise its potential.”

So what are its advantages? Read on!

1. Aesthetic

Sundari explains, “It looks like one piece, and you will not be able to find any joints as you do with say commercially available or even regular tiles. Also, earlier it was thought that oxide flooring only meant red. Now we show them the various colors and shades and that add to its charm.”

She points out that these embellishments could not be shown to a client earlier, but now they can be prepared in small quantities as samples and laid down for clients to see. The fact that it is easy to maintain is yet another plus point.

2. Environmental

Oxide flooring is extremely adaptable to the climatic conditions and is suited for the geography in India, says Sundari. She goes on, “The main advantage is that this is a native technique, which, in turn, allows the floor to breathe.”

Unlike other flooring that can hurt your feet, oxide poses no adverse impact to your feet, and its sheen only gets better with time.

3. Social

“You are supporting an artisan and an art form. Look at this just as an investment in a piece of art,” says Sundari. Given that this technique is labour-intensive, it needs more of us to support and patronise it.

Reviving age-old techniques

“Artisans before art” is Sundari’s motto. She wanted to revive the use of traditional materials and techniques as well as bring the artisans to the fore. For this, she has been working on oxide flooring as well as lime plastering over the last few years.

Explaining the process, she says, “Just like an artisan would work on a particular artwork, our artisans work on the floor for about 15 to 21 days depending on the availability of artisans, location, size of the area to be covered, etc. We started working with them directly to ensure that the end product is absolutely authentic and the artisans are benefitted.”

When asked why this technique needs revival in the first place, she answers that commercialisation, industrialisation and the mass production of chemical, non-organic alternatives caused these kinds of floors to be less sought after.

Artisans as the true torchbearers

She recalls an incident while working on a project in Udaipur. She narrates, “We reached there and got the news that one of the artisan’s father passed away. I booked his flight and asked him to return home.” But the artisan refused to leave.

She goes on, “He told me that since his father was also an artisan, the greatest tribute to his life would be in completing his work and then returning.”

This act defines the artisans and their work, says Sundari.

Response from her clients

Sundari has worked with more than 30 clients, and the best part is that they are all repeat clients. Even the new clients are acquired from word-of-mouth publicity.

When asked about the process of convincing her clients, she says, “Honestly, all I have to do is invite them to sites where we have used oxide floorings—half the battle is won once they see it and walk on it.” Sundari’s office space has extensive oxide flooring.

How much does it cost?

Speaking about the cost of laying this floor, Sundari says, “The more people use it, the more its cost will come down – it is ultimately all about the demand and supply. If one were to compare the price with other materials used, it is almost 30 per cent cheaper. Having said that, it all depends on the area that needs to be covered and the colour.”

She also says that it is important to give the artisans working on this technique their due as it is a very demanding livelihood. “I will not say that it is the cheapest flooring available in the market but is certainly an economic, environmentally-friendly floor, which also supports artisans and their livelihoods.”

Things to know about oxide flooring

1. The water used must be untreated and free from any chemicals. Mineral-rich water from bore-wells is not good for this technique.
2. To keep the quality and finish neat and even, one must use good quality red oxide.
3. The artisans who are working on this must also be very experienced and good at their art. This is because the oxide floors need to be done in one continuous stretch without a break, often taking the whole day and night, depending upon the area that needs to be covered.
4. While most building materials deteriorate with age, oxide floors are an exception. The more they are used, the more they shine.
5. You can use non-chemical floor cleaning agents and this in turn gives you a lifestyle change as well.
6. The polish should be done with beeswax and that too, manually. Only the manual polish will give the authentic feature.

Also Read: These Chennai Architects Design & Retrofit Homes To Make Them Nature-Friendly!

To know more about this flooring, contact Sundari at annanagarshg@gmail.com.

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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With temperatures soaring as high as 45°C, summers in Mathura are quite the nightmare. In winter, owing to the cold wave from up north, the mercury drops well below the tolerable limit. Needless to say, Mathura is not quite the destination that comes to mind when one thinks of a vacation.

So, when Mumbai-based architects Seema Puri and Zarir Mullan received the project of building a vacation home in Dampier Nagar, an area in the city, they knew that before everything else, the structure had to be climate-responsive.

Taking a Keen Interest in Sustainability

With an experience of over 25 years, Seema and Zarir head the architecture firm SEZA, and have won numerous awards for their work.

“Sustainability has always been the underlying aspect in all of SEZA’s projects, even when the concept was yet to make inroads in mainstream architecture,” says Seema, in a conversation with The Better India.

“For us, sustainable architecture is not simply another genre; rather, we try to incorporate environment-friendly features in almost all our projects. We explore designs which have traditional overtones, and prepare blueprints in ways to cut down the unnecessary use of electricity and unsustainable resources,” she adds.

What makes the Mathura house climate-responsive?

The climate-responsive bungalow in Mathura presents the epitome of all sustainable aspects, while also manifesting the best of modern architecture.

Keeping in mind the natural air current of the location, most of the windows face the north or the south, thereby facilitating cross-ventilation throughout the house and stalling the abrupt rise in temperature. This significantly reduces the dependency on air-conditioning, even during the blazing summer days. The genius window placement also ensures ample natural light flowing into the rooms, negating the need for electric lights in the daytime.

The walls of the house have been built in a curious pattern, with 50 mm air gap prevailing between two layers of a brick wall.

“The air gap provides very effective heat insulation so that the room temperature remains more or less constant even with the drastic rise or drop in mercury. It thus creates a microclimate within the room throughout the seasons,” explains Seema. She adds that a gap wider than 50 mm would have compromised on the sustainability aspect, as the connecting beam would require more space and material to be constructed.

Each side of the house comes with large overhangs which provide ample shade from the blazing midday sun. Besides, each room is accompanied with an 8 to 10 feet wide verandah, which, in turn, block the heat from entering the rooms directly.

The slanting rays of the sun do illuminate the rooms, but the heat transfer is prevented.

Wood profiles, arranged in a random yet rhythmic manner, further control the heat from reaching the interiors of the house. Seema and Zarir have also chosen a very light cream colour for the facade of the bungalow, which again works to reflect away most of the heat.

“The house was a greenfield project, and we decided to accentuate its existent natural features. There is a thick grove of trees surrounding the property, balancing the right oxygen levels. The total area of around 18,000 square feet is bifurcated by a central water body, around 12 feet wide. Strategically located between the two wings of the bungalow, the water body also provides a cooling effect on the rooms on all sides,” informs Seema.

A pleasant architectural symphony

Other than its climate-responsive characteristics, the house also boasts of stunning architectural attributes. For instance, its entire profile has been set in an opened out, stepwise manner, rather than raising a concentrated block of concrete.

Lines form a standout element in the entire facade of the house. With a predominance of linear and symmetric features, the house appears like it is moving backwards in a symphony as one approaches.

Aside from being pleasing to the onlooker, it also has a soothing effect on the residents. With wood profiles arranged in a randomised synchrony, the aesthetically enriched bungalow presents a pleasant juxtaposition of solid and fluid forms.

Every indoor space of the bungalow is accompanied with a matching outdoor space to make the property more open and expressive.

The strategic location of the centralised family lounge does more than comforting the eyes for one relaxing there. On one side, the lounge overlooks the water body while the backyard garden is visible on the other.

“Together, it renders the bungalow almost transparent as the landscape appears to merge underneath,” Seema reveals.

“What we are building today, we are building for tomorrow!”

“When we build any property, be it an uber urban residential or commercial project or a greenfield property like this, we choose sustainability as one of our basic parameters, not as a separate trait,” asserts Seema.

The climate-responsive house in Mathura is one of their latest and greatest precedents of the same.

Affirming the importance of sustainable architecture, Seema says, “After all, what we are building today, we are building for tomorrow.”

Also Read: 26-YO Madurai Architect’s Traditional Techniques Will Keep Your Home 8℃ Cooler!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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In the Kothrud area of Pune city, Anvit Phatak and his wife Neha are just four months away from moving into their new two-storey mud house.

“We had a plot and were planning to build a house. That’s when we learnt about mud houses, that promised sensational things like breathable walls, low maintenance requirements and use of natural materials. When I heard a modern architect speak about it in detail, my confidence grew,” says Anvit, the Principal of a private school in Pune, to The Better India.

While some families build mud houses in places away from the city for their weekend getaway, this was not the case for the Phataks.

“We had to build our first home in the middle of Pune. There were funny reactions from people when they first heard about this idea. But we were serious about this endeavour, did some research and eventually discovered that this was doable,” recalls Anvit.

Natural materials, minimal cement

Anujna Nutan Dnyaneshwar, the architect behind the mud house, has previously built three similar homes in Maharashtra and is full of praise for her clients who did their homework before approaching her.

“My clients were looking for people trained in making them and heard of my work. But they also spoke to other natural builders and architects to understand all the facets of earthen buildings, its pros and cons and what lifestyle changes they had to make while living in such homes,” she mentions.

“All the living spaces are built with sun-dried adobe bricks that also make up the home’s load-bearing structure. We have used reinforced concrete (RCC) beams to transfer the load of the structure on the walls, but not used any RCC or any other additives in the walls itself. The walls are just made of mud and rice husk. Delving further, the foundation is done with stone and mud, while the roofing is done with timber and bamboo with Mangalore tiles,” she adds.

The only part that required cement was the area above the ground and below the adobe walls. It contains a two feet-stone wall put together with cement. At the top of the door and windows, there is one RCC band which uniformly transfers the load to all the mud walls.

“This also allows us to make bigger openings for windows and doors, as opposed to the traditional load-bearing structure. We have just added a little RCC element to change this facet. It’s not a zero cement construction, but saves up on a lot of cement or industrial material which is replaced by eco-friendly materials,” she states.

Backed by a modern design, the mud house can accommodate most urban facilities like a microwave, fridge, and washing machine that one would require to stay in the city.

Toilets are built with baked bricks in cement mortar. But the brickwork is done using a ‘Rat Trap Bond’ method.

“The Rat trap bond method is a brick masonry method of wall construction, in which bricks are placed in a vertical position instead of conventional horizontal position and thus creating a cavity (hollow space) within the wall. Architect Laurie Baker introduced it in Kerala in the 1970s and used it extensively for its lower construction cost, reduced material requirement and better thermal efficiency than conventional masonry wall,” says Earthbound Architecture, a Maharashtra-based practice.

Quality & Adjustments

The Phatak’s home is a three-bedroom structure across two storeys instead of three taking into consideration the load-bearing capacity of the material used. Altering or expanding the house isn’t a serious possibility, and the owners have accepted this fact, claims Anujna.

Mud walls have been built to replace the massive amount of bricks and cement that usually goes into the masonry.

“The mud we use is highly insulating in terms of thermal comfort. Spaces inside stay much warmer in winter and much cooler in summers as compared to any other thinner walls. My clients were aware that the walls here are going to be thicker (1.5 feet thick walls) than normal urban construction,” says Anujna

She also adds that they were willing to compromise on the amount of carpet area they would get from the house and instead chose a structure that would be naturally comfortable without air-conditioners or fans.

Anujna is very clear that you don’t need fans living in these mud houses during summers. It does take a little mental adjustment because many of us have lived with fans and ACs all our lives. But once you get comfortable at that temperature, you don’t need mechanical ventilation.

Explaining the reasoning, she says,

“During summers in Pune, having a ceiling fan makes little sense because the air is always warmer in the ceiling area. Pushing that air down on someone sitting in the middle of the room is counterproductive. Maybe for the one month of peak summer, you can have a standing, movable or table fans close to the window to enhance the breeze and further cross-ventilation. That would be enough,” she claims.

Going for natural construction material over conventional cement structures also meant lower costs on construction material while greater pay for workers.

“Suppose you spend Rs 100 each on a conventional building and natural building. In a conventional building, 80% of your cost goes in materials. In other words, Rs 80 is going to the steel and cement companies, while only Rs 20 is going to the labourers. With natural buildings, this equation is reversed. Since the material you need is harvested naturally, you don’t need to pay a significant price for it. In contrast, the cost of utilising that material and making a house of it rises significantly. Essentially, you are spending Rs 80 on masons, labourers and carpenters, and Rs 20 on the material you’re buying,” says Anujna.

For the Environment & Yourself

Through our recent articles on green architecture in The Better India, we have gone onto address the deleterious impact architects and the concrete structures they build have on the climate and nature. As citizens and clients, we needed to take responsibility for the carbon footprint we leave behind in building homes and other structures.

It’s down to each family or household building new homes to make decisions that are conscious of the environment we live in and people that are not as privileged. It’s our job to make every lifestyle-related decision with as much awareness and understanding of the gravity of the situation, and that includes what sort of houses and workspaces we live in.

The more we expose ourselves to natural materials, the better it is for us and the planet.

“However, I also realised that natural buildings have their own unique aesthetics that cannot be obtained using industrial material. Natural materials have their own look, feel and smell. The feeling you have been living in that space is not replaceable. While working on mud houses, I fell in love with the aesthetics of natural material,” says Anujna.

Anvit, meanwhile, is looking forward to the everyday changes that will come with living in his new home.

“Living in a home with breathable walls is going to be different. It seems like we won’t have to sweep the mud floor, and there will be different routines for cleaning. We aren’t going to have fans hanging from roofs. Our kids will be sharing their room since we don’t have the option to expand the house further. We won’t be hanging stuff on the halls, while the house will carry a mud look while our ceiling will have a fascinating skylight,” he says.

He adds that the family is aware of the lifestyle and perspective changes that they will undergo, but don’t see them as compromises, but opportunities to open themselves up to new possibilities.

If you’re willing to incorporate these changes to your daily routine, why not build a mud house as your next home? The choice is always there.

Also Read: Without Steel Or Cement, This Architect’s Recyclable Homes Will Last A Century!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Spread across Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Churu districts in northern Rajasthan, the mesmerising Shekhawati settlement survives amidst negligence and urban encroachment. Famous for marvellous frescoes painted on palaces, Havelis, shops and houses – the Shekhawati style of architecture remains an unsung heritage of India.

For the past twenty years, veteran conservation architect Urvashi Srivastava has been fighting a sole crusade to protect the abandoned houses of Shekhawati merchants whose successors have now settled elsewhere in India. In conservation with The Better India, she traces the history of the Shekhawati region and explains why their magnificent architecture needs to be preserved and cherished. 

“With each passing day, painted Havelis in Shekhawati are falling apart and beautiful frescoes are crumbling to dust, erasing some very significant history of a rich cultural region in Rajasthan. I have undertaken intensive field research in the region and have worked at the grassroots with traditional building craftsmen. Under the banner of ‘Shekhawati Virasat Abhiyan’, my NGO, Centre for Advancement of Traditional Building Technique & Skills (CATTS) has been synergising efforts from all stakeholders for this conservation,” she informs. 

She provides a deep insight into the Shekhawati history – a region spanning across 30,000 sq. km of rugged desert lands, home to nearly 4,000 havelis and mansions and over 15 royal palaces portraying the characteristic artistic style. 

Medieval trade routes from Delhi – the socio-politico-economic heart centre of India – passed through this erstwhile nondescript region of Rajasthan. Tired merchants would often choose to spend the night here after an exhausting day’s journey. Gradually, the region started flourishing as many of the small-time merchants set up camps and started trading with their counterparts passing by. 

How Shekhawati architecture flourished

The name of the region is rumoured to have originated from Rao Shekha, once a Jagirdar of Sikar district. The communities here proclaimed themselves as the Shekhawati Thakurs. 

Trade thrived, so did the economic condition of the early settlers. They developed alternate trade routes with the Shekhawati region at its centre. Villages upgraded to picturesque townships. A network of forts & palaces were constructed by the affluent families to ensure the safety of merchants passing by with their caravans. 

However, the most outstanding heritage of the Shekhawati region turned out to be its exquisite architecture – complete with frescoes etched on the lime-plastered walls. 

The credits for the same have to be attributed to the traditional craftsmen, who fostered an architectural style quite different from the rest of Rajasthan. From mythology to historical landmarks, everything under the sun is featured in these curious murals. As a matter of fact, Shekhawati’s peak prosperity is quite young and can be traced back to just a few centuries ago, when Europeans had just started making inroads elsewhere in the country. 

This was the time when rich merchants would commission a fresh set of frescoes every time there was a wedding or other festivities in the household. The 19th century and the early years of the 20th century saw a fresh artistic trend in Shekhawati, as artisans started depicting the latest scientific innovations on their murals. 

“One can find the earliest train engines or Wright Brothers with their first aeroplane models and other interesting inventions coming alive in frescoes of this time,” reveals Srivastava. 

The decline came sooner than expected. The Shekhawati business moguls, who were the main patrons of the region’s culture and architecture, migrated to fast-growing cities like Kolkata, Delhi or Mumbai. Eventually, their successors kept the Shekhawati Havelis unattended and abandoned like a haunting memory of the past. These city-bred generations valued little about their rich ancestral architecture. 

“Initially, vegetable colours and mineral pigments were used for painting. Later, with the advent of chemical enamels from abroad, colours like maroon, green, indigo and turquoise became predominant in Shekhawati murals. The topics of the paintings also evolved over time in line with the existing trends.”

Srivastava adds, “The base material in Shekhawati construction was lime. The frescoes were painted on wet plaster, following the Italian Buon fresco style where the murals were varnished later and dried. The technique was adopted to increase the longevity & durability of the frescoes. On the other hand, Secco fresco style (painting on dry plaster) was adopted for interior decorations, which were less prone to damage. However, decades of negligence have led to the crumbling of these murals. Some micro-level restoration has been done using cement and modern art techniques, but these are barely at par with the original brilliance.” 

She regrets that lack of historical knowledge among the present inhabitants has led the architecture to ruins, occasionally revived by half-hearted and improper efforts of conservation. In addition, there is a prominent land mafia demolishing these structures to raise skyscrapers and shopping malls in its place. 

The passage of time has wrought changes in the local economy too. A predominantly trade economy has changed into an agrarian one with water and power supply making inroads into these parched townships. The present generations in artisanal families are full-time farmers and know little about art. 

Shekhawati region does not attract tourist footfall like Jaipur or Udaipur. Only the towns of Nawalgarh and Mandawa act as overnight stops for a handful of travellers on their way to Bikaner or Jaipur.

Since tourism is still underdeveloped, the Archaeological Department is reluctant to invest in Shekhawati restoration. Another reason for governmental apathy is that many of the Havelis are still privately owned by families settled in other cities, who pay little attention.

What Srivastava’s NGO is aiming to achieve is to raise awareness among the locals, the tourists, the Haveli owners as well as the government about the architectural significance of Shekhawati. “We have already managed to educate a section of the masses about proper conservational aspects and have successfully restored parts and parcels of certain structures. But still, the majority of the structures lie in shambles. We want to take conservation to the masses while incorporating support from all sectors,” asserts Srivastava.

“We show tourists the lacuna of conservational efforts here and why the status is so critical and fragile. Due to that, a lot of heritage enthusiasts among tourists have contributed graciously to our efforts. We wish to inculcate the same awareness among the local masses as well. We never want to be elitist in our conservational approach, nor do we wish to pass off shoddy renovations as conservation.”

Even after two decades of hard work, Srivastava feels she has an arduous road ahead. “We look forward to joining hands with Granters, Donors, Philanthropists and Corporate Foundations to support our heritage conservation initiatives thereby helping us achieve our long-cherished vision to highlight local heritage assets, empower local communities and promote sustainability through heritage conservation.” If you are willing to contribute to Srivastava’s novel endeavour in any possible way, you can connect with her at info@cattsindia.org. Know more about the initiative at http://www.cattsindia.org/.

Also Read: Remembering Satish Dhawan: Unseen Pictures & Untold Stories About the Legend

All photo credits: Urvashi Srivastava

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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The Council of Architecture (COA) has begun the online application process for the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) 2020. Interested candidates can register on the official website.

The COA conducts NATA twice a year, on April 19 and May 31. The last date to register for the first batch is 16 March 2020.

What is NATA

NATA is conducted by the COA under the provisions of CoA (Minimum Standards of Architectural Education) Regulations, 1983.

It measures the aptitude of the candidate in the field of Architecture through their drawing and observation skills, sense of proportion, and aesthetic sensitivity. It also examines mathematics (10+2 level) and critical thinking.

The examination is mandatory for undergraduate courses in Architecture across India.

How to Apply

• Visit the official website of NATA and click on ‘NATA Registration 2020’
• Sign up for the exam to register (Direct Link to fill the application)
• Generate registration ID and password by filling up details like name and birth
• Log in using that ID and Password and fill the application form
• Upload signature and photograph (in JPG or JPEG format)
• Pay the application fee and submit the completed form
• A Confirmation Page will be generated. Print this for future reference.

Things to Know

• The first examination will be on 19 April and the second one will be on May 31
• The candidate will be given three hours to complete the paper from 10 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. with a 15-minute break between the multiple-choice question (MCQ) test and the drawing paper.
• For each test, the fee is Rs 2,000 for general category students. In case you wish to appear for both tests held in the year, you pay Rs 3,800.
• Candidates belonging to SC/ST and PWD category need to deposit Rs 1,700 for one test and Rs 3,100 for both tests.
• Candidates opting to appear from test centres outside India will have to deposit Rs 10,000

Issue of Admit Card

For each Applicant, an Admit Card will be generated according to the schedule notified, indicating the allotted Examination Centre. An Examination Roll Number will also be generated for each candidate.

You have to download the soft copy of the Admit Card from the website and take a printed hard copy on the day of the test. This is indicated in the downloaded Admit Card. Remember to carry an original photo identity card like Voter Card/ Pan Card/ Aadhaar Card/ Driving Licence.

Allocation of Examination Centre

These centres are spread across all state capitals, and other selected cities subject to availability of at least 200 students for the particular city/centre.

Cities will be based on the choices given by the candidate in their online application forms.

The results for the first exam will be declared on May 8 and results for the second exam will be out on 14 June 2020.

Also Read: Without Steel Or Cement, This Architect’s Recyclable Homes Will Last A Century!

To know more, click here.

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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While studying at an architecture college in Chennai, 23-year-old NG Arun Prabhu did some research on slum housing, and was struck by the poor utilisation of space in these structures. Residents would spend somewhere around Rs 4-5 lakh to build a house, but it would not have a toilet.

“I was researching slum housing in Chennai and Mumbai, and realised that these small spaces that could be improved by instituting a proper design, to create toilets, bedrooms, etc. and make the house more habitable,” says Arun, speaking to The Better India.

Arun graduated last year, and since then, has been raising awareness about small scale architecture that entails better utilisation of space and affordable housing by building a portable house on an autorickshaw.

He spent Rs 1 lakh (excluding the cost of auto-rickshaw) building this 36-sq ft portable house on wheels called ‘SOLO.O1’, which he believes can fulfil the needs of two adults.

“My objective is to use small scale architecture and show people what we can do with such tiny spaces. Also, portable housing can inspire better temporary housing for construction labourers and emergency housing during natural calamities,” he quips.

Small is Beautiful

Born and raised in the Tamil Nadu town of Namakkal, which is known for its lorry body building industries and poultry farms, Arun grew up with a fascination of art and design. But why did he choose an auto-rickshaw as his platform to build a portable home?

“It is a practical design of a compact 6’x 6′ space into a portable/detachable housing at the back of a three-wheeler auto-rickshaw that can accommodate a solo individual like an artist, traveller, homeless people or even a small scale vendor. It has been designed keeping in mind the concept of affordability and lifestyle of nomads and societal groups under the poverty line. The three-wheeler structure is a space with dual functionality that includes a residence and commercial space,” says Arun, in a note addressed to The Better India.

“Planning has been done with the kitchen, bathtub, toilet, foyer and living area on one level and sleeping space, workspace on the mezzanine level at 3.5 ft height. Also, there is the solar panel (600W), water tank (250 litres) and a lounge space with shade in the terrace. By incorporating all these features, the structure might be expected to be on the heavier side, but it is far from it. The weight is distributed equally,” he adds.

He started in August 2019, and it took him five months to construct the entire house using scrap materials.

What SOLO .01 does is extend the lifespan of discarded materials like metal scrap thrown away from old bus bodies and demolished structures. Nonetheless, Arun maintains that the house is durable regardless of the functions and renovations.

Despite every space being efficiently utilised, the structure is adequately ventilated throughout. Meanwhile, the structure is attached to the auto-rickshaw with just six bolts which can be easily unscrewed and robust supportive stands.

“If it can fit on top of an auto-rickshaw, it can be fixed atop any vehicle,” says Arun. This structure can be utilised much as the temporary housing for people like construction labourers who work at a particular site for a few years or months only and nomads, besides emergency housing during any natural calamities.

Today, Arun is working on four similar ideas with his architecture firm The Billboards Collective, which he started in 2018. He has also applied for a design patent on his portable house. With his patent and other potentially innovative designs, he could offer some real solutions to cities that are facing a housing crunch and struggling for space.

You can follow him on the The Billboards Collective Instagram page here.

Also Read: No AC or Fan Needed: This Couple Is Building a Mud House In the Middle of Pune!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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With people turning to earth-friendly materials like bamboo and mud in their quest to build cement-free, sustainable homes, there is no doubt that this trend in the construction is here to stay.

However, in my opinion, these materials seem incredibly conventional before a house built with jaggery and eggs!

No, this is not a joke. Jawahar C, a resident of Vellakoil in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur district, is currently supervising the construction of his 3200 sq ft home, which is being built using jaggery and egg whites.

“Our ancestors built and lived in eco-friendly homes, that were well-ventilated, sturdy, and served all their needs. I was deeply inspired by them and wanted to do something similar. Besides, construction activities can be extremely polluting. We are anyway facing a severe scarcity of natural resources, so why burden the earth further?” he mentions.

Jawahar was sure that he wanted to build an eco-friendly home, but when it came to its execution, he could only think of one person who could turn it into something tangible—his nephew, Aravind Manoharan.

The 27-year-old civil engineer runs a sustainable construction company called, ‘Pizhai Azhagu’ which he founded in June, 2018. Here the buildings are constructed using traditional techniques and locally available materials.

Building a home using jaggery and egg whites

“When I made up my mind to construct a home, I didn’t exactly think of the materials that would go into it—all I knew that it was going to be eco-friendly, and that Aravind would help me. It was his idea to speak to local masons and old people in the area, and get their input on the traditional techniques used to build homes there,” quips Aravind.

The duo managed to interview people and masons in the area, and the findings were quite unusual.

“Many of the people we interviewed had traditional courtyard style homes built using mud and ingredients like jaggery as a binding agent. They also informed us that they built these homes themselves, as there were very few construction companies at the time,” mentions Aravind.

Following this, he also spoke to several masons in the area who corroborated these findings.

“They told me that jaggery and egg whites served as great construction materials. Jaggery acts as a great bonding agent while the use of egg whites in the plaster gives the walls a polished look,” he explains.

Aravind also emphasises that he did not possess the knowledge on how these materials were to be integrated in the construction process. So, he roped in some of the masons he had spoken with earlier, as they knew how to go about building the structure. These men, in turn, passed this information to the other masons working on the project.

Jawahar’s Sustainable Home

The construction of the house began in the last week of February, 2019 and it is expected to be ready by the end of this year.

The walls are being made using the conventional bricks but in place of cement, they made a mixture of lime mortar, sand, jaggery, crushed kadukkai (yellow myrobalan) and water. The plastering on the bricks is done in five layers and this helps in ensuring the breathability of the building with more oxygen inside.

The first base of plastering is done using a mixture of lime, sand and water. The second and third layer is plastered using a mix of water, lime and crushed kadukkai. The fourth layer comprises lime, water and talcum powder while the fifth and the final layer, it’s a mix of lime and water again with egg whites.

Lime is again a material that was commonly used while building traditional homes in the region.

“The use of lime serves several purposes. Firstly, it keeps the house cool during summers and doesn’t let the heat pass out in winters,” states Aravind.

The roofs of the house use recycled wood that is sourced from the nearby Karaikudi old wood market. To ensure that the wood is safe from termite attack, plantain leaves or lotus leaves are placed between the wood and the bricks.

The duo is now waiting for bethamcherla stone to be used in the flooring with the lime, which will make the construction of the building complete.

Other sustainable buildings

While this might be the first time he is building a home made of jaggery and egg whites, Aravind has considerable prior experience in the construction of sustainable buildings.

“After completing a BTech in Civil engineering, I apprenticed for a year with a local builder in his village from whom I learnt a lot about designing buildings. Following this, I pursued a Masters in Interior Design from the International Institute of Fashion Design in Bengaluru. I returned to Vellakoil 2017 and one fine day, came across an eco-friendly home in the village. It was a Laurie Baker style building with exposed brick, roof tiles, and rat trap bond wall. It was quite hot outside but the house was incredibly cool inside. This really inspired me to explore how and where eco-friendly houses were built,” says Aravind.

Over a period of time, he developed a strong interest in traditional building materials, and decided to travel across the country to observe similar techniques. In West Bengal’s Jhargram he saw how people used local stones, bamboo and mud, while for roofing, they used terracotta tiles. In Jharkhand, he noticed that the tribes lived in huts made from mud.

Upon his return, he set up ‘Pizhai Azhagu’, which translates to ‘beauty of mistakes.’ Here, the focus is on region specific architecture, based on which they design and construct buildings.

“We have worked on several projects—and the most notable among them is the Damarugam Music School and Learning center in Coimbatore, which was built in architect Laurie Baker’s iconic style wit exposed bricks. The rat trap bond walls help in insulating the sound of drums. We have also used inclined bamboo frames in some sections instead of using bricks. For the roof, we’ve used pine tree wood along with reused Mangalore tiles. The floors have been made using green-oxide,” mentions Aravind.

Having gained confidence after constructing such innovative buildings, what does Aravind hope for the future?

“I want to continue the same process of understanding region specific architecture and documenting how to construct them. It is the local masons who have all the knowledge and I am really thankful to them for sharing this knowledge with me. I hope to create more eco-friendly buildings in the future so that people have an environmentally friendly choice,” he says signing off.

You May Also Read: 10 Architects & Firms Building The Natural Sustainable Homes The Climate Needs!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Back in 2015, Dr Surdas and his wife Dr Minu, wanted to rebuild their old house in the Ollur area of Thrissur, Kerala. They wanted a new home that was in perfect harmony with nature without being a threat unlike the homes built today. That’s when they approached PK Sreenivasan, a civil engineer, whose architectural firm Vasthukam specialises in building eco-friendly homes built with mud.

Within a year, the doctor couple were happily living in a unique and picturesque mud house surrounded by jack fruit and mango trees, alongside other beautiful flowering plants. Not only that, but nearly 80 per cent of the total materials like wood, mud, laterite and Mangalore roof tiles that were used to build the new house came from their previously demolished home. Everything from the doors, windows and wooden columns were sourced from the demolished house.

“But their main demand was to construct a mud house. While we sourced some of our mud from the basement area of the new house, we procured the rest from the surrounding region. Also we up-cycled whatever material was present in the old house after demolition,” says PK Sreenivasan, in a conversation with The Better India earlier this week.

Legacy of Eco-Friendly Homes – Working with and Learning from Laurie Baker

Born and raised in Thrissur, PK Sreenivasan did not study architecture, but was a graduate (1987) in Civil Engineering from the Government Engineering College, Thrissur. Following graduation, however, he joined the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD), a NGO in Thrissur in 1988 to work with the legendary Gandhian architect Laurie Baker on low-cost rural housing projects.

Playing an instrumental role in the introduction of exposed laterite buildings to the state in 1992, Sreenivasan, alongside Baker, worked on implementing cost-effective and eco-friendly housing projects. But his focus was on the importance of making a house more eco-friendly and greener by experimenting with other natural materials, particularly mud. However, he soon quit COSTFORD, parted ways with Baker and established Vasthukam in 1994.

“Nearly 25 years ago, I began using mud as a building material. When I worked with Baker, there was a greater emphasis on burnt brick, laterite and stone. He would rarely do mud construction, particularly in Kerala. After leaving COSTFORD, I started constructing mud structures. My first mud building was the Adishakti Theatre in Puducherry,” he says.

Characteristics of a Vasthukam Organic Home

Spread across an area of 2,697 square feet, Dr Surdas and Dr Minu’s home in Ollur has three bedrooms, living and dining rooms, a kitchen with a work area adjacent to it. Hard rocks were used to construct the foundation of the house, while the walls were built employing rammed earth technology where the mud and slaked lime are mixed and stacked tightly. However, in the past, he has also used cob with mud plaster and sun-dried bricks. More importantly, he employs no steel and even the use of RCC is minimal.

Nonetheless, the specialty of any Vasthukam home is the use of mud plaster, which can be rough or smooth, but requires no coat of external paint, instead of a cement plaster.

“It was Vasthukam which reinvented the technique of smooth plastering of the walls using mud. This technique helps to reduce the use of 50 per cent of sand that is needed while plastering the walls. This technique also helps to avoid painting the walls and the unhealthy consequences of breathing toxins,” says the firm’s website.

There are multiple benefits to mud plastering. It is eco-friendly, requires no paints with toxic chemicals and these walls require no to less maintenance work, which in terms of overall cost is much less in comparison to painted cement plastered walls.

“In my structures, however, we need two layers of mud plaster. The first layer is done with a mixture of mud, a small portion of sand and rice husk as a fibre and an even smaller quantity of cement for stabilising purposes. The second layer comprises a very thin layer of mud plaster with sieved mud, lime, little cement and finely sieved sand that presents a smooth finish. The final layer can be smooth or rough depending on the client’s tastes. Mud plastering also has a real cooling effect inside the house and minimises the need for fans and air conditioners,” informs Sreenivasan.

And the doctor couple agreed. “Although we have fans and ACs installed, we hardly switch it on. Overall, inside the house the atmosphere is both pleasant and calming,” they said.

A significant portion of the mud is sourced from waste soil. Although these mud walls require no paint, the structures that Vasthukam constructs are of different shade depending on where the mud is sourced from and the soil type. Their differing shades heighten the beauty of the final finish, and there is no addition of any artificial pigment. The colours are natural.

“The walls of different mud houses are in different shades from deep red, soft yellow, yellow ochre, chrome yellow, muted brownish gold to many other colour variants. And we render the wall with various textures, motifs and impressions,” he says.

However, a very important element for any mud house is the need for protection from the scorching sun and heavy rain. These mud walls require proper shade.

“To protect the walls we build a proper overhang like a sloping wooden roof. Although we built a concrete roof with filler material like old Mangalore Tiles in the Ollur house, we often use wood from coconut or palm trees that are abundantly found in Kerala. Coconut wood, for example, is strong and very durable. It can last for over 100 years. Traditionally, people would use coconut wood from 60 to 70-year-old trees that were way past their fruit bearing years. Another option for roofing is bamboo, but the costs are high after treatment and also the availability is less.” he says.

For flooring, meanwhile, the emphasis is on using natural materials and traditional methods of treatment. Oxide floors in different colours are predominant in his structures. “Here (in Ollur), we used yellow ochre and black colour oxide, wood flooring which we reused from the old house and kota stone,” informs Sreenivasan. The total cost of constructing this house was Rs 46 lakhs.

Another fundamental facet of Vasthukam eco-friendly homes is the absence of glass windows. It’s a facet of modern day housing that annoys Sreenivasan. The emphasis here is the entry of natural light into the room and proper ventilation. “Back in the old days, our traditional houses hardly used glass because it absorbs more heat which then raises the temperature inside. We use simple and small and wooden window panels without any curtains or jaali that facilitates the seamless flow of breeze and fresh air,” he reiterates.

Challenging times

Despite the obvious benefits of such eco-friendly structures, Sreenivasan argues that making them is getting harder by the day because of rising costs. Back when he was working with Laurie Baker, the cost of labour was less compared to the cost for the material used like cement and steel. At the time, Baker insisted on labour intensive work without using cement and steel. For example, Sreenivasan says that he would insist on using lime mortar instead of cement mortar. However, today the labour charges are now more than Rs 1,000 per day, while the cost of cement is less than Rs 400 a bag. Eco-friendly architects like him cannot do the same things as they did back then.

“It’s very difficult now to do construction that is both low cost and eco-friendly, particularly because of high labour charges. Also natural materials are being overly consumed for bigger projects which is causing a rise in demand and thus resulting in higher cost. There is no question that people like us are suffering now,” laments Sreenivasan.

Nonetheless, it’s the type of architecture he abides by that could significantly reduce our collective carbon footprint. It’s a question of survival with climate change hovering above us. Many have spoken of sustainability, but few have done anything about it.

Not PK Sreenivasan, though.

Also Read: Ditch Cement, Use Jaggery & Eggs to Build Homes! TN Engineer Shows You How

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Manoj Patel, a renowned architect in Gujarat, was a third-year student of DC Patel School of Architecture in Vidyanagar when he was introduced to sustainable architecture and was bowled over by the concept.

While he only studied the subject for a couple of semesters, it was enough to leave an everlasting impact on him, so much so that he pursued his Masters in Climate Change and Sustainable Development in 2014 from CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

However, right after completing the Masters, he realised the stark difference between acquiring knowledge and implementing the same on-field. 

Manoj did come across fellow architects who were implementing eco-friendly practices to build green homes, but none of their techniques were appealing enough. 

He wondered why people set up solar panels and rainwater harvesting structures at their home and office buildings when they used modern construction materials like cement, glass and marble everywhere else. Why couldn’t people associate sustainable materials like mud and timber with modern apartments?

“Since building a house has become an expensive affair, most people want to go the conventional way. My aim was to interweave aesthetics, traditional practices, local construction material with modern designs. I didn’t want to import materials made in mass production, I preferred unique hand-crafted ones,” Manoj tells The Better India. 

Wanting to do something different, the 32-year-old founded his own firm named ‘Manoj Patel Design Studio’ (MPDS) in 2015. Today, the eco-friendly architectural firm is reviving traditional methods like using natural light, locally available and reusable materials to build apartments, restaurants, offices and even a discotheque! 

What stands out the most among all his techniques is the use of refurbished earthy red tiles, a regional material. He uses 40 per cent of the waste clay tiles, thus saving on construction costs. He designs them in wavy and boxy shapes for an aesthetic look.

Besides, using them as a facade, Manoj is also creatively using clay tiles to replace plastic plant pots, as they retain water for a longer period and even make the air cooler.

Speaking about the inspiration behind using the earthy tiles made from clay stems, Manoj says: 

“Using red clay tiles to construct roofs is a peculiar feature of old houses in Gujarat. When I studied them, I found how they were designed to withstand extreme weather conditions like heat and rain. They are insect-resistant, fireproof, and they have a longer lifespan than the conventional ones. For any architect, these features are a jackpot.”

Manoj also studied the markets before he decided to make clay tiles his prime material. To his surprise, he found out that 50 per cent of factories manufacturing the earthy tiles in Gujarat’s Morbi district shut down due to negligible demand a few years ago.

“The revenue loss is not limited to the factories; even the small-time kumbhars (potters) are affected. Not only are they out of jobs but their skills are also dying,” he adds. 

Thus, using red tiles is turning out to be a win-win for everyone–Manoj, his clients and potters, whom he hires from Vadodara.

From Red Tiles to Reusing Scrap, a look at Manoj’s 3 Durable & Sustainable Projects

1. Clay Tiles As Facade For A House 

The client’s brief was simple. Use modern materials with a sustainable point of view that should be within the set budget. However Manoj was highly excited as this was his first experiment with tiles, and he used V-shaped sloping roof clay tiles on the exterior of the building. 

A 50-day trial run was conducted in Manoj’s office before presenting the final look to the client. The prototype was successfully tested for extreme weather conditions, leakages and durability. They even kept the tiles in water for 24 hours to check its waterproof properties. 

He sourced 40 per cent of the tiles at zero cost, and the remaining came at Rs 15,000. “We used damaged tiles of which 20 per cent were those that were damaged during transportation.”

The zig-zag layering of tiles was done taking the sun’s movement (from south to west) in consideration. The tiles provide shade throughout the day, thus maintaining a cool temperature. 

“We are satisfied with our new house as it has creatively and climatically resolved the summer heat issues faced by us in our old house. The shadow casting created through the clay tiles has led to several enquiries, from locals as well as tourists, about these unique designs,” says Sanjay Gandhi, the owner of the house.

2. Restaurant With a Zero Carbon Footprint 

Manoj’s Vadodara-based client wanted to build his restaurant ‘Keshav Kutir’ on a 5-year leased land with a possibility of discontinuation of the contract. In such a case, building another restaurant within such a short span would be an expensive affair. So, the architect suggested constructing it in a way that it could be dismantled easily and relocated elsewhere. 

While the client agreed, he put forward the condition that it should look attractive, vibrant, colourful and should have a ‘cool’ vibe.

To minimise heat, corrugated metal was reused on the roof and entrance. Additionally, waste thermocol was installed as insulation to trap the heat from the roof. Insulation turned out to be a low-cost affair as he spent only Rs 2,000 on a 1,600 sq ft area. Interiors were also done with waste metal in a zig-zag pattern for a dynamic look. 

Apart from keeping up with the aesthetics, metal sheets are also easy to dismantle and can be reused multiple times, thus leaving zero carbon footprints in the process. 

3. Discotheque with 90 Per Cent Reusable Materials

Like the restaurant mentioned above, this client too wanted his lively discotheque constructed in a way that could be dismantled easily. 

This was one of his most challenging projects, as Manoj and his team had to hunt for reusable materials that would not shatter from high-level music and dance vibrations. 

After months of research and experiments, Manoj zeroed-in on multiple scrap materials.Like, for the entrance, he used tin lids and painted them in neon colours to appeal to the youth. He used four barrels to set up the bar. The entrance door is constructed from waste plywood. 

Meanwhile, 76 car seats were procured from the dump yard for the seating arrangement, and car rims were repurposed as seats in the mocktail area. The internal partitions between the kitchen, mocktail, DJ booth and sitting area are made using fly ash bricks. For decor, he reused waste beer bottles, tree guard mesh and MS pipe and paper to make artificial plants.

Conclusion

In his five-year career, Manoj has worked on over 50 sustainable projects, and close to 12 of them involved using waste clay tiles, that employed many labourers. As an experienced architect, he not only vouches for the eco-friendly practices but also for the cost, a considerable advantage or a client. 

As per Manoj, the cost of interiors is cheaper by 50 per cent, and the overall construction cost comes down by 20-30 per cent. 

With durability, aesthetic, temperature control features and a low-budget by your side, who knew a construction activity could also contribute towards the betterment of our environment?

Get in touch with him here.

Image credits: Manoj Patel

Also Read: Without Steel Or Cement, This Architect’s Recyclable Homes Will Last A Century!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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We all dream of a beautiful home that we can call our own. This is perhaps a shared aspiration that we earnestly work for. But, there are several choices that one needs to make to ensure that in the process of building a perfect home, we do not cause damage to the environment.

Reports say that this sector accounts for almost 25 to 40 per cent of the world’s total carbon emissions! Research further shows that 50 per cent of the climatic change and 50 per cent of landfill waste can be attributed to construction processes.

Additionally, the sector is responsible for 40 per cent of drinking water pollution and 23 per cent of air pollution.

But, Ashams Ravi, a Thiruvananthapuram based architect nullifies all our preconceived notions with his home. Using recycled materials that include items like beer bottles and bricks and doors sourced from sites where buildings have been demolished, he built his green home as a natural extension of the environment.

The house is built using techniques that are eco-friendly, keeping the carbon footprint at a minimum. The most interesting factor was that the house was built in a matter of four months!

As a practising architect, who is involved in the construction of sustainable buildings, he naturally took the green route when it came to constructing his own home.

“With floods and landslides that Kerala faced in 2018, I was sure that my house should be consciously built without causing much damage to the environment. We bought the land early last year and started construction in April 2019. By August, we were done with the construction,” says the 27-year-old architect.

How the Sustainable Home was Built

The 2500 sq. feet home stands on a plot which is 13 cents in size (5662.8 square foot). It’s important to point out how conscious they have been in ensuring there is no damage caused to the ecology and how they accommodated their plans to build around nature.

“The land we bought had a slant. However, we decided against digging up the soil to level it and just went ahead with the construction process. Also, there was a big mahogany tree which was right in the middle of the plot but we built around the tree and it is a part of the home now,” says Ashams.

The house has two floors in addition to the ground floor and each floor has two levels. Also, 90 per cent of the materials used in the construction process are recycled.

“We thought of reusing materials from demolished building sites and someone’s trash became a treasure for us. I sourced materials like timber, Mangalore pattern tiles, bricks, and stone. The use of cement is very minimal as the manufacturing cycle starting from the production of limestone in the quarry to its transportation and use has a lot of carbon footprint,” he explains.

Renewable materials like bamboo form the skeleton of the building. Research shows that bamboo has a greater tensile strength of 28,000 pounds per sq inch, as opposed to steel’s which is 23,000 pounds per sq. inch. Ashams says that this also helps in ensuring that local tribes benefit by selling the bamboo.

“We treated the bamboo with borax as it helps in crystallising the fat content that most insects are after. Similarly, we’ve also used the trunks of coconut trees that have been chopped down. We use them as pillars once it has been treated the same way,” he says.

Items like beer bottles have been repurposed to make lampshades around the house. There is an entire wall in the house that is made from recycled beer bottles and plastered with mud and lime.

Ashams also has a good network of people who sell materials from demolition sites. In this manner, they were able to obtain a few eclectic pieces that have added a certain rustic charm to the house.

“The Palace of the Diwan of Travancore was privately owned and when it was later demolished, I visited the site. I found a large door which was shabbily painted over. So, I decided to scrape off the paint and now it is the main door of the house. Also, there was a large window with a wooden frame, which was again painted over. Once the paint was removed from the railings, I found that they were made of brass. So, I let it be as it is since brass is not prone to corrosion,” he says.

Ashams also managed to source a large horse cartwheel used in races during Pongal, a harvest festival, celebrated in Tamil Nadu. The wheel has now been used as a window frame in the home. The floors in the house comprise of terracotta tiles and black oxide. There is a hall on the top floor which has been constructed for family gatherings. The floor here is made from cow dung which is layered over bamboo slabs and jute sacks soaked in very little cement grout.

Conservation and Management around the House

In addition to upcycling building materials and using sustainable materials, the techniques used to build the home ensure that resources are judiciously used.

Take for example the ‘Rat Trap bond’ technique in which the bricks are arranged vertically, as opposed to horizontally by maintaining a hollow space within the wall. This technique not only involves lesser bricks but also reduces the cost of masonry by 30 per cent.

However, the most advantageous feature is the fact that it acts as a thermal insulator, meaning the interiors stay cooler in the summers, while in the winter it is warmer. “The house is almost 3 degrees cooler in the summers and at night, we don’t even need to switch on the fans. This obviously ends up saving electricity,” he says.

Talking about the bricks on the wall which remain exposed adding an old world charm, the young architect says, “Plastering doesn’t really add to the foundational strength of the building so we did not use it.”

The house also has a biodigester in place which is used to compost their kitchen waste. The waste from the toilet is also connected to this biodigester (instead of a septic tank) through pipes that run underground.

The courtyard provides additional ventilation and acts as a space where people can meet up and celebrate different occasions. Since there is a slight slant in the plane, Ashams decided to do something interesting.

On the downward sloping plane, he constructed a water tank to harvest rainwater. To ensure that the overflow does not go to waste during the monsoon, he created a drainage hole which lets out the water to a constructed wetland which helps recharge the groundwater.

“We dug out a 5 ft pit and placed bricks and broken tiles to mimic the natural aquifers. We have covered that with a layer of soil which is five inches thick and have planted a species of grass and arrowroot. This prevents the water from getting wasted as surface run-off,” he says.

Influence of COSTFORD

The young architect picked up most of his sustainable building techniques skills from The Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD). He has been working with the organisation for close to three years now and joined them full-time when, in mid-2017, he graduated from Prime College of Architecture and Planning in Nagapattinam.

COSTFORD is a non-profit organisation founded in 1985 by Kerela’s former CM, C. Achutha Menon; Dr. KN Raj, Economist and Chairman of Centre for Development Studies, Social activist TR Chandradutt and legendary architect known for his sustainable building practices, Laurie Baker.

Architecture is at the heart of the organisation’s operations and they build sustainable homes for the underprivileged under rural development programmes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). They also take on projects with clients who can afford to pay them for their services of designing and constructing environmentally conscious homes for them.

Roadblocks to Building a Green Home and Looking Forward

Although the house came to life in four months, it wasn’t a bed of roses for Ashams.

“I think one of the key challenges was that we didn’t really have a final plan on paper. This was because we were constantly modifying and designing parts of the house based on the items that we found on demolition sites and other places. So, we had to be quick on our feet,” he says.

Regardless, he has built a home that has caught the eyes of many. One of these people was Arvind Mohan, a 26-year-old Dhrupad musician based out of Thiruvananthapuram who wanted to build an eco-friendly home and approached COSTFORD. Ashams then became one of the main architects working on the project.

One day, when Arvind visited Ashams’ home, he was completely mesmerised.

“Most of the elements have also been incorporated in my building plan. But one thing that really caught my eye was their beautiful courtyard and I have told him that I want something similar in my house. My house too is built using materials found in demolition sites. I wanted a home that is eco-friendly and built around nature. I am glad that I am getting that and I cannot wait to see my house completed,” says Arvind.

Ashams is happy that clients and other people have shown interest and have been inspired by his home.

“Whenever we go about any activity, one must remember that only what is necessary should be taken from the environment. We must remember that mother earth is not something that is given to us by our ancestors but something that we have borrowed from our future generation. We need to give up our greed for a cleaner, better planet,” he says signing off.

Also Read: Made With Clay & Waste, Gujarat Architect’s Buildings Are 50% Cheaper & Cooler!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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“As a student, I wanted to change the myth that architects are exclusive to people with money. A large part of our fraternity does not cater to the grassroots level or a common man in urban areas. So building budget-friendly houses became our foremost rule,” says Gauri Satam, co-founder of Mumbai-based unTAG, an architectural and interior design firm that believes in building sustainable homes. 

On the other hand, Tejesh Patil, unTAG’s other founder, has always been fascinated by energy-efficient designs. In his words, “Sustainability is not just a label, but an integral approach which starts from the first seed of thought and eventually becomes a lifestyle of the end-users. I always wanted to explore ways to integrate passive solar energy and effective natural cooling systems in projects.”

These two approaches led to the conception of their architectural firm where sustainable architecture is not just a practice, but a way of life. 

The duo’s deep-rooted commitment towards making climate-responsive affordable homes and unwavering loyalty for minimalism and vernacular designs are apparent in their projects. 

“We work around parameters that are specific to the site, climate and cultural context. This makes every project unique and reduces overall construction cost by 30 per cent. Our vision is to make affordable luxury homes while giving utmost importance to the environment,” Gauri tells The Better India (TBI). 

Sustainable homes: Eco-Friendly & Low-Cost

After graduating from the prestigious Sir J J College of Architecture, Mumbai in 2008, Gauri and Tejesh went on to carve their paths in the world of designing houses. 

While Gauri worked with HCP Design (Ahmedabad) and SPASM Design Architects (Mumbai), Tejesh worked with Sanjay Prakash & Associates in Delhi and Opolis Architects (Mumbai). 

From working on master planning projects to luxurious weekend homes, sustainable institutions to world-class museums, the duo gathered a plethora of experience, skills and knowledge from their mentors before starting their dream firm based on their own set of principles. 

For the duo, the aspects of designing low-cost and eco-friendly architecture are primarily by-products of each other. 

“The use of salvaged or locally sourced materials reduces raw material cost. Meanwhile, our material palette is more climatically appropriate and cheaper compared to high-end products sourced from abroad like the imported Italian marbles. Usually, in our projects, the overall construction with basic interior cost comes to around Rs 1400-1500 per sq ft as against the usual market rate of Rs 2,000. Our construction materials ranges from using locally baked bricks, regionally quarried stones, vernacular mud walls to native seasoned timber,” informs Tejesh. 

Implementing Climate-Responsive Strategies 

Treating landscape as a vital aspect, Gauri and Tejesh built a Maharashtrian-style house with a central courtyard and spacious yet controlled openings in Dakivali village in 2019.

The look and feel of this house may be luxurious but as unbelievable as it may seem, it was made on a meagre budget of Rs 22 lakhs. 

“The client, a farmer, wanted a modern structure with the essence of nature. It was challenging to build a house on the 1400 sq.ft area. So, we interplayed with traditional designs like jaalis, verandahs and aangans to create a microclimate that ensured ambient temperature, using natural cooling even during the peak summer months,” says Gauri. 

The recycled fly ash block jaali near the entrance blocks outside dust from the abutting kuchcha road and also acts a climate control measure by restricting harsh heat, while filtering the west breezes.

The aangan, a compact central courtyard endorsing a sculptural champa (Plumeria) tree, gets natural shade for the most part of the day that lowers the temperature by 3-5 degrees. Meanwhile, the other courtyard at the entrance blocks the view of the private spaces from for outsiders and at the same time allows ample cross-ventilation.  

The duo used passive solar designs like large overhangs and appropriate openings. To further reduce the heat, they painted the terrace in white and did the flooring with Indian Kota stone. The landscape around also integrates simple techniques of water recycling and harvesting, using phytoremediation and groundwater recharge.

Similarly, Chira (laterite), an indigenous stone was used as the main structural element to control the extreme temperatures of a newly-built home nestled in the lush green orchard in Ozram village in Maharashtra. 

“Chira was procured from a 3-km away quarry. Due to its porous nature, Chira behaves like an earthenware, keeping internal temperature 4-5 degrees lower than the outside temperature during summers. Whereas its sturdiness protects the house from heavy southwestern monsoon showers,” shares Tejesh. 

Flooring and internal walls were given an extra layer of heat insulation by using Indian Kotah stone and the locally available terracotta roof tiles constitute the traditional sloping roof, providing shade during the day while letting the hot air escape. 

Called ‘Vrindavan’, this sustainable house was constructed merely on a budget of Rs 10 lakh in 2015, “After living in a city like Mumbai, the retired couple’s brief was to be close to nature and do minimal spending on the 1,000 square feet vernacular-styled farmhouse,” says Gauri.  

The recycling factor here was salvaging discarded wood from a temple demolition site in the village, “We got a ready-seasoned timber from local ain, teak, jackfruit and sal wood at merely Rs 10,000. The wood was reused for doors, windows and furniture.”

The tropical planning of the homes, ensuring cross ventilation and sufficient indirect natural light in both the houses lessens the dependency on electric lights and air-conditioning and fans, thus reducing the electricity bill. 

Designing a Sustainable Future through Architecture 

Gauri and Tejesh have worked on around 40 environmentally and economically sustainable projects so far. Naturally, their temperature-controlled strategies, allegiance with local construction materials and adherence to traditional aesthetics have garnered several accolades. 

Though officially only 5 years old, their architectural studio has already clinched prestigious design awards like IAB’s Young Designers Award 2016, and Trends Most Sustainable Project Award 2016 for their fusion between modern and traditional architecture. 

On a parting note, the duo reinforces the importance of sustainable and affordable architecture and the way we will co-exist with nature in future. 

“As architects, we can significantly contribute by working at the grassroots level, something that we learnt from works of Srilankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa and Kerala architect, Laurie Baker. We can start by understanding the aspirations of the common man, educating them the value of environmentally conscious designs while going back to traditional construction methods and exercising climatic thermal-comforting elements. With the help of the right passion and eco-sensitivity, we can alter our lifestyle in sync with sustainability,” says Tejesh.

Also Read: Without Steel Or Cement, This Architect’s Recyclable Homes Will Last A Century!

All images are sourced from unTAG.

Get in touch with unTAG here

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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“The 2018 Kerala floods came as a blessing for me… The house we used to live in was made from boards and plastic sheets. We couldn’t even call it home. It couldn’t bear the slightest wind. It might just be impossible for you to imagine my four children, including my daughter living in that shed,” says Sujatha, a widowed daily wage worker, while talking about the team that built the sturdier home she now lives in and loves.

From the confines of a small ramshackle hut, Sujatha and her family now live in a pucca house complete with large windows and a roof that won’t rattle and chatter or worse, give in, under monsoon showers.

Meet Srishti Engineers and Builders, a firm bustling with energetic young builders and engineers with a passion to create structures that last for the neediest of our lot. Without charging labour cost, the team has completed 12 construction projects for the victims of floods that ravaged Kerala in 2018.

Sujatha was one of them.

The Better India (TBI) got in touch with Arun Narayanapanicker, who co-founded Srishti with his younger brother, Vishnu and friends, Gibin and Mobin Mohan. This firm, established in 2017, has been a ray of hope for many homeless families in Kerala.

In fact, when I called Arun, he was on his way to deliver emergency medicines as part of his service during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Building Homes for the underprivileged in Kerala:

Many stories of courage, compassion and heroism were reported during the massive Kerala floods of 2018. Arun, Vishnu, Gibin and Mobin too were part of the same narrative.

“We were involved in many volunteering activities like evacuation, supplying medicines, water, and food among others. As we travelled in the hinterland, we got acquainted with the plights of the residents there. Many people from the Kuttanad region (which covers the Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts) live in fragile temporary shelters that won’t hold ground if heavy rains or such other calamity strikes. We identified some of them and began thinking of ways to help them,” informs Arun.

As a team, their goal has always been to be the firm that helps the underprivileged build their dream homes.

“Building one’s own home is a dream that everyone cherishes. The whole point of starting Srishti instead of joining an established architecture firm was to be able to fulfil this dream of others. Even the underprivileged have some sort of shelter but is that really home? We want to build houses that provide space, privacy and security to the occupants,” Vishnu shares with TBI.

While only 1 per cent of the population in Kerala falls below the poverty line, life for them becomes unbearable during the frequent monsoon-wrought floods. It is well-nigh impossible for those living in temporary shelters or huts to face such unforgiving wrath of nature.

But, with their concerted efforts and vision to help the marginalised, the four friends have helped several such families shift into more secure, comfortable homes in a matter of just two years!

How the Kerala Team Manages to Pull This Off:

The main driving force behind Srishti is the 50+ daily wage labourers who work with the firm and who truly can empathise with the plight of those who live in Kuchha huts.

Arun shares with us that the construction workers dedicate extra time to build the homes pro-bono.

“Our labours are our strength. Some of them are residing in rental homes and so we are always thankful to them for their strong support,” Arun shares. He adds that they are also associated with voluntary groups and organisations like the Khalsa Aid and the Flood Volunteers Family for financial aid.

“With the Khalsa Aid, we have completed maintenance activities of two schools that were affected by the 2018 Kerala floods. Since the floor level of the classrooms was very low, they became waterlogged during the rainy season. So we raised the floor up to 1.5 ft height to prevent the problem,” the 28-year-old civil engineer adds.

These construction activities are done without charging any labour cost, substantially reducing the cost of each project. “Now all these people are like our own family members. So we no longer need to book hotels or eat in a restaurant in these areas. Our family is ready to welcome us. In a way, it is money saving!” he quips.

The team has completed 12 such projects so far, helping out families and schools in need. Sujatha is one such grateful “family” of theirs. Another is Ratheesh, a farmer who lost his home during the floods. Even then, he did not back out from carrying out rescue missions. He would go from house to house, in his boat and rescue those in need.

“The team got in touch with me after they found out about my rescue operations in Pulinkunnu. They approached me and asked if I needed anything. A lot of people had approached me before, offering help but when I got back to them, most did not respond to my calls. But the team from Srishti managed to complete the construction of my home in a matter of 3-4 months. The four engineers joined the construction labourers in the work. They carried the metal, bricks etc. It was so heartwarming for me to see that,” says Ratheesh.

Many among us pledge to lend a helping hand to the needy, only few actually have the strength and drive to carry it through. The Srishti men are some of those who cannot bear to be silent spectators of the misery of others. They revel in being in the thick of things, helping their brethren in their times of need. Living in these dire times, such strength of character is indeed the need of the hour.

Also Read: This 24-YO Kerala Girl Fought For Her Dreams Till Her Bones Broke, Quite Literally

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

All Images Courtesy of Arun Narayanapanicker/ Srishti Engineers & Builders.

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