When you enter one of Vinu Daniel’s buildings, the first impression is that of earth and art. It is understandable if one feels edgy beneath the vaults of mud blocks supporting their own weight, with minimal use of steel and concrete. However, the structures are surprisingly stable and highly functional. Daniel, an earth architect, likes to experiment with this medium, which ranges from mud and rocks to shipyard waste and beer bottles.
Mud and scrap may be the last options of the construction industry, but Daniel says that their popularity in the coming years is inevitable. “As the environment is degrading at a fast rate, we do not have a choice, but to look for more sustainable methods of construction,” he says.
Daniel focuses primarily on mud architecture. He uses two techniques: Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEBs) and rammed earth. “Any type of earth is usable,” he says. “However, we do not use the top 30 cm of soil as it is rich in humus and hard to replenish.”
The CSEB and rammed earth construction use less than one-tenth of the energy required for firebrick construction, which is common. This is also what got him interested in using scrap. Since scrap is cheap and readily available, it does not take up much energy in its treatment. The only resources needed are time and manual labour.
“The key to using scrap is that it should not look bad,” says Daniel. He says that by using mud and scrap for construction, the energy required to build a house is only one-sixth of that required in regular construction.
“People somehow have a perception that mud is unstable,” says Daniel. “This is far from the truth. Mud blocks are, in fact, cured with water for days before they are used in construction. They can easily withstand water.” He says that mud blocks have been used in construction as early as 2000 BC. “It was the Egyptians who developed this technology,” he says
In regions prone to calamities like earthquakes and tsunamis, mud buildings have shown more resistance. In Gujarat, for example, the government has allowed construction of mud buildings of 2 to 3 floors whereas firebrick buildings are allowed only a single floor. “This is because mud houses are laterally more reinforced,” says Daniel.
When asked about the biggest hurdles to earth-based architecture, he says it is the general perception. “Even if people overcome the fear of instability, they still see this mainly in terms of cost-effectiveness,” he says. Daniel feels that people do not give it credit for what it really is: a versatile medium for expression. “The trouble with the cost-effectiveness factor is that it leads to one of two outcomes: either it is exploited or it is considered low quality,” he says.
The most interesting aspect is that the wastage of resources is minimal. Everything is used in one way or another. Parts of old structures are used as raw materials for new ones. “Our generation does not have the luxury of using too many resources,” says Daniel. “Sustainability is not a choice, but a necessity.”