At a time when most people increase the carbon footprint and take refuge in an umbrella of guilt, architects and homemakers respond sensitively to the environment and try to incorporate the Laurie Baker model.
Architect Jaisim visits flea markets and villages to pick up scrap material. His design philosophy - from waste to wealth - is expressed through clay pots, coconut brooms, shells and baskets.
His latest muse is field stones and rubble which are cast away as waste. “I’ve picked up the roadside material and cut trees from the highways and used them in an effective manner. There’s no such thing as waste,” said Jaisim.
From waste comes wealth. Unknown materials have shaped into alternative resources. For instance, the soil dug up for construction is used to make mud blocks for walls, which nearly does away with cement. Corbelled openings replace beams, while terracotta and Mangalore tiles are expressed through sky lights, open spaces and informal niches. The vocabulary stretches to include bamboo, otherwise called the common man’s timber, which replaces wood.
Total Environment, a real-estate development organisation, uses signature natural materials like wirecut bricks, form finished concrete, unpolished dressed granite masonry panels and mirror polished Kota and Jaisalmer stone. Besides being maintenance-free, these natural materials age beautifully. In almost every project, it attempts to bring in the interiors through French windows and open-to-sky private terrace gardens.
The projects are distinguished by creeper covered pergolas and verdant landscaping. Good Earth, an eco-builder, created a ventilated cavity roof using terracotta fillers and concrete in a recent project.
The hot air trapped in the roof is ventilated through the hollow terracotta blocks place as part of the structure, along the slope. Self introspection is necessary to make the concept work.
“House builders should look at the basics, whether there’s sufficient natural light and ventilation and aspects like slope, the views and orientation do justice to the land. As far as possible, use local materials and ensure that the technology is simple. Finally, connect with nature,” said Stanley George, managing director, Good Earth.
Clearly, the design element defies the dynamics of tradition.
Jaisim has used railway sleepers which were being cast away as redundant.
The texture and hundred years of coal and cinder falling on it have been retained as part of the fabric texture. Obviously such things have immense character and tell a story. “If designed sensibly and built with comprehension, eco homes would be 20-30 percent cheaper than traditional ones. This requires more input at the preliminary stage and a holistic understanding of site and what influences the design and ethos of people who habit the spaces,” said Jaisim.
One of Jaisim’s award-winning creations is cine artiste C R Simha’s home.
The 17-year-old house makes a huge statement with natural materials like stone and hollow bricks used on walls and terracotta tiles for flooring. “The stone looks rugged, as it isn’t dressed. Hollow bricks are cooling and one occupies the space of six bricks, thereby lowering labour and cement cost. Instead of wood, we have brick jali windows. In all, we’ve saved 45 per cent of construction cost,” said Simha. Besides the unconventional geometry (the home is built in a pit), a forest-like exterior gives it the name Guhe (cave).
