Social media today has ascertained that few except Donald Trump are immune to the environmental devastation humans have wrought on this earth. Yet all it elicits is a shrug. But not from Amarnath Duleep. This Calicut-based architect who experimented with ‘green living’, has learned the natural methods of making mud homes at Thannal in Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, at an organisation which teaches sustainable building techniques.
His preferred material is mud, straw and water. Amarnath applies completely natural techniques for his projects, utilising only local materials for his projects. His partner is Mumbai-based Diana Mowdawala, who embellishes Amarnath’s mud buildings with intricate natural artwork.
“Our collaboration wasn’t planned. Looking back, it seems inevitable. I delve into the technical aspects of the work, experimenting with natural building practices such as how mixing mud in different proportions with lime, terracotta, etc which can be used as mortar or plaster,” reveals Amarnath. Diana’s yang is in applying delicately detailed artwork on the base structure to create a new synthesis.
Amarnath sees himself more of a sculptor than an architect. He admits that not everyone is excited about mud homes. “Mud houses are often associated with dingy, ramshackle huts. On the contrary, if finished in the right way, their surfaces can be made to gleam like polished, refined stone,” he says. Contemporary construction theory has fostered the common belief is that mud is not durable. Amarnath claims to the contrary. He observes that earth structures can last for decades as long as “they are shielded by sturdy roofs”. He agrees that natural buildings are more susceptible to termites. His solution is borrowed again from ancient beliefs such as adding slaked lime and neem help fight termites.
Paints are a strict no in Amarnath and Diana buildings. Nature’s bounties enrich Diana’s palette; she uses plaster sgraffito (decoration created by scratching through surfaces to reveal a lower layer of a contrasting colour) in her art. “It’s time we took a leaf out of the manuals of our ancestors and explored the viability of re-engineering old building materials to be compatible with our modern world,” says Amarnath. Mud flinging just got a whole new meaning.