THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) design award in the category of cost effective rural/urban housing deploying innovative/emerging & disaster resistant technology has been awarded to architect N S Abhayakumar.
Abhayakumar won the award for Project Bhoomika, a flood-relief housing initiative, as part of which 10 houses were built for people in Cheruthana village of Alappuzha who lost their houses in the 2018 floods. The design scheme of the project was based on a cost-effective and disaster-resistant technology.
The highlight of Project Bhoomika was the partial inclusion of its beneficiaries in the design process. Unlike other housing projects in which a row of cookie-cutter houses is made, Project Bhoomika gave its beneficiaries the option to choose the design without affecting the cost. The project also saw the involvement of young students of architecture and civil engineering in the implementation of a socially relevant human settlement project. Cheruthana is a village that experiences flooding at least three times a year during the monsoons.
“Project Bhoomika was conceived after the flood relief work was finished. It was found that houses with strong and sustainable construction withstood the flood. So, as an architect, I wanted to do something for the affected to help them resist adversities in the future. Around 100 houses were scouted to find the needy with the help of local youngsters for the project,” said Abhayakumar, who is a member of the Trivandrum runners club, a registered charitable organisation that actively worked during the 2018 floods.
A mix of precast concrete elements was used for the foundation, and pre-fabricated galvanised pipes and ferro-cement technology for the superstructure to minimise the site work, which is usually the reason for the higher cost of construction in Kerala.
The cost for construction of the 400 sqft two-bedroom houses, erected on nine pillars of 1m each, was kept below Rs 6 lakh each. The best part is that beneficiaries were not relocated from their native places for the purpose.
“Considering the topography of the region, which is surrounded by water with limited road access, the houses were conceived in such a way that different parts such as the well rings, pillars, and wall panels could be pre-fabricated and transported by boat and then erected at site. I hope that local bodies in other flood-prone areas replicate this model,” said Abhayakumar.
Project Bhoomika
The highlight of the project was partial inclusion of its beneficiaries in the design process. They were given the option to choose the design without affecting the cost
Also ensured the involvement of young students of architecture and civil engineering in the implementation of the project