Alternative Building Technology

Prepared By:TAMALIKA BHATTACHARJEE

DEFINITION

►A technology which conserves or renews natural resources and is considered environmentally friendly Example:   Research into renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind, and water; building with natural materials, and conserving energy are part of alternative technology.

Why it is used???

► Alternative building material a health concern► Alternative construction materials like clay bricks,

polystyrene, are non-toxic materials, assuming that the sources of these materials is not contaminated by industrial waste, does not contain high level of natural contaminants like toxic materials and mold, and free natural radioactive materials, they are some of the most practical natural nontoxic materials. Featuring various suitable characteristics of hygroscopy (which is the ability to retain and release moisture), thermal mass and breathability/permeability, these aspects offer potential for very healthy indoor environment, they become the basis of some of the healthiest homes around the world. They remain rarely used for non-toxic homes yet they have proven to be suitable construction materials for affordable houses.

Introduction to the contribution of LOURIE BAKER:

LOURIE BEKER has worked in INDIA for over forty years now. He is the one of the very few architects who has had the opportunity and the stamina to work on such a remarkably varied spectrum of projects ranging from fisherman’s villages to institutional complex and from low cost mud housing schemes to low cost cathedrals. In TRIVANDRUM alone he has built over a thousand houses, forty churches, numerous schools, institution and hospital.

What makes his work even more remarkable is the way in which he draws creative sustenance from the environment in which he work, absorbing vernacular patterns of construction and individual style of living to such a degree that he is able to give his clients the comfort and ease of homes and institution that are firmly rooted in the soil upon which they stand.

In the designing of these varied project, LOURI BEKER takes half forgotten vernacular patterns of design and construction from the ruler setting to dislocated urban residents whose building choices are often limited to the unsuitable structural concepts discarded in the west. In the every building that BAKER designs, he assert the appropriateness of traditional constructions.

He believes that individual needs stem from INDIA’s deverse environment, the varying cultural patterns and life style; and he feels that these need must be met through an architecture which is responsive uses local materials and expresses itself in many different forms. In BEKER’s scheme of things, architecture cannot be transplanted with out doing

violence to those very needs which it is attempting to meet.

However, BAKER is no conservative. He is at paints emphasize the fact that living architecture thrives on appropriate assimilation and adaptation. Traditional patterns are not the rigidly structured creations of individuals but the collective experience of many generations. BAKER’s architecture draws inspiration from the work of successive generations of builders, from the imprint of the environment and those who have lived in it.

BAKER’s work in an effective demonstration of his own strength, his own interpretation of tradition, technology and lifestyle.

►LAURIE BAKER'S CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (CDS), TRIVANDRUM

• The campus for the research institute, Centre for Development Studies, is located in a residential area on the northern outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram.

• The 10 acre campus stretching across a heavily wooded site houses the Library, Computer centre, Auditorium, hostels, guesthouses and residential units for the staff. 

• The design is a response to the sloping contoured site and seems to grow out of it.

• There is hardly a straight line with each structure curling in waves, semicircles and arcs.

• Baker pays careful attention to the contours on the site and also the location of trees.

• Often, when trees are obstructing the building, Baker simply moulds his walls around the trees so as not to disturb it.

• There are little courtyards in between buildings, often acting as an extension of the building itself and also pools of water which help in microclimatic control through evaporative cooling.

FILLER SLAB WITH MANGLORE TILES

SITE PLAN

WHY I HAVE SELECTED THIS?

Laurie Baker, an architect from Birmingham, now settled in Thiruvananthapuram, has effectively combined traditional techniques with indigenous innovations and has managed to bring down the cost of construction by half. His techniques not only use cheaper materials but also eliminate redundant details from the design.

Concrete is rarely used. Mangalore tiles are used for the roof which makes it light and inexpensive.

► His approach and simple principles to low cost housing are Gandhian, which can be adopted by every builder. The following are the mainstay of design and construction of his houses.

► Planning of space– lesser walls, multiple uses of space, short spans of roof, agglomeration of building services, flexibility in growth.

► Local building material– bricks, tiles, lime, surkhi, timber, thatch, stone, palm, mud.

► Bricks and jalis – play of light and shade, unidirectional vision.

► Unplastered walls.► Lintels and arches.► Attention to details.

► Baker’s works include, private residences, some institutional buildings, like ‘center for development studies’, Kerala. He is very active in the works of all the building centers working in Kerala as well as in the other parts of country. Rather it was his initial effort to promote the low cost housing in India, where housing is a big problem.

► His techniques not only use cheaper materials but also eliminate unnecessary details from the design. Concrete is sparingly used. Mangalore tiles are used for the roof which makes it light and inexpensive.

Brick jali walls, a perforated brick screen which utilises natural air movement to cool the home's interior and create intricate patterns of light and shadow

► Baker's designs invariably have traditional Indian sloping roofs and terracotta Mangalore tile shingling with gables and vents allowing rising hot air to escape.

►Curved walls to enclose more volume at lower material cost than straight walls,

► Baker was often seen rummaging through salvage heaps looking for suitable building materials, door and window frames.

► Baker's architectural method is of improvisation.

► Initial drawings have only an idealistic link to the final construction, with most of the accommodations and design choices being made on-site by the architect himself

LOW COST CONSTRUCTION

Filler slab

Jack Arch

Advantages 20-35% Less materials

Decorative, Economical & Reduced self-load

Almost maintenance free 25-30% Cost Reduction

Advantages Energy saving & Eco-Friendly

compressive roofing. Decorative & Highly

Economical Maintenance free

THANK YOU