Project : Gnang illam. Ammq Patti. Pindigul
1. Background

The house is located in a village called Ammapatti in Dindigul district of TamilNadu. The built up area of 2600 sq. ft. is crafted in a form such that it complements the simple and outdoor lifestyle of a village dweller. The load bearing structure is built of earthen materials like stabilized mud block walls, mudblocks + clay pot filler slabs, kadappa lovers, clay flooring tiles etc. This is an attempt to revive vernacular construction technique in a place which is being swept by rapid unthought-of concrete construction. The mud blocks were made
out of the soil from the site itself by educating the local masons, which lowered down the cost of construction to Rs 18 Lakhs. The finished exterior in exposed bricks largely respects the context and makes the building rooted to the place. The house stands as an inspiration in the village and has encouraged the villagers to switch to an improved yet traditional construction technique. This has motivated me to brin the uniqueness of this desi n into public view.

2. Pescription of Project

With the UPSUrge in the use of concrete in this century the born from the earth beauty of our rural landscape is hideously punctured. From the early times the local material mud has been used for construction and together with the style and technique that was followed it was regarded as the vernacular architecture of that place. Over the centuries it had remained both place specific as well as time specific, responding to the climate of the area as well as complimenting to the occupation of the people. The attraction of easy and fast construction has unfortunately overthrown the glory of vernacular architecture and belittled the long prevailing building CUIture of rural India. Ammapatti, a village in the state of Tamil Nadu, like many others has fallen victim to this insensitive style of building construction. ‘Gnana Illam’, a 2600sq feet house in the same village, however is an attempt to merge rusticity of the village and the advantages of
modernization.

Complimenting the lifestyle in a village, full consideration has been given to the open spaces that connect the house to the village street. As observed in the other dwellings in the village, the street forms an essential part of the house and hence the absence of compound wall ensures the bond of the house with the surrounding.

The scenic vistas of the western ghat mountains and the adjacent farm lands are framed by the openings, each one offering a different perspective of the view. The plan form reflects the simplicity of the dwellers which has been grid out in geometric rectangular fashion in three dimensions such that it proves best for the appropriate massing of a G + 1 structure and provides additional open spaces as terraces. The long strips of kadappa louvers offers perfect ventilation as well as view of the garden while providing privacy to the residents and a transparency to the spaces.

The approach to the house from south east side obtains the view of the house as a cube in to which spaces are carved out. The entrance is accentuated by double heighted enclosed courtyard giving the feel of grandness. The sense of privacy is subdued here as it acts as a meeting and gathering space for the residents with the villagers. This court protects the house from south sun while welcoming the breeze into the house. The pergolas covering the court resemble the trellis used for vineyard or snake guard gardens, while casting series of shadows.

The double heighted continuous space of dining and living room is differentiated through levels and is lit through skylight and appropriately placed windows. The family room opens up to the private courtyard garden, which follows the same language as the entry court. Being on the north side this courtyard provides daylight and ventilation to the bedrooms on both floors throughout the day. The study room at first floor is visually connected to dining and family room. The large balcony above the living room is used for outdoor seating’s and sleeping. The semi-covered balcony opens into the entrance courts as well as private while blocking the neighbour’s visibility on east side.

The large openings on all the sides of the house keep it well lit and ventilated. They in a way provide a connection with the village. All the spaces inside the house are meticulously connected such that all parts can be viewed from any point in the house. On the west side the sun is barred by box sun shade. The slit in the RCC box sunshade gives the two materials individuality of mud and RCC, while letting the direct breeze from north and south side meet and cool the bed room.

The use of appropriate material and technique makes the house an admirable example of cost effective solution in building construction. The filler slab reduces the bulk of the otherwise substantially weighty RCC slab. The load bearing walls being an old and known way of construction were easily erected by the local masons with little supervision. Mud from the site itself was used for the stabilized mud blocks thereby reducing the transportation troubles and construction cost.

The blocks were stabilized with 5% cement for strength and then used for constructing the walls. This in turn reduces the amount of heat absorbed by the walls and keeps the interior cool. The entire facade of the house is finished in exposed mud blocks to reveal the elegance of the earth, its colour, texture and the versatility of the various forms in which it can be used from the plant bearing garden soil to the bricks for shelter. The Mud Caps are well arranged creating different patterns is each room.

The ‘Gnana Illam’ house thus portray the era of change in construction technology in rural India as wells as compliment the changing lifestyle of the villagers. It fulfills the desire of our rural folks for modernization in a local fashion which imbibes a sense of comfort to them and sympathizes with existing culture. It hence brid es the old and the new, the vernacular and the modern.

4. Special (sustainable) Features :

Minimum embodied energy materials such as Stabilized Mud Blocks (produced at site) Clay pots (made in five kilo meters of radius) and clay tiles are used.
Reduced use of the non renewable energy material like cement; by using mud mortars for masonry works and Filler slab technique for the slabs (reduction of 1 /3 of steel and concrete).
Production of mud blocks at site reduced the carbon foot print.
Raw materials for producing the mud blocks were brought within one kilometer of radius from the site.
More than 70% of the construction was done by using rainwater which was collected from immediate neighbour building’s roof top
Non Bio-degradable materials like polythene and plastics were dumped in the fillings in sunk.
Broken/demolished Mud blocks can be mixed with soil and use for plantation.
Damaged mud blocks were used as fillers in filler slab along with clay pots.
As the building is finished in exposed mud blocks, paintings and multilayer plastering were eliminated which reduced energy consumption.
There was no hazardous material like VOC paints used in the building.
Requiring only a little stabilizer the energy consumption in I rn3 of the production of mud blocks is from 5 to 15 times less than 1 m3 of fired bricks and the pollution emission is 2.4 to 7.8 times less than fired bricks.
Daylight becomes the source for illuminating the interiors throughout the day through skylights, court wells and fenestrations.
Prior to construction there was no existing vegetation except weeds on the site; 25% of the ground coverage is used as exclusively for plantation.
Southwest hot air is cooled by vegetated courts.
The filler slab and the mud walls together with the effective ventilation system keep the interiors temperature at optimum level of comfort in all seasons.
Weathering tiles are used on the roof top for Thermal Resistance.
More than 75% of the spaces have views of distant mountains and green farmlands.