There was a time when mud homes were limited to villages. Over the last few years, designers and consumers have found fancy in the simple material and its many structural qualities. Be it Mumbai’s latest bistro Zeki, the 2,000 sq.ft. home built by Bhoomija Creations in Kerala, or the more recent, Tiny Farm Lab in … Read more
Surprises abound in every Laurie Baker building. The iconic architect, and champion of sustainable housing, was an artist and Gandhian who built spaces that had character. His buildings were not monotonous rectangular spaces that conformed to a pattern. Instead, inside his buildings, light paints picturesque interiors; cleverly-laced doors and windows in different sizes and shapes … Read more
Overlooking a vast paddy field in Kerala’s Angamaly town is a property that has been causing a flutter on social media. This traditional Kerala-style house with a sloping tiled roof is also a community residency where musicians and artistes can get together for performances and jamming sessions. And the roof doubles up as a gallery … Read more
Talk about sustainable modes of construction, and the first concept that emerges is mud, clay bricks, fly ash, plantation or salvaged wood, to mention a few. The entire concept revolves around using materials with the least carbon footprint, especially locally sourced. The construction methodologies are expected to be location-centric and site-sensitive, even the design tweaked … Read more
The Ajanta caves, unlike other rock cut caves, have low ceilings which were specifically designed to allow hot air from prayer halls to rise and move into the surrounding cells that held cool water. By Monidipa Dey, “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony … Read more