Sustainable building technology
Efforts of a Kochi-based builder to adopt an eco-friendly and sustainable approach to construction, such as using slate and wood left in a natural state without employing toxic waxes and other finishing materials and avoiding harmful chemicals in sewage treatment, has been taken note of internationally.
A project of Good Earth at Bangalore is one among four such ventures listed by the Time magazine, the others being a Massachusetts "solar zealot" making sun power more affordable for homeowners, an Italian promoting concrete that "eats" air pollution and a Texas crusader for greener hospitals.
The 60 houses in various stages of construction at Bangalore will also make use of solar panels to heat water, which, the builder claims, will reduce electricity use by 30 per cent.
Extensive use of locally available building material further cuts down the cost of construction.
The group, inspired by the master builder Laurie Baker, is wedded to the concept of creating communities that are responsible for the world around them, said Jeeth Iype, who, along with his wife, Natasha, and Stanley George, civil engineer, are behind the design of the Good Earth Orchard home project.
And their new nine-storey Kochi project features "sky gardens" or private landscaped terraces.
"The effort was to break the verticality of a high-rise and provide a sense of association with nature for the residents, irrespective of the floor they are in," said Benny M. Thankachan, one of the partners of Good Earth.
Cavity wall
It also uses an energy-efficient, thermally and acoustically comfortable large cavity wall made out of a combination of hollow terracotta bricks and semi wire-cut bricks for the external wall.
The landscaped gardens act as a buffer to the dust, heat and rain for each apartment.
ANAND HARIDAS
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