Gypsum houses and portable bamboo dwellings
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New ways of building houses using unconventional materials have come into focus recently in Ernakulam region.
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Two new developments on the housing front have raised a lot of interest among those trying to find and promote viable alternatives to conventional house-building practices and raw materials.
The need for these is evident in a State such as Kerala where, mostly, a house is preferred to a flat.
The cost of conventional building materials, such as sand, cement and steel, is ever on the rise. This forces even the government to consider revising the rates it has been paying to building contractors. So, it is imperative to promote alternative building methods and materials. The first development is the introduction of fibreglass-reinforced load-bearing wall panels from phospho gypsum. These can be used for building houses rapidly at a significantly lower cost. The use of conventional raw materials such as sand, cement and steel is minimal. Equally important is the time saved on building.
The alternative has been introduced through a joint venture between Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) and the Mumbai-based Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF). The public-sector fertilizer companies signed a memorandum of understanding with Rapid Building Systems (RBS), Australia, early this year for supply of technology, licence and critical equipment for manufacturing the panels.
This has paved the way for establishing a plant at a cost of Rs. 80 crore for producing the building material. The plant will be set up on the Ambalamedu premises of FACT.
Officials say the panels helps to cut cost of construction by 25 per cent and the time required by 50 per cent. A 1,400-sq.ft house can be built in 14 days, provided the basement is ready. The plant is expected to go on stream in May 2009.
Official sources say the plant will have the capacity to produce 14-lakh sq.m of panels and products such as wall plaster and putty a year.
The project has twin advantages since FACT will be able to use the huge quantity of gypsum accumulated on its Ambalamedu premises to turn out environment-friendly building materials.
New sights: from left, The Nilambur building, a portable house being set up, and a demonstration housing unit using gypsum panels.
The panels, once widely accepted, will revolutionise the way houses are built now. They can almost replace steel, cement, concrete, bricks, river sand and even timber that go into the making of a conventional house.
They are eco-friendly and come at a competitive cost. The walls, called Rapidwalls, are manufactured in a moulding process using glass-fibre reinforced, water-resistant gypsum plaster and adhesives and so on. The versatility of the gypsum board is what makes it revolutionary. It can be used for building residential units and multi-storeyed buildings. Besides, it can be used as form work for suspended concrete floor structures.
The technology for the manufacture of these panels was developed in Australia in the 1990s. A 12x2.85-metre wall can replace a lorry-load of conventional bricks, say the manufacturers. No plastering is needed. Rapidwalls provide a smooth and superior finish ready for primer or paint coating.
One 12x3-metre panel weighs only 1.5 tonnes compared to the 19 tonnes of a conventional 23-cm-thick brick wall. The weight of an equally thick RCC wall will be nine tonnes.
The Australian company says a large number of buildings, including large multi-storeyed apartments with more than 3,000 units and buildings up to 17 storeys, have been built in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and other Australian cities.
To popularise the panels, FACT has set up a demonstration housing unit at Eloor. The site, close to the Eloor police station, can be visited for a firsthand impression of the material and methods.
Bamboo houses
The second development is the use of bamboo as a key raw material in building houses and the unveiling of the concept of portable houses in which bamboo is the key raw material. The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, and the Kochi-based architectural consultants Inspiration have joined hands to develop the portable houses.
Portability is a major attraction in case houses are needed on quick notice in places that are hit by disasters such as tsunami. The researchers say that bamboo mats and boards can be used as the principal structural components for flooring, walling and roofing. Structures for the supporting components can be developed in other suitable materials such as steel, wood and glass.
The unit that was displayed unfolded into a 240-sq.ft. living space with sufficient light and was airy and roomy enough to accommodate furniture. Three or four units can be loaded on a lorry for transport to a location of requirement. K.A.MARTIN, Kochi
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