MAKING SUSTAINABLE CHOICES

Located in Neral, Maharashtra, an agrotourism center claims to provide visitors with a genuine experience of a typical rural home that is packed with eco-factors that make them feel good. The purpose of the initiative is to increase levels of awareness, enthusiasm, and proficiency in traditional architecture… Adobe Cottage, located in Saguna Baug, is an effort that was begun by bio-architects under the name “putyourhandstogether” (pyht). The goal of this endeavor is to increase the number of eco-friendly homes in their collection. pyht is an organization that was co-founded by a group of groups of friends who had a similar interest in pursuing building using materials that are naturally occurring and readily accessible in the area. pyht came up with a design that finds resonance with the temperature, setting, and inhabitants of the surrounding villages after doing research on the architectural fabric of those other communities. The name gives away the game, as Adobe Cottage is constructed out of unburnt bricks or sun-dried adobes as its primary architectural elements. One of the most remarkable aspects of these bricks is that they are manufactured without the need of any fuel, which is the most astonishing aspect about them. In accordance with the architectural philosophy that they adhere to, the ‘bio-architects’ have obtained the majority of the construction materials from within a radius of five to seven kilometers of the location. Adobe cottage is a home that is 850 square feet in size and is constructed on a foundation of basalt and cement mortar. It has three bays, which are the living space, the wet area, and the bedroom. It is situated on a pond. There is also a timber mezzanine in the cottage, which was designed with the local design preferences in mind. A mezzanine is a space that is often used in traditional homes for the purpose of providing protection from excessive heat to the people who live there. Stone walls have been chosen over mud walls on the western side of the home, which is the side that gets the most rainfall during the monsoon season. It is not a coincidence that the damp portion of the house is located on the western side of the house since it is designed to be climate-sensitive. Although all of the walls in the home are 14 inches thick, the wall on the eastern side is four inches thicker than the other walls. The walls of this ‘breathing’ structure are made of mud and plastered with coatings of jaggery and linseed oil. This protects the structure from termites and improves its waterproofing. The devotion of the designers to the credo of “reduce, reuse, and recycle” is shown by the minimum use of industrial raw materials, the wooden roof under-structure, the perforated brickwork in pockets, the reused mangalore tiles, and the reused timber for doors and windows. A cottage, which is firmly based in simplicity and sustainability, lets one appreciate the green methods of living, which were affectionately promoted by masses not an insignificant amount of time ago. To see the pictures of the cottage that are available on indiaartndesign.com, please click here.

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