Review on The Bamboo Construction Workshop @ Auroville

I needed a break from my work. So I was looking out for a get away but something to change my mind and relax and learn something. I found this Bamboo workshop @ Auroville very interesting. It is a 4day course and can be participated by everyone. You basically don't need to be qualified in the same field to undergo this workshop which I found out on the 2nd day of the course. However I loved the whole experience and is just the right thing needed for me at the right time. This post is about the workshop and my experience.

The Bamboo centre in Auroville is located inside the Auroville property but surrounded by many villages. It was different for me to find such entirely different communities live with each other and benefitting each other. One could find lot of designer stores ranging from cloths to handmade products in and around Auroville. It is a calm and quite place. There is no hurry like in the cities or towns. It is so perfect peaceful place for a one to concentrate on life. It seriously reduced my anxiety and pressure which helped me concentrate. The 4 day workshop was amazing. 

The following is my point of view of the workshop, what I did and the details are not authenticated by the Bamboo centre @ Auroville.

Workshop Day - 1

The Workshop started with a power point presentation by Mr.Walter for half a day. The 2nd half of the day was demonstration and what we will be doing the next 3 days. Introduction to tools and how to make joints and how to select a bamboo and its treatment process.

ORNAMENTAL AND BAMBOO FURNITURE WORKSHOP

BAMBOO PLANT HANGER

DIAMOND ROOF SHED

Workshop Day - 2

Because the number of students were more, we were divided in teams. The team I was where part of building a toilet block and the rest for doing a typical bamboo wall panel of 4'X8'. The first thing is we selected the Bamboos and made fish mouth joint and made the division on the frame. Then we split the bamboo and insert it in between the frame to give more stability while weaving the much thinner bamboo later. We started a little bit of weaving and left for the other team to continue.

It was an exhaustive day I should say. The sun was literally sucking our brains and energy out. The only thing that kept us going was the interest and fun we had together. Everything was completely new and nice to do. 

TOILET BLOCK

EQUIPMENTS USED

FISH MOUTH JOINT

SPLIT IN THE BAMBOO

BAMBOO WEAVING

Workshop Day - 3 

The teams interchanged and did continue the wall panel the other team left for us. We did complete the panel almost the same day. It required similar kind of joints and patch work and weaving. 

BAMBOO SPLITTING

PANEL MAKING

SCREWING THE BAMBOO

 

Workshop Day - 4

Finally we had completed the panel. We did do the diamond roofing and tying. We did Bamboo flooring. We did mud wall application and finished with a tea. What an awesome experience it was. 

The workshop was taught to us my Mr.Shiva and Mr.Ilayaraja. I really appreciate the dedication they have for their work and I could learn a lot by simply interacting with them. They are the artisans in the centre.

BAMBOO FLOORING

DIAMOND ROOF BEING LIFTED TO FIT THE FRAME

DIAMOND ROOF TYING

MUD WORK ON WEAVED BAMBOO

BAMBOO TOILET BLOCK

MUD MIXTURE MIXING

How to get to the centre?

Well it is tricky question. It is a long round with many twists and turns. The only way is to ask the villagers around and reach. It is even difficult for the centre to give directions over phone simply because it is too confusing to relate to many small roads that cut across. But there is one landmark. It is called the 'Ganesh Bakery' which is very close to 'Svaram' and 'Bamboo centre'. So you will have to ask for the Ganesh Bakery and the find the Bamboo centre. 

How long is the course?

The Bamboo construction workshop that I attended in the end of July 2015 was only for 4 days, 9.00am to 5.00pm. Whether you are there or not the workshop starts at the right time. 

Who can apply for the workshop?

Anybody can apply for the workshop regardless of your back ground or field of study.

Is it worth the workshop for professional Architects?

I would like to put it in this way. The workshop taught basic things to understand Bamboo construction for which 4 days is well managed. And since anybody of any background can come and learn, it is in simple language. I would not recommend this for professional Architects with more than 3 yrs. of experience instead the best thing for professional Architects is to volunteer and take up a project best suited for the time duration or period and do a research and hands-on construction. The centre is very helpful and will happily welcome your ideas.

Do I need any prep before the workshop?

Absolutely not. It is basically your experience that you will be taking back and is full of hands-on workshop. 

Do you recommend this course?

Of course YES! It is a lovely course and you should definitely attend for its experience.

I hope this review will give enough overview on the workshop. I don't want to explain the joints and treatments in detail here in this post. It will be nice to have a hands-on and experience and learn. 

Sustainable Tall building Design - 'Food Tower'

I chose Sustainable Tall building module in my second term of studies. It was fun and exciting to work on a scale of that big. We opted to work on a live site in London.. Hurrey!! It was good for us to learn more on a same climatic conditions. The other climatic zones where Singapore and Dubai which are completely different context from I had studies in the first term. We were a team of three (Jesna Mathews, Carmen Du and me).

The site is located  by the Thames river on the Blackfriers road, London. It was an exciting site to work with. The major impact that has to be considered was the impact of the context on the building and vice versa. Since all three of us are foodies, we wanted to design a food tower. I should not forget to mention Carmen Du did a major background research to justify our need for the food tower. We were surprised to find that 80% of UK's food is being imported from other countries. And our research became deeper and we had a very strong reasons for our food tower.

The 'Food Tower' we designed was named as 'Vertical farming skyscraper'. The tower is designed to be elevated to 20' height in consideration of the flood prone area. This 20' accommodates informal and temporary activities like the farmer's market, promotion activities and shop for the food tower and mainly growing spaces. The building is divided into zones. The division is by the growing allotment areas and service floors. The first block is office and laboratory block with a test zone of plant growing allotment areas. The rest of the tower are residential and allotments at intervals.

The shape and size of the building is a result of repeated testing of block models for shadow analysis, impact of light and wind on the building and to its surroundings, growing areas/ allotments, and aesthetics. The top of the building possesses an extensive view of the skyline of London.

The building is designed with major concern of the sustainable aspects of water recycling, solid waste management, use of solar energy, purification, rainwater treatment, choice of materials, designing zones, etc. Care is taken for every step to make it more sustainable. The tower was designed to 30% sustainable activities which can reach up to 50% in no time. The residents who live in a food tower is encouraged to take up a different lifestyle of growing their own food. If full effort is being put, the effectiveness can be made 100%.

Design of a '6th Form Centre'

Mass development

Sectional view of the designed 6th Form Centre, Matlock Highfields School, UK

Here is a post with my works on Sustainable Architectural Design which I did during M.Arch in Environmental Design at University of Nottingham. Trust me, it took 2 terms for me to actually understand what I was doing and what I came to study. But it was indeed a great experience in learning that new world.

The first module was a Environmental and Sustainable Design for a '6th form centre'. The whole concept was completely new to understand and it was an exercise to get familiar with the design strategies according to local bylaws, technologies, techniques and software. We worked in a team of 3 (Naseem Khan, Carlos Hidalgo and me). It was a redesign of an extended cafeteria block of a long stretch of an prestigious Highfields school at Matlock, UK. Its is a beautiful site atop a valley. The building marks a grand view of the building from the other side of the valley. The site had only advantages and no disadvantages for our design concept.

Why is it important to have a designed Opening?

Why is it important to have a designed Opening?

Residence  designed by Ar. Suparna Bhalla from 'Abaxial Architects'. © 2013 Debarpita Mohapatra Photography

We see many buildings with very interesting openings on their façade in various sizes, shapes and for different purposes. We see buildings with minimal or no openings like windows, ventilators and slit openings. This could have been done purposefully due to lack of space or privacy or any other reason. We also see buildings with openings all over the wall and all over the building. This requires proper understanding. Let’s start here.

There are many types of openings based on their sizes, shapes, position and their purposes. A typical window size is 1.35m (4’6”) in height by its required length of the opening. This size is for the sill height of 0.75m (2’6”) from the finished floor level. The opening can vary in size and shape by changing window and sill height, length of the window and position. An Architect can design the openings according to the need. Need can be based on privacy or comfort or architectural or user preference based on the type of building and its usage like residence, commercial, public, etc.

In any building design, façade openings play a key role in planning and designing. It helps in reaching the comfort level of the interior space both physically and visually. Openings are good source of daylight and ventilation. They influence the interior layout considerably when they are designed to the requirement. Furniture layout is planned carefully with the openings to have even distribution of daylight and vice versa. 

Influence of daylight in the interiors can be altered by playing with the opening size and shape. One can split the opening to gain maximum daylight to the dark spaces away from the opening. Light shelves are good alternative to disperse daylight for uniform distribution and light darker spaces.

Openings are a good source of ventilation in a space which can be controlled with the opening size and type. Ventilation helps in altering the interior temperature and helps reducing few degrees. We live in a warm and humid climate. It is necessary to design according to the climate. It reduces the energy consumption, increases interior comfort and reduces cost.  Due to excess solar radiation and heat gain in warm and hot climates, it is necessary to carefully place the openings on the façade. 

Excess exposure to solar radiation and heat gain in our city is a concern. Well-designed openings are a good way to go one step towards reducing the adverse effects of solar gain.

The orientation of the openings should be designed according to the orientation of the building. It is best to receive north light to more spaces as it gives good amount of indirect light. Northeast and southwest oriented openings give good ventilation as they let the prevailing wind direction to pass through the living space. 

When there is another building close by, it is best to look for privacy. Having another building by the side will alter the microclimate. An Architect looks for the best solution for the same for a good design.

Designing according to the environment is a green design. Our ancestral buildings and temples are good example. The green building certificates like GRIHA and LEED give points for the well-designed opening. Though certificates are good encouragement for the society to think green, it is our responsibility to encourage green building design for the betterment.