The undergraduate students of L.S. Raheja School Of Architecture (LSR), Mumbai, are hard at work. No, they are not busy sketching designs; they are busy erecting buildings – one in mud, the other in bamboo at Vellayani.
The group of 80 students were in the city as part of a 10-day study tour conducted by Architecture Sans Frontiers Society, India (ASF-India), a non-profit organisation of environment professionals committed towards equitable, social and sustainable development.
Says Guruprasad Rane, an architect who runs Bhoomija Creations Architecture and Planning and the founder of ASF-India: “I am an alumnus of LSR. When the college contacted me regarding a practical workshop in sustainable construction techniques, I agreed to organise one.”
The students, most of them third year undergraduate students of architecture, were taught the basics of how to construct a mud structure and erect a bamboo one. “We showed them how to make compressed mud blocks, how to lay mud bricks, how to make tresses from bamboo, bamboo joinery techniques… Most of them have no experience working with such ‘natural’ materials.” Pointing to a group of students struggling with what seems like a wall made from bamboo, he says: “The students over there are constructing a mini gazebo and are doing a good job too.”
Ipsita Dutta, who is working on a thesis on bamboo construction at LSR, says the workshop is “eco-friendly”, something she hopes to pursue in future. “Although I want to work with bamboo, I don’t know how pliable it is as a material. This workshop helps me put my drawings on paper into reality, effectively. I am working on a project with the Sundarbans National Park. I am proposing new designs for their tourist lodges. Hopefully, my designs with bamboo can be implemented. I would like to create a living, breathing architecture.”
Vineet Hingorani, a third year undergraduate student in architecture, found the experience “organic” as he and his friends experienced “hands on” training under experienced teachers and craftsmen useful. “My friends and I were divided into various teams and after each session, the teams were rotated to experience all the exercises under-construction,” says Vineet. According to Guruprasad, such workshops not only teach students how to work with natural material but also help the students appreciate and value manual labourers. “One often sees labourers being treated rudely by their superiors. At this workshop, the students learn to appreciate the amount of work put in by the workers.”
So, why did they choose to set up the houses at danseuse Daksha Seth and musician Devissaro’s property at Velayani? “Well, we needed space to erect the buildings. Devissaro was interested when I first mentioned the project and that’s why we are here,” says Guruprasad, who is leading the workshop with other members of ASF-India.
Founded in 2012, ASF-India, is a member of Architecture Sans Frontiers International, which is based in France. “There are 13 members in ASF-India. Not all of us in the group are architects, there are members who have no background in architecture but have joined us because they want to make places more sustainable and more environment-friendly. Members of AFS and volunteers from College of Engineering Trivandrum and the public recently helped construct a multi-purpose hall for Chilla, an NGO for children, at Karakulam. We have been invited to build schools in Uttarakhand and might do so shortly,” says Guruprasad.
