Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(1917-2007)
INTRODUCTION
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QUOTES
:
QUOTES
I dont think I have ever been inspired
by what other ARCHITECTS have done
but more by what ordinary CRAFTSMEN
have created.
This doesnt mean that he disliked the
work of other architects, according to
him,
ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES
Cost effectiveness.
PHILOSOPHIES:
He believed that,
Curves are there to take
stresses and strains and to stand
up to all sorts of external forces.
On top if it all, they look good and
beautiful and are infinitely more
elegant than straight lines of
steel and concrete."
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
FOUNDATIONS
STONE
FOUNDATIONS
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
SLOPING SITES
BONDING
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
BRICK JALI
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
MUD
it is used for different purposes and is used in different ways! There are different
techniques of sticking it together and making it into a wall or whatever. This varied
considerably, even sometimes in a matter of a few miles, from one district to another
SOIL SOURCE
Mud required for building can be taken from the plot itself.
The soil is collected after depth of 60cms only.
As the top layer is full of organic matter, it isnt used.
Below it is sand and clay which are dug out in heaps.
Do not use hard rock.
Soil to be used should be devoid of organic matter.
SOIL USABILITY
Gravel: alone is of no use for mud wall building - the tiny lumps of stone have nothing
to bind them together.
Sand: similar to gravel, it is of no use for wall making by itself - but if mixed with clay, it
is the ideal mud wall building soil.
Silt: by itself is also no good for building walls. It will hold together but is not strong.
Furthermore, it will not compact so it is also of no use for pressed blocks or rammed
earthwork.
Clay: can be rammed or compressed but in drying out they often shrink. During the
monsoon they get damp and expand again and crack form.
Organic Soils: are mainly useless for wall building.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
There are two kinds of tests:
Field tests
Colour tests1. Deep yellow, orange and red, ranging to deep browns indicate iron content ,good as building
mud.
2. Greyish or dull brown, ranging to dirty white indicates more clay.
3. Dull brown with slightly greenish colour indicates organic soil.
Cigar test
1. Make a smooth paste from the soil removing all gravels.
2. Roll it on palm to make a cigar.
3. Slowly push it outside your palm.
4. Measure the length at which it breaks.
Interpretation
1. Length below 5cm - too much sand.
2. Length above 15cm - too much clay.
3. Length between 5cm to 15cm - good mixture of sand and clay.
SIEVE TES
Other tests-Touch and smell test,Biscuit test, Hand wash test, Adhesion test
. Lab tests
Sieve test
1.Pass soil from series of standard sieves set on top of on another with finest sieve at bottom.
2.Observer the soil collected in each sieve.
Interpretation
1. Silt will be collected in lowermost sieve.
2. Gravels will be collected on top.
3. Sand and lumps of clay will be collected in intermediate sieves
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
STABILISERS
When the available soil is not suitable enough for construction
then the soil can be used by manipulating its composition by
adding suitable stabilizers.
1. Stabilizing enhances the given property of the soil type.
2. Increase Tensile and Shear strength.
3. Reduce shrinkage.
Cement, is the best example of a modern contemporary
stabiliser.
Various other indigenous stabilisers include
Straw
Plant Juices
Gum Arabic
Sugar Or Molasses
Cow Dung
Animal Urine
Tannic Acid
Oil
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
EARTH TECHNIQUES
Cob-it is good for anything except height. It is particularly good for
curved or round walls.
Pise or Rammed earth- it strong and ideal for solid, squat, single storey
houses.
Adobe- -SUN DRIED BRICKS can easily cope with two storey houses.
Pressed bricks-It is very smooth and very strong and can build three
storey.
Wattle and daub method is elegant and fine for Seismic Zones.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
COBWith only a little water to form a very stiff mud, a large lump is roughly molded
into the shape of a huge elongated egg.
The usual size is anything between 30 to 40-cm long and about 15-cm in
diameter.
A row of these cobs of mud are laid neatly side-by-side - preferably somewhat
pressed together. Then another row of cobs is laid on top. When three or four
courses have been laid, one above the other, the sides are smoothed over so
that the holes and cracks disappear.
Openings for doors, and windows are a problem, which can be solved by using
temporary vertical planks or shuttering.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
RAMMED EARTHWith a properly made frame, rammed earth makes a very strong wall.
It is essentially good for large, low, solid looking buildings or it can take the
weight of heavy roofing such as reinforced concrete.
The second method has developed from the cob wall so as to standardize or
regularize the thickness of the wall.
Two parallel planks are held firmly apart by metal rods and clips or bolts, or by
small crosspieces of wood.
Stiff mud is thrown in between these two planks and rammed down with either
a wooden or metal ramrod.
When one section is completed and hard, the two boards are moved along and
the process is repeated
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
ADOBE
Blocks shall be kept covered with air tight polythene sheets for first 48 hrs with
relative humidity up to 100.
Polythene sheets shall be removed after 48 hrs and the blocks shall be kept in
shaded area like having enough air circulation.
Sprinkle water over blocks daily, as many times needed, during 28 days.
Cover stacks top with coconut leaves or any other cover to avoid direct
sunlight.
Principle is that blocks shall not dry for 4weeks
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
WATTLEANDDAUB
Wattle and daub method is an old and common
method of building mud structures.
There bamboo and cane frame structure that
supports the roof.
Mud is plastered over this mesh of bamboo cane and
straws
Due to excessive rainfall the Wattle and Daub
structures gets washed off.
However, the mesh of cane or split bamboo remains
intact and after the heavy rain is over the mud is
plastered on again.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
FOUNDATION
If stone is locally available it can be used.
topsoil may be soft - dig for a stone or brick foundation.
Slightly dampen the excavated soil and then replace a part of it to
fill the trench about 6 to 9-inches. Ram this very hard - then repeat
IF there is bamboo is available, it can be used to make narrow rafts
of split bamboo. Having done the first 6-inches infilling and
ramming, a raft of bamboo strips is laid all around.
MORTAR
Mud mortar shall be stabilised 1.5 times more than the mud blocks.
Add course sand (0.2 to 2mm) to reduce shrinkage.
Ideal mix = soil suitable for mud block + 40% to 50% of sand by
weight + 7.5% cement.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
TREATMENT
WATER
TERMITES
Mud is the natural home of termites so in areas where they are common the
same precautions have to be taken as in all buildings to prevent their moving
up into the walls and eating wooden frames etc.
A one-inch thick layer of mortar (one part of cement to 3-parts of sand) can
be laid all over the top of the basement wall before building the mud walls
above it. This is helpful in keeping out both termites and damp.
Any thin sheet metal may be laid over the basement wall with a 3-inch
downward projection before starting to build the superstructure mud wall
above. This is expensive but very effective.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
LINTELS
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
BRICK ARCHES
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
WINDOWS
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
WHEN WINDOWS
IS A NECESSITY
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
DOOR
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
LOAD BEARING
WALLS
WORKS
DEMERIT
Now although the building is unique in design, there are a
few functional issues. Due to the placement of the kitchen
on the ground level, it becomes difficult for the serving
staff as they have to continuously climb up and down the
ramp to place the orders & then to serve the people
sitting on the upper levels. Thus, they in fact ask the
customers to occupy the lower seating first before going
up the spiral. Also, the slope of the ramp is a bit steep,
which contributes to a slippery slope which sometimes
results in a few falls. Yet, one cannot deny the ingenuity
of Baker to come up with such a design solution in such
an urban context, creating a memorable building
OFFICE
BRICK JALI
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
FILLER SLAB
ROOFING
FILLER SLAB
Lightweight, inexpensive materials such as
low grade mangalore tiles, bricks etc. are
used as filler materials in filler slabs to
replace the redundant concrete in tension
zones. Hollow concrete blocks, stabilized
mud blocks/ hollow mud blocks, clay pots,
coconut shells etc. can also be used as
filler materials. These materials are laid in
the grids of steel reinforcement rods (6mm
or 8mm dia.), and concreting is done over
them. The concrete mix used is 1:2:4. The
grid size depends upon the design,span,
and the material used.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS
SLAB
WALLING
FOUNDATION
Inverted Arch
Footing/Foundation is
used to be provided for
multi-storeyed buildings in
olden times.
One of the drawbacks in
this type of construction is
that the end piles have to
be specially strengthened
by buttresses to avoid the
arch thrust tending to
rapture the pier junction.
However, the advantage of
inverted
arch construction is that in
soft soils the depth of
foundation is greatly
reduced
WALLING
RAPID WALL
Rapid wall is a single panel
walling system that serves as
both the internal and external
wall and eliminates the need for
bricks, blocks, timber and steel
wall frames and plasterboard
linings. It is the most
ecologically sound and
technologically advanced
building product available in the
world today. Rapid wall uses
natural gypsum or by-product,
chemical waste gypsum and
turns it into a glass-fibre
gypsum plaster, single panel or
load bearing walling system,
roofing panels fencing etc. All
panels are up to 12 metres long
and 3 metres high. The panels
are cellular in form and 124
millimetres thick.
Advantages
Prefabricated Rapid wall means
faster construction.
Speed of assembly reduces
labour costs.
For low-rise buildings a
substantial
energy saving of approximately
66% can be made, compared
to timber frame and clay
brick construction.
High thermal efficiency,
therefore
less recurring cost for
heating and cooling the building.
WALLING
Fly ash brick
Fly ash brick is a building material,
specifically masonry units, containing
class C fly ash and water. The raw
materials for fly ash brick are fly
ash, sand/stone dust, lime, gypsum
and cement. FAL-G bricks (fly ash
lime gypsum bricks) are a higher
alternative of fly ash bricks and are
stronger because of the gypsum
content. Standard brick sizes
are230x150x80mm,230x110x75
mm.
Advantages
Fly ash bricks are lighter than
clay bricks therefore reducing the dead
load on a building.
Due to high strength, practically
no breakage during transport
and use.
Costs 20% less than traditional
clay brick manufacturing.
It is fire resistant and structurally
strong and durable
BAMBOO
LAMINATED
COMPOSITE
CEMENT BONDED
PARTICLE BOARD
JUTE POLYESTER
COMPOSITE
BAMBOO MAT
BOARD
THE END