You are on page 1of 56

LAURIE BAKER

I have my own principles


which I am unwilling to
abandon. I dislike
falsehood and deceit. A
building should be
truthful.

(1917-2007)

INTRODUCTION

o
o
o

Laurence Wilfred "Laurie" Bakerwas a British-born


Indian architect.
He was renowned for:
cost-effectiveness in architecture
Energy-efficient architecture
His unique space utilization and simple but
aesthetic sensibility.

He was influenced byMahatma Gandhi, who told him


that an ideal house is one which is built by using
the materials available within a 5 mile radius of
the site.

He incorporated simple designs with local


materials and achieved fame with his approach
tosustainable architectureas well as inorganic
architecture.

He has been called the "Gandhi of architecture".

Bricks to me are like


faces. All of them are made

QUOTES
:

of burnt mud but they vary


slightly in shape and colour.
I think these small
variations give tremendous
character to a wall made of
a thousand bricks, so I never
dream of covering such a
unique and characterful
creation with plaster, which
is mainly dull and without
any character.
I like the contrast of textures of

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,

I never build for classes of


people, high income, middle
income or low income groups,
tribals or fishermen. I only build
for a Bhaskaran, a Matthew, a
Muneer or a Sankaran.

I greatly enjoy their work, but it


doesnt make me want to build in a
certain way, but what has slowly
evolved empirically, often gives me a
great kick and I want to be a part of
the continuing evolution or
progression.

He didnt want to build huge,


showy buildngs that people
would remember as A Laurie
Baker Building but a building
which would be recognised by its
owners name and his living style.

ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES

Cost effectiveness.

Use of locally available materials.

Respect for nature.

Avoidance of energy intensive


materials.

Wastage minimization to create


low cost, beautiful, high quality
buildings.

Cost effective houses


are not just for the
poor, they are for
everyone.

The equation that a costeffective house is a


house for the poor,
implying a bad looking
house can definitely be
proved wrong.

Low cost' or cost reduction' is


not only concerning economy.
Most modern building
materials are manufactured
articles (like burnt bricks or
steel or glass or cement).
Their respective costs are one
important consideration but
just as important is the
question of how much energy
(or fuel) was used in their

PHILOSOPHIES:

Discourage extravagance and snobbery.

Study your site, ie. soil, topography, climate.

See potential services, water, drainage, power,


fuel etc.

Get accurate site details, yourself.

Every building should be unique. No 2 people


are alike so why should their habitats be alike.

Study and know local materials, availability,


costs, techniques.

Avoid energy intensive materials.

Dont rob natural resources. Avoid using them

THE BAKER STYLE

The style that Laurie Baker used to design


his buildings came to be known as the
Baker Style.

But according to Baker himself, this term is


not correct, because what he does varies
from place to place.

The so-called Baker style in Kerala is very


different from the Baker style in Gujarat or
in Uttar Pradesh because the inspiration or
the source of inspiration is entirely different.

He preferred working with curves


because he was sub-consciously
influenced by nature.

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

For single storey houses- Instead


of building upper brick walls over
the middle of the foundation wall,
build over the outer half to
prevent rain seepage.
When digging out the trenches
Keep soil Altogether in the middle
as it will be needed for infilling inbetween the plinth

STONE
FOUNDATIONS

Usually stop at floor level (30


or 40 cm above ground level.).
Take them 45 cm higher and
you have a ready made bed or
seat!

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

SLOPING SITES

BONDING

Instead of building on the


outer edge of the terrace that
needs an expensive retaining
wall,building the house along
the middle of the terrace and
use a long rectangular plan,
not a square one.
If the terraces are narrow it is
sometimes possible to build a
stepped house.

If stone is available, but only in


small irregular lumps, these
make very poor walls with
cracks.
To get an excellent building
block, we take a metal (or
wood) box (without top ) 450 x
230 x 150 in size and place in
larger stones and then fill in,
with Concrete made of the
small stones.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

RAT TRAP BOND

As strong as the other bonds


but uses 25% LESS bricks and
mortar.
Thermal insulation is very
much better
Bricks are laid on edge, not
flat. This creates a bonded
cavity.

HALF BRICK WALLS


Straight, long, thin walls can not be
expected to carry roof loads and
must be expected to bulge, crack
and break.
4.5-inch thick brick wall is often
adequate for single storey houses,
and certainly for interior partition
walls.It can be perfectly strong and
capable of carrying the load of roofs
and floors if it has either thin
buttresses or intersecting walls every
five or six feet
These recesses can be used for
shelves and almirahs at almost no
extra cost!

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

BRICK JALI

Traditional method of letting in filtered light


and ventilation but maintaining privacy and
security.
Can function as either as panels or as a
Floor to ceiling,
and column
complete
load bearing
wall. to column, large
panels of jail can be corrugated or folded
and given lighting and ventilation to corridors,
class rooms, and even for large halls .
Bay windows make excellent beds in the hot
weather.

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

Water and dampness are one of the major problems for


mud as construction material.

The best way of protecting any wall from either rain or


sun is to have a good big overhang to your roof.

The sloping, or pitched roof is better because the walls


need not be so high as for a flat roofed house.

Provide trenches round the house to receive dripping


water and drain it away.

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

Usually lintels are made of


RCC, Often a lintel is not
necessary over door and
window openings up to four
feet in width.
Simply brick on edge is all
that is required.
A hollow arrangement of
brick on edge filled with one
or two steel rods in concrete
will carry large weights of
wall &roof above.
This type of lintel is less
than half the cost of the
orthodox reinforced concrete
lintel.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

BRICK ARCHES

BRICK arches are much less costly


than reinforced concrete lintels,
and as strong.
THE inexpensive way of spanning a
hole in a wall is the simple corbel
arch.
Each row of bricks projects 2.25inches beyond the course below
until the bricks meet together in
the middle.
No fore work or shuttering is
necessary.
This technique also ensures that if
a door or window is removed from
a wall then not fall down and even
if it does the maximum will be the
amount of wall within the triangle
above the frame.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

WINDOWS

WINDOWS are costly. One


square foot of-window can
cost up to ten times the
cost of the simple brick or
stone wall it replaces.
A JALI or honeycombed
wall in place of a window is
as effective.
The pictures below show a
few of many possible
variations

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

WHEN WINDOWS
IS A NECESSITY

The simplest window


consists of a vertical plank
set into two holes (or pivot
hinges), one at the top and
one at the bottom.
This is strong, simple,
inexpensive, very little
labor, no iron mongery, lets
in light and air and
provides security
Only a nine-inch wide hole
is necessary for the
window.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

DOOR

DOOR frames cost a lot of money


and are often not actually
necessary.
The planks can be screwed
together by strap iron hinges to
form a door,
They can be carried by hold-fasts
built into the wall, thus eliminating
the outer door frame altogether.
THE door shutter itself is costly
because it uses a lot of wood and
quite a lot of costly labour.
The simplest door is made of
vertical planks held together with
horizontal (sometimes diagonal)
battens.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

LOAD BEARING
WALLS

In 99 cases out of a 100 a


complete reinforced concrete
frame structure is totally
unnecessary for
ordinary houses or
apartments up to three
storeys high. Ordinary 9-inch
brick walls (etc.) are
perfectly
adequate to be used as load
bearing walls and can well
carry the load If floors and
roofs without any
necessity for RC columns.
These latter are merely an
extra expense.

WORKS

INDIAN COFFEE HOUSE

The form of the building is


unconventional and bears bakers
trademark jalis.
The building is well proportioned, a
cylindrical brick-red spiral continuing
for a couple of floors and then
terminating in a smaller cylindrical
volume on top, giving a very
asymmetrical balance to the whole
structure.
Conceived as a continuous gentle
spiral ramp, with a central circular
service core & with dining spaces
provided on the outer side.
Well proportioned, a cylindrical brickred spiral continuing for a couple of
floors & then terminating in a smaller

There is a circular service core in the


centre, which consists of 2
concentric circles. The inner smaller
circular core is a narrow vertical
shaft open on the top, with openings
at different levels. This shaft
provides ventilation to the central
areas and works on the principle of
Stack effect, a very simple but
effective solution that is so typical of
Baker. Around this circular core are
the service areas, especially the
toilets & handwash. The kitchen is
placed on the ground floor and has a
separate service entrance.

The table consists of a concrete slab


fixed to the wall & with a semicircular
taper on one side. This slab is resting on
a small brick arch which serves as the
legs. The seats are again interestingly
designed and accommodate 2 people
comfortably on either side. The seats of
adjacent tables are abutting back to
back, but are at 2 different levels to
accommodate the slope.

There are no windows jaalis serve to bring in


plenty of light & ventilation, ensuring that the
interiors are nice & comfortable

The material palette is again typical


Baker. The walls are made of exposed
brickwork which has been painted
over white on the inner side & brickred on the exterior.

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

CENTER FOR HABITAT STUDIES

Located in Nooliyode Vilage 12


kms from the center of
Thrivanthapuram city.
Campus Area: 3.34 acres
Topography: An undulating
piece of land , dense with trees
and other flora and fauna.
The campus consisits of
An office
A kitchen with a Dining hall
A dormitory ( for 16 persons)
with a lecture hall
A Guest house for 7 persons
Atower that houses a rain
water harvesting tank and a
View tower where discussion
sessions were held.
Its build on a stone quarry, no
foundation .

OFFICE

DORMITORY & CAFETERIA

BRICK JALI

RAIN WATER HARVESTING

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND MATERIALS

FILLER SLAB

As there is quite a lot of


unnecessary concrete in an
orthodox RCC slab we can replace
some of this redundant concrete
with any light weight-cheap
materials in order to reduce the
overall cost of the slab. This
alternative RCC roof is called a
FILLER SLAB.
For fillers we can use lightweight
bricks, or Mangalore or country
tiles etc.
This will reduce the cost of the
orthodox RCC slab by about 30 or
35%. As roofs and intermediate
floors account for 20 to 25% of the
total cost of a house, the saving by
using a Filler slab is considerable.

LOW COST CONSTRUCTION


TECHNIQUES

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

ALMOST every sort of floor


has to have solid base under
it.
Fill the basement with sand
or soil at an early stage it
will get trampled down solid
as work is done above it.
After the roof is on, collect
all the broken brickbats side
by side, touching each other,
on the rammed earth.
Mix a small, heap of sand
and lime on top of the bricks
then spread it out and brush
it in so that it fills the cracks.

Advantages of Filler Slab Technology


By adopting RCC filler slab construction
compared to a RCC solid (conventional) slab,
in case manglore tiles are used as a filler
material, saving of approximately 19% of the
total concrete and including the cost of filler
material, saving of around 5-10% of the
concrete cost is achieved.
Filler slab technology can also be applied to
mass housing projects and township projects
to gain cost saving and also saving in high
energy consuming materials.
Better thermal comfort can be achieved if
there is a cavity and air is trapped in the
slab. Filler materials like manglore tiles can
be installed in two layers entrapping air to
increase thermal insulation.
Filler slabs can be kept exposed (with
proper workmanship) to create aesthetically

WALLING

INVERTED ARCH FOUNDATION :


The foundation consisting of inverted arches between
the piers is known as inverted arch foundation. In this
type of foundation, the load from the piers is
transferred to the soil by constructing arches in
inverted position at their at their base. The rise of the
inverted arches is about one fifth to one tenth of
the span and they are usually build in half-brick rings.
The position of arches may be either along the row of
piers or across the row of piers in both the directions
depending upon the nature of soil and the type of land
to be taken by them.
METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION :
For constructing this type this type of foundation;
Excavation is done to the required depth.
The bottom of the excavation is leveled and
compacted
Then the foundation concrete is laid to the required
thickness and finished according to the layout of the
arches to be constructed under the piers.
The arch rings, usually half brick thick, are then
built in cement mortar and piers are constructed.
The end piers should be designed and constructed
to take the outward thrust caused by arch action.
SUITABILITY :
This of foundation is not commonly used for buildings,
but it is quite suitable for other structures like bridges,
reservoirs, tanks, supports for drainage lines etc

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

LOW COST MATERIALS

STABILIZED COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCKS

THESE ARE MADE OF MUD STABILIZED WITH 5 %


CEMENT/LIME ETC. AND COMPACTED IN BLOCK
MAKING MACHINE WITH NO BURNING. A GOOD
WALLING MATERIAL AS BURNT BRICKS AND IS
ECONOMICAL, STRONGER, ENERGY SAVING AND
SIMPLE TO MANUFACTURE.

FLY ASH GYPSUM STABILIZED MUD BLOCKS

THESE ARE MUCH STRONGER WITH LESS


WATER ABSORBTION AND CHEAPER THAN
CEMENT STABILIZED BLOCKS. WITH 5 TO 10%
FLY ASH, 30% SAVING IN CEMENT COULD BE
ACHIEVED IN ADDITION TO UTILIZATION OF
THE WASTE PRODUCT LIKE FLY ASH.

FLY ASH LIME GYPSUM PRODUCTS

THESE ARE MANUFACTURED BY BLENDING FLY ASH


LIME AND CALCINED GYPSUM FOR MAKING A
USEFUL PRODUCT NAMED FAL-G, AND CAN BE
USED FOR MASONRY BLOCKS OF ANY DESIRED
STRENGTH. IT CAN ALSO BE USED FOR ROAD
PAVEMENTS AND PLAIN CONCRETE IN THE FORM
OF FAL-G CONCRETE.

CLAY RED MUD BURNT BRICKS

THEY ARE PRODUCED FROM ALUMINA RED MUD OR


BAUXITE, AN INDUSTRIAL WASTE OF ALUMINIUM
PRODUCING PLANTS IN COMBINATION WITH CLAY. POSSES
ALL THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF NORMAL CLAY BRICKS
AND SOLVES THE PROBLEM OF DISPOSAL OF THE WASTE
PRODUCT AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION. IN
ADDITION, THEY HAVE GOOD ARCHITECTURAL VALUE AS
FACING BRICKS DUE TO THEIR PLEASING HUES OF COLOR.

PRECAST STONE BLOCKS

THESE BLOCKS ARE OF LARGER SIZE THAN NORMAL BRICKS


ARE MANUFACTURED BY USING WASTE STONE PIECES OF
VARIOUS SIZES WITH LEAN CEMENT CONCRETE AND
ENABLE A RATIONALIZED USE OF NATUURAL LOCALLY
AVAILABLE MATERIALS. SHAPING STONES IN THIS MANNER,
ENABLES SPEEDY CONST. SAVES ON CEMENT, REDUCES
THICKNESS OF STONE WALLS AND EFFECTS OVERALL
SAVING BY ELIMINATING PLASTERS ON
ONTERNAL/EXTERNAL WALL SURFACES.

PRECAST CONCRETE BLOCKS

THEY ARE MADE OF SIMILAR DIMENSION OF STONE


BLOCKS WITHOUT LARGE SIZE STONE PIECES, BUT
USING COARSE AND FINE GRADED CEMEN. THEY
HAVE EXCELLENT PROPERTIES COMPARABLE TO
OTHER MASONRY BLOCKS, ARE CHEAPER AND
FACILITATE SPEEDY CONSTRUCTION AND ESPECIALLY
SUITABLE WHERE QUALITY CLAY FOR BRICK MAKING
IS NOT AVAILABLE.

OTHER MATERIALS USED IN LOW COST BUILDING ARE :

BAMBOO MAT VENEER COIR COMPOSITE


BOARD
COMPOSITE

BAMBOO
LAMINATED
COMPOSITE

CEMENT BONDED
PARTICLE BOARD

JUTE POLYESTER
COMPOSITE

BAMBOO MAT
BOARD

THE END

You might also like