Real-life Buildings in Mud

Ever built sand castles? And watched with sorrow when the rain lashed at it or someone kicked it down? Here are real-life buildings of pure mud, which can withstand environmental fury and years of wear and tear.

This is no dream - the Habitat Technology Group has been creating houses and other buildings from mud and other locally available materials for the past 15 years. The organization’s new four-storey office at Poojapura, Thiruvananthapuram, is a tribute to its eco-friendly and cost-effective philosophy.

The office building, fashioned out of mud bricks, has been constructed on the lines of the science of Vaastu. Even the two storeys of the building that are below ground level are flooded with light and fresh air. Every room in the building is naturally ‘air-conditioned’. This has been achieved by the use of unique skylights, which let in plenty of air and sunlight. An open skylight allows the rain to fall directly into a rock garden situated in the reception on the ground floor.

The feel of the all-natural environment within the office is accentuated by the coolness of the terracotta floor tiles and the bunches of foliage peeping out from every corner. Banisters made of polished coconut wood. Coconut wood benches made in the traditional style. Desks fashioned out of mud and crowned with glass tabletop. Rubber wood chairs. Walls reflecting the earthy tones of their base material, painted only in the rooms where the architects need more light for drawing up their plans and sketches.

To build in tune with Nature is the mantra of Habitat. The organization uses ‘Non-erodable Mud Plaster’, certified by the Central Building Research Institute in Rourkee, for plastering buildings. Examples of other materials used in the construction of buildings are kerosene, chopped hay and tar. The group works with materials available locally, wherever they may be building. For example, they use the ‘wattle and daub’ method to create thin walls in the quake-prone north-eastern states.

The buildings created by the Habitat Technology Group are consistent with the lay of the land and blend with nature owing to the use of environment-friendly materials. Here lies the secret to the success of the Habitat Technology Group.