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Have been waiting a long time for something like this to come to India and finally a Bangalore based company called Shadeflex has tied up with a German company called Textil Bau GmbH.
Shadeflex and their German partner’s sites are under construction at the moment but at least they have a contact page. May just use something like this for the courtyard of the Pune bungalow. This year’s record monsoon has made me think about how dramatically the weather patterns may change in the coming years.
When I read the advertisement in a trade magazine, I was happy to see more competition in the field but, when I headed over to the Godrej site, I found nothing that looked even remotely like this news. A Google search led me to a 404 (page not found) error and it took some hunting to find this news release. (Edit: The page disappeared again!)
What amazes me is how even such a large (and professionally managed) business conglomerate can’t seem to grasp how important it is to keep a web site in order. And, at the end of it all, the tone of the news sounded like it was meant for in-house consumption – a company magazine maybe? Who the heck cares what the vice president thinks for goodness sake. Tell us about the blooming product and why we should buy it!
Masonite, on the other hand, have a well laid out site and may need to push their partners to do something similar if they want to make any headway in the Indian market. Godrej have their own construction business so maybe they’re importing this just for themselves. That would be an opportunity lost, in my opinion.
I’ve always advocated that small structures should be built using load- bearing walls because, to my mind, reinforced concrete cement (RCC) is not merely a waste of high-energy material but is, most of the time, very badly cast as well.
For the plinth, I usually specify random rubble – it is cheap, stable and highly effective as a detterent to dampness. In the Pune project, I decided to semi-dress the stone. Although it costs a bit more, it does look so much better. The guys who specialise in this work are plentiful in Pune and much better at what they do than the ones I’ve come across elsewhere.
They were a bit surprised, though, that I wanted it random and not shaped into rectangular blocks. It seems there are only two varieties of people these days – those who use the stone undressed and those who want ashlar. The path I chose is, apparently, the one least trod.
We all know about Polaroid glass – it’s been around for ages. But this is a new one for me at least and has greater potential because the level of transparency/opacity is controlled by the user and not by ambient light.
SPD smart window is constructed by using two panes of glass separated by a conductive film with suspended, light absorbing, microscopic particles. Microscopic light-absorbing particles are dispersed within a thin film. When no electrical voltage is applied to the film, these particles absorb light, making the glass dark. When voltage is applied, the particles align and allow light to pass through. By simply adjusting the electrical voltage manually or automatically, the amount of light passing through the SPD-glass product can be controlled quickly and precisely.
A competing technology with SPD smart windows is the electrochromic smart window. Electrochromic windows consist of two glass panes with several layers sandwiched in between. It works by passing low-voltage electrical charges across a microscopically-thin coating on the glass surface, activating an electrochromic layer which changes color from clear to dark. The electric current can be activated manually or by sensors which react to light intensity. One advantage of the electrochromic smart window is that it only requires electricity to change its opacity, but not to maintain a particular shade.
Link: Smart Glass
For architects, this, in whatever form it finally takes, is going to be an absolute boon.
Imagine being able to paint a renewable energy source on the walls of your house, without having to shell out most of your life’s earnings.
Well, this may no longer be in the realm of fantasy, with researchers from New Mexico State University and Wake Forest University working on an organic solar panel that is not only flexible, but can also be wrapped around structures, and comes much cheaper than the conventional ones.
Unlike traditional solar panels, which are made of silicon and are expensive and brittle like glass, organic solar cells are made of plastic, and are inexpensive.
:: Full Article :: (Link no longer available)
Manoj Kanase who will be the builder for the Pune Bungalow took me to meet Ranjit Ghatge, his engineer, about some structural questions, especially regarding the use of ferrocrete. At first I had some difficulty explaining to him exactly why I wanted to use alternative technology. “Ah, you want to do a sustainable design” said Ranjit after a few minutes. Then everything fell into place and it turned out to be a pretty good discussion. The most interesting part was deciding how to make use of shallow terracotta pots to reduce the weight of the slab.
Later that day, I had a second meeting with Milind Kulkarni from Hydrobiotech who will give us a comprehensive plan for harvesting rain (back into the bore-well), reusing kitchen water in the garden and recycling grey water from the washing machine and bathrooms into the flush tanks.
Since we’ve been wanting to use Lime Mortar for the Pune Bungalow, I’ve designed the ground storey to be 1½ bricks thick. However, if we’re unable to get good quality lime (as is looking increasingly likely), we might just have to make do with cement. That’ll be a disappointment!
Not to mention the fact that all the working drawings will have to be re-drawn.
The puja for the Pune Bungalow happened yesterday. After the pujari had done his bit, we – the client, builder and myself took turns digging a token hole in the South-East corner of the plot. Gudi Padva is obviously a good day to begin. Actual construction will being on the 11th of May.
Got a call from my client in Pune to say that we’d probably build just a single level bungalow after all. Right from the start, I’d been advising them that 4 bedrooms – for a family of 3 – was a complete waste of space and money.
Better late than never.
Now the only problem is I have to re-work the layout and, more importantly, the built form. Permissions from the municipal corporation have already been obtained, so I have to stick to the same footprint for the structure.
Updated on 19th March 2005
The revised plan was frozen yesterday. The puja will be on 6th April when, as architect, I must dig a token hole in the ground.
Yesterday was the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the office building I’ve designed at Khairne – Navi Mumbai.