Being earth-friendly in Gujarat with Vinu Daniel

BH: How do you see sustainability?

VD: My first exposure to building happened in 2004 in Tamil Nadu. I got a good opportunity to work with the United Nations Development Program in the tsunami struck areas of Nagapattinam and Pudukuppam. You cannot flip the system upside down in one project. The technical definition of sustainability is lower embodied energy. It is about doing less than yesterday. Can you save one wall? Can you not plaster one wall? Can you save a bag of cement? Before, I had a tough time convincing people to build like this. This is my second innings. I now make the foundation from rammed earth, walls come from stabilised earth blocks made from local soil, I have changed the roofing etc. It has been a slow acceptance curve as these materials are seen as poor or primitive, but clients have come around. The bigger challenge is perception.

For mud blocks, I use a brick machine the size of a fridge. We used the soil excavated from that land and due to size limitation of the site, we had to set up a small unit close to the site. Ahmedabad soil is a bit sandy and gives a different colour, making the project unique.

In terms of its compressive strength, it is two tons per square inch and has 6 to 6. 5 megapascal of strength. And the best part is that you get most of the raw ingredients right there, which means you save on transportation costs.

BH: How do you think this building will age?

VD: Wallmakers just completed 19 years of practice, which has allowed us to watch many projects age well. Mud is the safest material to build homes with as it is very neutral. At the same time, even the best concrete has weathering issues while mud structures tend to perform better.

BH: Do you think this will translate well for a public building?

VD: We are doing a few projects with the governments of Turkey and Saudi Arabia to test our material and to do prototypes. We did a pavilion for the Sharjah Biennale last year which received great praise.

BH: I find your project Toy Storey Residence very fascinating. What was the thought behind that?

VD: Whenever you look for it, you never find inspiration. But one frustrating night I stepped on one of my child’s Lego blocks. It was a Eureka moment; I was like, ‘Wow, this is very strong!’ Anyone who has ever stepped on a Lego block will understand. Then I started asking around for discarded toys and the quantity was overwhelming. We collected about 6,000 toys, and it became an exhibition for kids to show their toys on the wall of the house. It has a great function of making a jaali for the wall which allows for ventilation and regulates the hot air inside. It was a gesture to keep the discarded toys from the landfills where they take centuries to decompose. One step at a time.