Author: vanamu

Macazaga

A groundbreaking project executed with a team built out of the best hands collected over the past projects working with communities. From the workshops conducted in Mexico from the years 2015-2017, few of the participants stayed on to build more and to better their skills, to the extent that their skills were now more valuable than the time they had invested in learning them. The power of working with communities is not about the project, but about the relationships built. The actual investment goes into building lasting relationships. 

Cabin for Casa Naomin

The objective of the project was to build a ultra lowultra- costlow-cost Cabin for Casa Naomin, a modest family run yoga school, located deep in the forests of Santa Rosa de lima, Guanajuato, Mexico. The design was to use the natural curves of human movement and use of space. Could a sleeping space for 5-6 people with a comfortable bathroom be designed to allow for privacy without isolation, within 300 sft of built up area. Space, time and materials were optimized to the bare minimum to reduce cost and environmental impact. Build what is only needed. 

Further the project was designed to be built with inexperienced participant labor in a workshop setting; a majority of the cabin was to be built in a week. The clients were to host a group of participants, provide them with food and hospitality for the week of the workshop. The architect’s experience as a mud mason and a trainer was put to test, to guide inexperienced “participants” to build a complex form. 

The project was thus divided into three phases. The pre workshop, where the foundations and brick walls built by the client. Materials were sourced locally for the workshop and publicity was done to find the 18 participants who would pay about 360 USD each for the workshop. The second stage is the one week intensive “mud building workshop” organized and hosted by the client. The challenge was to build about 300 sft of complex vaulting in 6 days. The clients then, post workshop; were to complete the structure as time, taste and means permitted. Though currently incomplete, the cabin was first rented out in Feb 2018. 

Cost and time of building can be reduced drastically when there are a minimum number of assemblies in a building. A single vaulted roof over a space reduces a building to a single system or method of construction. Be it a bird, a bear or an ant, the whole structure is a result of a single, repetitive, intuitive action resulting in a single assembly. When the complications in construction are reduced to one task, the learning curve to build a structure is shorter. This gives the amateur participant to focus, connect with oneself and quickly reach the intuitive aspects of a technique. 

The design was to use the natural curves of human movement and use of space. Cost and materials were optimized to accommodate 5-6 people in a cabin of under 300 sft of built up area. To reduce costs the project was designed to be built with inexperienced participant labor in a workshop setting; a majority of the cabin was to be built in a week. The clients were to host a group of participants, provide them with food and hospitality for the week of the workshop. The architect’s experience as a mud mason and a trainer was put to test, to guide inexperienced “participants” to build a complex form.

Handmade country fired bricks come with a slight variation in thickness and size due to its uneven shrinkage and its level of firing in the oven. Attention was initially brought to the selection of the right brick, understanding its position and angle. Acceptance of the irregularities in natural materials and using it as a palette to make a composition becomes a part of the learning experience. 

Closely observing the body’s posture is necessary to perceive, align and place the brick in its rightful place. Over time, the attention required reduces and the mind enters into a meditative rhythm. In this state, the body does not tire, even for a person who isn’t used to the strenuous work of building. A personal method quickly evolves in every individual. This is where the amateur quickly gains advantage over a seasoned professional, there is little necessity of demanding rigor, discipline or even acquired skill. 

Over the practice of a couple of days, everyone starts to work in coordination quite effortlessly. Little words are spoken, a teammates next need is understood with little communication. In the typical team of three, the first supplies the right brick and observes the curve from a distance. The second applies the right amount of mortar on the right sides while observing the brick course placement sidewise. The third places the brick in place with the right pressure observing and perfecting the placement with the help of the other two. All three members have to be connected deeply with the curve for each brick. Working in a team becomes a delight. 

The way the form is built also should afford a maximum number of people working at the same time. The design of courses is such that there is a combination of horizontal and vertical courses obiliges 6 teams of 3 to work simultaneously. It is a necessary condition for one curve to start above the other, this way the whole group finds a common rhythm. 

Cuckoo School

A local NGO, having close ties with the communities around the area. The school building was a need that was well thought out and communicated to us as a vision. With limited funds, a workshop was planned along with Made in Earth to channelize funds from participating architects and engineers. They were investing their time for the learning of use of mud in building arches, vaults and domes as well as the making of adobe bricks and natural plasters. The community; school children, parents and the villagers as well as wishers also participated in the 2 weeks workshop and supported the workshop participants with shifting of materials, mud mixing and the construction of vaults and domes. 

Adi’s residence, 2013 – Tiruttani, TN

A 600 sft residence for a friend, built under a tight budget of 6.5 lakhs. Client resources were his connections with the community, as a result of his farm agricultural work for two years prior to the construction of his farmhouse. A small team of local helpers with little construction experience were mobilized for a 2 month period to learn and build with vaults and domes. 

Local brick makers who make country fired bricks were hired to make adobe bricks with a custom sized mould developed specifically for the project. These adobe bricks were made out of excavated soil for a sump tank one site and sun dried before use. No cement  / lime stabilization was chosen. A small percentage of the bricks were fired locally on site on a custom made kiln to be used as a waterproofing layer. 

8 local helpers also participated in the training, hosted as an open hands-on workshop for architects and engineers for 2 weeks. Post the training period, based on the speed of construction achieved at its peak, 4 of the most proficient heplers were commissioned to build the remainder of the structure at a generous sq ft rate.

Local methods of building huts was explored, with the helpers themselves building the huts with the local thatching 

The project was completed in a period of 12 weeks, including waterproofing and red oxide flooring. The client is still residing at this particular residence.