Building with rammed earth is simple, pocket friendly, and sustainable. Contrary to popular belief, rammed earth construction is feasible in a wide range of climatic zones, including areas with a significant monsoon. A built rammed earth structure is a sight for sore eyes, it is a dense but breathable material which makes it great for thermal insulation. With the right processes and tools, a rammed earth structure can easily be implemented by anyone. Here are some basics about the natural material to help you get started.

Knowledge Partners: Gia Mantra Global Village

For a detailed analysis of Rammed Earth as a building material, watch my conversation with natural building expert Donald Sequeira here.

We also answered the FAQs on Rammed Earth recently. Find the Q&A session here.

In this IG Live, I speak to Donald Sequeira. Donald is an architect, natural builder, and the Director of Gia Mantra Global Village in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. In this first part of our conversation on 'Building with Rammed Earth', we understand the fundamentals. We understand the potential and constraints of rammed earth as a material and learn about preparing the material for construction. We speak about the material's strength and stability and understand construction concerns such as building height and services. We also discuss the durability and maintenance of rammed earth over its lifetime.

Here are some common myths about rammed earth debunked:

• A rammed earth structure can be built in all climatic regions.

  Rammed earth can be used for construction anywhere. It is a breathable but dense material that offers great heat exchange in tropical areas and thermal insulation in extremely hot or cold regions.

• A rammed earth building is durable and has a lifespan greater than concrete.

  Rammed earth structures also possess strength that is at least equal to the strength of concrete. They are extremely sustainable in the long run and require minimum maintenance.

• Rammed earth walls do not have to be very thick and there is no limit to room sizes.

  For a ground floor structure, only a 9" rammed earth wall is required which is equal to the thickness of a brick wall. As long as this criteria is met, it is possible to create spacious rooms of various sizes with rammed earth.

• There is no threat of insects or pests entering the house through the rammed earth walls.

  Once compressed, the rammed earth wall becomes extremely hard and dense. While the material is breathable, it is not not porous. The density does not allow for passages to be made by pests.

The feeling of being inside a rammed earth structure is indescribable. The structure changes with the weather to protect you. It has a quiet, special, womb-like quality - one instantly feels cocooned.

In this IG Live session, we speak to Monish Siripurapu, Founder of Ant Studio in Delhi, India. Studio Ant works at the intersection of art, nature, and technology. Through their research and development wing Coolant they have made strides in building sustainable innovations through their all natural air cooling products. In this conversation, we discuss the science and method behind building this cooling system. We understand the system of Evaporative Cooling and the opportunities it presents in different contexts. We also speak about the process of research behind building this product and explore the nuances of parametric design. Tune in to watch our entire conversation.

In this IG Live, I speak to Malvika Mehta, Founder of MLIME. Malvika's team in Rajasthan has done some lovely work with lime plasters bringing the use of lime to modern buildings while also using it to conserve historic structures. Over our conversation we discuss the romance and practicalities of lime. We compare the use of IPS with lime and oxide, often found in old houses in Goa. We discuss the heritage of lime as well the potential it has to become a contemporary natural material. We get into details about lime's breathability, moisture management, and its effectiveness in indoor-outdoor spaces that are exposed to harsh heat and rain. We also speak about the process of making lime, its maintenance and cost efficiencies. Finally, we discuss the various finishes, colours and textures that a lime plaster comes in.

In this IG Live, we discuss the natural material wood and answer some important questions about our experiences while using wood in construction for our houses in Goa. Over the course of the Live session, I speak about crucial aspects that are often overlooked - such as sourcing and treating wood for the best performance. I have also presented the potential and limitations of reclaimed wood. Finally, I discuss whether wood can be considered a sustainable material.

To know more about wood and its properties, you can also read

ROMANCING WOOD , an introduction about the choice of using wood.

SEASONING WOOD , the efforts and precautions to be taken while treating wood.

IS WOOD A GREEN MATERIAL? , an understanding of whether wood is sustainable.

I recently conducted a Q&A session on the use of stone as a building material to answer questions from students, architects, home owners and design enthusiasts. Over the live session, I have presented the different varieties of stone as well as the diverse finishes that are available. I have discussed the types of stone best suited for specific areas of a house based on factors such as utility, landscape and exposure to heat. I also speak about how different types of stone can be maintained, weighing the benefits of each type. Finally, I speak about the climatic impact and tolerance that stone has.

Tune in to watch the entire video.

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I was invited by Architecture + Design magazine to discuss Green Architecture, its nuances, realities and myths.

It is pertinent now more than ever to create buildings with minimal architectural intrusion and the conservation of natural resources. In this session, I speak about conscious architecture based in context and the little steps that we can take in our pursuit for ecological balance and sustainability.

To the jaded, the mention of green buildings implies a marketing gimmick, and to an idealist, it conjures images of buildings built with mud and bamboo with compostable toilets. Invoking a strong response either ways, we recently concluded a Q&A session on Green Buildings on Instagram. The session had over 300-people join over the course of a 30-minute session. 

The first question that we tackled was, ‘What is a Green Building’? My answer, ‘A green building is one where you’re trying to reduce the impact of the building on the environment.’ It is about making the right choices at every stage of the project, with the ultimate goal to minimise one’s footprint on the environment. To make a building green, the architect must treat the environment as a key design criteria from the first step of the design process right until the occupancy stage. 

It is our commitment to build sustainably and we green certify all our houses in Goa. Our first home, Nivim was the first green certified residence in Goa. It received a gold-level certification and our project Navovado has recently been awarded the platinum-level certification by the Indian Green Building Council. Platinum being the highest level available in the ranking system.

While a building can absolutely be green without a certificate, a green certification is a great way to stay accountable to oneself throughout the design and construction process. It provides the involved professionals with a detailed list of checks and balances with specifications and design criteria that need to be considered and incorporated at every stage of the design and construction process.

In India, TERI (home-grown) and IGBC (offshoot of USGBC) are the primary agencies that issue green certifications. Both these organisations use a credit based system for the evaluation of green building design and performance. The credits fall under the following categories: Site Planning, Water Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Indoor Air Quality, and Materials among others. Throughout the process, extensive documentation with detailed calculations are required which is then reviewed and tested by the certification body on site. While the system is elaborate, it proves effective as a way to stay true to one’s goals of sustainability. However, it is important for architects to avoid incorporating design elements or features, just for the sake of securing points and focus instead on strategies that are feasible for that specific project life cycle and use.

Demystifying Green Building

I would like to cut through the clutter on this topic. Specially as I would like to demystify the concept and express that green building design is not necessarily a specialized science, nor is it forbiddingly technical where only certain qualified professionals can build green buildings. On the contrary, it is my strong belief that a building built with the basic principles of good architecture would do very well on the green scorecard. The process of green building design starts with a deep understanding of the site, local climate, wind patterns, local materials and resources. Once a building is sited to take advantage of the sun and wind to maximize daylight and cross ventilation, is designed to be responsive to the weather patterns and is built using local materials, then that in itself is a great start towards making the building green.

In the predominantly hot and humid climate in India, one can further think of reducing the heat gain through an informed design of the building envelope. This will have a tremendous impact on the thermal comfort within a building and hence reduce the energy use in the building. Water is another key natural resource that is dwindling with increased human activity on our planet. Rainwater harvesting provides a simple (sometimes ‘no-brainer’) solution to this problem. The idea is simple, instead of allowing rainwater to drain away from your site, one can design systems to either collect it and reuse on the site itself, or feed it back to the earth to recharge the underground aquifers. In addition, a simple introduction of dual flushes can reduce water use by 50-60% and aerators to taps, which can reduce the water use by upto 70% percent. Aerators mix the water from the taps with air, and as a result the water pressure feels the same even when the amount of water flowing through the taps are reduced.

When it comes to building materials, it is wise to use local materials. In most cases, the vernacular building techniques and the local labor would be well versed with the local material. The green quotient of buildings can be further increased by choosing materials with a higher recycled content, higher recyclability, reusing salvaged materials and materials that are rapidly renewable such as bamboo.

The choices to go green are not always straightforward. Cement for example presents a big conundrum in the building industry. The production of cement produces large quantities of CO2, a greenhouse gas with a lasting impact on global warming and climate change. In fact, the production of every kilogram of Portland cement produces an equal amount (one kilogram) of CO2. This presents a huge challenge for our industry where the widely accepted structural material is cement. Wood is another material that presents a difficult choice with sustainability. On one hand, it is a naturally renewable resource and is biodegradable, and wood can be used and reused multiple times. But at the same time, we are cutting irreplaceable virgin rainforests at an alarming pace with long lasting disastrous impact.

Finally, a green building doesn’t have to cost a lot more. Majority of green building strategies are common sense and based on sound architectural principles, which do not come with an additional cost. In addition, there are simple systems that are available at extremely reasonable prices. The aerators mentioned earlier are a free addition offered by most companies that sell sanitary fittings. The difference is for the architect, client and the vendor to be aware of these systems and integrate them into the building design in a timely manner. 

We must as a community of architects pledge to make green building design as important as aesthetics in our projects. A simple change in the thought process can have a long lasting impact on the quality of life for our future generations, which is a cause worth fighting for.

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What is a green building?

A green building is one where you’re trying to reduce the impact of the construction on the environment. It is about making the right choices at every stage and  looking at every possible way, to optimise resources during and post construction and to minimise or offset one’s footprint right from the design stage to the occupancy stage. Right from positioning the building on the site, being mindful of the solar and wind orientation, looking at the existing resources on site to incorporate them into the building, preserving the underground water table - the environment is part of the design criteria from the very first step of the design process.

Here are some tips for an architect to design a green building

• The building should be designed for its local climate and weather

• The design should be site specific

• The natural features on the site must be preserved whether it is the trees, the underground water table, the contours and terrain, etc

• Plan openings for maximised daylight and cross ventilation

• Reduce the urban heat island effect 

• For landscaping, use lesser amounts of non permeable surfaces like concrete and more permeable surfaces like grass that allow water to percolate and recharge the underground water table

• Reduce concrete exposure because concrete tends to absorb a lot of heat

• Enhance thermal comfort by thinking about all parts of the envelope - the walls, the windows, the shading devices, the roof, etc - to reduce energy expenditure

• Conserve water and collect or harvest rainwater

• Use aerators for taps and dual flushes for WC

• Use solar water heaters

• Use solar panels if the site allows for it

• Compost using house and site waste and feed it back to the garden

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Every little detail helps.

Links to our previous Blog Posts on Green Building:

• GREEN CERTIFICATION

• WHY BUILD GREEN

• GREAT ONLINE RESOURCES FOR GREEN BUILDING

• GREEN FEATURES AT NIVIM

Down to Earth is without question, the leading science and environment magazine in India. The magazine takes leadership in addressing issues and concerns related to environmental issues. It is one of the few magazines that has laboriously researched articles where the editors try their best to not take sides and put forward the facts.

Down to Earth has been leading the way in sound publishing regarding green buildings as well. They have recently compiled all their articles and resources on green buildings in one portal.

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Screenshot of Down to Earth magazine resource page on green buildings, link.

Our favorite section is the one called '6 Cardinal Directions for Better Buildings', namely:

1. Thermal Comfort

2. Ventilation

3. Light

4. Water & Energy

5. Building Materials

6. Safety & Design

While, architects, builders and institutions debate the relevance of green buildings, the need for certification and Griha vs. LEED; here is Down to Earth saying that green buildings in not a new science but simply a building built with common sense while being cognizant of the above 6 factors and their impact to the quality of any/ all buildings. We absolutely agree with that.

Here are a few other gems from the magazine that we love:

- Architects love brick as a building material, it is low-cost, easily available and has the natural earthy aesthetic quality. These factors often make 'brick' come across as a green material. But here is an article that challenges that notion with facts on energy use during the traditional brick making process as well as loss of cultivable soil impacting agriculture and lastly the pollution from the kilns.

Link to Infographic at Down to Earth- This is a link to a great infographic that lays out the 22-step process required to obtain permits for any building project. This may make you laugh-out-loud but is so very true. Link to related article.

Link to 'Dampness' Infographic on Down to Earth - A great article on Dampness with yet another winning infographic.

We love you 'Down to Earth'. Thank you !