Mud houses are the new fad in the capital

Thiruvananthapuram: Increasing fad for green initiatives, at least among a sizable section of urban populace, has started shaping up in and around the city an ecosystem that could facilitate for the harmonious co-existence of the two juxtaposed notions- construction and conversation.
Unusually, leading architects in the state now sweat very little in convincing majority of their clients about the advantages of investing on an eco-friendly mud houses. If affordability was the hallmark of the type of architecture propounded by Laurie Backer in 1980s, its embedded philosophy- concern for environment- has stared attracting more persons to the eco-friendly construction techniques.

“Destruction of nature has reached a point that the impact of global warming is felt in the lives of people. Those with even a slight orientation towards nature conservation are now more willing to explore eco-friendly options,” says P B Sajan, disciple of Laurie Baker and joint director of Costford here. According to Sajan, who lives in a house made of mud and bamboo and built several of such ethnic structures, everybody would sooner or later would turn to mud for good.

“What is the point if we, after vouching for green initiatives, go after traditional building methods using truckloads of cement and sand? The emblematic contribution that an average Malayali individual could do for the benefit of the earth and environment would be adoption of green technologies for building their dwelling places. And now, there is no need to compromise on the comfort or aesthetics if you chose to build such a house.” said R Parvathy Devi, daughter of CPM ideologue P G Goivinda Pillai and wife of former MLA V Sivankutty, whose 3,000 sq ft mud house on the banks of Vellayani Lake is nearing completion. Mud excavated from the house compound itself was used for the construction.

“Mud is a marvellous material. It is not that its innate qualities surfaced all of a sudden. Colossal mud structures of the past are still standing testimony to the malleability and strength of the material. With more technologies in hand now, we could even make better use of mud. If built perfectly, a mud house would need no air conditioning,” avers architect Eugene Pandala whose tryst with construction of mud houses dates back to early 90s.

Actress Menaka for whom Eugene had constructed the first modern mud building for the office of Revathi Kalamandir at Kinfra park, Kazhakkoottam over 15 years ago says she is happy about the mud house and would opt for the same if ever she happens to build an independent house for her family. “Pest controlling is very effective. Some minor repairs can be done by ourselves. The structure is very strong and there is a distinctively cooler atmosphere inside the building. Also, there is moisture related problems,” she said.

Creating a nationwide awareness regarding the importance of mud and bamboo as building materials is the need of the hour, feels architect G Shankar, who is known for his experiments with alternative building technologies. “Mud and bamboo should emerge as the natural choices for construction of houses . A nationwide campaign in this direction is the need of the hour,” he said. Shankar has recently built a mud house of his own at Mudavanmugal, which has become an instant hit among those ho prefer nature-friendly constructions. A prototype of his new mud based building is at display on the Tagaore theatre campus here. On cost counts, architects say the construction expense for mud houses would be less than 30 to 35% of the total cost.