As the skeleton is no finality of human, just so function is to architectural form.

Rattling the bones is not architecture. Only when we say or write form and function
are one is the slogan significant.
-FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
The above quote by Frank Lloyd Wright defines the soul of Architecture, though
Architecture is so magnanimous and universal, that it is impractical to even describe
or give a definition to it in just a couple of sentences. If the world was black and white,
you never had colours. Architecture is one of the colour. Primary function of the
building is to provide comfort. The purpose of constructing buildings is to provide an
artificial environment that is aesthetically pleasing and more conductive to human
occupancy than the natural environment. But one has to keep coming back to the
realm of ecological footprints. Baby takes mothers milk but that does not mean have
eaten mother. It is not about conserving resources, it is about managing resources
better through design concepts. But in todays popular architecture the aim is not to
achieve a particular style but to depict a certain image. Buildings speak to us directly
through space, form, image, material, detail; and they touch us on many levels
mentally and physically. That is why it is important to base judgements on the
experience of buildings themselves, and to gradually penetrate to the thought process
and structures of intention which lie behind them. Well we can think of all the three
aspects-habitable design, ecological footprint, architecture as art through our
architecture.
This can be illustrated by taking an example of THE ANANGPUR BUILDING CENTRE.
Twenty years ago Mr. Anil Laul started a private entrepreneur Building Centre at
Anangpur village in Haryana in 1991. The Anangpur Building was started to cater to
the needs of the common man as well as promote the use of cost-effective technology
in the higher income sector. Green Buildings and Sustainable Development are the
fashion statements of today and much is being made of these in the field of
Architecture. His work on these aspects has been on-going for four decades now and
never did it strike him that what he was practicing as Common Sense would be a small
part of this modernist movement that seems to be an earth shattering achievement. It
began to come to the fore when he bought a piece of rocky and intensely quarried
wasteland on the outskirts of Delhi in 1989. Wasteland, unlike the word suggests, is
tailor made for development.
Having bought some 4 acres, even the little he had was reduced to nothing and more
so after he started building the boundary wall and had a tube well bored for water

supply. With the village having been the domain of Raja Anangpal, the maternal
grandfather of Prithviraj Chauhan, that had a vast lake within the valley in the past, it
was obvious that water in this wasteland would be available in abundance. Absurd as
it may sound, he decided to build into the quarried pit, a semi basement of sorts.
Ostensibly to keep the heat of almost 50deg C, at this arid wasteland at bay, he began
work.
To begin with the focus was on collecting the left overs of the quarried material and
make way for plantation during the first two years. With water available, just about
anything took root owing to the virgin soil. All that was now required was to develop a
heart and soul for the built up form where there was respect for the bounties of nature
that one had been blessed with. The lay of the land almost called for a house which
could be largely built underground in an undulating and understated built form. As
opposed to normally perceived country homes or farmhouses in and around Delhi, the
entire project is designed as a non-obstructive form, planned to blend with the natural
surroundings. Structural systems such as Geodesics, Octageodules, Space frames and
A Frames that were the prerogative of the advanced countries are being designed and
fabricated at this center. The site with its beautiful landscape rich in building material
and good ground water re-charge became an ideal location for the project with the use
of appropriate technologies. In keeping with the traditional habitat, a courtyard as the
central feature was the obvious starting point. All the walls run with the existing
contours and twin and turn thereby attaining self-stability. RCC (todays wonder
material) was to be used judiciously and not discarded as is the case with most
practitioners of appropriate technologies. The apt place for the home was the quarried
pit at the south eastern end of the site, which had a depression that could
accommodate a large sized courtyard with rooms all around, so that there is good
ventilation and morning sunshine. The residence is broadly segregated into two main
zones, the formal and the informal.
The formal areas are at a level of -3.0m from ground and the private family space is at
-1.6m from the existing ground level. In this case, the natural split level of the
depression defined the family and formal areas. The kitchen and the formal living and
dining rooms went to the lower levels, linked up through the central courtyard to the
personal areas. This addressed the issue of privacy as well as easy living and day to
day maintenance. The lower level also accommodates the sons and daughter-in-laws
room considering the importance to make the other generation feel they have their
own space thats not just an offshoot of the main home. The location of the master
bedroom ensures what is a woman centric home. Between this bedroom, the inviting

casual family living area and the childrens rooms, the core of the home would be
complete. No RCC has been used for retaining walls as the folds generate stability. A
drain all around the house works as a natural waterproofing feature, keeping water as
well as snakes and creepy crawlies out. The entire furniture, built of masonry adds to
the unison of the whole house, besides cutting down on the cost of furniture and
flooring. The entry into the residence is defined by the twisted columns. And another
twisted column in the courtyard adds a dramatic touch to this space. The existing
rocks on the site were left undisturbed in certain parts of the house.
TECHNOLOGIES
A. Let us look at the most ubiquitous actor in the building drama- THE BURNT
CLAY BRICK. The sole determining factor is the crushing strength of the brick.
The high benchmark of load-bearing capacity for brick was established to ensure
its non-erodability. It is also an established fact that the denser the burnt clay
brick, the greater is the strength and non-erodability achieved.
B. Hollow Core Interlocking Blocks: A breakthrough walling solution using
Simplified Technology which challenges present day practices from their very
core. This walling material employs the concept of "Surface Engineering" by
using an impervious diaphragm on the exterior surface exposed to weathering
with a lean back up material constituting the main body of the blocks.
C. Infill : The walls are the load bearing structure measuring 45 cm to 60 cm in
thickness. There is a minimal use of RCC in beams which are Tor Steel Trussed
Welded which reduces steel consumption up to 25% appx. Most of the Natural
Delhi quartzite stone is pointed with white coarse sand and lime and white
cement. In the case of arches the stone is hand dressed to rectangular
briquettes.
D. Funicular Shells: A load bearing roofing system which exploits The
compression strength of materials based on a grid frame-work. The funicular
shell roof is one such compression structure, which ensures conservation of
natural resources by utilizing waste materials effectively and optimising the use
of expensive steel and cement.
i. -Utilizes waste materials
ii. -Cost Effective
iii.

-Unmatched Aesthics

E.

A-Frames: Historical support systems were made out of timber and a very
good

substitution

of

the

flat roofs of reinforced cement concrete are being used these days. 'A' versatile
support system which not only allows use of various cladding materials but is
also resistant towards earthquakes and cyclones.
F.

Quilted Roofing: A cost-effective, energy efficient system, using ordinary

construction materials. A simple galvanized iron roof made into a energy
efficient system by using a waterproof diaphragm and waste material as infill.

G. Space Frames: Typically, a space frame is a combination of two folded

plates intersecting each other in a perpendicular direction. If these folded plates
are comprised of structural steel members, then the joint required to create the
junction without using a butt weld would prove an extremely difficult task. So far
the system used is a ball joint which serves as the connector for tubular steel
members. A welded node would offer a far superior solution and the system at
the Anangpur Building Centre, have devised is a simple and cost effective joint.
H. Geodesics: Domes have been used in atria and large indoor courts in the
developed nations to ensure conservation of energy by trapping heat thus
reducing heating costs. This however has been done at considerable
expense, often leading to the question of conservation but at what cost? It is
therefore the cost of the dome that requires critical analysis and in turn the
jointing system. Energy conservation, but at an affordable cost is what
this simplified system illustrates.
I. Waste Disposal: Kitchen and Bath waste has been separated at source from
Night Soil and percolated into landscaped areas through underground perforated
pipes for ground water recharge. The sewage is disposed off in alternating (7
year cycle) twin leech pits on site since there was a need for a decentralised
mechanism of services of water supply and sewage disposal. Further the urine
separated from the soil waste serves as the fertilizer for the greenery. Due to
short transport distance of sewage, minimum flushing water is needed to get
desired self-cleansing velocity. The leech pits are lined with brick bats and
charcoal and to ensure anaerobic drying of the sewage. This leech pit has been
operative since 1996, ever since, no cockroaches have been seen owing to the
anaerobic digestion and separation of kitchen and bath waste from the sewage.

J. Other services: During fill back, a drain was introduced adjacent to the outer
face of the wall to trap surface water before it hits the wall. This again helped
avoid the use of RCC as a water proofing membrane. Addition of waterproofing
agents in the mortar prevented the ingress of moisture through the joints.
The wasteland of the site though considered by many in the present day as
uneconomical proved to be a very economical site. With use of local materials and
appropriate technologies the residence has turned out to be a home with beauty,
peace and a pervading sense of comfort in spite of its size. In other words the place
has a soul.
To welcome new arrivals and respond to everyones needs for accommodation and
infrastructure, we must build, but build differently. It is important that clear distinction
be made between real and apparent development. In addition to designing buildings
that are properly oriented, insulated, energy efficient, day-lit, water conserving etc,
one needs to think about issues like, What to build? Where to build? How much to
build? How to make judicious use of land. A building should be EGO-CENTRIC (concern
with self); ETHNO-CENTRIC (concern with the society); WORLD-CENTRIC( when
sustainability becomes a live issue); BIOSPHERE-CENTRIC (that brings a vision to
inspire effective remedial action).