Our Quest for a Dream Home - 3

Part 3

These days, most buildings are built using the column-beam structure.  Before thirty years ago, such construction was only used for large commercial buildings.  Most residences, usually not more than one or two storeys high didn't need to put in steel reinforced columns and beams to support the structure.  There wasn't enough load to handle in small residences.  They used to have a construction called "load-bearing" construction, in which the ground was excavated about 6 ft, steel reinforcement was provided at the bottom of the pit and bricks were lined up to build a solid pyramid shape basement.  Then soil was filled and compacted to provide stability to the above ground structure.  It was time consuming but does not involve as much concrete and steel as the column-beam structures.  One of the first eco-friendly decisions made was to build the old way with minimum use of steel and cement.

The foundation work took a couple of months to complete.  As proposed by my father, to provide additional support only for a of wall with maximum window coverage and an open double high ceiling, only four total steel-concrete columns were raised for the entire house.  While the foundation work was going on, it was time to decide on another eco-friendly material to construct the house in.  We had looked through several earth block constructions on the internet at my architect sister's recommendation. We were drawn towards this concept called vernacular architecture.  Wikipedia defines this as "Vernacular architecture is a category of architecture based on local needs and construction materials, and reflecting local traditions.  It tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural, technological, and historical context in which it exists. While often not thoroughly and academically planned, this kind of architecture played and still plays a major role in the history of architecture and design, especially in local branches".

We wanted to source the items locally to minimize the carbon footprint of the materials and also to stick with a traditional architecture to reflect our culture.  Tamil Nadu, the state I was born and raised in, is rich in cultural heritage.  Several innovations in construction have happened here locally and only a very few of those still strive due to the rapid technological advances in the construction industry.  We wanted to give these small dwindling industries an opportunity to show their potential and to encourage local builders to go local and promote local technologies even in this modern day and age.  We wanted to have a design that will not only be eco-friendly but also prove that with traditional techniques we can still have the comforts and the beauty of modern days.

I learnt about Auroville during my research.  It is a small self-sufficient township within Tamil Nadu bordering the union territory of Pondicherry.  Many buildings in Auroville are built with locally made bricks from red clay available in the region.  The brick of Auroville is called "Compressed Stabilized Earth Block".  I took a day road trip to Auroville to look at the construction and the bricks to make up my mind.  The trip was worthwhile.  The brick was pricey with transportation but I knew it was friendly to the environment.  There is no thermal energy used to make the brick unlike oven fired clay bricks and the resultant buildings are also energy efficient compared to regular brick construction, which is typical to this region.  I ensured that my contractor joined me on the trip to learn the tricks and techniques from the local masters.  That trip, not only gave an insight on how we can harness nature to be eco-friendly.


 To be continued...

Our Quest for a Dream Home - 2

Part 2

Putting together a plan was something I loved to do.  I had several plans already prepared and now I wanted the one that would fit our long term needs and the location of our property.  As an energy consultant, I wanted to reflect my work in my own backyard.  I wanted a home that was energy efficient.  My trips to our old temples since my return to India helped.  I could recall several of the temples having a cool interior in spite of the sweltering heat outside.  I was amazed at the old architecture, especially in South India.  They were so custom built for the hot and humid climatic conditions we normally see here for more than half a year.  People of those days were smart and very scientific.  I wanted to incorporate some of those ideas.  I didn't have to reinvent a wheel, I just had to know how to use it properly.

I put together a plan and then had to get it professionally validated.  My eldest sister came to my rescue.  She is an architect by profession and has always had a passion to build efficient homes.  I gave her my plan and requirements and she took good notes of my needs and came up with an even more architecturally professional plan.  After several rounds of reviews and changes, my wife and I finally we saw our dream home come to digital reality.  The 3D models were impressive.  Now it was time for us to make the digital world a reality.

Before we started off on the actual construction, we had to go through legal processes to get the plan approved by the local municipality, which took a good two to three months to accomplish.  In the meantime, we had to ensure there was water available for construction and so the well digging process was started on May 29th, 2013, exactly one year ago today (May 29th, 2014).  After about 15 feet, we were luck enough to see natural water spring out of the ground.  Another 14 feet took us to the rock bottom and the digging was completed in three weeks.  In the meantime, the plan approval was submitted and my father, a civil engineer by profession until he retired assisted me in helping the contractors mark the land based on the drawings.  He also was imperative in ensuring the building was structurally sound from the basement.

To be continued...

Our Quest for a Dream Home - 1

Part 1

It all started in early February 2013, about a year after our return from the US.  We wanted to settle down after years of moving around from country to country and city to city.  Like many in our age group, we wanted a place to call our home.  As most do, we were also in a rush to get settled and looked for easier ways to get settled.  So, we drove around the outskirts of Chennai searching for our dream home that would fit our budget.  Truthfully, we weren't sure of what our budget was when we started.  We thought we will cross the bridge when we get there.  We wanted to have it all, we wanted luxury, we wanted comfort, we wanted a great locality for our children to grow in.  My wife had always wanted to live in a community with similar while I have had dreams of building my own house just like my father did.  But time and effort took priority and so we started venturing out.

We drove down the toll roads for several days at a stretch to places I used to be open stretches of land along the seashore with a few engineering colleges dotting the wide open landscape.  The place has changed so much in the last dozen years.  Now, all I could see were several sky scraper apartments dotted by a few stretches of open land.  Every few 100 meters had big signages promising lavish and comfortable living at "affordable" costs.  Each site we visited were at several different stages of construction and hardly any were completely occupied.  It appears to be a booming housing market on the outside, but when the rubber meets the road, all we could see were several incomplete projects on hold for years together due to lack of funding and demand.  Those that were sold were mostly empty, one could notice while driving at night, only a few apartments that had lights on.  Several walk-throughs of model apartments beautifully and attractively furnished with the best possible materials used in construction lured the interested buyers in us.  We set ourselves a budget and needs.  We needed close proximity to a good school most of anything.  We were ready to move farther out from the city but were not ready to compromise on the quality of education that our children would be getting.

Suddenly a property that fit our needs sprung out of nowhere, surprisingly closer to the city with a new reputed school coming up on campus.  We were all excited and started liking almost everything about that project.  We liked a floor plan and decided to stretch our budget a little to accommodate our most important need.  We got our parents to walk through the model home and convinced ourselves that is what we were destined to lead the significant portion of the next few years of our lives there.  My father was the only one that was not fully supportive as he insisted that I could spend much less and build a better home for ourselves with lots of outdoor and garden space.  He was prepared to give us a property that he had invested in but I was reluctant.  Although it briefly tickled my lifelong dreams of constructing our home, the thought of undergoing the task was daunting.  We decided to invest in our dream home and gave in our 2% token advance to book the place.  We had about three weeks to make a decision.

In exchange to our token advance, we were handed the legal documents, which unlike other documents, we decided to read through.  To our amazement, there was 100% risk on buyers and none on the builders.  We wanted some changes in the contract and approached the seller with the same but the seller was not ready to budge.  We were so worried and had to make a decision in a couple of days.  We discussed and decided that this is not for us and retracted the day before the end of three weeks and saved ourselves the deposit.

My dream of constructing our own home was rejuvenated.  I tried convincing my wife that now that was our best way.  Although I didn't succeed completely, I got her nod to start putting together a new plan.  My father was happy that we made this decision and made arrangements to let us take over one of his possessions.  Our quest for our dream home revived and I started putting together a plan for our new home on a home architect software I had bought several years back...

To be continued...