Building with Bamboo: A workshop on bamboo as a building material

 June 25th, 2013 - 1 year, 346 days ago  Vandana 

Building Technology, Construction materials/Chemicals | Viewed times | No Comments

Bamboo is a common building material used in traditional architecture of Northeast India. Given the keen local interest in bamboo, AS (Architects of Sikkim) along with BREW (an acronym for bakery, retail, event and workshop) and SREDA (Sikkim Renewal Energy Development Agency), a government agency under the department of rural management, organized a GREEN building workshop in Gangtok, Sikkim. Taking off from there BREW and members of AS initiated a project to build with bamboo.

The workshop that saw participation from people across the country provided a platform for cross discussion between the resource people, the architects of Sikkim, students and the civil society. An informal design ‘competition’ was floated among the local design/ architecture fraternity with site specification and functional usage. Of the seven designs that were deliberated by the participants, one was selected to create a study model by all the participants.

The study model was made to understand the form and some aspects of structural strength. Broom sticks were used to understand the form, structural components and the scale. It also allowed for design changes and joineries exploration. A rough model was made using broom sticks and glue and gave the participants an idea about the form, the pressure points and the amount of bamboo to be utilized. The rough model helped in understanding the amount of bamboo required, the required length of bamboo and the various types of joineries to be explored. This also became an exercise of working in collaboration and building consensus. BREW and members of AS then initiated a project to use bamboo to build a scale model having the exact scale dimension, floor contours and tensile members wherever required. A scale model was then built with exact scale dimension, floor contours and tensile members wherever required. All the participants shared a common feeling of needing hands on knowledge of the nature and character of bamboo and that this was an exploratory project.

The challenges of the project included limitation to the amount of bamboo that could be used, setting up a deck along with a hammock and a play area for kids including a staircase and creating aesthetically appealing structure whilst making optimum use of all the properties of bamboo. Moreover, as the programme was held in March during the monsoons, bamboo could not be cut in Sikkim and dried bamboo had to be brought from Siliguri (West Bengal).

To erect the model structure, the land was dug two feet deep in a cylindrical shape, which was then covered with four feet tall wiremesh on the periphery. Big stones were laid on the base to a height of two feet, almost to the level of the ground. The bamboo structure rested on the stones to avoid immediate contact with the ground water so that the bamboo would not rot. The bamboo base was covered with plastic sheet and later covered with gravels. This was the foundation for the whole structure.

After the basic structure was laid out on the very first day, joineries were the next detail that required ideation. The participants first tried with nylon ropes, which however started slipping making tight knots impossible. Jute ropes were not an option as it withered fast, so they opted for bolting which structurally gave the required strength. Roofing was one element which was not thought of during the model making stage, but was figured as the participants went along. Likewise, different situations called for discussions and identification of appropriate joinery details. No scaffolding was used in the construction which was a deliberate decision. The weather held and many eager and intelligent hands brought the design to life.

For published article go to - http://buildotechindia.com/building-with-bamboo-a-workshop-on-bamboo-as-a-building-material/

The Kindergarten Project An interactive Education Space

 June 25th, 2013 - 1 year, 346 days ago  Vandana 

Furniture, Interiors | Viewed times | No Comments

The management of a school built in the pre-Independence era in the eastern suburb of Mumbai, Wadala wanted to transform the kindergarten section to meet the standards of the newly formed international school. Architect Manish R Dikshit, Partner, Aum Architects who transformed the space talks about the project.

The kindergarten section was part of the South Indian Education Society school, in Wadala in Mumbai. The management wanted to upgrade the school to be at par with the new international schools with scope for more interactive education studies than the regular class room studies. We were given four rooms to develop of which one was dedicated for the staff and principal’s cabin, two rooms were supposed to be the reading and interactive rooms while the last room was to be an audio visual room for the children. The client brief included accommodating 35-40 students in each classroom (total three) with a separate toilet and play area that had to be secured and made safe for the 4 year olds.

Extra care had to be taken to make the educational space more informal and interactive. To achieve this, we designed circular tables in each class with a separate section for the teachers enabling them to be part of the discussion in a group. Each table was to accommodate eight students in a circle with the teacher in the central area to monitor and teach each student without much difficulty. This will ensure that each student actively participates in the group activity and helps the child mix and express freely in a group. The furniture was custom created on site by the contracting team. The basic frames of the circular tables were made with circular pipes so that the children do not get hurt even if they play or move under the table. The tables were then finished with DuPont Corian. Similarly the chairs have been customized as per the design. These were manufactured by Mumbai based Chemical Process Engineering Company and are made out of FRP (Fibre Reinforced Plastic).

Aum Architects India is a firm that offers consultancy services in architectural, civil and interior design in India. The team believes in optimizing limited resources to design buildings and interiors that are functional and cost effective. Some of the prestigious projects include the office of Balaji Telefilims Pvt Ltd, The Bombay Custom House Agent’s Association, Mumbai and M/s Synergy Construciton Pune among others.

– Architect Manish R Dikshit

A separate audio visual room was created with a stepped format for easy viewing of the screen. We were given the freedom to chose and design the space as we wanted. Keeping in tune with the creativity of children, we used only primary colours in pastel shades. These are also easy on the eyes for the children and at the same time it livens up the space. Coloured glass was also used in the door and the window panes. This brought extra drama to the rooms. We used Asian paints throughout the kindergarten school since these paints conform to international VOC specifications.

The washroom and fittings were designed keeping in mind the anthropology of the children with the age group of 4-5 years. Custom made commodes from Parryware were sourced from a local decorator in Santacruz. Additionally, we eliminated mirrors from the washrooms to give a sense of privacy to the children, since a child going to a bathroom would have a caretaker along. Besides, children do not have the urge to look at themselves when in the washroom as opposed to adults who like to check their appearance while in a washroom.

All the lighting used in the design is LED lights and have been procured from a local vendor. Philips T5 Tubes were used for the cove lighting. Keeping in mind how often children fall and have accidents, extra care was taken for the flooring and homogeneous Vinyl flooring was used for the classroom flooring. The audio visual room flooring was covered in Epoxy, to enhance the curved design of the room.

The outdoor play area was designed keeping in mind the safety of the children who tend to fall off swings. We also wanted to give them a germ free environment. Artificial turf, the kind used in the FIFA world cup was used in the play area. The reason to use this quality and specification was to avoid infection to the children if they have open wounds. We have also given 25mm rubberised carpet underneath the turf so that the children would not get an impact in case of an accident.

As proof of the success of the design, the children were overjoyed seeing the place when school reopened. Children who would usually cry when their parents dropped them off at school, this time jumped off their parents arms and raced into the classrooms.

For actual Link go to - http://buildotechindia.com/the-kindergarten-project-an-interactive-education-space/