This text has been sponsored by Wingify Earth.
On the outskirts of Bengaluru in Kaggalipura lies an 8,000 sq ft sustainable property that was christened ‘Breathe’. The title was meant to symbolise how in distinction to caged and sealed homes which might be prevalent today, this residence could be porous owing to the supplies with which it was constructed, and thus capable of ‘breathe’.
True to its title, the property infuses trendy structure with historic ideas of design to present rise to a 2 BHK facade that appears as if it’s a product of nature itself.
The venture was designed by architects Deepa Suriyaprakash and Guruprasanna C, who hail from Chennai and Mysuru, respectively. And it was the dream residence of Ramki and Swarna, a pair who prides themselves on conserving wildlife and the atmosphere by way of their many ardour initiatives.
It was in 2019 that the couple related with these architects by way of a mutual good friend and relayed their dream to them. They wished a house constructed that will “slot in with nature, be one hundred pc vitality environment friendly, eco-friendly and sustainable”, and the architect duo was more than pleased to oblige.
Deepa and Guru, founders of Betweenlines — an award-winning city, architectural, and inside design agency based in 2003 — name this one among their spotlight initiatives. This isn’t solely due to the distinctive purchasers they have been coping with but additionally as a result of the concept of the house wavered away from the norm of what earth homes are alleged to be.
The venture, they are saying, took three years to finish, from 2019 to 2022, a journey they time period “memorable.”
Deepa says, “All the things that adopted was to make sure the couple’s sustainable thought comes true.”
A commendable design philosophy
Because the duo explains, the planning of the house was executed, protecting the precept of embodied vitality as the main target.
“This time period signifies all the vitality used to supply a cloth or product,” explains Guru, including that it takes into consideration the style of constructing, learn how to go about sourcing supplies domestically in order that using gas for transport is minimised, and so forth.
Additional explaining this, he says through the constructing course of, there’s a concentrate on sequestering or growing the shelf lifetime of a product in an effort to reduce the burden on the earth.
“It differs from recycling. In sequestering, we basically repurpose the identical product, like taking a washer rim and utilizing it as a ventilator body. We made these plans previous to starting development in order that it could be a great stability for us to work with. As soon as this was executed, we started constructing.”
Deepa provides that embodied vitality was not the one factor considered whereas planning out a design philosophy.
“Sometimes,” she says, “in relation to constructing earth homes, there’s a tendency to comply with a set sample in an try to attain the design. The method tends to turn out to be a bit formularised. However we determined that though we now have constructed earth properties earlier than, this time we might keep away from formulation and as a substitute take a look at the consumer and their wants, after which design accordingly.”
The venture was lengthy and encountered a number of hiccups on account of the pandemic hanging proper in the midst of development. However because the architect duo recount, this allowed them time to rethink sure designs and revisit materials selections. Ultimately, the tip outcome shocked even them, resulting from all of the modifications they included alongside the best way.
As we speak, the results of Ramki’s dream mixed with the imaginative and prescient and efforts of the architects have resulted in ‘Breathe’ — a house that’s centred across the core ideas of sustainability.
Discarded tyres, rammed earth…nothing is waste on this home
The house is a deal with to the eyes with its lush backyard that borders it with herbs and crops of each type. These embrace brinjals, bananas, hibiscus, lemon grass, rosemary, button roses, and so forth.
Though the home sits in a gated group, it’s simply the standout among the many different historically constructed properties that dot the panorama. That is for quite a lot of causes — one being the outer facade that has a pure brick end owing to the CSEB (Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks), a sustainable various to concrete.
The usage of CSEB in sustainable constructions has turn out to be in style in recent times as a result of many benefits they’ve. These embrace making the construction immune to mould development and thus simple to keep up, discouraging the expansion of pests. As well as, the blocks are soundproof, biodegradable, and launch no poisonous chemical compounds throughout manufacturing.
Not solely the partitions however the basis too is in line with eco-friendly ideas. As Deepa explains, it has been executed with rammed earth beds with random rubble masonry that was unearthed from the positioning stomach.
“We used tyres full of rammed earth as a substitute of compression discs. These tyres grew to become massive blocks of earth that supplied stability to the construction as the load grew to become uniformly distributed, in comparison with concrete columns, which have factors for the switch of weight,” she provides.
The duo provides that the idea of vitality effectivity extends to the within too, within the courtroom inside the lounge.
“The perforations on the curved jaali (mesh) wall permit gentle to filter in, and this invitations birds to nest, whereas the jaali aids in air flow with micro chajjas (eaves) made with waste granite trims,” says Deepa.
She provides that “the interior courtyard enclosed on prime by ferroconcrete fins brings in a dynamic shadow play by way of the day.” These fins, she says, are a slimmer model of concrete as they don’t contain a variety of metal and cement getting used.
“It’s labour oriented and never material-intensive,” she provides.
Wandering by way of the halls, there’s a distinctive get-up that the place has free of charge the Athangudi tiles, handmade from the Chettinadu area. A gradient was created utilizing these tiles, and the architects clarify that the muted earth partitions have been contrasted by the colourful palette of the tiles, creating a selected atmosphere to the home.
The furnishings and decor have been centred across the precept of upcycling.
“Upcycled wooden from Khaggalipura market has been used within the staircase and window frames, whereas reused tiles have been put in within the toilet and ornamental imprints of native leaves on concrete surfaces,” says Guru, including that the wooden lends a lovely impact to the character quotient of the house.
Vitality and water effectivity are the prime pillars of ‘Breathe’
Whereas the house has been constructed with these practices, in time it has additionally turn out to be an ecosystem inside itself with a number of birds and bugs that flock to it. One more reason for this fauna is the swale and retention pond on web site, which can also be used to gather rainwater, as a recharge nicely wouldn’t be potential right here.
“As a result of excessive terrain of Bengaluru, acquiring groundwater will not be as simple,” notes Deepa. “Once we have been taking a look at rainwater harvesting, we discovered it robust because the earth was parched, and therefore setting up a recharge nicely wouldn’t be potential because the water would have rolled off. The pond is useful because the swale collects the water, and the retention pond permits percolation.”
Along with this, a 1,000-litre tank on the terrace collects the rainwater and sends it to a pump from the place the water is used for crops.
The duo add that the water from the bathtub and basins go to a standalone greywater system put in on-site, and this water then goes to the flush system from the place it meets the septic tank, thus guaranteeing water administration. By means of this method, round 300 litres of water are recycled.
Moreover, the house is powered by 7kW photo voltaic panels that meet all of the vitality necessities and are even sufficient to ship again to the grid.
Whereas the price of constructing the house was Rs 1.35 crore, the sustainable nature of the property renders it priceless. As Swarna says, “We’ve got all the time been obsessed with sustainability, and this comes from the work we do. As we speak, as I sit again at my residence, I’d should say that one among my favorite elements is the breakfast counter with the hooked up balcony as I get a stunning view of the hills from right here. Sustainability is usually stunning.”
Edited by Pranita Bhat
