Category Archives: green roots

green roots, Indian interiors & architecture

Trees and concrete

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A house with courtyard in interior Maharashtra

Architects: Bijoy jain and Mehul patel @ Studio Mumbai

There are varieties of native trees in the construction site so what to do.

Weave the house around the trees!!!

The trees stand so naturally in architecture practiced by Studio Mumbai that it becomes immaterial that it is inside a house or a research center with eighteen laboratories!

A simple courtyard house constructed with brick and plaster by Studio Mumbai is my favourite. Another thing I appreciate about the architects is that they think process and anonymous workers are important. So they give as much importance to skill of bricklayers, stonemasons and carpenters who have no formal education as to any celebrated architect’s work! 

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green roots

Myth of Brahmakamal

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I was told this is Brahmakamal (Saussurea obvallata) – a rare flowering plant, found in the Himalayas.

Night Blooming Cereus

Photographer: My camera phone

So yesterday night we had gathered around the white magnificent flower and enjoyed its full bloom and its heady fragrance for few hours.

We are supposed to get rich!!

We are supposed to have a shower of blessings!!

To find out all the myths and lores I went to surf the net and found that it is not Brahmakamal but Queen of the Night – cactus – Night Blooming Cereus (Epiphyllum oxypetalum). In Maharashtra at least there is misconception about this plant being Brahmakamal.

But it is not that rare plant and flowers once a year(?) unlike Brahmakamal which is said to flower once in 14 years!

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green roots, Indian interiors & architecture

earth sheltered building

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‘Style’ emerges from the project and not from the architect. Every project deserves its own style based on the site, user requirements, available materials and technology.                ? Space – design Consultants

  

AIIS

Architects: Space-Design Consultants

In the age of ‘hero’ architects or architectural heroism somehow I tend to veer towards this credo of Space – Design Consultants. I am asking myself why it is so that style (first &/or only) attracts most of us more than anything else!

 

Space Design Consultants is Delhi based architectural firm which is concerned about sustainability in buildings. Energy efficiency, material selection for reduction in wastes and pollution are their guides for design.

 

The building of American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) has a very traditional look and yet it has adopted innovative and simple energy conserving and passive cooling measures. The walls of the building are insulated. A simple strategy of orienting the windows in most favourable directions has been used.

The roof has a terrace garden to keep the building naturally cool. Two courtyards (and that too sunken ones) bring natural light and ventilation. To create a peaceful ambience the courtyards are created with vegetation and water bodies.

Natural materials like brick, exposed concrete, and sandstone have been used.