Located in Aurangabad, this house is designed by Architects Pooja & Piyush Kapadia, pioneers of sustainable architecture.
What makes this house unique is that it is enveloped within a steel and concrete composite skeleton unlike the traditional Reinforced Concrete structure common to the region allowing fast assembly and lesser construction time.
In this type of construction, the steel columns and beams are nut-bolted, precast and assembled together on site. Reinforced concrete is cast on top of a profiled steel decking sheet which acts as form-work, as well as external reinforcement.
The main framework of building along with the steel columns and beams was erected within 2 days while the concreting of the floors was achieved in one day which is a record in itself.
Professor Damgir, HOD Civil Engineering from Govt college of Engineering, Aurangabad had visited the site during entire construction process and expressed his satisfaction in the way entire job was carried out. He added; “it was a brave movement and would create a revolution in construction industry in near future”.
The idea to construct a building of this type was initiated by the lead architect Ar.Piyush Kapadia who had already experimented this structure while building his own residence. The structure was awarded as first Residential Green Building with Platinum Rating in rest of Maharashtra by IGBC in 2017.
Steel buildings are prefabricated, which means they’re faster & efficient to make. The majority of the building is created in a plant, so weather never gets in the way of construction. Quality of steel is assured since it is produced under controlled environment in the factory under strict quality control.
Although initial cost is 10% more, it is still cost effective. Based on life cycle cost analysis and because steel structures are easier to maintain and have a good scrap value, unlike traditional RCC structures.
Have a look at the time lapse of the construction process:
A total 18 tonnes of steel was used and 25 cu.m of concreting was poured as compared to 9 tonnes of steel and 125 cu.m go concreting saving more than 60% of natural resources and 40% of water and time.
The house is divided between three floor plates of 1000 sq.ft each. An open plan without any columns acts as a separation. It is designed keeping in mind all climatic factors promoting the need of an eco-friendly design and a healthy lifestyle.
The external walls are designed with hollow clay blocks that create a temperature difference of at least 5-10 degrees between the interior and exterior spaces keeping the interiors cool in the summer and warm in winters.
While designing the interior spaces, a conscious effort was made to use a palette of natural materials which include exposed terracotta clay blocks on the walls, exposed deck flooring & rafter-ed ceiling. Jaisalmer flooring was used with a combination of white & grey furniture using MDF & PVC plywood. Addition of wooden louvers with plants & creepers in the external facade adds character to the building while promoting the idea of an eco-friendly and sustainable way to build.
Location: Aurangabad, Maharashtra
Design House: Pooja & Piyush Architects