Use of waste from construction industry as suggested by the architect
Bengaluru-based Indian architect Chitra Vishwanath focuses on ecological and architectural topics. Since 1991, she has run her own architectural practice and collaborated with other architects on numerous projects throughout Africa and India.
At the moment, Vishwanath serves as the Managing Director and Principal Architect at ‘BIOME Environment Solutions'. Her involvement in almost 500 projects includes the construction of buildings of all sizes as well as water harvesting and sanitation systems that are specifically relevant to the sites' ecosystem. She has planned and constructed a number of constructions using earth as the primary building material.
For the SMARTEX’ 24, Ar. Chitra Vishwanath gave the presentation on ‘EARTH- The Opportunity’. Vishwanath studied for a diploma in civil engineering from Nigeria and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the CEPT University in Ahmedabad. In 1990, she opened her practice. Her method of incorporating native natural resources into developing architectural ideas has prioritized them in both an active and passive way.
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The Novel Entities of the planetary boundaries are usually what the architects address. In the meanwhile, Climate Change is contributing to disasters- Heat & Overshoot of Biosphere. But the question arises- Can a building material address these issues?
The building should necessarily address certain climatic conditions
Chitra asserted that in an interconnected world it can through systems change. So, what is systems change? To address the challenges in the world today, systems that underpin human societies and behavior will have to change, and in a way that they cannot revert to current operating patterns. Any building designed should necessarily address:
•Low Embodied Energy.
•Low Operational Energy.
•Reduce/ Now waste stream.
•Embrace biodiversity.
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The building materials should provide us with “Permaculture” of solutions. Earth, debris, ecological bonding materials eg. Low carbon cement, bio-resins are some possible materials that can serve the purpose. For this, there are some expectations from the markets as well. The materials should have-
• Easy availability
• Cost consciousness– (make unecological materials pay environment costs)
• Educate/Inform all stakeholders.
The architects must make way for the skill that’s evergreen.
Last but not the least, while the buildings are planned with the motive that last, the architects must make way for skills that last and through skills decent employment is generated.
SMARTEX, a symposium celebrating creativity, innovation, technology, and sustainability in architectural design and construction worldwide. India's no.1 platform to honor diverse visionaries and brands, inspiring viability.