DISSERTATION REPORT

LOW COST HOUSING

Submitted By:
DEEPALI RAI
B.Arch. Fourth Year Seventh Semester
BATCH 2016-17

Under the Guidance of:

Ar. Raina Garg
Associate Professor
IATP, Bundelkhand University, Jhansi

INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE AND TOWNPLANNING

BUNDELKHAND UNIVERSITY, JHANSI
SEMESTER: JULY 2019- DECEMBER 2019

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I , deem it a matter of privilege to express my gratitude to Ar. Raina Garg ,

Associate Professor , Institute of Architecture and Town Planning Bundelkhand
University Jhansi , for her inspiration to start this work and prudential help and
constant supervision over my work during the semester

Last but not the least I wish to express my profound gratitude to my parents ,
sisters and friends, who have smilingly embraced my work and supported me
throughout.

DEEPALI RAI
th nth
B. Arch. 4 year 7 Semester
Institute of Architecture and
Town Planning Bundelkhand
University Jhansi

2
 DECLARATION

I , DEEPALI RAI, hereby declare that this project titled “ Acoustic in

Architecture” has been submitted by me to Institute of Architecture and Town
Planning Bundelkhand University Jhansi as dissertation report completed in one
semester.

It is a record of my own work and the matter in this project has not been ever
submitted by me for award of any other degree it is an original work.

DEEPALI RAI
th nth
B. Arch. 4 year 7 Semester

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 CONTENTS

• CHAPTER-1 6-7
o INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER-2 8-12
o MATERIALS
-LOW COST MATERIALS
-NATURAL MATERIALS
-MAN MADE MATERIALS

• CHAPTER-3 13-20
• TECHNIQUES
-LOW COST DESIGN CONCEPT
-CONVENTIONAL METHODS CONSTRUCTION
-NEW METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION
-TYPICAL LOW-COST HOUSE
• CHAPTER-4 21-34
• AGENCIES AND ARCHITECT
-AGENCIES WORKING ON LOW COST
-ARCHITECTS WORKED ON LOW COST
▪ CHAPTER -5 35-38
• CASE STUDIES
-CHARLES CORREA INCRIMENTAL HOUSING

• BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 CHAPTER –1

INTRODUCTION

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Introduction:
Housing is one of the major problems which India has to solve in a satisfactory
manner. The main reasons for this problem being acute at present are population
increase and rapid urbanization. Also the cost of housing, as compared to the
limited financial resources of the community in India remains very high, on
account of the high cost of building materials such as steel, cement and timber.
The two principal components of housing cost are cost of labor and cost of
materials. The cost of labor in India is only about 30 to*+0 percent ’ of the total
cost of construction, the cost of materials being 60 to 70 percent. In some
developed countries, the ratio is just the reverse. So it is all the more important in
India to introduce such housing concepts as would assure reduction in the
consumption of structural materials. Any reduction in the consumption of
materials will directly reduce the cost of labor and this can be achieved by
introducing better design concepts and new construction techniques.All over the
world there is a short age of decent low income housing. It is useful to distinguish
low-cost housing and low-income housing. The first is housing built at low-cost,
while the second is housing not necessarily built at low-cost.
In the latter case a concept has been developed, in which the users are able to pay
for that housing.this affordability can be created by subsidizing the cost of
housing (object subsidy) or of the users (subject subsidy). This can result in the
ownership of the house, after a number ofyears, depending on the finance concept
/ agreement.
Apart from financial measures, the actual cost of housing can also be reduced by
the use of low-cost materials, simple construction methods, repetition, smart
designs (sharing walls e.g.) compact construction, not forgetting the option of
self-help building,
Although all these ideas have been applied already, the housing shortage
worldwide has not been solved yet. Of course, when looking at a local level, the
causes may differ. For example, in the netherlands, where money is available, the
causes for the shortage are more qualitative (e.g.fewer rooms, low quality of the
location or low comfort of housing). The causes for ldc’s may be:
-lack of sufficient middle-income housing (therefore occupation of low
Income housing);
-changing building bylaws causing low-cost housing to be below standard
(e.g. energy inefficiency, although accepted by the users);
-lack of building capacity;
-lack of areas suitable for housing, and

Aim
To minimize the cost of house and to give affordability to the low income
people.

Objective
*to study different types of construction technique used to reduce cost of housing

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 *to compare cost and time reduction by adopting different techniques for large
scale projects.

*promote environmental quality in affordable residential development

Need of study:
Motive of study behind that is to increase availability of house at reasonable rates
and techniques which reduce the cost of project.

To analyze the factor which increase the cost .

Control the cost by maintaining quality which is biggest threats nowadays.

This study will be very useful for previous, ongoing, future construction of high
scale area to minimize the cost , time and waste and also enhancement of
structure.

Limitations:
Innovative materials

Methodology: -
• Case Studies.
• Literature studies.
• Through internet, collection of data.
• With the discussion with the faculty guide.

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LOW COST MATERIALS
Two types of low cost materials are natural
and manmade materials .

NATURAL
1.Random straw or Coconut Fibres
Stabilised Soil

• Ancient construction material used in

many countries

• Have both strength and durability

• Compacted material

• 1% of straw increases the strength by

three time as compared to no straw

• Coconut fibres increases the durability

• Sulphur coating enhances the water

resistance

2.Compressed Earth Block

• Raw earth stabilised by cement or lime

• Also known as Adobe bricks, light in

weight

• Non-toxic

• Fire resistant, Sound resistant

• Low transportation cost

• Insect resistant as they are very dense

• Available in customizable sizes

• Used in stucco work for exterior

3.Non-erodible Mud Plaster

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• Economical process of preventing mud walls from
erosion

• Mud mixed with bitumen and kerosene oil

• Resistant to water

4.Straw

• Fire resistant

• Thermal insulation

• Soil and Moisture insulation

• Nontoxic Life Extended Thatch Roofing

• Treating with copper sulphate solution decreases the biodegradability

• Treatment of roof surface with phosphorylated spray or CNSL oil impart so

Water proofing o Termite resistance

o Fire resistance

o Weathering Resistance Improved Thatched Roofing

• CBRI advise to add mud platers in between to increase fire and water resistance

5.Fibre Cement Composites

• Natural fibre used with cement as an alternative building material

• Fibres used like bagasse, cereal straw, corn and cotton stalk, kenaf/rice husk

• Imparts

o Light weight

o High strength to weight ratio

o Corrosion resistance

o High fracture toughness

o High flexibility

o Resistance to cracking

o Add workability

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6.Bagasse Cement- Boards and Panels

• Fibrous matter after sugar is extracted

• Sugarcane bagasse and Portland cement is

mixed

• High density boards

7.Bagasse PVC boards Jute and Coir

• Widely available in India

Coir-CNSL Board o used for window and

door shutter, partitioning,

false ceiling, furniture etc.

o Single layer flat pressed medium density

board

o Low water absorption, workable with wood

tools

o Paintable, pre-laminable, screw able

Coir-CNSL Thermal Insulation Board

o Coconut fibres as reinforcing material

o CNSL as natural binder

o Low density for moderate thermal insulation

Jute-Coir Composites

o Economic alternative for wood

o E.g.-coir ply boards with jute face veneer, coir plus waste rubber inside

Coconut and Wooden Chips Roofing Chips

o Coconut fibres and wooden chips soaked in water for 2 hours and then drained
off

o Mixed with cement and layover corrugated mould kept under pressure for 8-10
hours

o CNSL oil can also be used as a natural binder

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MAN MADE
1.Fly Ash

• Mineral residue after burning coal and

fine glass

• Constitutes of silica, alumina and iron Fly

Ash Bricks

o Class C fly ash and water

o Due to high calcium oxide its self-

cementing

o Energy efficient

o Lower water penetration, light weight,

thermal insulation

2.Coal Washery Rejects Bricks

• Left over after fluidised bed combustion

• Uses water and reduces air and land pollution

• Energy efficient

• Red mud, coal ash, etc from large scale industries can be used

• These are mixed with lime pozzolana and cement to form brick

3.Aerocon Panels

• Inorganic bonded sandwich panels

• 2 fibre cement sheets engulfing a Portland cement mix with fibres of silica's and
micaceous aggregates

• Light weight, thermal insulation, fire and sound resistant

• Termite and weather resistant

• Suitable for seismic or cyclone prone zones

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4.Ferro Cement

• Thin walled versatile high strength cement based

composite material

• Cement mortar reinforced with 2-3 layers of wire mesh

• Light weight high strength

5.Plaster

Calcium Silicate Plaster

o Derived from Wollan stonite naturally occurring

calcium silicate

o Does not emit VOC or any other harmful gases

o Gives a smooth finish

Fibre Reinforced clay plaster

o Natural or artificial fibre(polypropylene)

o Achieve better sticking properties

o Less Brittles

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LOW-COST DESIGN CONCEPTS
The general economy in the construction of a house can
be achieved by:
a) Proper layout
b) Proper selection of materials
c) Better structural designs and
d) Speedier and economical construction methods.
Before presenting the new techniques in building construction, it may not be out
of place here to give a brief account of the conventional methods of construction
adopted in this
country.

CONVENTIONAL METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION

A house, basically, consists of two major structural elements-walls and floors of
roofs. These two items including doors and windows, in a conventional house,
account for more than 70% of the total expenditure on it.
1. The conventional types of walls.
i) Mud walls with or without bamboo reinforcement,
ii) Brick masonry walls,
iii) Stone masonry walls.
2. The conventional types of floors or roofs,
i) Thatched roof.
ii) Tiled, Asbestos cement, or Galvanised Iron sheet roof,
iii) Madras terrace and the allied floors or roofs,
iv) Reinforced concrete floor or roof.

The above types of walls and floors or roofs are not very advantageous on
account of one or more of the following reasons:
i) Heavy increase in the price of building materials,
ii) Lack of economy in structural design,
iii) Slow and laborious process of construction,
iv) Short span of life.
v) Expensive maintenance.
Various attempts are now being made to devise new methods of construction,
which can reduce building costs and also speed up construction, without affecting
either the strength or the durability of the building.

NEW METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION FOR LOW-COST

HOUSING
In recent years, prefabrication of components of houses or complete houses has
proved to be the most satisfactory method for reducing the consumption of
structural and centering materials, construction time and skilled labor required at
the site of work. Prefabrication does not necessarily mean mass-production,
mechanization or installation of expensive
equipment.
Large scale mechanized prefabrication industry will be premature at the present
stage of housing efforts in India because India does not have a strong industrial
base and the great majority of the people live in rural areas which lack good
transport facilities. A simple style of prefabrication, without the use of expensive
equipment or mechanization is the need of the day. It would be possible to effect

13
overall economy in low-cost housing if prefabrication is adopted for the
components which are light enough to be handled by a few men or a small mobile
crane. The manufacture of the components should be located near the site of the
housing project
to reduce the transport charges. Also the locally available materials such as soil,
stone, lime, fly ash, coal ash etc. should be used as freely as possible without
sacrificing the quality and the strength of the products.
1. New forms of walls:
Some of the recent methods of construction of walls using the locally available
materials and prefabrication techniques are illustrated below:
i) Rammed stabilized mud.
For a single-storey house, the cheapest wall one can think of is a rammed in-situ
stabilized mud wall. It can be built by laying mixture of mud with water and
crushed straw into a sliding form and ramming it. Next layer is done after
hardening of the previous one. For stabilization it is advisable to add cement or
clay. Sliding form is made of timber as a unit about 10' long. The usual thickness
of wall is 10". The wall can be improved by plastering or white washing.
ii) Soil-cement blocks
These blocks are used in walls varying in thickness from 6" to 12" upto a height
of 12'. Soil-cement blocks are made by hand or power-operated machines in a
standard unit size of
4" x 8" x 12" and also in three-quarter unit and half unit sizes. Soil-cement
mixtures with optimum moisture content are selected to give a minimum
compressive strength of 250lbs/in2 and a flexural strength of 50 lb/in2 after 28
days,
iii) Concrete hollow blocks
Prefabricated concrete hollow blocks are made from heavy or light-weight
concrete can can be used for one or two storeyed houses as bearing walls or for
multi-storyed houses as partitions. Blocks of nominal size 8" x 8" x 16", also
three-quarter and half length blocks are produced using wooden or steel moulds
by hand or machine. The walls are laid in the conventional way using composite
cement lime mortar (1:1:10).
iv) Pillars and panels
The pillar units can be of any suitable size but the most convenient one is 8" x 8"
x 12". Such units can be solid or hollow and are provided with a groove on the
sides to receive the panel slabs. They are made in cement mortar (1:6) in the same
manner as concrete hollow blocks.
The panel slabs are 1 1/2" to 2" thick and 12" wide. The length varies with the
spacing of "he pillars. The concrete mix used is (1:2 1/2: 3 1/2) and the
reinforcement is 1/4" bars longitudinally and 1/8" bars transversely at 8"centers.
These units are made in simple wooden or steel moulds.
v) Precast panels (UCOPAN)2
These panels have been designed and standardized by the Calcutta Metropolitan
Planning Organization. The panels are 1 1/2" thick and have two sizes 3' x 9' for
walls and 3' x 10' for floors and roofs. Different types of wall panels with voids
for doors, windows, ventilators or solid ones can be manufactured in a single-type
universal form by using replaceable inserts wherever necessary. The panels have
a mesh reinforcement consisting of steel bars of diameters 1/8", 3/16", 1/4" and
5/16". They have ribs 8" in depth which serve
to provide the rigidity needed.

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vi) Precast panels and cost-in-situ columns
The panels are 1 1/2" thick and are lightly reinforced by steel mesh. They vary in
size from 3*-2" x 3'-0" to 3'-4" to 2'-6". A set of two panels is placed together
with an air gap of 4" to form the wall of 7" thickness. The sets of panels are
keyed by cast-in-situ reinforced columns of 4" x 4" size. The columns are made
continuous from foundation slab to roof slab, thus making the walls and roof act
in a monolithic way.

2. New forms of floors and roofs

i) Floors
During the last 30 or 40 years the conventional types of floors have gradually
given way to reinforced concrete floors which are being adopted on account of
many advantages inherent
in them. Although in-situ reinforced concrete construction is still predominant,
recent attempts to bring down the cost of house construction have evolved a
number of new systems of precast floors. The new systems can be broadly
classified into two categories, one category using entirely precast units for
structural action and providing 1" to 2" topping of in-situ
concrete only as a finish and the other using composite construction of precast
units and in-situ concrete for structural action. The chief draw back of the former
is the loss of monolithy compared to cast-in-situ construction. The latter
combines, to a large extent, the advantages of both forms of construction. The
types of floors that are going to be described are for relatively light loads, say, a
live load of 40 lbs/sq. ft. and are ideal for low-cost houses.
Precast T-beam and 21b
This floor system is very simple and easy to construct and has been successfully
used on a number of constructions in India. It is of two types - ordinary and
hollow. For all spans, these units have a uniform flange width of 12". The depth
of the rib and the reinforcement are adjusted to suit the span. After units are set in
position, the joints are grouted to make them water-proof, with cement mortar
(1:2), mixed with 10 percent of (by weight of cement) crude oil. The hollow type
of floor, although more expensive, provides better heat insulation and also has the
added advantage of better appearance due to flat ceiling. The T-beam units are
cast in simple moulds either of wood or steel. If the number of units required is
small, an adjustable mould can be made to make T-beams of different depths.
Composite T-beam type.
This floor consists of precast rectangular ribs supporting
precast slabs of 6* span and a layer of 1 1/2" thick
in-situ concrete laid over them. The in-situ concrete when
poured, bonds with the precast rib and slabs so that the
rib together with portions of precast and in-situ slabs, acts
as a T-beam; this action is further aided by the provision
of stirrups protruding from the rib. For all spans, propping
of beams at mid span is essential until in-situ concrete has
hardened sufficiently.
Composite I-joist-slab type.
This floor is similar to the composite T-beam type except that I-joists are used
instead of rectangular ribs and the ceiling tiles are supported by the bottom
Flanges of I-joists. The maximum spacing of the joists is usually limited to 3'-0"

15
to facilitate the provision of flat ceiling. Joists exceeding 12' span require
propping.
Composite Joist-Filler block type.
In this floor, the depth and spacing of joists are governed by the dimensions of the
filler block. The filler blocks can be assumed to assist the cast-in-situ slab in
resisting the bending moment. For the purpose of calculation, the thickness of the
shell of the filler block may be added to the slab. As the span of the slab is small,
reinforcement for shrinkage and temperature stresses only is provided.
3.Roofs:
The construction of precast roofs is similar to that of floors except that the roofs
require improved insulation through a ceiling or by an additional insulation
course. The special
requirements for roofs are given below:
Water Proofing: In order that a roof is leak-proof against heavy rains, it is
adequately sloped to drain away water and a water proof course is laid over the
structural slab.
The slope required is generally 1 in 50 and is provided either in the structural roof
or in the insulation layer. Several methods of water proofing are available
including
i) Lime terracing - an indigeneous method popular in the Eastern and Northern
parts of the country,and
ii) Laying a bitumen compound or felt.
A simple method of water proofing is to place a layer of paper or bitumen and
cover it with another layer of 1 1/2" thick flat tiles set in cement mortar.
Thermal insulation: Due to the prevalence of high temperatures in India, thermal
insulation of roofs is very essential for comfortable living.
A number of proprietory insulating materials, which are costly, are available but
equally effective results can be obtained with a 3" layer of earth preferably mixed
with rice
husk and covered with 3/4" flat tiles set in cement mortar or a 2" insulating
concrete layer made with rice husk, cinder or other light weight aggregates.
As air is a good insulating medium, the adoption of such roof systems as Hollow
beam, Cellular slab-beam or composite joist-filler block type in which air spaces
are preformed
in the structural portion of the roof itself is advantageous. In such roofs, the
insulation layer may be dispersed with or its thickness can be considerably
reduced.
4. New forms of door and window frames.
Since good seasoned wood is not easily available except at exorbitant prices,
substantial savings in cost can be affected by replacing the timber frames of doors
and windows by those of reinforced concrete. They cost about half the price of
country teakwood and are becoming increasingly popular, especially for low-cost
houses.
5. New forms of lintels.
For low cost houses, dressed stone lintels upto a clear span of 3'-0" are used. Even
stone sunshades are used when they are locally available. Also present R.C.C.
lintels with or without sunshades are widely used.

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rammed stabilised mud wall fig. 2 wooden mould for making one
hollow
concrete block at a time

• a

woo
den

17
•

18
TY

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PICAL LOW-COST HOUSES.
In India, according to a recent estimate, there is a dearth of about 12 million
houses in urban areas and 72 million houses in rural areas. Most of these houses
are generally needed for slum clearance schemes in big and small cities and for
accommodating the growing number of industrial workers, whose needs can be
met by low-cost houses. A lowcost house is generally meant for a small family
with low income and consists of one or two living rooms in addition to a kitchen
with dining room, bath and lavatory. The bath and the lavatory rooms may not
always be roofed. The area of such houses varies from 150 to 400 sq.ft, and the
cost is about Rs. 25/-per sq.ft, of plinth area, if the conventional type of
construction is adopted.

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AGENCIES WORKING ON LOW COST
1. HUDCO-Housing And Urban Development Co-operation

2. CIDCO-City And Industrial Development Corporation (Mumbai)

3. CBRI-Central Bureau Of Research Institute

4. NCST- National Committee on Science & Technology.

5. CSIR- Council Of Scientific & Industrial Research

6. SERC-Structural Engineering Research Council. (Chennai)

7. AKFED- Aga-Khan Fund For Economic Development.

8. NHP-National Housing Policy.

9. NBO-National Building Organization.

10. HDFC- Housing Development Finance Corporation.

11. IDA- Indore Development Authority.

12. DDA- Delhi Development Authority.

13. BMTPC-Building Material & technology Promotion Council.

14. DEHRADUN RESEARCH CENTER(wood based)

ARCHITECTS WORKING ON LOW COST

1. LAURIE BAKER

2. HASAN FATHY

3. A.K. JAIN

4. ANIL LAUL

5. CHARLES CORREA (Belapur housing)

6. B.V. DOSHI (Aranya housing)

7. S K DAS

Housing and Urban Development

Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO)
HUDCO was set up in 1970 as a fully

21
 owned Government company to finance and undertake.

1. Housing and Urban Development program in India

with special emphasis on low cost housing.

2. Development of new townships and their infrastructural needs.

3. Development of buildings material technology and industries.

4. Consultancy services with India and abroad.

Design and Consultancy

HUDCO has also done considerable work on weaker section housing as well as
cost effective housing and has achieved wide acclaim with regard to planning,
design and delivery of mass housing. Some of the prestigious and projects
include:
• Gas Victim Housing project at Bhopal (I.I.A’s Award)
• New Town development at Pimpri-Chinchwad (I.I.A’s Award)
• New Jammu Township (PM’s National Award)
• Latur Earthquake Rehabilitation Project (World Habitat Award)
• Rehabilitation project for Basket Weavers at Coimbatore (UNCHS’s Best
Practices Award)
• National Games Village
• Gujarat Earthquake Rehabilitation Project
HUDCO has been associated with not just housing development but the overall
infrastructure development assistance. The activity areas of HUDCO include:

HOUSING
1. Urban housing
2. Rural housing
3. Staff rental housing
4. Repairs and renewal
5. Shelter and sanitation facilities for footpath
dwellers
6. Workingwomen ownership condominium
housing
7. Housing through private builders/ joint sector
8. Individual HUDCO housing loans and HUDCO home loan for construction and
renovation through 'HUDCO Niwas'
9. Land acquisition
10. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)
11. Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JLNNURM)

INFRASTRUCTURE

22
1. Integrated land acquisition and development
2. Environmental improvement of slums
3. Utility infrastructure
4. Social infrastructure
5. Economic and commercial infrastructure

FINANCIAL SERVICES

1. HUDCO Niwas - HUDCO home loans by HUDCO Bank

2. Financing of Urban Development Projects and Industrial Products Projects by
HUDCO Bank.

BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

1. Building centers for technology transfer

at grass-roots

2. Building materials industries

CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Consultancy in housing, urban development and infrastructure

RESEARCH AND TRAINING CAPACITY

HOUSING:
As on 28.02.2009, HUDCO contributed to the construction of over 142.03 lakh
dwelling units including upgradation of 41.25 units all over the country. Of this
85.96 lakh houses benefits the rural housing needs and the balance 56.07 lakh the
urban housing needs. HUDCO’s has so far sanctioned 14615 projects (excluding
Urban Infrastructure projects) involving a total amount of 31045 Cr.

55% of housing loan of HUDCO has been allocated for Economically Weaker
Section (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG) which carries a concessional rate
of interest of 8.5%(floating) to 9.75%(floating), over 92% of the dwelling units

23
sanctioned by HUDCO benefit these sections of society.

In the last 37 years, HUDCO has reached people in over 1850 towns and
hundreds of villages. Much of the assistance is project oriented, ensuring that the
housing in affordable, technically sound, financially viable, legally acceptable
and above all environmentally appropriate.

HUDCO plays a major role in implementation of National Housing Policy. It has

been entrusted with the implementation of the priority programmes of the
Ministry like Low Cost Sanitation, Night Shelter for Footpath Dwellers, Shelter
Upgradation under Nehru Rozgar Yojana, Rural housing under Minimum Needs
Programme.

CBRI (Roorkee)
FOUNDATION: protection against rain by constructing a low ring wall of burnt
bricks around the house.

MUD WALLS: Objective is to prevent wall from reverting to mud, to stop it

from crumbling away due to wetting and to prevent it
from excessive shrinkage on drying.

percentage of agents used-

Cement: 3-10% by weight

Lime: 3-8% by weight

Bitumen: 0.5-2% by weight

PROTECTION OF MUD WALL: the non-erodible mud

is prepared by mixing bitumen cut black (mixture of bitumen and kerosene oil)
with specified mud mortar.

-wall should be plastered with non-erodible mud mortar then the stabilized mud
cow-dung slurry to be applied to get smooth and protected mud wall.

FLOOR: the plinth is filled and raised in ordinary soil by ramming the earth in
layers. The plinth is usually kept 23 cm-30cm higher than the ground level.

no sub-floor is provided, sometime locally available stone are mixed with soil.

THATCH ROOF: a method has been developed which is more suitable for the
application of fire retardant and water proofing treatment than conventional
method.

24
Manually, two pressed
thatch panel of appropriate
size and fabricated which
are laid as roof covering
with proper overlaps.

The quality and life

substantially improved.

Shelter planning

Physical Planning: Settlement Planning, Education & Health Care Building, Heritage

Buildings,

Technology Developments and Computer Application.

Building Efficiency: Day Light, Thermal Comfort.

New Materials

Organic building materials, Cement, Lime and clay products, Waste recycling,

Environment friendly

termite control pesticides, Structural & building components out of new materials,

Fire retardant materials.

Structures and Foundations

Structural analysis & design, Structural integrity assessment of complex structure and

transmission towers, Construction technology, Rehabilitation of distressed structures,

Concrete technology, Geo-technical engineering, Environmental geotechnique,

Reclamation of abandoned Ash pond, Slope stability, Rock mechanics, Pile foundations,

Foundations on expansive soils.

Disaster Mitigation

Building dynamics, Pre and post disaster management with reference to cyclones,

25
 Earthquakes & landslides, Fire hazards in buildings, Fire resistant systems,

Fire spread modeling & simulation.

Process Development

Production technology of building materials, Pilot plants, Construction mechanisms,

Prefabrication,

Modeling and Computer Software.

Specialization and Areas of Consultancy

• Testing facilities and design solutions for geotechnical problems

• Air pollution monitoring and control
• Testing of soils, fly ash, industrial & mining waste etc. for manufacturing of bricks
and tiles. Bricks from unsuitable soils, mechanized production of clay-fly ash,
fly ash-sand-lime and autoclaved products.
• Slag based cements and building materials
• Technology for manufacture of hydraulic lime, cement & concrete, lime and lime
based products, super-plasticizers, high strength concrete, anti-corrosion treatments,
fiber reinforced building materials, reactive silica from fly ash
• Environment friendly termite control measures
• Thermal designs of conditioned and non conditioned buildings/cold storages etc.
• Infra-red Thermograph
• Distressed buildings investigation, suggestion and remedial measures
• Repair/strengthening/retrofitting measures of damaged buildings
• Computer aided structural analysis and design
• Design and fabrication of machines for construction technology
• Fire hazard assessment analysis
• Fire Resistant doors and cabinets, cable coatings and paints
• Automatic systems for fire protection and fire fighting equipment

26
CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research)
CSIR, has developed precast R.C. battens, hollow clay blocks, channel units,
cored slabs & funicular shells. It has developed a large panel prefabrication
system, employing composite panels of concrete, hollow clay blocks for external
walls , concrete & brick panels for internal walls. Tamilnadu Housing Board has
constructed several middle-income group flats at Madras using this system.

BMTPC-Building Material & technology Promotion Council

RECYCLING OF PLASTIC WASTE FOR BUILDING PRODUCTS

Mixed and multi layered plastics containing several grades of plastic material can
be made into pallets.

Pallets can take the shape of tile flooring, waste containers, planks, profiles.

plastic waste as binder- plastic that cannot be further recycled can be used with
fillers for processing composite, useful for applications like fence posts, park,
benches, pallets, street furniture as substitute to timber and concrete products.

recycled PET- unsaturated polyester resin from recycled PET can replace the
conventional high cost resin for use in GRP products, polymer concrete/mortar
and industrial flooring

DBC- DELHI BUILDING CENTER

In Delhi a building center has been setup jointly by the HUDCO and the slum
wing of the DDA. the various systems and components developed include mud
bricks, hollow concrete blocks cast concrete. Tee-blocks, precast funicular shells,
cast-in-situ funicular shells, thermocole core RCC panels, paper honey combed
doors/cladding panel, egg-crate core door/cladding panel and fiber concrete etc.

LOW COST HOUSING INTERNATIONAL(LCH)

Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) or Stabilized Earth Bricks (SEBs) such as are supplied
by Low Cost Housing International Ltd. (LCH).

To ensure that this project indeed provided low priced and affordable housing, the
Cebu project used CEBs/SEBs and micro-concrete roof-tiles. Although these
materials are genuinely low-cost; the houses do not look “low-cost” at all - as can
be seen from the range of images and pictures shown below.

The LCH Stabilized Earth Brick (SEB) Machine is easily transported onto a
construction site and can immediately produce high quality, interlocking bricks
made from the local soil. By using the unique interlocking features, LCH
machines allow "dry construction", i.e. no mortar is required to hold the bricks
together.

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• LCH compacted earth brick houses require a minimum of skilled labor to build. A
professional bricklayer supervising the job will be sufficient, all other workers
can be unskilled from the local surrounding area.

• The LCH compacted earth bricks are of a quality so high and a finish so good that
most of the builders do not plaster or paint the external walls. Furthermore, the
majority of the low-cost housing, because of the high standard and finish, can be
left with the internal walls not painted.

• A LCH compacted earth brick house is totally isothermic to the extent that neither
the heat nor the cold will affect the

• comfort of the occupants. should the occupant decide that they wish to install air
conditioning or central heating, then their electricity bill will be minimal.

ARCHITECTS:

1.LAURIE BAKER:
• He by his work, has proved that the cost reduction is possible
without sacrificing stability and durability.

• According to him, low cost housing tantamount no waste

housing.. He emphasized the need of harmonizing the
building with the environment.

• the houses that he designed, though low in cost, were high in

value.

• His architecture was, in a way, as modern as it was traditional.

It was contemporary because it minimized energy needs, not
only when constructing the houses but also while living in
them because of the better availability of sunlight and fresh
air.

PLANNING OF SPACES
1. Flowing spaces with lesser walls & openings, This makes the space look
spacious & saves circulation area, length of walls, & no. of doors.

2. Shorter span suitable for cheaper kind of roofing like brick walls, one-way
slab, RBC roof, stone slabs, purlins & country tiles.

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 3. Location & agglomeration of wet areas in building services in relation with
municipal lines, Hygiene & economy.

4. Flexibility in growth, improvement & alteration, Commensurate with the

economy & needs of the family.

LOCAL BUILDING MATERIALS

The use of local material which are climate friendly in indispensable element of
an affordable baker house.

Brick, tile, Lime, Surkhi, Palm, Thatch, Stones replace cement steel & glass.

UNPLASTERED WALLS
Baker designs adequate overhangs or chajjas for protection of the wall surface. If
necessary, isolates wall which needs protection for dampness & excessive
moisture & cover it with lime surkhi plaster or Mud mortar.

BRICKS

1. Baker displays great faith in bricks which are low cost, locally available,
recyclable and user friendly.

2. The bricks are made of universally available raw material that is soil.

3. He has introduced new bonding techniques which can accommodate dimensional

variations due to uneven bricks.

4. He creates interesting textures & patterns which do not need any plastering.

5. Baker advocates use of mud, stabilized earth and adobe bricks for low cost house
construction.

Adobe or sun dried bricks : This is very old, well tried and tested mud brick
system common in many parts of Kerala.

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If properly made, these mud Sun dried bricks are
capable of being used for a two storey
House.

HIS THEORIES

1.Where land is steeply sloping or terraced

1. Don’t build on the outer edge of the terrace. we need
to build a strong expensive retaining wall.
2. Build the house along the middle of the terrace and
use a long Rectangular plan, not a square one.
3. If the terraces are narrow it is sometimes possible to build a “stepped house”.

2.Foundations
for small houses (and especially for single
storey ones) there is no need to build the upper brick walls over
the middle of the foundation wall. set the upper wall over the
outer half of the foundation walls. It prevents rain seepage. when
digging out the trenches for the foundation walls, do not scatter
the soil all over the place. keep it altogether in the middle as it
will be needed for infilling in-between the plinth walls(from
ground level to floor level)

When soil is poor and soft – it is usual to dig a wide trench and cover the bottom
with concrete. On this a wide stone wall 50-60cm is built on top of that.
When the soil is strong and hard there is no need for either to concrete or the
layer of thick stone work.

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 3.Furniture

1. After building a house there is often little cash left over furniture.

2. Built in seats, beds, work tables, etc. Can easily and inexpensively be had merely
by building the basement wall to a suitable
height.

4.Rat trap bond

Thus, the main advantages of using Rat trap bond

are:

1. · Reduction in cost of the wall by 25%.

2. · The reduction in number of joints, reduces mortar. · 25% less dead weight, 18%
savings in bricks and 54% savings in cement mortar

3. · Thermally comfortable & Aesthetically pleasing

HASSAN FATHY
1. He made use of traditional methods & materials.

2. He used local & cheap materials that is mud bricks, Sand &
pebbles.

3. He made beautiful compositions of arches, domes & pastel

color walls – all set in human scale.

4. introduced environmentally sound techniques such as wind catches, cooling

towers, the mushrabiya window screen, interior fountains and the ventilating

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 attributes and air-conditioning principles of the courtyard into his designs of
schools, houses and entire villages.

5. Fathy also revived a lost method of roofing adobe buildings with domes and
Nubian vaults crafted by hand out of sun dried bricks smaller in size than wall
adobe bricks.

6. His mud brick homes were just the ticket to meet the climate and economic needs
of rural communities, but these are building styles and techniques that should
inspire all sustainable building worldwide.

7. 6 general principles as guidelines:

1. Belief in the primary of human values in architecture.
2. Importance of a universal rather than a limited approach.
3. Use of appropriate technology.
4. Need for socially oriented, cooperative construction techniques.
5. Essential role of Tradition.
6. Re-establishment of national cultural pride through the act of building

AR. A.K. JAIN

THEORIES:

• By using mud lime, sun burnt bricks, bamboo roofs & other materials like
polyethylene sheets etc. the energy consumption for a house comes down to 0.3
tones of fire wood & at the same time cost reduces by about 30%.

• Sun burnt bricks or adobe has high resistance to erosion & with given additional
inputs it can prevent moisture absorption. Lime rendering provides improvement
in the performance of walls as CaCO3 is a very good water proofing agent.

• Calcium hydroxide acts as a very good impervious layer.

• By using binding & stabilizing agent like lime, cement, gum, cow dung, rice
husk, resin,& organic fiber, the adobe construction can be substantially improved.

• Not only the soil used for masking bricks or walls should be compacted but also
the earth below the foundation should be well rammed before erecting the
foundations involved. This strengthens the structure & avoid pores & cavities.

• . Insertion layers of brick tiles in the walls made of mud bricks protect them from
rain & dampness.

• Projecting the roof with overhang protects the wall against rain.

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• In case of areas with high dampness it is suggested to built the sub-structures &
foundations with fired brick, stone & stabilized earth and provide a higher level
of plinth. By plastering the walls with mud stabilized with cow dung or
whitewashing with lime composite, or painting makes the more durable and
smooth in finish.

• In extreme soil and weather condition, only stabilized mud bricks should be used.

• Compacted soil blocks have greater compressive strength as compared to country

bricks and are often cheaper.

• Earth bricks and blocks have a high compressive strength and very poor in tensile
strength. As such, while designing structures, the effort should be to minimize
eccentricities and to make best use of compressive properties by adoption of
arches, vaults and domes for spanning.

• In case walls are subjected to tensile load, these should be reinforced with steel
bars, bamboo or other appropriate materials.

• By proper detailing and rendering, walls can be protected from water.

• For economy it is suggested to use shorter span of roof (less than 4 m)

• By limiting the area of opening up to 15% of wall area, the adobe construction
can prove to be economical.

PRESSED SOIL BLOCKS

• The use of plain mud blocks with no additives is satisfactory for single storied
buildings.

• Water proof coatings based on animal glue and whitewash can be effectively used
to protect mud block walls against rain erosion.

SOIL CEMENT BLOCKS

• Can be used for both load bearing and non-load bearing masonry.

• Use of lime or cement and lime combinations is also feasible for manufacture of
the blocks.

• Even the unplastered block surfaces can be satisfactory in case of high rainfall

• Well-made blocks don’t need plastering in most cases.

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• The front portion of mud blocks and be stabilized by the addition of lime surkhi.
Simple lime soil plaster, using lime, red soil and sand makes them resistant to
rains. Such plaster is cheaper and sticks to the wall better than cement plaster.

This gives a built-in plaster for the mud blocks which withstands the heavy rain.
These may not be successful if there is too much sand in the soil which is prone
to erosion.

otherwise they should be protected with a coating of tar and a wash of lime and
surkhi on the top.

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CHARLES CORREA INCREMENTAL HOUSING

Charles correa’s housing at belapur, new bombay, uses and re-interprets

traditional indian urban spatial syntax. And, by putting into practice some of
correa’s social and economic ideals, which derive from the traditionally
incremental method of building, the project promises to vitalise the satellite city’s
previously drear housing programme. It holds lessons for housing design and
production in both developed and developing countries.

Behind the eastern coastline of bombay harbour, the hills descend into a series of
dry brown valleys, splattered with dark green scrub. This is the site of new
bombay, an idea first promoted by charles correa and a group of colleagues in the
1960s as a means of reducing pressure on an old city physically constricted at the
bottom of the peninsula between the harbour and the indian ocean, yet subject to
an enormous-and increasing-influx of work-hungry country people. Instead of
expanding further and further up the road and railway links of the peninsula,
bombay should, suggested correa’s group, colonise the undeveloped land on the
other side of the great natural inlet of the sea and set up water communications
between mother city and satellite.

At last, the new bombay project seems to be taking off. National and municipal
agencies have moved parts of their operations to the eastern side of the harbour
and there is a healthy growth of private investment in new factories and offices.
Housing is, of course, an integral component of the strategy, but is usually
realised as serried ranks of system-built blocks already showing signs of decay. If
the present process continues, new bombay will consist of a series of (rather dull)
work buildings set in a grim slurry of housing built on 50-year-old european
patterns which, for climatic and cultural reasons, degenerate into squalor much
faster than their models.

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 a loose geometry which allows scope for incremental additions

Against this grim prospect, correa’s new housing scheme at belapur offers hope. It is a model
which draws on the immemorial patterns of indian life while being related to the structure
(physical and economic) of the new city. Belapur is at the foot of one of the brown valleys,
separated from the harbour’s blue-green sea by the flat strip on which the grey workplaces
are growing. In the scheme, correa has

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been able to put into practice several long held beliefs about the nature of housing
and community.

Based on observation of traditional indian settlements, he has suggested that cities

should be developed using a spatial hierarchy which ranges from the private
world of the individual dwelling, through the ‘doorstep’, to the communal court
(which traditionally contains the well or common tap), to the greater public space
- the maidan – the public promenade of the community. The geometry of belapur
is a direct interpretation of this syntax. The basic element is the house. For correa
‘the territorial privacy of families is of primary importance, and he believes that,
in the indian climate, ‘open-to-the-sky space’ is essential for family life. So each
house has a private yard in which is a lavatory block. Lavatories are paired to
reduce service runs and three or four pairs of houses are grouped round courts
which, in turn, open on to larger public spaces where, given the boundless energy
of indian entrepreneuralism, shops and other enterprises will doubtless quickly
spring up.

Correa’s community and spatial precepts are linked to socio-economic ideals. He

believes that prefabricted system building is wrong for india (and elsewhere)
because it precludes individual involvement in home creation and it diverts
resources from the limitless pool of the bazaar’s craftsmanship to inefficient
centralised production. So the strutures at belapur are one or two storeys high,
built traditionally and are seen as the basic armatures onto which families will
model dwellings which reflect their particular life styles.

‘open to the sky space’ behind the doorstep

Traditionally, third world housing has been incremental and the incremental
model is endorsed by correa because it allows families to build according to their
perceived needs when capital becomes available. Incrementality acts as a spur to
producing housing quickly because people who build their own houses are highly
motivated to complete the job. Correa hopes that his own, strong, architectural
expression will quickly be overlaid with the accretions of individualistic
additions. And he believes that, if the project really works, intrinsic indian
decorative sensibility for ‘low-energy high-visual’ effects will transform its rather
iberian first appearance. In india ‘even the poor people know that with things like
mud, they can change their lives’.

At belapur, correa has been at least partially able to put into practice his notion of
equity plots. He suggests that india’s violent divisions between rich and poor
could be largely overcome if house plot sizes were rationed to between 50 and
100 square metres. On such sites, the poorest could have a couple of trees, a lean-
to and a tethered goat; the richest could develop town houses as sophisticated as
those in london or udaipur. The belapur plot sizes are between 45 m2 to 75 m2
and family incomes of the richest are five times those of the poorest - a quite
astonishing ratio when compared to the social/economic monocultures of western
housing estates

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Of course, belapur is not perfect. For a start, there are no tethered goats. It is still
in many ways a middle-class housing scheme. It does nothing to relieve the
torments of india’s very poor- except as paradigm. Nor is it clear how houses will
be easy to expand incrementally. Pitched roofs and complicated sections do not
make for very easy addition. But belapur is a built manifesto and, like all
manifestos, it tries to encompass everything. Correa has attempted a complex
programme in which a revolutionary social proposal grows out of a deep
appreciation of tradition. On top of all this is the architect’s own expression, and
though this may perhaps seem limiting in terms of the overall programme, it is
essential because the concept was born in the mind of a person who thinks in
terms of forms and spaces.

It is easy to assume that people who imagine in this way can do nothing to
combat the horrendous problems of third world poverty, that the statistics of
poverty are too overwhelming for any sensitive individual to copy. But as correa
asks ‘what is the moral advantage in not acting, in merely watching passively the
slow degradation of life around you?’ nothwithstanding its problems, belapur is a
noble creation- and one that has much to teach the first world as well as the third.

Section and drawings

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REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. "Low-cost Concrete Houses"-1963. The Concrete Association

of India, Cement House, 121, Queen's Road, Bombay.
2. "Papers on Housing" - 1969. Calcutta Metropolitan Planning
Organization, Development and Planning (T S CP) Dept.
Govt, of West Bengal, Calcutta.
3. "Low cost-Soil Cement Houses" 1966. The concrete Association
of India, Bombay.

SITES

4. http://www.gharexpert.com
5. http://www.fs.fed.us
6. http://www.greenstone.org
7. http://manajemenproyekindonesia.com/
8. http://sepindia.org/
9. http://lauriebaker.net/

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