Shwasam, which denotes breath, is a mud structure that is breathable. This community center has a central main hall which is flanked by a semi-basement storeroom on one side and a small sitting and working space on the other. The passive design is well-lit and breezy during the day and cozy and comfortable at night.
The materials include various locally available materials like laterite waste soil, red soil, bamboo, stone, Mangalore tiles, waste wood, old doors, repurposed steel sections (from the old scrap at the site), etc.
The building makes use of dry rubble masonry, rammed earth and shuttered debris walls, terrazzo and rammed earth flooring, and stone flooring. The soil was taken from digging the ground for the semi-basement store, and some existing waste laterite soil from the site. The bigger chunks of soil were used for the store room walls in the form of Shuttered Debris Walls [a patented technique by Wallmakers].
The main facade of the building showcases both dry and wet mud construction techniques, and acts as an interesting backdrop for various performances indoors. The wall shows different textures that come from the same soil and hence celebrates the diversity that mud construction has to offer.
The insertion of bamboo pieces into the wall aids in ventilation and creates an interesting visual impact.
One side of the hall has a short 1m wall to allow visual connection with the surroundings. The openness of the structure and high ceiling, which has clerestory windows all around, is designed to allow light and breeze into the space and to pull the hot air out, thus making the indoor temperature at least 4 degrees cooler than the ambient temperature.
The hall showcases a mix of black and grey, leather finished Kota stone, while the sit-out has an attractive zig-zag pattern of terrazzo work with pockets of rammed earth in between.
In this project, waste has been reduced by using the debris into shuttered debris walls. Old doors and old mangalore roof tiles have been reused. Waste wood and old style glass and Vala (window grills) have been recycled and used for the seats, doors and windows.
You can read the original article at www.archdaily.com