courtesy  :  the better academy

Made With Clay & Waste, Gujarat Architect’s Buildings Are 50% Cheaper & Cooler!

Manoj Patel, a renowned architect in Gujarat, was a third-year student of DC Patel School of Architecture in Vidyanagar when he was introduced to sustainable architecture and was bowled over by the concept.

While he only studied the subject for a couple of semesters, it was enough to leave an everlasting impact on him, so much so that he pursued his Masters in Climate Change and Sustainable Development in 2014 from CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

However, right after completing the Masters, he realised the stark difference between acquiring knowledge and implementing the same on-field.

Manoj did come across fellow architects who were implementing eco-friendly practices to build green homes, but none of their techniques were appealing enough.

He wondered why people set up solar panels and rainwater harvesting structures at their home and office buildings when they used modern construction materials like cement, glass and marble everywhere else. Why couldn’t people associate sustainable materials like mud and timber with modern apartments?

“Since building a house has become an expensive affair, most people want to go the conventional way. My aim was to interweave aesthetics, traditional practices, local construction material with modern designs. I didn’t want to import materials made in mass production, I preferred unique hand-crafted ones,” Manoj tells The Better India.

Wanting to do something different, the 29-year-old founded his own firm named ‘Manoj Patel Design Studio’ (MPDS) in 2015. Today, the eco-friendly architectural firm is reviving traditional methods like using natural light, locally available and reusable materials to build apartments, restaurants, offices and even a discotheque!

What stands out the most among all his techniques is the use of refurbished earthy red tiles, a regional material. He uses 40 per cent of the waste clay tiles, thus saving on construction costs. He designs them in wavy and boxy shapes for an aesthetic look.

Besides, using them as a facade, Manoj is also creatively using clay tiles to replace plastic plant pots, as they retain water for a longer period and even make the air cooler.