Sushant School of Art and Architecture
Compressed earth block construction used to build workshop facility

The Shelter Group at Development Alternatives and Tara Nirman Kendra are committed to the use of appropriate technology in building construction. Building technologies and process must be functional, resource conserving and environmentally sound. Earth construction, particularly in the area of compressed earth blocks, has been a major programme at Development Alternatives for over seven years. The Shelter Group has carried out extensive work on materials research, machine development, production and testing of blocks, design and construction of buildings, information dissemination, and training of personnel in this field.

The workshop building at the Sushant School of Art and Architecture (.S.S.A.A) in Gurgaon, Haryana, is our most recent building project. Completed in March 1992, the building was designed by a group of third-year architecture students from S.S.A.A., with assistance from the Shelter Group.

The 1001-square foot structure is almost entirely built of cement-stabilised, compressed earth blocks. The blocks were manufactured on the TARA Balram manual press, using local solid from the project site and from a basement excavation nearby.

The initial concept of the workshop space to be built as an extension to the existing art studio came from the Dean, Mr. Mansinh M. Rana, and was translated into sketch form by the students. It was apparent that the students’ sketches were inspired by the architecture of Hasan Fathy (the esteemed Egyptian architect and father of modern earth architecture). These were moulded into final design under the guidance of Shrashtant Patara and Zeenat Niazi (architects form Development Alternatives) and Mr. Rana, who emphasised the contemporary nature of the building and its role as a representative of modern earth architecture.

An important factor in the design was the site itself. The building had to fit into a grove of eucalyptus trees, resulting in its ‘L’ shape. A young neem tree which came within the boundaries was made a part of the semi-open verandah space and allowed to grow through an aperture in the stone roof.

To ensure efficient construction management, it was agreed that the central responsibility would lie with one single agency. As a regular practitioner of this technology, Tara Nirman Kendra was appointed as the building agency. The students were invited to participate in the construction as much as possible.

The roof was point of major debate. According to one viewpoint, a curved roof form (a natural outcome - since earth is best used in compression structures) would not harmonise with the surrounding structures which have sloping asbestos sheet roofs. The computer argument was that a different material and a different technology should be treated as such, and need not necessarily conform to its surrounding. An aesthetic balance must be achieved, however.

The inner space, determined largely by the site clearance and the most economical clear spans possible, is divided into three parts. The two arms of the ‘L’ are covered by jack-arches built with compressed earth blocks on composite steel and RC (reinforcement concrete) beams. The central junction is roofed by a dome 4.02 metres in diameter and 11.5 cm thick. also built with compressed earth blocks.

During construction, the three work areas evolved as a single, uninterrupted space - as all inner walls were removed and only essential structural supports were left as basic dividers of space. This enhanced the feeling of openness in the otherwise small space. One brick thick (9 inches or 23 cm) walls and columns now enclose the workshop which will be used for clay modelling, sculpture and wood-working.

The local soil available had a very high percentage of fine sand and was low in clay content. Therefore the soil was stabilised with 5 percent cement and 25 percent coarse sand to achieve the required standard of strength in the blocks. As the resultant block were found to be highly resistant to water penetration, we decided to leave them exposed to the elements on the external surface. Internally, the building has been plastered with a traditional Rajasthani plaster of lime, sand and surkhi (brick dust).

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