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Building Centres
Supermarkets
for Building Materials & Technologies
Ranjeet S Rawat
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Building Centre is a grassroots level technology transfer mechanism
for propagating environment friendly, cost effective building
materials and technologies. The primary objectives of a building
centre have been mandated as:
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technology transfer and information dissemination |
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skill upgrading through training and |
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production and marketing of cost effective and environment
friendly building material components. |
To
fulfill mainly the last objective, most building centres operates as
building material supermarkets. They produce and make available a
wide variety of building materials, elements and partially
pre-fabricated building components to users including public sector
agencies and individual home owners. The technologies promoted at
the building centres over a broad spectrum of options that include:
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upgraded methods of traditional construction systems using
earth, and stone |
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efficient utilisation of reinforced cement concrete as in
ferrocement building elements |
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industrial and agricultural waste based products from flyash,
red mud, straw husk |
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single prefabricated or partially prefabricated elements as in
ferrocement elements, reinforced brick panels, L-panels for
roofs, toilet units etc. |
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polymeric elements based on PVC as in partition panelling, false
ceiling panels, etc. |
Most centres concentrate on two to three types of construction
technologies and building elements in which they specialise. Each
centre selects its scope of activities. It promotes building
technologies and elements based on local needs and market demand in
the area it services. Some technologies, however, have found wide
application and are promoted by many building centres. Hollow and
solid concrete blocks and RCC door and window frames are two such
examples.
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