BUILDINGS CAN BE ‘VIRUS’ FREE
by Laurent Fournier
Dr. Debal Deb’s DESIGN (2001)
COMPOSTING TOILETS
ZERO POLLUTION
A SHORT STORY OF COVID19
Life, like art, has a method. Hygiene can be art.
THE EXCRETA/WASH WATER
3 SEPARATE
OUTLETS:
Treatment of
THE EXCRETA,
excreta: THE WASH Treatment of
DEHYDRATION+ WATER. wash water:
OXIDISATION ROOTZONE
THE URINE (plants to trim
-> After 6
months: every 2
Treatment of urine: FERTILISER
Compost (immediate use) months)
VIDEO SLIDE
Hygiene should not be
construed as a set of
punitive rules. It was
originally a method of
life. Life, like art, has a
method. Hygiene can
be art. So it’s not just
about restrictions. Like
art, hygiene can
expand the horizon
and unlock
possibilities.
Hygienic
architecture
is a non-
poisonous
architecture,
at every level
and for
everyone. For
the earth, for the
artisans, for the
owners, for the
passer-by, for
House in Baruipur, everyone’s children.
West Bengal (2017-18)
RCC FRAME
LOAD-BEARING BRICK DOMES
LOAD-BEARING STAIRCASE
BAMBOO-AND-MUD STAIRCASE
BAMBOO-AND-MUD FLOOR
BAMBOO ROOF WITH THATCH ROOFING
BAMBOO AND MUD WALLS
MUD-AND-LIME FLOORING.
House in
Baruipur,
West Bengal
(2017-18)
SCHOOL IN AMLAMETHI, GOSABA (SUNDARBANS), WEST BENGAL (2016)
RURAL COLLEGE,
HUKUMTALA,
RAYAGADA, ODISHA
(2015-17)
Load-Bearing Stone Masonry,
Load-Bearing Brick Domes,
Load-Bearing Stone
Staircases, Bamboo Hall, Roof
Tiles, Cement Flooring, Mud
Flooring, Mud Plaster, MS
Doors with Woven Bamboo, MS
glazed Windows
HOUSE IN
KALYANI,
NADIA,
WEST
BENGAL
(2017)
ARTISAN TECHNIQUES OF BUILDING SHALLOW DOMES PRACTICED IN UTTAR PRADESH AND HARYANA
SHALLOW DOMES HELD IN A CONCRETE TIE, IS A TECHNIQUE INVENTED BY MASTER MASONS FROM WESTERN U.P. AND
HARYANA IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.
THESE DOMES CAN BE MADE WITH BRICKS, CSEB BLOCKS, OR STONES, WITH OR WITHOUT SHUTTERING.
MUCH QUICKER, A LITTLE CHEAPER, LESS SENSIBLE TO CORROSION, LESS POLLUTING, AS STRONG (OR
STRONGER),NEARLY AS FLEXIBLE, AS A CONCRETE SLAB IN THE SAME LOCATION.…AND THEY LOOK GOOD!
FINALLY… NOTHING SHOULD LAST FOREVER
2 OF MY BEST BUILDINGS DO NOT EXIST ANYMORE. THERE IS ALMOST NO VISIBLE TRACE OF THEM TODAY.
WE THINK ALWAYS ABOUT HOW OUR BUILDINGS ARE BORN.
MORE RARELY, HOW THEY WILL EVOLVE.
BUT HARDLY ABOUT HOW THEY WILL END.
Concrete
buildings
sometimes
collapse even Plastics in modern
without buildings defy the
earthquake traditional wisdom of
(Rana Plaza) firefighters (Grenfell Tower)
Due to the EPIDEMY of PLASTIC in
buildings, the time to FLASHOVER has How many people
come down from 1/2hr in 1970 to 4 would you like your
minutes today, much less than
needed by any fire fighters to reach. building to take with
Because of their toxicity, Fire
Retardants lead to an increase in fire it when its life comes
casualties, not decrease. (Testing by to an end?
UnderWriters Laboratories).
APPRECIATING THE HIGHLY SKILLED AND CREATIVE ARTISANS
THEY KEEP ALIVE AND INVENT NEW TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES
ENSURE THE CONSTRUCTION IS OF HIGH QUALITY FOR LONGEVITY,
LOOKS GREAT, LASTS LONG, AND THAT THE OWNER’S MONEY IS SPENT WISELY.
Nawab (Muzaffarnagar), taught me the technique of Shallow Domes, Paritosh
Pore (Basanti) and Sankar Mandal (Krishnanagar) the art of bamboo frames,
Narayan Malo (Kalyani), Kichok (Hukumtala), Narayan, Azad and Manish
(Rohtak), Matha Chaat (Bhuj), are all masters of their skills.
MY CLIENTS WITH STRONG IDEAS
DANIELLE FOURNIER, SHYAM BARUA, LEO JALAIS, BINOD BERA,
BISWAJIT MAHAKUR, DAMAYANTI LAHIRI, DEBAL DEB, KUNAL DEB,
NAMRATA JALAN, ABHIJIT GUPTA, SAMUEL BERTHET, MONG TING,
SUBHRANKAR MUKHERJEE, CHRISTOPHE PLAIS, BHARAT MANSATA,
EKTA & VINAY JAJU, VIKRAM PURI, DEBJEET SARANGI, PARTHA MITRA
& ANUMITA ROY, LINUS KENDALL & RUPSA NATH, HUNNARSHALA
FOUNDATION, ANNIE JOSEPH…
MY GREAT PARTNERS, CO-WORKERS, AND STUDENTS
BITHI, P.K., PULAHADA, KALYANI, ABHIDA, DULAL, BHAIRAV, GOUTAM,
SOUMMO AND SHALINI, NITIL, HIMADRIDA, MAITREYI, AUROBINDO,
RANJIT, DEBASMITA, AMIT, YANGCHEN, KUNAAL, MUSKAN, VINAY,
SHREOSHE, SHOURABH, JAPNEET, ARUNAVA, ANJALI, NISHANT…
