Sense and sustainability: Ceptians' aim

AHMEDABAD: When the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (Cept) campus was designed in the 1960s, architect B V Doshi's design spoke 'modernity' - the mantra of the time. Today, when the buzz word in architecture is sustainability, as a continuing dialogue, 20 postgraduate students are building on Cept campus, their own 'sustainable' classroom.
"This is probably the first time a building not designed by Doshi is being built on campus.However, he is very excited about the project," said Ninad Jog, one of the students.
Nowadays, after class hours, these kids would be found on the site - mixing mortar and experimenting with brick bonds. "We have finished laying the foundation and will finish the building in a couple of months," said Jog.
However, 'finishing' the project is not the main objective of the students. Begun as a studio project for the Masters programme in sustainable architecture at Cept, this 6 metre x 12 metre building has been entirely developed by students. Faculty members chose to occupy the role of facilitators and input givers, letting students take the forefront.
"The idea of the course has been to create practising architects, with sustainability as the approach. Hence, instead of a regular classroom study, this exercise is helping the students learn a project through its process," said Miki Desai, the programme head. "The real aim is to have an atmosphere where experiments in sustainable building technology can take place, like a laboratory."
And this laboratory does not just look at sustainability as a technology, but as an ideology as well.
"We are looking at sustainability not only in terms of material but also design-wise. So, the footprint is a G+1," said Aditi Agarwal, another student, adding, "The lower floor will be made of brick, since it is economical and continues the language of the main campus. However the walls of the upper floor will be experimental and temporal. This time, we plan to make it with bamboo." The future batches will continue with various materials; continuing to get hands-on training.
"Getting exposed to materials and construction techniques also influences design. We have come to believe in labour-intensive jobs, which includes the aspect of sustainability as it creates employment," said Agarwal. "The total estimate is a mere Rs 8 lakh and we are looking at sponsorship and product donation from various agencies or individual donors."As architects of this live project, everyday has been a new learning for these students. "Seeing through the project hasn't been easy, as everyday new problems have to be tackled with. During site inspection, we discovered that the site is in the flooding zone. Also while soil testing, it was known that a heavy foundation will be needed owing to the sandy soil," adds Agarwal. This foundation has been made using recycled material - the brick bat has been made from construction refuse.
Other than internal team work, the project is involving other departments on campus who are offering the students their expert advice.