Tag Archives: Mud
Architecture Work Sample (2016)
Below is a sample of my architecture work that I conducted as a professional architect in India from 2011 to 2016.
Earth House, Himachal Pradesh
Location: Village Chandpur, Block Baijnath, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh Building Type: Guest House Architect: Siddharth Menon Design Team: Pappu Kumar, Uddham Singh, Pratap Chand, Hansraj, Roshan Lal, Meher Chand, Om Prakash, Deepika Amonkar Castes, Crafts & Communities: Gaddi stone cutters, Chamaar carpenters, Lohaar carpenters, Pandit slate cutters, Thakur-Rana labour, Chowdhury masons, Patiyaal painters, Masand labour […]
Rural Building Practices, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Latitude: 30N; Longitude: 75E Altitude: 250-6975 m Average Annual Rainfall: 1539 mm Average Precipitation Days: 86 Max. Summer Temperature: 34-35 degree Celsius Min. Winter Temperature: 0-3 degree Celsius Languages of Indigenous Craftsmen: Pahadi, Gaddi, Punjabi, Hindi Local Materials: Kacchi inth (Adobe), Gaara (Mud mortar), River stone, Blue gun patthar (Blue sand stone), Baans (Bamboo), Cheer […]
Rural Building Practices, District Koraput, Odisha
Latitude: 18N; Longitude: 82E Altitude: 969 m Average Annual Rainfall: 1567.2 mm No. of Precipitation Days: 84 Max. Summer Temperature: 38-40 degree Celsius Min. Winter Temperature: 10-12 degree Celsius Language of the Indigenous Craftsmen: Odiya, Konda, Poraja, Gadaba, Durua, Hindi Local Materials: Adobe (Sun dried mud brick), Cob (Mud balls), Mud mortar, Laterite stone, Mahua […]
Chasing Fish-The Bicycle Journey of a Travelling Architect/Geographer
To follow a narrative of the journey, please visit https://www.facebook.com/SiddharthMenonArchitect/ What? I will be cycling from Mumbai along the western coast of mainland India. The idea is to keep as little distance as possible between myself and the sea by taking internal village roads instead of national and state highways. Why? Explore the stunning western coast of India […]
Design and the Politics of Space
The following article was featured in Issue 46, Journal of Landscape Architecture www.lajournal.in. Can be downloaded here. In the 21st century, ‘developing’ countries like India are a unique study in contrast demographically. At one end, there are the privileged elite and the growing middle class, aspiring to live and consume like their western counterparts. At […]
The Earth House, Himachal Pradesh
This interview was published in October-November 2015 issue of Elle Decor India. Photographs courtesy Sumit Mahar. Details Eco Buzz – Oct-Nov’15. Walk us through the idea behind Earth Guest House. The Earth House is a 1500 sft. Guest House in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh for a travel company called Linger (www.linger.in). They […]
Urban Blueprint-Go Local
This essay was published in Myliveablecity, October 2015 edition (www.myliveablecity.com). Can be viewed here. In poor countries of the ‘developing’ world, the issue of affordable housing has been a bone of contention between the different stake-holders involved. Resources are scarce, economic and social conditions dire, and populations burgeoning. All these forces create a potent mix […]
The Role of a 21st Century Architect in Rural India (2)
The article was published in Domus India, September 2015 edition. Can be downloaded here. Yakshi Inter Generational Learning Centre, Telangana, India Yakshi (http://www.yakshi.org.in) is a Non- Government Organization based in Hyderabad, India. They are a team of indigenous educators, theatre activists, artists, researchers, community organizers and leaders, primarily from adivasi communities who work with adivasi communities in India, […]
The Role of a 21st Century Architect in Rural India (1)
The article was published in Domus India, September 2015 edition. Can be downloaded here. Introduction In the first part of this article, we took a journey through different rural regions of the Indian Subcontinent trying to understand the materials, methods and ideologies used by the indigenous people to build their spaces. What we learnt is that although all […]
Siddharth Menon 