Sustainable mud brick home remains cool even in summer | Fusion - WeRIndia

As many people are opting for eco-friendly and sustainable living now, they are exploring ways for this. An engineer from Tamil Nadu is one of them.

A Jegatheesan is a civil engineer. He realized that the houses built in the past were cool even in the summer. Despite having no fans or ACs, people lived comfortably in those houses.

But, now, the houses are built in such a way that they do not allow outside air into the rooms. As a result, people have to rely on fans and ACs continuously.

Houses were built with mud in the olden days. Gradually, they are replaced with concrete, as people believe concrete is stronger than mud.

Jegatheesan observed that many villagers also demolish their mud houses to construct concrete homes. So, he decided to build a mud house and prove that it is as strong as a concrete house. He did not want to cut trees for the construction of the house. To preserve the natural resources, he wanted to live sustainably.

He built his house with unfired mud bricks to cut the usage of cement up to 50 per cent. He completed the construction of his house in 2021 and named it Thaimann Veedu. The house has been built on a stone foundation.

Jegatheesan used many techniques in the construction of his house. The first technique was load-bearing. In this method, loads are transferred to the foundation through walls. As a result, there will be no load on the walls.

In addition, cement was not used while laying the unfired mud bricks. Instead, a mortar made from the same material was used. This method helps keep the house cooler even in summer. Hence, there is no requirement for ACs, which helps reduce the dependence on electricity. Besides, the house remains warmer in winter.

Jegatheesan adopted a technique of dome-shaped roofs to reduce the amount of cement and other materials for the construction of roofs. Also, an oxide floor is used, which is cost-effective. It looks elegant and easy to maintain. In addition, the house has a rainwater harvesting system with a capacity of 20,000 litres. In this way, this man’s sustainable home helps him live peacefully and naturally.

Image Credit: Bdx, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_made_of_mud_bricks_with_a_thatched_roof_in_Belo_(2).JPG