DECODING SUSTAINABILITY
ANUBHA FATEHPURIA 42 and RICHA BOSE 44 Partners and Architects, Anubha Fatehpuria and Richa Bose Associate Architects, Kolkata, www.anubhafatehpuria.com
For us design is about finding a response to the site and to its physical features, profile, contours, existing trees, water bodies and other such elements, surrounding buildings and landscape,” says Richa Bose. “It is also a response to a site’s coordinates—its north-south directions, sun and wind movement, natural light intake,” adds Anubha Fatehpuria. They break down what sustainability means.
1. BUILDING MATERIALS “Stone, mud, slate, wood, bamboo—to name a few—are found in abundance in Himachal which we used in our project there,” says Fatehpuria. Similarly, in Kolkata soil is suitable for making terracotta products and fired bricks.
2. INDIGENOUS SOLUTIONS “There is lots to learn from traditional wisdom,” says Bose referring to an amphitheatre they designed in Delhi using a hybrid system where the space was partially cooled with khus khus and bamboo double layer screens and partially through air-conditioning. “In a Kolkata home we have used lime and surkhi, followed by old brick houses of Bengal. Lime breathes better than cement and controlls dampness,” adds Bose.
3. RECYCLE The duo recently redesigned a private three-storey bungalow in south Kolkata where nearly the entire house was recycled. Old mosaic tiles (a building feature of old Kolkata architecture), old doors panels and frames, old windows, old saris have been used as door screens. Old shuttered windows make up the facade, old glass bottles have been converted into bottle bricks and used coconut shells make a light installation.
4. REDUCING WASTAGE In a Kolkata home Fatehpuria and Bose made use of stone waste to create the outside passage floors. They have also recycled rain water and incorporated it in the design so that it can be used for gardening and washing the car.
5. CONSERVING RESOURCES In a rooftop library-cum-study in Kolkata they placed a small skylight directly over a reading desk making sure that the room would not overheat and yet have enough light. “Trees are often the first casualty while constructing a space and we try to conserve them as much as possible,” says Fatehpuria.