Construction Technology

Eco-friendly, Cost effective construction technologies

Avai  Agam for SHG herbal medicine preparation

In the case of conventional building technology the cost of construction is as of now Rs 450 per square feet. But in the case of cost-effective and eco-friendly construction the cost comes to Rs 300 per square feet.A functional demonstration of cost-effective construction is the Avuai Agam - a building belonging to Amuthasurabhi Self Help Group Federation for rural women. An aesthetically pleasent building it incorporates various salient features of cost-effective technologies that VK-NARDEP propagates. Some of these include:

Walls: Bricks made of FAL-G (Flyash Lime and Gypsum bricks) First quality bricks with compressive strength of 120 kg per square cm.
Flooring: Traditionally polished with red oxide
Doors: Ferro-cement doors which are aesthetically pleasing and eliminates timber - saving the trees.
Roofing: Ferro-cement roofing channel with one-side width more than the other.
Some important building technologies disseminated by VK-NARDEP:
    Arch Foundation – Economical and Strong
    Rat trap bond – Best Masonry work for walls
    Compressed Earth Blocks – Best substitute for bricks
    Flyash bricks : Recycling waste to wealth
    Cost effective filler slab roofs
    Ferro-cement channels for roofing
    Arches and Corbels
    Vaults and Domes
    Ferro-cement door and window shutters
    Brick Jalis and ventilators.

Tamil Nadu Government recognises VK-NARDEP as a center of excellence in disseminating the cost-effective construction technology

Click here for a slide show of Ashta Vasus: Different Building technologies