VISIT AT AUROVILLE
A trip to Auroville was initiated at PDC with an agenda to explore the different construction materials and techniques used at Auroville, and to promote the same in our practice. A visit to Auroville Earth Institute was made for the same.
The purpose of visiting Auroville Earth Institute was to see and explore the use of Rammed Earth, as a building Material and its ability to create MODERN, PROGRESSIVE and SAFE Habitats.
This was an inititiative taken, with an idea to collaborate with the craftsmen of Auroville, and to promote their techniques and craftsmanship in our Architectural Projects. This shall help in reviving traditional skills and shall link ancestral and vernacular traditions of Raw Earth Construction with the Modern Technologies of stabilized Earth.
PARTICIPATION AT FAAA DIALOGUE | DELHI 2016
FAAA(Faculty of Architecture, Cept University)-‐Dialogue, Delhi 2016 was organized by one of the Associates of PDC. The event was conceived as a Fund-‐raising Event on a format similar to multi-‐culti event and aspired to reach out to alumni outside Ahmedabad. The Presenters were a cross-‐ section of Architects and Practitioners from all over the country and also in the field of education.
The Keynote Presentation was on “THE AWARD WINNING AMRAVATI COMPLEX SCHEMES” by Rahul Gore and Rajeev Kathpalia. A Panel Discussion and a Question Answer Session followed the Presentation.
FA Alumni, FA students, members of ISOLA, IUDI and other design Professionals attended this event.
EXPLORATION OF STONE DUST BLOCKS AS A BUILDING MATERIAL
Stones are still the mainstays of civil construction in India. The three aesthetic reasons of extensive use of building stone are their pattern, texture and color.
The procurement of these stones is done by breaking of mountains, which eventually disrupts the ecological balance and the habitat to several living forms.
Hence, we proposed the use of Jali for one of our projects, made out of stone dust, instead of stone. The benefit of using stone dust are, that its light in weight, its customizable, low in maintenance, cheaper and has better flexural and shear properties.
EXPLORATION OF GRC MATERIAL
Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) has been explored and used for one ofthe high-‐rise Mixed-‐use commercial Projects of PDC, Rajyash Rise. The primary reason being that GRC is a lightweight Precast Alternative. GRC Panels can be customized in a standard grey concrete finish orspecially modified colored concrete mix and can be manufactured on the face of the GRC panels to enable the full range of normal precast finishes such as acid wash, sandblast or polished finish.
GRC has been used in the façade of RAJYASH RISE as it can be molded into any shape and can be attached to a light support frame on site or can come in full sized panels bonded to a steel frame ready to fix to the building structure.
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