Solid waste management in school curriculum
The Hindu : Isn’t architecture something that links spaces? And through spaces, people, queried Australian builder Tom Haynes, who was in the city recently to deliver a lecture on eco-friendly architecture. “How does one explain the science of building? Do the styles convey a culture and heritage of the place or do they reflect the lifestyle of the user? Although it is an expression of all these factors in varied degrees, true architecture is about understanding people andthe moorings of the place with specific details of living that contributes to green living, he said. “Relevant architecture can rise to the occasion of using ideas, design and material that are local and climate specific.”
Living amidst brick and mortar expressions that scream of a daunting development boom, it is time for city dwellers to sit up and take notice of Haynes’ warning of the World Health Organisation projections which highlighted death due to negligence of environmental factors in building dynamics.
Haynes exposed the WHO forecast that spelt chronic illness that would double by 2030, the seriousness of the issue being man’s interference with nature and de-focussed methodologies that do not let in green lifestyles.
Reading out from media reports of mushrooming unplanned structures with materials that are more or less perilous to the environment, Haynes highlighted that construction materials need to be health and climate friendly, as they would minimise global warming.
“Trade, invasion, cross-cultural influences and knowledge transfer have always influenced architectural solutions,” opines senior architect K. Jaisim. “Thereby, regional architecture has not only lost its identity and importance, but is also not considered when working out solutions. The confusion starts when hybrid solutions are produced under the pretext of creativity,” he says.
Village homes predominantly used mud. The muddy floors soon turned red with oxides that lent a sheen that enabled easy maintenance. But when the old styles are being tried for a come-back, it is termed ‘ethnic’ ‘traditional’…More
