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‘Mivan Shuttering’ has been a godsend for the construction industry. That’s because Mivan technology enables extremely rapid construction, improves durability and earthquake resistance, and reduces wall thickness and increases carpet area in high rise buildings.

The Mivan construction technology essentially comprises a highly durable aluminium formwork fabricated in the shape and layout of the building including the walls, columns, beams, and slabs. It is extremely modular and uses the same formwork for all the floors of the building. The steel reinforcement is fixed within the formwork and concrete is poured into it to make the different members of the building.

It was never an argument - climate change is real, and it demands urgent action. As per the IPCC 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, it is estimated that by 2050, if the world isn’t fully carbon neutral, then global temperatures could increase by much more than 1.5C. However, as per Piers Froster, one of the lead authors of the landmark paper, there is still hope. He stated, “If the world can substantially reduce emissions in the 2020s and get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, temperature rise can still be limited to 1.5C”.

This begs the question - how can we overturn climate change quickly and effectively? The surest way forward is geoengineering, which is essentially a way for human beings to manage the earth’s climate in deliberate ways. An effective, low cost way of geoengineering is to devise methods of Carbon Dioxide Removal, or CDR. Activities such as afforestation and reforestation are popular methods of CDR, however, given the time scale it takes to cause real impact, it isn’t a practical method despite its obvious benefits.

It is for this reason that more and more scientific and institutional efforts are directed towards creating ways of achieving CDR in a highly effective and relatively low-cost manner.

No, they're grey. Cheeky jokes apart, they aren't as "green" as they're purported to be. But why, and how?

AAC Blocks (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Blocks) are some of the most consumed building materials in the world. It currently offers one of the best value propositions in terms of cost of construction and technical performance. The manufacturing capacity in India is capable of producing approx. ₹15,000 crores worth blocks, annually. But the history of AAC blocks is fascinating – to begin with, it was an accidental invention!

Cost estimation in project management is the process of forecasting the cost and other resources needed to complete a project within a defined scope. Cost estimation accounts for each element required for the project and calculates a total amount that determines a project's budget.

Sustainable is defined as, “(the) avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance” and gained traction as a concept only after the 1970s US oil crisis[1]. Though the reducing oil supply harboured a need to conserve oil and use it more efficiently, the focus of solutions were more on attaining ‘economic benefits’ for stakeholders instead of achieving an ‘ecological balance’. From the 1970s to now, the world has undergone a lot of industrial growth and the factors affecting the environment have continuously increased in number. With rising sea levels and deteriorating air quality world over, positive climate action is the need of the hour, but efforts towards sustainability still seems to be lost.

[We write this short article as a tribute to Architect Revathi Kamath (1955 - 2020), the pioneer of mud architecture in India. We lack words to describe the loss of this stalwart who along with her late husband, Vasant Kamath, hosted our young founders with love and guided our innovations as gurus. Here’s a beautifully penned obituary on worldarchitecture.org which covers some of her works.]

Todays’ building materials and construction techniques have come a long way to suit industrialization, growing populations and market demand. However, materials and practices have, over time, become more synthetic, than sustainable, and directly emit about 40% of the global carbon emissions!

Whether it’s the lack of sleep, the YouTube algorithm or just curiosity, many of us have come across the videos featuring primitive construction in the wilderness with no modern tools or technology. While it overwhelms us with methods and end results, an interesting perspective from the lens of climate impact is often overlooked in such in content. ThisInternational Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we cover some indigenous construction projects and practices from India to highlight material and process innovations that today's built environment could learn from.

Like our diverse history that has panned various centuries, our built heritage too has fragmented to different regions to best suit the geographical challenges. Using locally available materials and understanding various aspects like temperature variations, structural requirements, security concerns, ventilation, water harvesting and even natural calamities, many constructions have remained sustainable while withstanding the test of time. Here are some indigenous examples from around the country: