AR.

REVATHI KAMATH
DIVERTING THE MAINSTREAM TO DO MORE WITH LESS

JYOTSANA KAUNLA - 16001006025

MEENA SAINI - 16001006035
REVATHI KAMATH, AN INDIAN ARCHITECT
INTRODUCTION

Revathi S. Kamath (1955-2020) was an Indian architect and planner based in Delhi.
She is a pioneer of mud architecture in India.
On the other hand, she is also credited with building the tallest stainless steel structure
in India.

EARLY LIFE

Revathi Kamath was born in Bhubaneswar, Odisha in a Tamil Brahmin family. She spent her formative years in Bangalore and tribal
areas along the Mahanadi river, where her father, an engineer was working on the Hirakud dam.
These early years left a deep impression on her understanding of nature, people and the rhythms of life.

EDUCATION
 She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Architecture (1977) and completed a post-graduate programme in Urban and Regional
Planning (1981) both from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi.
 After graduation, she worked with Stein, Doshi and Bhalla and Rassik International, Architects and furniture designers in New Delhi.
 In 1979, she started work with The GRUP (Group for Rural & Urban Planning), and for the National Institute of Urban Affairs in 1981.
 She was visiting Faculty (1984–87) and Assistant Professor (1987–91) at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.

ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICES ACHIEVEMENTS

In 1981, she opened a firm with Vasant Kamath, "Revathi and Vasant Three of her projects have been nominated for the 
Kamath", which later came to be known as "Kamath Design Studio - Aga Khan Award.
Architecture, Planning and Environment" (2005).
The studio has handled a wide variety of projects, in diverse social, They are the:
economic and geographical contexts.  Akshay Pratishthan School in Delhi
The Anandgram Project for Rehabilitation of slum dwellers near Shadipur  Community Center at Maheshwar 
Depot, Delhi was one of the earliest in early 1983.  Nalin Tomar House at Hauz Khas, Delhi.
PHILOSOPHY Reason for her passion in vernacular-
It relates to Architectural consciousness being holistic and “While I was studying architecture, I felt that there
contemplating human culture and civilization through time and in was not enough emphasis on indigenous
space. consciousness and history and there were not
According to Revathi, the practice of architecture always enables an enough examples of the lessons we were taught
individual to be hydra-headed, and evolve a multitude of interests from history”. “So I decided to integrate
and skills. contemporary self expressions with indigenous in my
She strongly feels that the, contradictory attributes can blend projects” she said.
seamlessly into a complex whole of the spiritual and material,
meditative and expressive, subjective and rational, technical and She always looked into the sustainability aspect of
artistic and the poetic understanding. buildings and fulfilled her social responsibility of
being an architect

KNOWN FOR: VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Revathi Kamath is noted for her sensitive efforts for conceiving  Vernacular is indeed more sustainable.
the "Evolving Home" concept for redevelopment.  Vernacular is something that belongs to the
She consulted with 350 families to understand individual needs people and place.
and to give them a first home on the ground.  Vernacular has to do with the language, and
Her way of understanding and design was fascinating and original. even architecture has a language. It is natural.
She had this uncanny way of handling very small and narrow  There are influences from all over, and as a
spaces, not everyone can do that. result vernacular is getting diluted and slowly
dying.
 But objects that you would surround yourself
I project-
I designed a habitat for 350 members, who were traditional need to be of the place.
 Till that consciousness dawns upon people and
performing artists and craftspeople, and I didn’t design FOR them
but I designed WITH them and they designed with me and it was people become mindful, it is tough for
really a common kind of consciousness, which pervaded the design”, vernacular to survive, and sustain itself.
 It has adopted and evolved as per the climate
she recalls,while speaking of her first stint. “I think they really felt it
was theirs and fought for it for so many years. The government has and resources of a particular place and its
not yet given it to them, I hope it does so in the future,” adds an people.
 It has adapted and evolved to become the best
empathetic Ar Kamath.
fit.
PIONEER OF MUD ARCHITECTURE

Revathi Kamath, is an ingenious architect who has dedicated her

life to mud architecture.
She has made the world aware about the diversity, durability and
dazzle it has.
“My work essentially involves traditional architectural methods
and incorporating them into contemporary context. More so, it is
focused on integrating craft and indigenous skills into
contemporary architectural ensembles”, she enlightens about her
craft.

My whole effort is to make mud a viable material, she said.

REASON TO USE MUD

 The embodied energy of mud is so low, it is the lowest.

 Mud is the most recyclable and sustainable material on this
planet. She has revolutionised mud which was
 It only uses small amounts of mechanical energy and huge considered a conventional material in India albeit
amounts of human energy. for the underprivileged sections.
 It sustains human beings. Her inclination, inclusion, and passion towards it
 Human input adds value to the material. have triggered sensitivity and inspired many
 People in the US are also talking about mud, and cutting-edge architects to incorporate it in their aesthetics.
research is on to make it a viable material for building.
 It is an energy-conscious material. She says mud is extremely malleable and offers
 Mud has some qualities and it must be recognised as such. better insulation than concrete structures, it
 It should be looked as the go-to material as and when possible decentralizes the construction process because
to conserve our environment. it utilizes local material, obviating the need for
a contractor.
MUD HOUSE,ANANGPUR

Location: Anangpur Village, Faridabad.

Project type: residential
Plot Area: 1.25 Acres
Built up Area: 5000 sqft
Architects: Kamath Design Studio.
Design Team: Revathi Kamath, Vasant Kamath
Year of Completion: 1996
Cost of Construction: Rs. 350/- per sq. ft.

 Located on a land that was once a quarry, mining quartzite and Badarpur stone dust.
 Ecology of the area had been devastated by the mining.
 Original scrub forest had been chopped and ravaged for fire wood.

The Mud House is an attempt to heal the wounds inflicted on the earth and
establish a niche in the ecosystem that is expressive of emerging ecological
values.
The creating of space, form and visual characteristics is based on the
rearrangement of natural materials found on the site and its surroundings,
with a minimum, judicious use of non-renewable, non-bio-degradable and
fossil resources such as metals, stone, stone slabs, plastics, cement, lime
etc.

The construction team consisted of a group of stone masons and

bricklayers from Bihar who had worked on some of our earlier
projects in and around Delhi ; electricians , plumbers and carpenters
from nearby Sangam Vihar ; mud brick makers including village
women who prepared the soil and older men who moulded the mud
into bricks ; and a group of mud plaster renderers who had worked on
some of their earlier projects .
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES

 A two storey structure has load bearing walls made of

sun dried, hand moulded mud bricks.

 Intermediate floor is made of sandstone slabs supported

on the mud walls.

 Maximum use of natural materials found in

surroundings.

Minimum and judicious use of non- renewable, non-bio-

degradable and fossil resources such as metals, stone,
stone slabs, plastics, cement, lime etc.

 Network was also made to channelize the rainwater into

the ponds.

 Ponds - major source of the clay and silt used to make the
mud bricks for the construction.

 The courtyards are the cool air sinks which bring in cool
air into the living spaces of the house.

 Structure has High thermal capacity – thick walls , green

roof.

Recycling of material resources in a longer time frame than the lifespan of a building has also dictated
the choice of materials and details for the construction of the house .
 Green roof with live grass and vegetation tops the two storey
structure.

The roofing system consists of bamboo - crete on eucalyptus ‘ balli ’

trusses , waterproofed with rubber sheets and finished with about a
10 cm . layer of earth on which the local site grass was propagated.

Three anaerobic digesters (Shankar-Balram system) acting in consonance with root zone digesters
are located proximate to the house, at the higher levels .They treat the entire waste water produced
by the occupants and discharge the clean treated water into the swayles to irrigate the land.

The significance of the house lies not just in its ecological materials and innovative techniques , nor just in its hands - on ,
labour intensive construction methodology , nor just in its direct and informal involvement of a team of crafts people and
workers from the community without the institution of the middleman contractor , nor just in its regeneration of a degraded ,
ecological wasteland , but in the totality of the unique ecological initiative it has promoted ; and the enriching habitat and
ecological lifestyle it has created .
 DESERT RESORT, RAJASTHAN
Location : Mukandgarh road, Mandawa-Bikaner Highway,
Mandawa(Rajasthan)
The dessert resort of Mandawa is built a top magnificent sand
dune flanking the acres of dessert landscape. The desert
resort, unique and charming retreat, is a verdant oasis in
midst of start desert terrain that offers paranomic views of all
around
DESIGN PHILOSPHY
This resort indicated that it is within realms of possibility to
effectively combine modern creature comforts with very basic
rural dwellings. The suites are designed in a cluster of building
that constitute one house and are grouped around courtyard.
These cluster then come together form the main village street.

In this project, mud was mainly used as the local material.

Mud was not only cheaper but also the most appropriate
both, climatically and aesthetically. Locally available
materials were used for construction. For the structure sun
dried bricks were used.

• The sun-dried mud bricks for walls were made on site.

• Local sandstone was used for door and window frames,
bracket, lintels and roof slabs.
• Concentric circle with bamboo strips holding the straw
together.
• Timber
• Thatched roof
• Stone slab polished and paint
• The indigenous cooling system, khas window unit system
 DESIGN CONCEPT
• The sun dried bricks came from the bed of a dried-out tank,
adjacent to hillock.

• The thatch came from the grass growing on site itself, stone for
the foundation, sills, lintel brackets and roofing slabs and other
built in furniture came from ragunathgarh.

• The wooden lathe workers from laxamngarh were to make small

fixtures.

• The local village carpenters were to put together and the carve
them, the local masons were to build the structures, and the
women from near by village were to hand plaster and finish the
walls moulding, relief work, embedded mirror work and also
mould in mud elements, such as choolas, platforms, grain bins a
store etc and finally draw on walls

COTTAGES

• The cottages are built on brick foundation. ADVANTAGES of mud brick:

• mud and other materials are easily available
• The walls, sleeping platform, etc are made of brick • cost of manufacture is very less
plastered with mud and covered with cow-dung. • cooler in summer and hotter in winter
• cost savings in energy production
• Outside the walls and windows are decorated with motifs
• Because of the clay nature and the production,
painted.
these mud bricks consists of good water resistance.
• It is also very vital to give adequate weather
• Floors are plastered with cow dung, roofs of some hut
protection of the earth walls, mainly in the exposed
are thatched while others have stone slab roof which
situations.
have been left without polish and paint
GATEWAY FORMS THE ENTRANCE TO AN INDUSTRIAL TOWNSHIP AND POWER PLANT
• Its form creates a dialogue between local tribal geometries and industrial
technology.

• The 33-metre high gateway, India’s tallest architectural marvel in stainless

steel, weighing approximately 20 tonnes, is installed at the upcoming 1,000
MW super thermal power plant at Raigarh, Chhattisgarh

• The gate structure consists of pipe

frames joined together with
connections in a hyperbolic paraboloid
shape.

• The division is fully equipped to

provide assistance to anyone seeking
solutions in stainless steel fabrication.

Design detail

The design development was undertaken Advantages of steel

through physical and 3D digital modeling
with the geometric information of the • Strength and Durability.
digital model being used to create pre-
fabricated components that were • Customization Potential.
assembled on site.
• Environmentally Safe.
Converting pieces of steel into to usable
shapes, generally through machining, • Cost Savings
cutting, assembling, welding, etc is termed
as Fabrication
 Gnostic Centre, Delhi
• The Gnostic Centre is a campus for spiritual and academic
learning sandwiched between Delhi and its suburb Gurgaon.
• The landscape and architecture of the campus act as an oasis
for contemplation and oneness with nature.
Material used

• A steel truss was placed on the western facade of the building

to create a light-weight veranda roofed with slate shingles.

• Walls of mud bricks made on site enclose the tall and airy
interior spaces of the cottages.

• The conference centre is a retrofitted building roofed by a brick

double-dome providing thermal insulation and structural
performance.

• Timber panelling and fabric backed mud plaster create an

acoustically controlled interior environment.

• The veranda of the conference centre adjoins a semi-covered

bamboo tea pavilion.
• The cottages are covered with natural vegetation on their green roofs
supported by digitally form-found bamboo-crete shell structures.

• The digital and material technology used in the bamboo-crete roofs is

a result of award winning research by Kamath Design Studio.

• The shell roofs consist of structural bamboo members woven along

algorithmically optimized paths of minimal curvature for structurally
efficient and aesthetically unique structures.

• A method of weaving the bamboo members was devised to enable

skilled craftsmen to construct the complex digital forms.

Advantages of material used

• Bamboo as a building material has high

compressive strength and low weight has
been one of the most used building
material as support for concrete, especially in
those locations where it is found in
abundance. Bamboo as a building material is
used for the construction of scaffolding,
bridges and structures, houses.

• Steel truss, mud bricks.

 REFERENCES:

https://architecturelive.in/gateway-to-shri-opjindal-power-plant-
kamath-design-studio/

https://www.notjustjanejacobs.com/home/revathi-kamath-
trailblazing-sustainability-architect

https://www.stainlessindia.org/UploadPdf/June-2006.pdf

https://ebuild.in/gnostic-centre-kamath-design