Volontariat Orphanage

Pondicherry, India

Photo © Andres Herzog

Single Houses

Architects: Anupama Kundoo

Location: Pondicherry, India
Year: 2008

Built using a rare technology, in which the housing units were typically built with mud bricks and fired in situ for stability.

The interior space is stuffed with further mud bricks or other products, and fired as if it were a kiln. The house itself got fired as a consequence.

The fuel cost would be largely accountable to the products inside. The strength of brick would be achieved for the price of mud. Further, the cement in the mortar mix would become unnecessary.

To avoid use of valuable wood to fire the structure as in the previous cases, coal dust was introduced into the clay mixture itself, with which the bricks were made.

One had to only light the fire and then the mass, structure and products, burnt from within with their own fuel till all the coal dust in it was spent.