Excerpt: Sunyata Eco Hotel, a hospitality project by Design Kacheri, showcases eco-friendly architecture using locally available earth in various forms like mud blocks, poured earth, rammed earth, and mud concrete. The design of the hotel regulates natural light, ventilation, and heat using brick jaalis and mutual shading techniques. Designed as a load-bearing structure, it avoids concrete columns, demonstrating the potential of sustainable urban structures.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Sunyata eco hotel is designed and built to demonstrate how a building in an urban scenario on an optimal site size can be a sustainable and eco-friendly structure. This approach extends beyond just the materials chosen or construction techniques, but to the entire construction process and the day to day operations after the place starts functioning.
The requirements and functioning of a boutique hotel where aesthetics, experience, comfort and luxury go hand in hand were given utmost importance. The project brief was to achieve these in a completely eco friendly manner with the least amount of carbon footprint possible.
The hotel is primarily built with locally available earth which is used in various forms – mud blocks, poured earth, rammed earth and mud concrete. Natural light, ventilation and heat is regulated by incorporating brick jaalis and mutual shading techniques. This hotel is largely designed as a load bearing structure and thus avoiding concrete columns. Age-old alternative construction techniques like brick vaults, jack arch roofs, precast hourdi clay roofs and filler slabs have all been used to help reduce concrete.
The layout of the project is inspired by the ‘thotti mane’ or courtyard houses that is the vernacular style of construction in the malnad region. The structure is designed as a series of receding terraces looking out to the park adjacent to the site and the hills in the distance. These terraces also help in collecting maximum rain water during the seasonal monsoons.
This water is routed to the central courtyard and stored in large rainwater storage tanks created between the foundation. These tanks can store up to 45,000 litres of water and the rest is directed to recharge the well. An eco STP takes care of sullage water which is also recycled for reuse.
Passive cooling is achieved by incorporating a combination of solar chimneys and earth air tunnels connected to cool air shafts that open into each room inducing passive ventilation, thus avoiding air conditioning in all spaces.
Solar panels are used for producing electricity and the panels were installed in a phased manner. All the equipment involved in construction including brick making were powered by solar energy to avoid drawing electricity from the grid.
The interiors are very minimal. Every material and element of the structure is highlighted in its true self. Exposed bricks, earthen walls and exposed concrete with contrasting black stone floors become the feature in each space. Beds, sofas, chairs and wardrobes are custom made in cane. Some of the old cane and wooden furniture were sourced and re-purposed too. Local stone artisans, cane craftsmen, potters and plantation workers who were unemployed during non-harvest months were trained and employed.
Sunyata eco hotel is an operating boutique hotel today which is self sufficient in generating the resources it needs to function while also being an experience centre for living in an eco friendly space.
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