Costford, co-founded by Laurie Baker, is pushing for bamboo as a substitute to brick and concrete

The Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (Costford), the institution co-founded by master architect Laurie Baker in the 1980s, has perhaps a better and more eco-friendly alternative to the government’s plans for prefabricated, ‘factory-built’ houses.

Costford’s technique employs the ubiquitous bamboo, which is resilient, easily available and also cheap compared to conventional building materials.

Having used bamboo in the construction of houses since 2011, Costford is now set to unveil a three-storey building at Vilappilsala here next month where bamboo is a key ‘ingredient.’

Costford has also completed the design for a six-storey, 10,000-sq ft memorial at Mannanthala to T.R. Chandradutt, who, along with former Chief Minister C. Achutha Menon, economist K.N. Raj and Baker, founded the institution in 1985. Here too, 80% of the construction material will be bamboo, Costford director P.B. Sajan said.

“The building at Vilappilsala is part of the Laurie Baker Centre for Habitat Studies (LBC) and will serve as a documentation centre and library. It has a concrete frame, but the walls and slabs are of bamboo. The T.R. Chandradutt Centre for Alternate Technology will have a steel frame with bamboo walls and slabs,” Mr. Sajan said.

It is expected that the two buildings would erase misconceptions about bamboo and help popularise it as a viable, eco-friendly alternative to brick and concrete in construction.

Bamboo has numerous advantages, Mr. Sajan, whose own house was built using bamboo as construction material, said. “It helps in the fight against global warming. The construction sector and high-energy materials like aluminium and glass, for instance, are responsible for largescale carbon emissions. Bamboo is also a renewable building material with accelerated growth, maturing in six years. It is strong and absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” he said.

Prefab bamboo too

Bamboo can also be prefabricated into panels, he said, adding that LBC had plans to establish a prefabrication unit.

“We already have a bamboo treatment facility. Properly treated, bamboo can last 100 years. The cost of models that use bamboo is almost equal to that of the low-cost Baker model structures,” said Mr. Sajan.

In using bamboo as a construction material, Costford is merely extending the philosophy of Birmingham-born Baker, who dreamed of low-cost, energy-efficient housing for everyone, he said. Establishing small units for its treatment can also generate jobs in the rural sector.