Sustainable Architecture: How ‘Dancing Walls’ Keep This Home Cool  Without an AC

The ‘Pirouette House’ in Trivandrum is a sustainable home designed by the renowned Vinu Daniel, founder of Wallmaker.

The house, cocooned by trees, makes for a captivating sight with its ‘dancing’ walls.

Besides being a treat for the eyes, the walls promote natural light and ventilation. Additionally, the team has also used a technique for passive cooling called the ‘Rat Trap Bond’.

The method, popularised by world-renowned architect Laurie Baker, deploys kiln-fired bricks, supporting Trivandrum's dwindling brick kiln industry by employing local artisans.

Also used are MMT Ferrocement shells, wafer-like structures which are steel-reinforced arched shells with an effective thickness of 2.5 cm.

“They take an equal load of respective RCC slabs and reduce the overall cement consumption by 40 per cent and steel consumption by 30 per cent,” Vinu explains.

These have been used as a replacement for the RCC slab in the roofing.

Under the Rat Trap masonry construction method, the bricks are placed vertically rather than horizontally. This creates a cavity in the walls.

The cavity helps cut down the number of bricks and mortar used, further reducing carbon footprints and costs. It also provides insulation.

Vinu and his team further included an interesting twist by designing a series of slanting walls that look like they are dancing left and right. The design further elevates cross ventilation.

Vinu has also reused waste in the construction process. This includes discarded scaffolding pipes to form the central staircase and for the grillwork.