Hyderabad-based father-son duo MV Ramachandrudu and Bharani have built a home that stands as a testament to their principles of responsible citizenship and sustainable living.
They used shipping containers to construct their two-storey house spanning 675 square feet. They repurposed old steel pipes as supporting columns for these containers.
The container house boasts two bedrooms, a drawing room, two bathrooms, and a staircase. Also, they opted to use styrofoam as an effective insulating material for the containers.
For the shed, Bharani also made bricks by mixing styrofoam with cement. “The advantage of using such bricks is that close to 70 percent of the brick is made from scrap; this saves topsoil which is usually exploited during construction,” he adds.
To conserve energy in their unique sustainable home, they have employed the ‘Rat Trap Bond’ masonry technique that involves placing the bricks vertically rather than horizontally.
“The cavity helps cut down the number of bricks and mortar used by up to 30 percent. This further reduces carbon footprints and costs,” says Ramachandrudu.
The walls act as thermal insulators providing warmth in the winter, and cool air in the summer. “We do not have ACs or air coolers. During summers, the interior temperature is at least seven degrees cooler than outside usually,” he says with pride.
Additionally, they repurposed old glass doors from restaurant refrigerators to craft elegant glass window doors and used cycle rims to create unique window frames.
They have installed an off-grid solar power system with a capacity of one kilowatt, which helped the family reduce their monthly electricity bill from Rs 800 to Rs 80.
They also collect 40,000 litres of rainwater annually and redirect an excess of three lakh litres to recharge the borewell.
Furthermore, they have implemented a greywater treatment system which effectively repurposes treated greywater from kitchen sinks, basins, and bathrooms for watering the plants in their garden.
Ramachandrudu says, “I am glad my home gave me an opportunity to implement my ideas of sustainable living into practice. It was physically exhausting but has brought a lot of satisfaction my way.”