Ten innovative homes built on extremely tight budgets
Following the UK launch of an affordable micro home that takes less than a day to build, here’s a look at 10 properties from around the world that show how comfortable living can be created with limited funds. .. Read more
Architecture: Using Mud to Build Homes
The future lies in mud architecture. Though this sweeping statement may sound prehistoric, but it is very relevant to modern times. Building living spaces with mud is a tradition dating back to the start of civilizations. Some excellent examples from the Great Mosque – the world’s largest mud building and UNESCO’s World Heritage site to the oldest surviving mud specimens found in the Harappa Pakistan, show the continuation and importance of mud buildings… Read more
Use of offsite construction techniques in Pakistan
Abstract: This study examines the benefits and challenges of offsite construction techniques (OCT) in Pakistani construction industry. It presents the view of consultants and contractors regarding offsite construction techniques by conducting a questionnaire survey. This study concludes that duration compression is the single most important factor that is driving the use of OCT in Pakistan. Moreover, the possible benefits of OCT include decrease in project duration; decreased need for skilled workers; increase in labour productivity; increase in site safety; increased design and management efficiency; and overall savings in cost. On the other hand, poor transportation facilities and logistics, and limited design options are challenges of offsite construction in Pakistani context. .. Read more
The Indigenous Architecture of the Northern Areas
The people of the Northern Areas (NA) are, by and large, farmers. In almost all the areas visited there is no hereditary occupational structure in the villages, except for the Beyricho, who are singers and blacksmiths. These two professions being interlinked throughout the Subcontinent. As such, most families have some member or the other who manages to learn how to work stone or timber, or both, through necessity. It is these “artisans” who are responsible for putting up the vast majority of buildings in the rural parts of the NA. .. Read more