Wonder Grass

More images of the upcoming Wonder Grass outlet

2011-07-21T23:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some more images of the upcoming office-showroom at Bangalore.

I shall upload some more images as we go along. If anyone wants to drop in and take a look at, here is our address,

Wonder Grass initiative
plot no. 553/46,
1st Cross, 22nd main
Sector - 1, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Landmark: Close to Agara Junction on Outer Ring Road, in case you have any difficulty finding please reach me on 92430 93363

Hope to catch you there,

We are open for Business ! ! ! ! ! ! ! First Wonder Grass Sales outlet is open

2011-07-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

Wonder Grass starts its first Sales outlet for bamboo based building products at Bangalore

Following our earlier post where we had mentioned about commissioning of our first sales-outlet, we are now happy to announce, although informally that we are open for business.

Here are some of the recently finished building of our sales outlet. What we have tried here is to demonstrate the prefab components that Wonder Grass manufactures in its various applications.

Front-wall A combination of different walling systems

Front View of the office

‘One-stop-Shop’ for bamboo houses; a Wonder Grass initiative

2011-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Wonder Grass is in the process of setting up first of its Sales-Hub, where the range of bamboo-based building products like Green-wall panels, Screens, modular Terrace-top structures and other add-on building-components would be on display and for purchase ‘off-the-shelve’.

Along with a set of purely bamboo-based building components, other related accessories, hardware and coating-paints etc will also be available. A team of artisans will be stationed on-site to provide installation and maintenance services, an architect for design-support service etc. In nut shell this place is conceived to provide anyone interested in building with bamboo ‘One-stop-Shop’ experience, to make building with bamboo a joy.

The place is a combination of various ‘front-end’ functions; marketing and design office, a demonstration structure, ‘Stock-and-Sell’ point and small-time building-workshop. Bangalore is a natural choice to start the first of our Sales-Hub outlet, as the people here have given a fillip to idea of using bamboo for building.

We have taken on rent an empty terrace in sector – I, HSR layout, where we are building the whole ‘office-cum-showroom’ using bamboo, demonstrating some of our standard building-systems and using various prefab building components like green-wall panels etc. This will leave no doubt in the mind of our clients and customers, as to how these building components perform and work in the real life-conditions.

This place will provide a very important ‘touch & feel’ aspect of the building product (for a client) to make a final call on using bamboo for his/her building-project.

The office-showroom built with bamboo will help us demonstrate the ability of bamboo for building day-to-day structures with no compromises on performance, its elegance, our ability to deliver a quality finished product, and that too in a short time-frame for erection on site.

We started work on site around 7th of May. The building is coming along very nicely. The whole new idea of building a system-based bamboo structure is arousing a keen interest from passers-by, people in the vicinity and more importantly within a larger network of Wonder Grass. A lot of our friends have been visiting the set-up, giving ideas and suggestions. The small ideas here and there have helped us make this building that much richer in its form and content.

Meeta, an architect friend, suggested that why not explore and employ a curved / arched roof instead of a standard two-way sloping roof. The curvilinear forms are natural to bamboo, taking some clues from the amazing ‘Green School’ in Bali, we started working on the development of curved roofing system. Achieving a right curvature, required us to develop a new construction method. This helped stretch our imagination, sometimes appearing almost difficult to achieve in a limited time-frame, we had set for our ourselves.

We have finally managed to put together an arched roofing system, owing to untiring efforts by artisans Nikhil Shingare, Yogesh Tembhre and Vaibhav moon. The first arch came up fine, but kept us giving trouble as it was opening up on loading. It needed a tie-member at bottom to hold its curve / shape intact.

The walls are a composite type, it employs combination of different walling systems, using bamboo only. Like some parts are Bamboo-Mat boards, parts are half-split ‘Kavelu Panels’, Woven-mesh panels etc.

The work is progressing well, and we hope to meet our time-line in the midst of monsoon which has come visiting early this time.

Wonder Grass – An Organization in Building

2011-06-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

The very process of building of an enterprise which builds houses with bamboo is becoming more and more joyful, although it tests our resolve and the will to continue the journey once in a while.

Last year saw a very enriching and educative engagement with a very experienced team of professionals (Housing and Finance segment) from Planet Habitat, Ms. Helen Ng, Mr. Rohit Gada and mr. Rajesh Tiwary. The engagement was to explore possible partnerships in taking Wonder Grass to the next stage of growth and scale-up.

They have been very helpful, generous and kind in extending the support and guidance an early stage organization needs. Mr. Rohit Gada who leads ‘Vikas Constructions’ in Mumbai gave us an opportunity to build 25 Workers Housing units, for one of his facility in Bhilad, dist. Vaapi.

With Helen, the relationship has grown from being a purely professional one to being a good friend. She has been very kind in pushing Wonder Grass case through her network here in India, trying to help build the business. Coming from a housing – finance background and with a keen interest in ‘eco-conscious’ building materials, she is working on to build the value chain of eco-friendly building systems to bring them in mainstream of building industry.

We shall continue to get guidance and support from such a brilliant team of professionals in future. They bring in a broad perspective of the industry and experience about how an organizations needs to be built to bring vision into the reality.

The Year also saw a set of two young, dynamic and creative architects join our hands at Wonder Grass to build onto the design-ideas, building technology’s and construction details using Bamboo.

Ar. Lucas Spiegel, who finished his graduation in Architecture from university of Oregon, was initiated by his friend and Wonder Grass alumni ar. Alex Miller in trying his hands on a bamboo based architecture. Lucas braved the heat and the lack of infrastructure issues at Wonder Grass facility in Nagpur and did come up with some really exciting ideas, works and proposals.

Wonder Grass still in early stages of building-up, falls severely short of resources, bandwidth and will to keep such a dynamic and committed set of professionals engaged and involved to work more on bamboo.

In a span of just 5 months, Lucas did develop some very interesting building systems and ideas. We wish him all the luck for his future works.

Ar. Bela Rao, worked with two architectural firms in Goa and Pune, before trying her hands at Bamboo based architecture with Wonder Grass. It was indeed a tough call for young professional lady to live behind a luxury of urban India to difficulties (social, cultural and professional) in the rural areas.

Lucas and Bela worked together, learning on the job and applying it to build on some interesting designs and building systems.

Key works by ar. Lucas Spiegel

Skecth proposal, building systems and coordination of works on site at Farhenite Resorts, Goa.
Proposal for weekend home near Bangalore.
Proposal for prefabricated kits for living units in French Guiana.
Landscape for a prototype rural housing unit at Peth.

Key works by ar. Bela Rao

Proposal for school building type at Bangalore
Documentation for rural housing building unit
sketch design and development for a 2^nd phase of 10 units of ‘Workers housing units’ at AB Rolling, Bhilad.

Duo of Vedant and Utkarsh

These two boys joined our team to work as trainee project-management assistants. Vedant joined the team almost a year back in April’ 2010 and Utkarsh followed in September’ 2011.

There is a long way to go for these two in terms of understanding nitty-gritty’s of the project execution, but both have shown promise. They are hard working and are willing to sweat it out on the site.

Artisan Trainee’s from ITI

We started taking in trainee apprentice from the treads of ‘Carpentry’ and ‘Fitter’ from Industrial Training Institute’s (popularly known as ITI’s), to learn bamboo-construction systems on-job. These boys have shown great promise. The young working men from villages show greater inclination to work in city’ and decline work opportunities in rural area’s, yet we have had a fair number of trainee’s come to work in our set-up at village Peth, Nagpur.

Last year we had 10 trainee from two ITI’s, Wardha and Chandrapur.

The credit to this initiative goes to Sandip. Sandip Gadekar, has been with Wonder Grass for close to 18 months now, taking care of basic administration and coordination works at our Nagpur office.

Sandip initiated a step to interact with ITI’s in Nagpur and surrounding area’s. He introduced to them the work we are doing at Wonder Grass, and invited them to work and learn at Wonder Grass about Bamboo construction. This paid off handsomely, now we routenly get a team of about 8-10 trainee apprentice from various ITI institutions in Vidarbha.

Artisan team

We are facing a daunting challenge in building a good team of artisans who will fabricate and build bamboo houses in large numbers.

Our core team still remains at around 12 artisans, which is also on the decline. The number of artisans, who are floating, is around 15. Last year at one point we had close to 30 artisans. Peth unit had 12 artisans while Khanapur center had 5 and rest were on the project site at Bhilad, Gujrath.

We are utterly at loss to understand why and where are we failing in building a good artisan base, who is highly skilled in bamboo construction and is committed to quality and good finish.

What we are looking to build is more stable and steady team of master artisans which will be the core, this team will have something like 20 artisans which is future can grow upto 100, who are well versed in the systems, techniques for construction, erection processes on site, quality check etc. this team will primarily build the larger artisan group which will implement large number of bamboo building units.

Wonder Grass – The Year gone by ‘2010

2011-05-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here we are taking the opportunity to share with you all the developments and achievements at Wonder Grass during 2010 - 2011
One of our friends rightly said, ‘sometime’s it helps to celebrate your achievements’, we thought may be it is still some time for us to exult and celebrate our achievements, but let us take a stock of what we have been able to achieve last year, where we could not walk that extra mile, where we failed to deliver to the best standards and where we might improve.

Works we completed

1. A Prototype ‘Inverted Arch’ and ‘Vaulted-dome’ under the guidance of Ar. Ashok Lal, Delhi.

2. A ‘Green-wall’ for residence of Mr. Shriram Nadathur, Koramangala Bangalore.

3. Workers Housing for AB Rolling Mills, Village Sarigam, Vaapi Gujrath – 15 units of 200 Sft built. In a span of 6 months.

4. A Beach-front Restaurant for Farhenite Resorts, Goa – 1500 Sft of restaurant (semi-open) and 2000 Sft of Green-wall as visual barrier.

5. A ‘Green-wall’ for Mr. Vikram Reddy’s residence, near White field Bangalore

6. Design and Erection of a first prototype of ‘Integrated Rural Housing Unit’ developed by Wonder Grass as an offering in Rural housing market.

7. First phase of ‘A Study of Structural Behavior of Bamboo based building components’, for National Mission for Bamboo Applications NMBA, New Delhi.

Milestones:

1. The inverted arch built at our Nagpur facility is first of its kind (in the Indian context), of a structural member 75 feet long and 10 feet in depth, built entirely in Bamboo.

2. Prototype for Integrated Housing unit, a complete unit of 375 Sq Ft with Rain-water harvesting system and Dry-Toilet, in on offer for Rs. 1,25,000/-

3. The Housing – unit is designed as a system of parts, which are fabricated in the processing-nodes, transported and erected on site in 21 days, for a house ready-to-move in for a family.

4. A complete knock-down kind of system developed for a beach-front restaurant for Farhenite-resort, a very appropriate solution for structures coming up in CRZ areas. This system allows erection and dismantling of the system with ease.

5. Workers housing units built at AB Rolling mills are a first pilot run for modular building system developed in-house, tested for delivery and execution for volumes.

Lessons Learnt

1. Worker’s Housing at AB Rolling Mills

a. System - approach makes it faster and economical to build structures on a relatively large scale.

b. The quality of structural system is good, but there is a lot of room for improvement in walling-system, the junctions where wall-meets-columns and beams.

c. Work required on resolving wall-door frame junction in neater and cleaner way.

d. Work required for refining and developing aesthetics and visual-character of the built-for.

e. Delivery on site suffers from a lack of well coordinated artisan team, trained specifically for execution and Quality finish.
2. Inverted arch for Ar. Ashok Lal, Delhi

a. It is possible to build a continuous structural component using a standard pole-size of 12 feet, with appropriate joinery, design of construction processes etc.

b. We need to build on the rapport ire of ways of joining and building structural systems using bamboo. Ours is limited to use of Nut-bolts, Fiber reinforced Plastic and Sheet-metal joints.

c. There is a need on developing a range of systems which are primarily composite in nature, which combines bamboo with timber, MS sections and engineered bamboo panels etc.
3. Green – wall for mr. Shriram Nadathur’s residence, Bangalore

a. The standardization has stopped at product level. It needs to be taken further in the building – processes using these components at project-site.

b. The ad-hock approach during execution leads to longer time-frames on site, also to a relatively bad quality of finish of a finished project.

c. A Range of standardized joinery systems needs to be developed to simplify the erection of green-wall panels on verity of site-conditions.

4. A Prototype for a ‘Integrated Rural Housing unit’ at village Peth, Nagpur.
a. Roofing system – use of Corrugated GI Sheets is not in line with the character and feel of the built-form. We need to experiment with different roofing materials to arrive at appropriate solutions.

b. Plastering methods using cement-plaster and mud-plaster needs a lot of R&D to make the walls as effective as a plastered brick-wall.

c. Windows are too small for a house, needs redesigning.

The experience of the last year will help us chart our way further. We shall share with you the roadmap for year ahead in the next blog entry.

Till then…. Enjoy..

Beach - Front restaurant at Goa

2010-12-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

Work at the Farhenite resorts, Goa is coming along well. This is a project where we can showcase bamboo in a more contemporary form than the way it has been used to build beach-shacks in Goa. We are ercting a Bamboo green-wall, a Kitchen and a Dining area.

The Bamboo-wall is almost complete as can be seen in images above. The sloping terrain added to the verity of wall, and created nice stepped-pattern.

Kitchen with a backdrop of palm-trees sits appropriately in the landscape.

The structure s designed and built such that it can be dismantled, stacked every season depending on requirement.

A complete Housing Unit - Typology for Rural areas

2010-12-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Bamboo House is almost complete now, thanks to a proposed visit by a client from Mumbai, that we decided to make it a deadline to complete the house in its totality, along with basic landscape, and other aspects too.

It is to the credit of Ar. Bela, who has recetly joined Wonder Grass team to work as part of Design team, Sandip and Vasanta (artisan at Peth) to complete the house in time for the client visit.

The outcome has been truly exciting for us all. The house feels just like any other house, even though built almost entirely with bamboo, with everyone who is visiting is now talking about and notice finishes, the junction and construction quality, more than house built with bamboo.

This we believe is a good step forward, from being a bamboo house it is moving towards just being a house. Client visit helped us understand what any client will expect if this has to be viewed from a persepctive of a client who wants to 'pay' for the house.

There are areas where we need to improve upon construction system, the gaps and junctions where we still further refnement and development of construction methods. This can very well be termed as first generation house with bamboo, which will evolve as we work further.

The house is now ready for application in the market. If you need one, do let us know!!

Rural Housing Unit - Progress as on 26 Sept'2009

2010-09-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

Rural Housing Typology as develped by Wonder Grass is nearig completion. Here are some of the recent pictures of the internal and extarnal views of the Housing unit.
As we have described in some of our earlier posts, this housing unit is being developed as an incremental system, which means that the technology should allow expansion of the housing unit in an incremental fashion.

The External face has a cement plaster and internal face has a mud plaster.

Product Development - Roofing panels

2010-08-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

Roofing Panels - in Bamboo
We are now in the process of developing a new range of panels at our Belgaum center. Udayan,. who is also part of the new team at Wonder Grass is developing a new range of panels which cann potentially be applied for variouos applicatons in a typical urban market.

The roof-panel, we are developing may not really work as full-fledged roofing alternative due to various inherent problems, but can certainly be used in varous other small-scale applications.

Interios Panels - visual barries
We are developing a seperate range of panels which are self-standing, can be movable and are available in some standard lengths. these panels can be used for various applications in and outside the building, from offices, residences, hotels etc.

Workers Housing for AB Rolling Mills, Bhilad

2010-08-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

AB Rolling Mills, in village Manda near Bhilad (Gujrath) while proposig to bulding living units for the industrial-workers of their unit, they chose to tread a different path and decided to build bamboo living-units in place of typical concrete block + GI Tin sheet rooms.

Wonder Grass has been working on what can at best be described as semi-permanent housing for workers, artisans and labours staying in premises of Large industrial units, construction project-sites and similar projects spread across the country and many parts of the world.

There are various design solutions available for such housing-living requirements in a European, Middle East or US markets. In Indian context, there is a need to develop products - solutions which will help provide a decent living spaces for artisans and workers. In a typical scenario, the living-units built for workers-artisans, are just a ramshackle arrangement of casuarina poles and GI Sheets. Workers stay in these conditions sometimes for 12-18 months, braving monsoon, heat and winter, with GI sheets proving an accomplice in torment under all weather-conditions.

Bamboo and composite structures can provide for this gap in the demand.

Taking our clues from the modular standardized building systems, we are developing a simple living-unit for the industrial workers, which will be cost-effective and yet give its occupant a better living conditions.

The efforts are on to design system, such that the unit can be assembled and erected on site at ease. On completion of the project, the living-unit can be dismantled and carried to another project site. The idea is that the structure can be used for about 2-3 project-cycles giving a better, while workers enjoy better living-conditions than a typical casuarina + GI sheet unit.

Wonder Grass artisan team could erect the primary structure for about 7 lining-units, each about 200 Sq Ft built-up area, in a span of 15 days while monsoon is still in full-swing. One of the sample-units is already finished.

Wonder Grass on the cusp of new beginning

2010-06-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Work on the first phase of the construction of large-span inverted arch is nearing completion. Simultaneously we are working on a vaulted structure which is also coming along well.

The whole process of constructing a single structural member of 80 feet span has been exciting. It has helped us develop some simple but very interesting ‘systems’ that help us construct a large structural member. Development and construction of a curved element of arch, using multiple bamboo-poles, as can be seen in the images.

Another structure that we are developing is also part of the same project. This is proposed to a vaulted roofing system which is approximately 40 feet in span. We have started putting together the ribs, which will finally support the woven-bamboo surface on the top. (image).

This has been a good start. We take this opportunity to thank our clients, specially Architects Ashok B laal, Delhi and IGH (initiatives for Green Habitats), Bangalore to have put faith in the capabilities of Wonder Grass to deliver the building system to their requirement.

The Barn Roof Vault

This is part of the first phase of the project, where we would be prototyping the primary structural element, assemble a full-scale mock-up and conduct preliminary structural tests to check how it performs under various loading conditions.

There are two different structures that we are working on, both have different design and construction requirements.

We intend to complete the construction of a mock-up of the vaulted structure towards the end of this month. The second step is to conduct basic structural tests on the full-scale mock-up of both these systems, inverted arch (80 feet clear span) and Ribbed-vault (40 feet span). Design of structural tests is going to be a ‘project’ in itself. In case of the 80 feet span inverted-arch, the dead-load of the roofing system on top (proposed ‘Galv-Al’ sheets) is negligible, but then the wind-loads will be considerable. What we are working on, is to find a way to test these systems under windy conditions.

The project has given us an opportunity to build large span structural systems using bamboo as primary building material. This has given Wonder Grass team a confidence in its abilities for providing and erecting large span built-spaces.

Deriving from these primary forms and construction-systems we can look at developing building-applications for use in urban environs. We are looking to get the first complete prototype up and test the same towards the end of month of July, learn from the tests and refine the structural system for enhanced performance.

Bamboo Roof Raising

2010-05-22T04:01:00.000-07:00

We have raised our roof structure over our bamboo house and seen how it will perform as the house begins it's completion. We are happy with the performance, and find it to be rather user friendly with only 4 to 5 persons required for it's assembly. It is rather light, since it is bamboo, another advantage of the "wonder grass."

The assembly time for such a roof structure is rather short and simple to erect. All the pieces are attached with nuts and bolts,

well as bamboo plywood. As of of now, we are not using any pieces

of wood for structure, only for windows and doors. This is a plus because if this house had been made of wood, the combined years that are required to have the material ready would be 20+ years, and if this had been of brick mortar and cement, the time it take to create the materials would be vastly more. Our main mission in this housing project is affordability, and user friendly construction. We have found

through our rural surveys that nothing is more important than

affordability, and the ability for the user to assemble it themselves.

On top of that list is durability, which we will see when the monsoon

rains come.

2010-05-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

Our design center at our Nagpur campus has started to house our designers ideas, and as the summer rains come, it will be a welcome environment safe from the heat. We are quite happy with the way it turned out, and the two low-seating tables plus the drafting table make it a nice area to occupy.

Wonder Grass's small scale operations

2010-05-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

Wonder Grass artisans have started to fill our design studio with some great furniture. With the help of our American designer we have combined the craftsmanship of the Shaker style from the east coast of the United States with that of the time test skill of the Indian artisans working with bamboo. We will have some great chairs completed in the next week, and our design studio as well as meeting area will be complete to house our innovation. Below are some good photos of some of the chair. Just a sample of some of the fine work we have done.

Although this is not what Wonder Grass does
as a main product line, we can understand
bamboo as a scale that we use everyday.
Additionally, we pride our selves on using bamboo to the maximum efficiency possible, being the replacement of wood.
We will have photos of some great work coming our way soon. Our arch is coming along good, and the housing project is receiving it's first two wall, we just hope we can make it in time for the monsoon season.

Wonder Grass Becomes Finalist for Sankalp Social Enterprise Awards & Investment Forum

2010-05-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Sankalp 2010 Awards and Investment Forum is an annual Intellecap initiative committed to catalyzing entrepreneurship in the social enterprise space. Sankalp actively facilitates collaboration between established and budding entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders and sector stakeholders interested in contributing effectively towards this fledgling yet fast-growing industry.

Wonder Grass has become one of three finalist for the Technology for Development sector of the Sankalp 2010 forum. Wonder Grass Ceo Vaibhav Kaley will be presenting the work and spirit that makes Wonder Grass at the annual forum held in Mumbai. The jury will announce the winners shortly after the presentations and a prize and publicity will follow. Below is the link to the finalist and sectors being awarded this year. We all hope for the best and give congratulations to our fellow nominees.

http://sankalpforum.com/Sankalp/finalists.php

Wonder Grass Receives Some Special Recognition

2010-04-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

Wonder Grass (Low-cost housing) soaring temperatures and streams running dry in Nagpur do not deter Vaibhav and Nachiket Kaley from expecting their business to yield a rich harvest. The Kaley brothers are betting on a master plan, where bamboo becomes the cure for all ills in India’s housing sector.

Two years ago, Vaibhav, 33, an interior designer, along with his brother Nachiket, 28, an IT professional, decided to follow in the footsteps of their father, Vinoo Kaley, known as the ‘bamboo man’ and set up Wonder Grass, to provide low-cost housing options using bamboo as the main construction material. The walls of the houses are sometimes plastered with cow dung and mud to give a cemented look. The structures, the brothers claim, can withstand mild earthquakes and cyclones and are good options for coastal areas. “The time has come for bamboo. The market is opening up for sustainable living solutions,” says Vaibhav, director, Wonder Grass.

So far, they have done well. Turnover has trebled, while profits have increased manyfold too. The company has revenue targets of Rs 20-25 crore in a 8-10 year timeframe. They already have a bamboo auditorium project for an educational institution at the Andhra Pradesh-Orissa border and a housing project in Vapi.

With a marketing office in Bangalore and assembly line operations in Nagpur and Belgaum, the firm is looking at scaling up operations and will soon have 100 artisans working for them. To retain manpower, the Kaleys set aside 20 per cent of equity in a trust that will share profits with the workforce.

A low cost of Rs 400-450 per sq. ft, as against Rs 650 per sq. ft for a low-cost brick-mortar dwelling can be a driving factor for the bamboo houses.

Prasad Sangameshwaran

This article can be seen on the following link on the "Business World" website:

http://www.businessworld.in/bw/2010_03_23_The_High_Five.html

Prototype Housing Begins!

2010-04-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

We have just finished our foundation for the first Wonder Grass bamboo house that is a model for the rural Indian citizen. We will construct phase 1 and complete it by the end of May, ready for the monsoon season to hit us. The plan is a simple one, but we have put a lot of careful considerations into it, that makes it rather complex coming from a designers point view. We have a main room roughly 12ft x 15ft that will serve as the main living/sleeping area for a small family or couple living in a rural setting. Off of that we have a 12ft x 6ft veranda that serves as the entry. Traditional Indian homes ranging in the central region, have hip roof slanting down towards the entry to shield against monsoon season as well as create a vertical threshold that visually heightens the view while walking in the house. Designing a house that will hopefully reach thousands if not millions in some years, the needs and priorities of such a project needs to start with what a rural Indian see's as a basic home for themselves. Several factors determine what needs a rural house should address, however the most important is durability. For the last 80+ years the Indian rural home has been constructed out of brick, mortar, and cement. This has led to a changing attitude towards housing. We have organized surveys to understand this perception, and we understand that introducing a bamboo structure into a cement lifestyle will not work unless there keys issues addressed. Durability, there must be a instinctual feeling from just looking at the house, that it will last for a full generation. Secondly, there must be a sense that there is low maintenance. Brick and mortar homes or cement boxes need little maintenance unless there is dirt on the floors, or an earthquake occurs. Otherwise, people have adjusted to living in essentially, large prison blocks. And thirdly,it needs to be cheap. This can sometimes be hard when building with bamboo, but we at Wonder Grass have been able to save money be implementing ms joints, improving structural members as well as adjusting size requirements per stage in the expansion of the house. The brick and cement plinth rises from level ground about 18in above grade and we insert the bamboo columns directly into the plinth. They are surrounded by cement, and will never be removed. We erected our first wall on the north wall, and it was in two parts, because our plan is to have prefabricated parts made at our building centers, and then transported to the work site to be erected. This saves time and decreases labor costs. Our wall system will comprise of some less then mainstream methods thought up by our design team. The system is designed to accommodate future structural expansion. The will make the house grow out and up. Growing out is easier then going up, especially with bamboo. Our system has been explained many times in past posts, but it never hurts to describe the expansion. Those "V" members you see on the end beams will have pieces that can be replaced with other longer members that can support columns for the first floor on the exterior load bearing walls. This is a trial or prototype house so we will learn as go, and hopefully create as many solutions to the problems faced. We have done similar construction techniques likes these before on our projects in Wardha housing cluster project, as well as several other projects spear headed by Vinoo Kaley in the 90's. The right moves take by our design team are using joint systems that have never been used to ou knowledge in the world for bamboo. We have tested them, and are currently underway mass producing them to compliment our project.
We also have underway a project that is really taking off with some great results. We have recently taken on a project of building a 80ft long bamboo inverted arch.
This arch will reach a span of 80ft. will be made in two parts. Each part being approximelty 40ft in length. We have started to push our projects out of small scale structures into some really large extreme assemblies of bamboo that can be seen with some selective works around the world. Wonder Grass really wants to see the limits of our artisans and bamboo compliment each other to make India a great showcase for bamboo building. More to come, check back when we have the rest of the walls up and the arch complete!

Structural Testing Results In

2010-03-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

With the kind of help of Geo-Tech Industries we have completed our results for the structural testing of bamboo building parts. We now have a quite extensive record for all of our structural pieces which will help us prepare for our housing proto-type housing projects. We tested our members with qualified structural engineers present, as well as appropriate technology that Geotech was able to have us use while there. We are again grateful for their assistance. We found the results to be quite fascinating and matched our presumptions before hand. l

As we progress further with some of our other projects we will
be using the results to make sure that our designs work and
don't fall down.

This is assisted by two student interns from a civil engineering
college in Bangalore. They stayed there for some time, in the
work site in Peth. Nagaraj, and Kiran gave their time and help
in analyzing the structural parts before hand, and verified it
at Geo Tech Industries.

A visit to Auroville Bamboo research Center

2010-03-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

One of our interns from America was able to visit and meet several great centers around southern India that shared in the passion of bamboo. One great center was the bamboo research center at Auroville community located near Pondicherry, India. Auroville was started some 40+ years ago, and in that time they have made some really great structures, as well as innovations from bamboo. I had the pleasure of talking to one of the site workers, and even though my tamil was as good as his english we still were able to talk about bamboo and what each other has done. The articles and furniture was great quality, and some things we have not seen before. There was a great innovation of bamboo soap that had an amazingly fresh smell, and I'm sure it would feel great on the skin. The soap was made of powdered bamboo charcoal, and I assum mixed with oils, and other organic non-toxic cleaning chemicals.
As you can see in the picture below is the charcoal is kept in a barrel and heat is continually circulating through, so as not to ignite, but keep it warm enough to burn out all of the impurities. Something we at Wonder Grass feel is a great idea.
The American pavilion at Auroville also had a great structure that was a composite building with cement on the ground floor, and bamboo terrace-top with bamboo as it's reinforcement. This structure was a really good example how to use bamboo with other materials such as cement, and wood, as well as fiberglass and ferro-cement. The nice aesthetic feel of bamboo is that it is light-weight and makes a building structure seem graceful and attractive without weighing it down with heavy columns like cement structures do. It had a wonderful feel and
gave the occupant a nice view from all directions.
It is constantly a nice reminder that there are other people in the world and India that do great work and continually try to push into the serious building areas. Something that is not easy to do at all.
We hope to create an online directory or network primarily for people in India but also surrounding countries, so that progress, business, and implementation of bamboo can be sped up with more collaboration and cross communication between many fields, for example, college students to working designers who use bamboo. We hope to have that up and running in months time.

Statistical Analysis of Rural Survey

2010-03-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

We have concluded the survey of rural Indian citizens for use in our research for the rural housing prototype. The above picture shows the current living conditions in respect to building materials of the persons interviewed for the survey. Overwhelmingly the majority of citizens live in brick and cement homes. With brick and mud coming behind and after that bamboo+composite and mud come in last.

We also conducted a study of current uses for bamboo in the rural sector and found that bamboo was used not only for housing., but furniture, curtains, and doors and window. This gave us a perception of the used and acceptable limits that people believe bamboo can do.

General Information About Housing in India
(2000-2001)
(Rs. in Million)
Particulars			2000-2001
No. of House Holds in India (in Million)			177.74
Stock of Houses in India (Million)			168.5
a. Stock of Rural Houses			118.7(70.4%)
b. Stock of Urban Houses			49.8(27.0%)
c. Constructed under Indira Awas Yojna			5.69
Type of Houses Occupied
a. Pucca Houses (Million)			41.61
b. Semi Pucca (Million)			30.95
c. Kuccha (Million)			27.44
Housing Shortage (Million)			32
a. Rural Houses (Million)			24.47
b. Urban Houses (Million)			8.7
Cost Distribution Ratio of Various
Components in Building Construction
a. Materials			73%
b. Labour			27%

Of those surveyed 32% were below the poverty level in India.

Global Location of Wonder Grass

2010-02-27T03:25:00.000-08:00

Wonder Grass would like to let our readers see exactly where we do most of our work:

21° 7'57.53"N 78°52'5.43"E

Up To Date Projects

2010-02-27T00:05:00.000-08:00

We have several projects currently going in their final stages as well as almost complete. Firstly we have the bamboo paneling done on the residence in the Bangalore urban center. That was completed with our urban team here in Bangalore. The parts were made in our Nagpur building site and then transported and assembled in Bangalore at our job site. The is increasing our ability to do pre-fabrication. We will expand on our capacities to do pre-fab as our infrastructure increases it's ability to manage the operations and resources. We learn as we go here, and our strength as a cooperative is to continually expand our comfort zone to take on more projects.

We are happy to report that the bamboo waterless toilet has gotten it's
wall up and is now standing up on its own. All that we need now, is the mud on the walls or cement, we are still deciding, and then we can put up the roof. We are going to be putting a cement slab on the top of the waterless toilet so mimic the roofs we have seen in the rural villages. There people can store wood, food for drying, and several other materials. This can also be used to go on top of and have a nice place to look out onto. We might even test the ability to have a green roof, full of vegetation that will absorb the rich nutrients of the human waste. There will be some trial and error in this process. We shall see how well this works.

As we can see in the pictures, the framing and infill is pretty much complete except with some final touches on the frame connections.
The open web trusses on the top of the structure will have inserted smaller trusses that will be able to hold the cement slab up. The extentions of the truss expand down onto the wall and hold it right on the line with the structural system. As we can see in the photo that the metal connections at the bottom secure the structure to the cement foundation.

And with the Belgaum node we are happy to have a nice shipment of bamboo being taken to our Nagpur site to start working on our other projects that have large spanning arches and need to be tested over and over again. We have noted in the past blog entries that our collaboration with Geo Tech Industries will bring fruitful results that keep our progress on track.

Guesthouse Construction Video

2010-02-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

Update on Weekend Retreat in Nagarvalli

2010-02-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

The wonder grass team recently visited an older project that was complete in April of 2009. The weekend retreat in Nagarvalli, some 30klms from Bangalore, India. This house was built for a weekend retreat as well as a guesthouse for the owners. It was made for Wonder Grass to understand the needs and programmatic responses to small living structures that might have different users occupying it, but still remain the same size. This will be a good precedent for the upcoming prototype for a bamboo housing that will accommodate
a growing family. This project needs extensive research on site
experimentation, and to have this weekend retreat as a starting is
very useful. Some of the things that need to be solved are the simple
connections that come between gable ends, truss wall connections,
etc. The flexibility of a bamboo house is a new scheme as far as we know. A bamboo building or house has to accommodate a changing family. If it does not, then there is a conflict between the dwelling and it's residents. We can see that now with housing for the majority of low-income families throughout the world. The relationship between the user and his/her house should be where there is a constant stream of dialogue between the user's needs. Out bamboo house will be roughly 200 sq ft in it's first stage, and in it's finally stage will be over 600sqft. These stage will be documented and studied as well as published on our blog. Wonder Grass has fortunately has the ability to make it's own research projects such as the weekend retreat shown here.

Trips to North India

2010-02-15T09:02:00.000-08:00

The Wonder Grass team just got back from a venture up north to the upper regions of India, and the Himalayas. We were very happy to see the use of bamboo to be quite extensive there, and our eye brows were raised when seeing the size of the bamboo that was being used. Up north by Sikkim and the Bhutan/Nepal border the bamboo can grow well over 6 inches in diameter, however the wall thickness gets to be quite thin and weak. Although useful, this bamboo has different uses in terms of housing. Wall paneling, flooring, temporary fencing, and many other suitable uses for thin wall bamboo can be found in the current housing examples in that region. From the train headed to the north we were witnessing the spirit of bamboo as building material alive and fresh from countless examples of bamboo villages where, concrete block, and mortar were not to be seen. This is quite a nice break from the mass housing that consists of brick and mortar. In the last 80 years brick and mortar has become the primary building material for the most part of the sub-continent, as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and several other countries of that region. So why does the average family in one of these countries prefer concrete? Simply put, it gives the impression that a home built with concrete last forever, but what it does not tell you is that it will not last through a natural disaster, it will require large amounts of energy to produce and transport, as well as being uncomfortable in high temperatures.

Now building with bamboo does tell you the answers to those questions,
it will last through a natural disaster, and if not, it will bio-degrade back to the earth, and you have the ability to construct another. It is cheap to transport since there are many bamboo forests all over India, and couples with other materials such as mud, bamboo housing is incredibly comfortable in hot days. Of coarse all of these characteristics have been tested and lived in before the advent of concrete, but we would never know it with the zeal towards modern building methods.

Bamboo does not last forever, but neither do we or the life styles we live
from generation to generation. How many ways has the life our parents lived changed from ours? And in the changing world, how will our
grand children's lives differ from ours? Should we build structures
that are unsafe in earthquakes, store heat in the summer, and are
incredibly energy intensive to make for our children? Or instead
build them houses that show them, living responsibly means thinking ahead with a smarter intention for the natural environment. The Iroquois of the great lake regions in North America believe in the 7 generation approach. Build, construct, and use materials as well as daily choices that will eventually influence the next seven generations. Seven generations from now what will children say when growing up in the schools about the mass amounts of people who decided to live in concrete blocks for their entire lives, instead of making housing that can be grown in 5 - 8 years, provide income to farmers, decrease atmospheric carbon content, as well provide attractive housing?

Please see our Work Profile for an Up To Date Progress of the Work Wonder Grass is doing:
Wonder Grass Profile

Structural Testing & Astronomy 101

2010-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

Wonder Grass is proud to have started a collaboration with Mr. A. M. Shingarey. Mr. Shingarey who is a civil engineer with a post-graduation in Geotechnical Engineering from IIT Bombay (1978) will be assisting Wonder Grass in it's housing R&D as well as giving our research some professional credibility which is needed in the introduction of bamboo into the serious main stream building arena. Geo tech industries started with a small setup of laboratory and field testing - mostly covering the determination of physical and engineering properties of soils, the firm has continuously widened its scope. At present, it is the largest and most professionally managed laboratory in Central India with test facilities for soil, rock, cement, concrete, bitumen, building material and chemical analysis. With this kind
of collaboration, Wonder Grass will be become part of the pioneers
in bamboo building systems.

We are also happy to have the second lecture of our first of the month lecture series that is going to dive into the realm of astronomy. Our friend and avid astronomer Pramod Joshi will be sharing his knowledge of astronomy, and teaching our audience about constellations, the life of a star, and many more out of this world knowledge. He will also bring his telescopes that he made himself using innovative technology.
Please stay tuned for pictures, and amazing opportunities to see the work that Wondergrass does in this world, and others!

India Republic Day & Waterless Toilet Construction Update

2010-01-26T07:59:00.000-08:00

The Republic Day of India commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on January 26, 1950.[1] The date 26 January was chosen to honour the memory of the declaration of independence of 1930. It is one of the three national holidays in India, and while the main parade, Republic Day Parade takes place at the Rajpath, in the national capital New Delhi, where the President views the parade, state capitals also have their state celebrations. This is one of the most important dates for the country of
India. Flags were held high, and so were the
smiles from all of the festivities.

We also had a great introduction to the local village of our waterless toilet conducted by our site foreman Vasante'. Families took the Sunday afternoon to look around and learn about the positive attributes of a waterless toilet. Working similar to a close system, this package integrates a design that allows the user to separate the solids, liquids, and waste water into three different disposal areas. This allows the user to conserve water, use valuable human manure for farming, and or organic fertilizer, as well as improve the envirionment of their area. This idea is a new one, and we are not sure how this will be viewed quite yet by the rural masses. Although it is a good design, it all depends on the user to see it's success. As for the bamboo part of things, we have the bamboo structure setting on the three foot stem wall that encases the waste chambers, and the bathing area.
We are going to learn a lot from this trial latrine, and feel this is necessary before investing it as a package with the bamboo home. We fortunately have the work crew at the site to be our water less toilet Ginnie pigs. They will probably have a lot of valuable feedback, that we might not of thought about. Also the cost of the system needs to be reduced drastically. Being a system for affordable rural housing, it has to fit into a families financial abilities. Our main concern is to alleviate the unnecessary habit of defecating in the open fields and by/in near by water sources.This poses sanitation problem of contaminated water streams, and spreading of disease. If we can concentrate the solid human waste, use it to our advantage and reduce water consumption, we have made leaps and bounds. This also gives us the opportunity to experiment with new types of building systems that can be used for our housing projects, and building schemes for future use. Because this structure is such a tall one, we are bracing from the fall and spring winds that can easily push such a broad structure over. On either short ends we have put some "x" bracing that will preventing from falling over like a deck of cards, as well some newly designed knee bracing that extends from the over head beams. Simple 1' deep open web bamboo beams are laid long ways, and smaller 7'deep open web bamboo beams are inserted into the beams running long ways. The building's dimensions are 4' x 8' and that makes it rather small to design for. However, we have tried to bridge the designs that we have developed with the existing housing designs that Indian rural citizens have been using for well over 80 years. On top of the latrine there will be a
concrete slab that will be used to store dried firewood, be a floor for drying grains, vegetables, and spies, as well a nice to be on a hot night.
If this systems seems appropriate then we will be using it for many applications. Recent posts give more detail of the structural systems that I am referring to .

We have also had the opportunity to develop more metal joints/connector systems for our waterless toilet and future prototype house. Our designer from the U.S. has put together over 6 metal joints that work well, and have different applications. We will be using two for the system of the latrine, and the rest have been giving us new ideas about the structures that can now
be created easily. Made from scratch out of sheets of 2mm and 3mm
sheet steel, these gusset plates, brackets, clips, and connectors are
easy alternatives to rope, nut/bolt, and resin composite joints. This will
also take bamboo's applications to a higher level in terms of assembly
and load bearing capacities. We have show two here to give an example of how bamboo can be supported using age old techniques used traditionally for masonry and wood. First one is a column gusset plate that will anchor the bamboo columns to the concrete foundation. This type of connections has been used extensively in the past for modern construction, but now it's purposes are making more of a lasting effect on the construction industry since now they are holding bamboo up. The advantage of this system is that is uses little metal, supports it quite
well, and serves as a quick assembly trick, that is user friendly. The user friendly part is extremely important to our R & D. We then painted it with a rust repellent primer, and it came out looking quite good. Considering that we made it from a sheet of steel with only hand tools, gives us the confidence we need to evolve some more sophisticated joints. Our aim is to have a catalog of structural metal/composite material joint connectors. They can be gusset plates, joist hanger, cross clips etc. The point is to provide the same structural variances in building and easability that concrete and wood currently have in the worlds housing industries.

The second one down is a a side bracket for outer bamboo columns that will help take the loads but not have any contact with the ground or sill.
It will be anchored to the side of the foundation, and will have a "v" profile that will hold the bamboo, so that water and condensation has a place to
drain down to and collect.

We have several other designs, however they are still in development and need further testing. We are happy with these results, because they can give the perception of bamboo as a modern building option instead
of a wrongly conceived week building style popular with indigenous
groups around the world. Strong and resilient the buildings of bamboo
villages in the jungles of India, Indonesia, Thailand, China, and South America
have with stood earthquakes, floods, and typhoons far exceeding that of
concrete/brick. Our solution lies in innovating with modern tools to resurrect natures intending housing techniques. A challenge worth exploring here at Wondergrass.

2010 Welcomes Wondergrass With Open Arms

2010-01-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

With our guesthouse in working condition we have our designer from the US moving in as the first occupant in our first ever bamboo two story home. The top photo shows the ground floor especially designed to house our designers at work. Creating, discussing, and producing some innovative and breakthrough designs that will take Wonder Grass and bamboo into the new decade. The bottom photo shows the studio that is directly above the ground floor. A cozy and welcoming room. For 2010 Wonder Grass has had the the blessings of new and exciting work opportunities. Because of the hard work of several of our architects, Wonder Grass is heading into the new year, with exciting new projects, and a growing portfolio that gains valuable experience and confidence to be a foundation for years to come.

The long term goal for Wonder Grass is an ambitious one, but most valuable to the people of India, as well other countries of world. Develop, distribute, and lay down a system of centers that provides innovative affordable bamboo housing options for citizens all over the sub-continent of India. A network or franchises that work together as centers across India that can serve their local housing needs, but also come together as a larger infrastructure to accommodate large scale housing projects. Those housing projects can include responses to natural disasters that call for immediate, affordable housing that works, serves the needs of the users, and provides alternative to disaster prone building materials such as that of concrete, and brick. As we have seen in the country of Haiti, the devastation was evident, but the main perpetrator was the inadequate building systems that of concrete/cement brick. In that case, the earthquake did not kill people, but the buildings did.

As a fellow designer I believe it is a moral responsibility to the mass audiences who do not have adequate funds for great housing, to be given an affordable option, that is safe, secure, and allows them an expression of themselves in the built form. A solution that covers many tragedies of today's modern building methods. As we look forward to the coming months and years, we forecast a gradual change in perception of bamboo as a modern building option. Bamboo's biggest obstacle to housing humanity, is not the grass it's self, but in humanities naive understanding of it's incredible capacities. The sun rise at our building center in Nagpur gives us a constant reminder, that no matter was happens, there is always a fresh new beginning that gives new opportunities for change. A nice reminder while building with bamboo's forgiving nature.

Discussion Series starts off with the Joy of Creativity

2010-01-07T02:09:00.000-08:00

For our first of many discussion series we had Architect Milind Gujarkar from his office in Nagpur visit our Peth site and share some of his completed projects over the years, as well as share his knowledge of intelligent design. Ar. Gujarkar holds a B.ARCH in visual perception in aesthetics and its application as well as M.ARCH in industrial design. Mr. Gujarkar's projects included a courtyard housing project, restoring 400 year old Teak columns, and several other amazing examples of meaningful design work. We were really fortunate to have Mr. Gujarkar's work as part of our first of many talk series. It sets a high standard for the kind of knowledge and experience that we should have at each of our discussion series.
Our aim is provide and foster an environment where craftsman's, artist, and professionals can meet, share knowledge, and discuss creativity for today's industrial world. The long term goal of the Wondergrass work site is to harvest a learning center for designers of many backgrounds to come and share their ideas with a larger audience. Not only bamboo technology, but many other sustainable practices that can improve the environment as well as the living standards for the millions of rural Indian citizens and the rest of the world.

We had the pleasure of seeing several of the artisans and craftsman from the village attend our discussion series as well. We were happy to see them and hope they return for upcoming events. We were also fortunate enough to have our guesthouse completed and available for walkthrough's and seeing it close up. For the days following our workshop, we had several villagers curious about our work, and very impressed with the models that our artisans had made. The day before we held our artisan workshop, and let team wondergrass come together as small teams to construct 1/2" models of bamboo homes. Their work experience was expressed through the well designed models, and we feel that as a way for our creativity discussions to be more interactive we are going to incorporate the use of model making, drawing, etc. to motivate more discussion. Because we have a mixed audience that speaks, English, Hindi, and Maharati, we were battling a communication gap that will be ratified in upcoming events. We had roughly twenty-five people from ages 10 to 65 and we were happy that younger generations will have the chance to learn from the elders, as well as proffessionals who are bringing back traditional practices that have wisdom in their practive then any advance in modern technology in the past 100 years.
As we learn more about the properties of bamboo we constantly looking towards nature as a source of inspiration and practical knowledge. We have started to work with A.M. Shingarey of Geotech Industries, to test our structural elements such as beam, column, purlin etc. It is a great pleasure and honor to work such a respectable materials testing lab such as GeoTech Industries. They have been testing and completing excellent R&D for the uses of cement, wood, and composite materials that can be used for modern building practices. We will publish those results as soon as they are completed, and we are indebted to work that will follow because of GeoTech Industries. The sharing of knowledge and collaboration that has a higher goal for all parties, including the future occupants of our housing is truly an admirable goal to have. And we cannot but be grateful for the outcome of this collaboration.

We are also sad to report that one our architects for Wondergrass has completed her three month span and has returned to Pune, India to go back to school. Ms. Andhare contributed an amazing background that included projects of museums, housing, and many more sustainable designs. Her bilingual talents will be missed by our US intern who has many more days to improve his linguistic accuracy in speaking the local dialect of Maharati. Her hard work, and knowledge will be missed, but hopefully she will come back to share her new knowledge of ecology.

2010-01-06T04:30:00.001-08:00

High fencing @ Vikram Reddy’s house (Whitefield) in Bangalore

New fixing details were developed on-site to enable the 12’ high bamboo fencing happen without it wobbling and also to make it sturdier. External bamboo column supports along with joineries were developed to hold the 12’ high column strong enough to take the weight of the bamboo panels. The closely spaced 9’ panel served as a structural support to hold the side columns in place and anchor bolts were utilized to screw them to the wall. The 12’ high fencing is taking good shape.

The bamboo panels, column and all the other members have to be given a second coat of cashew nut shell coating.

Pergola and Archway @ T-Zed in Bangalore

“Working and designing with the resources we had on site”- this could be the best way to describe this project. The columns were inserted into the flower pots and PCC was poured into it and was allowed to set. These pots were then sunk into the ground about one foot deep to hold it in place. The PCC was covered with earth and allowed small plants to grow over it- An interesting Garden indeed.

Fencing @ Vikram Reddy’s house (Marathalli) in Bangalore
The artisans reached Bangalore on the 12^th of November and visited the site on the 13^th to have an idea of the workplace. The truck was unloaded on the 14^th and the actual work began on the 16^th of November. Despite it being a new place and a different working atmosphere for the artisans, they were able to cope up with the work and quality was never compromised. Once the marking was done, it was realized that customized bamboo panels had to be prepared which consumed the maximum time. There was a challenge of holding the bamboo fencing panels in place and hence new supports were assembled onsite to solve the issues of the panel wobbling, etc.

The new supports made it sturdier and gave an appealing aesthetic view too. The supports and the panels were held by a box joint that happened on the top. A final touch of cashew nut shell coating has to given.

Artisan Team - Yogesh, Surrendra, Gautam, Namdev, Vijay and Eknath.

Guesthouse & Waterless Toilet & Creativity Series

2009-12-29T21:22:00.000-08:00

We had our first occupants stay in our guesthouse this past weekend. Kannan Narayanswamy, his wife Uma Iyer, and their daughter Navya enjoyed several nights inside the bamboo house. The first pilot family to enjoy a nights sleep welcomed this new building material, because of it's aesthetic quality, as well their passion for sustainable building materials for India. The nights were cold, compared to the average overnight temp for this region, and problems of cold drafts, and heat loss were noticed. Several factors are still to be addressed, and as we develop the prototype house for rural Indian citizens, we will build on past trial and errors.

Our waterless toilet design has come out well, and with the
help of Kannan Narayanswamy we have created a solution to the waste water produced my modern toilet designs. This will be part of a package that will include our rural housing design. We are building on site here, and it will be used by the artisans and visiting guests.

The foundation for the waterless toilet is three feet tall, and that will give us enough volume to house the human waste that will a crew in 6 months. Our design has two chambers, and each one will be used for 6 months and when one is full the other will be used. This allows for decomposition of waste, as well as a safe way for waste to be broken down. There will not be any urine or wash water mixed in with the solid waste. This helps in decomposition and bacterial build up. Once the chambers are full, is the responsibility of the user to empty each chamber, and mix it with compost to add to the nutrients of surrounding soil. We plan on having a green roof, therefore we will be using the solid matter for compost, and urine mixed with water to keep the plants healthy.

As the diagram displays above, the person will sit ground level and defecate in the brown hole, and urinate in the yellow rectangle. The separation of urine and feces, improves breakdown of solid matter, as well decreases the use of water. There is one wash basin for the user to wash themselves after doing their business. There is also a wash room to the left.

We have started to coordinate our first discussion series here at Wondergrass to encourage people of all ages, talents, and fields to share their passion and connection to the ability to create. This gift given to all of us, has many outlets, bamboo design, music, visual arts, and so many more. We have started to distribute to local colleges these fliers to let people know that there is a place to welcome all of those outlets. If you are in the area, please contact us, and we would be most welcoming.

Construction Walk Through

2009-12-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

Progress on Staircase

2009-12-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

Our staircase to the apartment in the guesthouse is getting it's final touches done on it. Our inventory of bamboo consists of 2" to 3" diameter stocks of bamboo. Therefore we designed the staircase structure as a truss, and extended the webbing beyond the supports to form the treads and risers. We made a sample of this design several weeks ago, and it had three treads. To increase the strength we added more diagonal crossing to distribute the load for the people walking on the stairs.

Artistic expression through bamboo

2009-12-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Our guesthouse is now having it's final touches done on it. We started to expand on bamboo's tensile strength. Some of our window frames needed some innovation, so we took small slats of bamboo and bent them in wooden frames, resembling 3-d grids that extend inwards and outwards. We have been having fun at the many things that are allowed by bamboo's amazing flexibility.

Waterless Toilet & Outreach & R+D

2009-12-13T00:02:00.000-08:00

We had another 200 students from a local elementary school come and take a tour of our guesthouse today. They were excited and liked climbing on all of the understory floor joists that resemble monkey bars. We tried to tell them as much as possible about the positive sides of building with bamboo. Hopefully, as the next generation grows up and wants to start a new family, they will look towards bamboo as a building material.

Our waterless toilet design is starting it's beginning
phases. We just starting digging for the foundation
today, and we chose a
site spot far from the work site, but near some sloped ground to take
advantage of the slope. This design is spearheaded by one of our architects, Sayali Andhare. She has researched and studied water toilet systems extensively, and found that this is exactly what Wondergrass should be implementing along with a bamboo house.

Here we have dug for the foundation, and tomorrow we will start laying down some precast concrete panels. We have been experimenting with some panels and the best way to reinforce them. We will now try to use G I sheet, for the interior reinforcement. It is relatively cheap, and is strong laterally as a tensile memeber

Our design for the waterless toilet uses a nice water catchment
scheme, that goes well with the rainy seasons of India. It will use bamboo as the structure and roof, as well as the paneling for the four sides. While the foundation will be of cement/brick.
This is going to go really well for the area currently surrounding the village of Payt. We are trying to forecast the acceptance of this facility in Indian house holds, and we are not sure how this will be viewed. This is a healthier and smarted choice for the proper disposal of human waste.

We have also started looking our structure for the new housing prototype for the bamboo house. We thought of extending the members of the truss, and using their strength as a way to stabelize the story above the ground floor. These members would be holding the wall, and they are secured at several points other than the bases. Further research is in development.

Outreach, workshop, and housing unit design

2009-12-09T04:00:00.001-08:00

As part of Wondergrass's outreach program, a local elementary school of 200 students recently came to our construction site, and took a tour of our guesthouse. Grades of second to fifth, all ages seemed to be amused and excited to go inside a house that was not made of cement. These students live in villages similar to the majority of families all across India. They have below poverty level incomes, and some at middle class, and the families survive on manual labor jobs, or at best clerks or business men for local villages. The target audience for our planned rural housing initiative that is currently underway. We have completed a survey of qualitative and quantitative data that will help us with understanding the ideal Indian citizen that will benefit from a bamboo house. We have yet to publish those findings, until our urban study of similar framework is completed.

Concurrently, we are trying to introduce the urban application and finds it applicability. We came at this survey with an open mind, and structured the questioning in an objective way. This study will not only help Wondergrass, but also the vast majority of rural housing developers in India. It will also help rural industries tackle problems of poverty and where the sources are. Apart from being extremely useful towards Wondergrass for it's use as a way to understand the housing client, but as well as future comparison studies, as to the effectiveness of building for a specific client in need, rather then the majority of rural citizens. It is a thin rope to walk across when introducing bamboo as an alternative buidling material to traditional rural families. We at Wondergrass know all about the positice attributes of bamboo as a better way of building homes for India. However, the perception of bamboo is a poor one.

The perception of bamboo across the building sectors is that of a weak material that is good for temporary structures, not ones that can last through generations. Undoubtly false, the stregnth of bamboo housing can be strong, durable, and stand the test of a growing family. Amazingly though, we have had alot of good positive feedback about our bamboo guesthouse. Though not identical to our new prototype housing unit that will be constructed this spring and summer, we are faithful in it's ability to last quite a while.

2nd Day of Artisans Workshop Underway

The second day of our workshop for artisans was a success, as well as fun. Some of our younger artisans had finally the time to sit down with some of the more experienced craftsman and learn the skills of sharpening, joinery, and producing a well made piece of artwork.
We have new artisans occasionally coming in, and to balance the talent is crucial in making a strong team of artists. Everything from sharpening to putting the last touches on the cement foundation should be understood by every craftsman at Wondergrass.

The second part of the workshop was lead my one of our architects, Sayali Andhare. An employee of Wondergrass for the past 2 months, Sayali has worked as an architect in India developing designs for cultural centers, housing, and several other sustainably developed projects.

And one of our interns from the United States was there to assist as well as learn the process of bamboo construction. We have a group from varied backgrounds that makes for an interesting pool of
creativity.

We will be holding our next workshop in some time, and we have several speakers scheduled to give talks on architecture, bamboo as a building source, as well as other alternative resources for building etc.
We build on this to make it a larger conference on the coming years,
and we hope to have this work site as a well known resource the general knowledge of bamboo

Housing Prototype for Rural Housing Underway

Our ongoing design for out adaptable housing that will be used as a prototype for rural housing is in some interesting developments. We are designing a small unit that will be used by small families, and as the family grows, this design will be adaptable to accommodate the change. This structure will extend up and out as the family needs develop. It's in it's infancy so we have further to develop the connections, as well as the in between spaces that add up. There will be updates on our progress, and feel free to input your feedback if you know of well known flexible housing structures in the world.

Wondergrass Workshop Commencement

2009-12-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

Wondergrass has started it's monthly 2 day workshop starting with Vaibhav Kaley, CEO of Wondergrass, as the first speaker to introduce bamboo to the artisans. Part of a Wondergrass initiative, these workshops will host guest speakers as part of a bamboo resource center for the expansion of building with bamboo in Wondergrass and India. Starting with the basics, artisans are introduced to a formal setting for proper techniques, names of tools in several languages, as well as improving drawing skills so that more craftsmans can take designs into their own hands. This is an example of self empowerment and forward linkages that Wondergrass is developing for the implementation of bamboo in India. Introducing bamboo, and then pushing for an entrepreneurship attitude for others, further extending the placement of bamboo as a building material in India. This will also give us more confidence in the final outcome of our Guesthouse that is getting completed. Since bamboo is such an adaptive materials the capabilities are beyond a novices understanding. That is why creating such workshop and educative workshops is vital in showing the varied expressions that bamboo can make. Since Wondergrass is expanding in several different areas for using bamboo, housing, auditorium, tensile structures etc. the constant learning of bamboo's properties is done by all of us, not only the artisans. We continually redesign the way modern construction methods are used, so as to adapt to the use of bamboo. For example, the typical brick and cement house used for so many rural Indian homes, has become costly, environmentally wasteful with resources, and unsafe in earthquakes.Bamboo can solve all of these problems because of it's cost effectiveness, its a renewable resource, as well as it tensile strength matching that of steel to combat earthquakes. All of these facts are going to be covered in the coming months with our workshop's that will host guest lectures. If you are interested and have experience working with bamboo, please let us know, and we would like you to share your knowledge.

In our guest house facade we have given Danesh one of our artisans the task of building shutters for the ground story. They came out very well, and reflect the care taken into making them. They will be used near the ground entry, as well being operable, they will also provide an attractive light pattern on the interior during the sunset. The lightness and aestetic qualities of bamboo are wonderful to design with. It's quite a compliment to nature and an evolultion of building to use such materials like bamboo. Not only bamboo, but we have used mud plastering to create great wall facades that will absorb the heat in the day making a cool place to be. We have a three coat process in which we apply a liberal coat of water soaked mud, and let that dry. After that we apply a second coat on top of that to fill in cracking and displacment. As a finishing coat, we apply a thin layer of cow manuer. This acts as a binder and give the wall a strong skin to adhere to. We like this method for it's qualities of environmentally safe, user friendly, and affordable, however we would like to develop a material that is thinner and lasts longer with more use. Further research into that is needed.

Belgaum Processing Node

2009-11-29T01:44:00.000-08:00

Wonder Grass and Bamboo-Tech, Belgaum have principally agree to enter into a joint initiative to establish and run a Processing-Node for Building-system requirements using Bamboo.

This is the first step in establishing similar such partnerships across India to build the backward linkage for Wonder Grass building-requirements in the urban and rural markets across India. The partnership enables these two organisations to bring together respective strengths and develop a synergy which will translate into increase in the capacity to provide bamboo building services on-call and on-demand.

A team of 3 artisans (Amol, Sachin and Pravin) from Wonder Grass have initiated the works at the Node. We started with sizing and grading of some of the bamboo purchased last year, and then moved onto procurement of new bamboo lot. Amit is a coordinator of works on ground while Samir provides oversight to the operations.

Mr. Kanbargi (senior) is taking a keen interest in the works at the day-to-day operations at the node, he is personally looking after the establishment of the center and giving directions to the team on ground.

The Workshed is being revamped and infrastructure is being developed as and when required. First set of treatment chambers and tanks started operations in the first week. The treatment and seasoning operations are in full swing, we are carrying out seasoning of 75-100 bamboo poles per day.

On the other hand we are developing a network of vendors and suppliers for bamboo. We are also in discussions with the Dept. of Forests to see if we can source bamboo from them on a regular basis. Initial discussions with the officials have been very encouraging.

This region is experiencing flowering of bamboo for a year now, this a very serious concern in this area. Huge bamboo stocks are still standing in the forests and drying, this needs urgent attention.

Guesthouse Furniture ready for Move-in

2009-11-27T03:34:00.000-08:00

Ready for installation, our desk, and small coffee table are ready to installed into our Guesthouse ground floor, AKA design central. One of our carpenters made some great pieces using traditional wooden joinery, but adapted for bamboo. Realizing that bamboo is it's own element, it some weaknesses and strengths. But from pieces of furniture all the way up to guesthouses, the strengths can truly impress, while the weaknesses if not corrected, can truly terrify. So to say the least, we have some truly talented artisan working at our site currently. As of now we have several artisans working on the guesthouse, and experimental beams for out new housing prototype, and concurrently, we have several workers down in Bangalore installing bamboo panels. Here at Wondergrass, we have the constant task of managing several different projects of all types to all the different locations in India.

Final Phase of Construction

2009-11-25T20:53:00.001-08:00

Things are looking like our Guesthouse is in it's final stages, and getting ready for some occupants. We have the flooring nearing completion, and some our artisans are completing the roof as I type this.With so many things happening here at Wondergrass it seems like we are at the center of sustainable building movement. Yesterday we had first year architecture students from a new arch university in Nagpur, India visit us and look around at what we are doing. Some students were eagerly impressed, and others looked at us, and said, "My family has been living in bamboo/mud house for 65 years, there is nothing new here. The mix of housing elements that India currently has, gives us the task of introducing the new, but giving it new appeal towards mainstream construction standards. It is a weekely accurance that someone gets in contact with or us or visa versa and we make a new connection for out product to reach more people. We have realized that durability will sell our bamboo homes as much as anything, and cost comes secondary. With bamboo, there is no problem with tension holding, but compression a problem with bamboo natural flexibility is a task we are currently taking on. In the past we have set up some worth while testing on different composite beams. Several years ago we built a ground plus one story structure, and the beam we used was a closed web plywood insert truss. We tested it with at least 900lbs of concrete bags and it held with great strength.Using plywood for insert is structurally stable, however we are not happy with using plywood as it has a high embodied energy, as well as it cost. Over the years we have used different strength truss/beams for different uses. We are now working with bamboo open web trusses that mimic commercial open web trusses sold on the market. If this brings successful results, we will be using these trusses more often. There advantage is that they use less metal fasteners, and also create less time for construction. At wondergrass we always have to balance construction with a bit of artistic design. We have finished one of our mosaic tile patterns, and we are happy with the results. Since this space is going to be out HeadQuarters in Bamboo housing design the intent to make this place as pleasant as possible is necessary. Below is a picture of our roof tiling. We are using traditional tiles made by local craftsman. These "country" tiles are half round mud tiles, that can be made rather quickly, and are very cheap. Vicenta' is currently finishing up the last swath of tiles, and fortunately, if a rain comes, we will be prepared.

2009-11-21T22:29:00.001-08:00

Progress on the guesthouse is moving along. We have recently had some heavy rain in the region and construction was slowed, but things are looking good so far. The wattle and daub is working out well, we have decided to alternate the wattle from horizontal to vertical on some panels. We wanted to see the effectiveness of the way to which we put the wattle, and see how the daub holds up. Out method is applying mud directly on the wattle, and covering that with a layer of cow manure. This acts as a binder and harder coat on top of the mud. We have also started to lay down the tiling and mosaic for the
ground floor.

We have used large stone tiles for the majority of the ground floor, and for the remaining area, we designed some simple china mosaic patterns. This building has been a learning process for Wondergrass, and will in the future house the students of bamboo.

My illuminating experiences @ Peth

2009-11-21T04:56:00.000-08:00

The spirit of Independence was in the air when I reached site on the 14^th of August. The artisans and the whole team were busy with the preparation works. Mr.Motiram Ji the village head hoisted the flag on the 15^th morning keeping the tri-colored Indian flag high. The artisans sang and played the Harmonium and Tabla as a part of the celebrations.

When I had to move into the village, I was filled with fear as I knew absolutely nobody or the place as well. It was a great challenge to converse with everyone with the ‘GREAT HINDI” I knew. It was a difficult start though, as days passed by, I made myself comfortable working with the artisans and conversing with them.

Oh! Not to forget I had to teach them to speak in English which was one of the next greatest challenges for me .As I was never a great teacher. I had to find and incorporate newer ideas and prospects to teach them and make the classes interesting to a varied age group of people. The new ideas included playing dumb charades, pictionary, singing, etc. It was a great experience of learning and understanding the life of artisans from a very close quarter.

Dumb charades and Pictionary were so much fun as their way of interpreting things were so very different from the so called “civilized urban citizens”. So many such things made me realize that we make our simple life so very complicated and finally invent solutions to solve the problems we interweave.

The most expected “TUESDAYS – village market” was the day when everybody could freak out to have those hot jalebis, samosas and all the other village delicacies. This was a day of shopping too for the artisans and all the villagers.

The “Boating” @ a dam located nearby the village was a very fearful entertainment to say. It definitely was a very different experience to boat without any skilled boatmen or safety tubes/accessories or any organization that takes care off. Driving along with nature as it can be called.

Moving on to the most important aspect of my learning with the material directly was a great exposure and experience. As days moved along, I learnt to design a staircase, though it might not have proved to be a great success. Working with the material and the hand tools which the artisans themselves used were all a massive exercise. It was easier for me to perceive the bamboo construction techniques from the guest house that was being constructed during my stay there.

To end with, the villagers were very friendly and loving who would invite me to their homes to share their special native delicacies. The village life and the people around kept me occupied throughout the day.

Artisan team I worked with included:

* Amol, Sachin(byle, bomb wala and water tank), Vinay, Santhosh (chotta byle), Gajanand, Yohesh (Guruji), Praveen, Rajanna, Santhosh, Shankar, Surrendar (Style), Sunil and Vasantha Bhayya (caretaker).

Product and Joint R&D

2009-11-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

Since we have started working on a prototype for a rural housing unit that can adapt to users needs, we have been experimenting with new construction systems. Specifically, we are looking into joint connections for bamboo members that are strong, easy to make, and cost effective for mass production. This has made for a challenging task, but we have come up with some worth while ideas. above is a picture of a resin mold joint that can be used as a connector for 2+ bamboo members or truss joints. After using resin combined with cloth to secure half lap joints for bamboo beams, we wanted to see its capacity as a connector. The first trial was simple and easy to make. A simple box mold made from plywood housing the setting resin compound and inserted metal rods on all 6 sides. After setting, we removed the plywood and found that it was extremely hard, but concerns of brittleness came up after seeing how easy it was to chip. The applicability of this design is good for us and bamboo construction because it can be made on site or prefabricated, and has the ability to be molded in shape depending on structural needs.

We also started with rough materials such as paper, and cardboard to play around with ideas for how easy it would be to take a modular piece of steel, say a square or rectangle and mold or fit it to each connection fast and easy. We came up with an idea to use teeth in steel collars that could be hammered into bamboo and use that as a connection piece for joining members. The opportunities to also extend existing joints that WG has been using for several years to a higher efficiency is the next challenge.

Trials have also started looking at using traditional plumbing parts as possible connections for small scale structures, and or buildings. However, bamboo is irregular and never consistent in shape so the practicality of using same size parts is hard.

Progress on our guesthouse is coming along and the installation of the new bamboo staircase is at hand. We have designed a small four stair staircase as a prototype to see how well it could work, and we are happy with the results. We looked at the traditional floor open air truss and thought that maybe we could extend the members acting diagonally to form the treads and risers. It is a bit rustic looking, but has a nice simplistic character. Once we have completed the full flight of stairs we will post them ASAP.

Additionally, we have thought about the windows in the guesthouse and how they might incorporate bamboo features in a new way. For one opening we have threaded together bamboo rings cut in 2 inch segments, and lined them parallel with the frame. It adds a nice touch to a bamboo building, without seeming to commercial. The only problem was the securing of the pieces. They were not steady, and we had to design a material that could hold them in place, even in a harsh rain.

We realized that resin could act as a stabilizer and secure the bamboo pieces in place for a window opening of roughly 8 inches by 11 inches. Problems occurred due to the mixtures of resin and hardener, but we have faith in it's success after seeing the resin mold for the structural joint. The positive attributes of each material is the adaptability to many profiles can be accomplished. We still hope to use a resin compound, but one that more eco-firendly.

Guesthouse construction update

2009-11-07T00:39:00.000-08:00

The guesthouse is coming along strongly with wall panels coming up with several varieties and choice for flooring are coming in. We have tried using artistic features on the mud paneling system by using imprints of leaves and organic material. We have also constructed the rafters and truss systems for the 1st floor of the guesthouse. While the ground floor will be an area for visiting professionals and designers to work and design more bamboo structures.

We are concurrently working on surveying several village including Peth on housing needs, priorities, and housing brackets that Wondergrass could invest in. While the results are coming in, there is some very
valuable information concerning the needs and wants of rural families in central India. The value of this survey will tell us the current perception of people's opinion as bamboo for a building material. It will also tell us the role of a families income, size, and wants into our rural housing prototype home.

For the guesthouse, we have been using several different types of paneling systems that are good for bamboo. The traditional lathe and plaster or wattle and dab is being used for the ground and first floor walls. We are also trying out imprinting natural patterns seen in nature on the mud walls, as well as using bamboo sections as window patterns.

We are trying to use local materials while still appearing attractive to a possible user. The adaptability of mud and plaster for bamboo buildings or other, is the ease of application and use on any surface.

These materials also offer the choice of user to choose what design, thicknesses, and or smooth surfaces they would like on their walls. SImilar to bamboo, these materials give users more control over the appearance of their homes compared to main-stream construction methods.
The schedule of the completion of the guesthouse will be in seven days or less, and one of our interns will be moving on on the 1st floor. While the ground floor will be a place for current designers to have a place to coordinate, design, and innovate bamboo projects.

Building Capacity

2009-09-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

The Fabrication Unit at Peth:
With increase in demand for the building services and solutions provided by Wonder Grass, we decided to expand our infrastructure that will build our supply-capacity.

A new building-unit of approximately 1000 Sq.ft (18 feet X 52 feet), has been built and brought in operation from last month.

A simple building taking off from the building system devised in-house. The Materials used are conventional brick-mortar construction for foundation, Bamboo for superstructure (columns, beams, trusses, purlings etc), and corrugated GI Sheets.

The Process:
Developing sketch layout and scaled-model.
The master artisan Neelam Shankar played a key role in working on the scale-model for the new fabrication-unit. He worked on models and the building type.

In this building we have experimented with a T-type of roof junction. This is a difficult roof-type to achieve, where roof-forms from two different (X and Y axic) direction are joined.

Ramesh, Shankar and Vasantha, artisan group worked together to solve the junction, and at the end they have managed to come out with a good roofing-junction.

Innovation and Design Center

The processing-node at Peth, near Nagpur is expanding its capacity for supply and erection of bamboo based building systems.

We have added a 1000 Sft fabrication-workshop, Innovation-Design center and a guest-house for the visiting professionals to stay and work at the Peth center.

The Innovatio-Design center is essentially G+1 building, which is roughly 250 Sq.ft carpet area. The ground floor is to be used as Innovation and Design center while the first-floor to be used as a guest-room for visiting professionals.

This building also becomes our Pilot-test unit for a G+1 type of building construction. The Building is coming along really well.

Independence Day celebration at Wonder Grass, Peth

2009-09-20T01:50:00.000-07:00

The artisan group, along with the other members of Wonder Grass came together to celebrate the independence day on 15th August, 2009. The mood at the center was upbeat, everyone joined hands in cleaning and face-lifting of the place on 14th August.

The team of artisans was happy to have with them by Dr. Harish and Gangothri who recently joined Wonder Grass to look after marketing and design functions, respectively. Both Dr. Harish and Gangothri participated in the whole program and made it an enriching experience for all.

The flag hoisting was carried out under the auspices of Shri. Motiramaji, a master-potter who stays and works in village Peth. Motiram ji has been a guiding force for our center at Peth. Under his watchful eyes and affectionate care, the unit at Peth is being nurtured to evolve into a team with values.

The flag hoisting function was followed by a session of ‘Bhajan’ recitals by some of the artisans themselves. Bhajans by Tukdoji maharaj and a poem ‘Itni Shakti Hame Dena Data’ helped permeate the atmosphere with a very serene note.

The Volleyball match was organized between team from youths of the village and Wonder Grass team. Wonder Grass team lost out to the youth group from the village who was better in terms of sports-skills, but Wonder Grass team gave a good fight because of a good tea spirit.

The winning team walked away with the prize of T-Shirts from Wonder Grass.

Bamboo Structure in Cisco Campus at Bangalore

2009-06-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

Structure at Cisco:

A complete building unit of 12'-6" X 22'-6" provided and erected in the span of 12 days at the Cisco Campus, Bangalore.

The opportunity to erect a finished bamboo structure using the prefab building systems developed inhouse at Wonder Grass in a relatively short span of time, was a challenge we at Wonder Grass decided to take on.

The project provided us with the opportunity to test the ability of our system to provide the built-solution to the best quality standard requirements of a corporate client like Cisco and to provide it in span of mere 12 days.

We initiated the project on 10th of may. The material reached the site on 15th May and the work was completed by 24th May.

The Features:

It is a combination of structural components made from a whole bamboo and infill wall panels made from Bamboo-Mat board. The Wall-panels are chiefly composed of 60mm Bamboo-EPS panel developed at Composite Technology Development Center, Bangalore.

The building-unit takes further our learning's of the application of modular building system using bamboo. It brings together the walling and structural applications composed primarily of bamboo-based materials. This is a particularly applicable in high end building demands like in Resort-cottages, weekend retreats etc.

Bamboo Screen at Mr. Vikram Reddy's Residence at Bangalore

2009-06-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Screen:

A Bamboo screen on the lines of what we started of with at Anand Niketan School, Ahmedabad has been erected at the residence for Mr. Vikram Reddy, near HAL airport, Bangalore.

The modular bamboo-panels are made from whole bamboo. The bamboo used is about 1.5" in Diameter and is treated and seasoned with standard treatment method. The Screens are coated with CNSL (Cashew Nut Shell Liquid) for weather resistance.

The screen at the back is almost 100 feet long and about 12 feet high. The screen wall against the backdrop of the vegetation looks interesting and sits well in the surrounding.

The features:

The screen has 3 feet X 6 feet standard panels made of whole bamboo, which are then put together on the bamboo columns placed at equal intervals.

Details:

The Bamboo Screens are available in two different sizes. 3' X 6' and 2'-6" X 8'-0"

The screens are aestheticaly pleasant, environment friendly and easy to install.

A Terrace-top Structure for Ms. Gayatri, Bangalore

2009-04-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

Following our learnings and understanding of modular built-solution for terrace-top structures, semi-open structures, we are now working on the project for Ms. Gayatri.

The structure is part of the pent-house owned by Ms. Gayatri, at Jainagar, Bangalore. It is her firm belief and conviction about sustainable building systems that has driven Gayatri to go for Bamboo-based building solution even though economicaly it works out slighly more that conventional structures.

The whole project proceeded really fast, we are already on the execution mode. A team of artisans would be starting the work on site from Wednesday, 29th April.

A Bamboo-Screen for Mr. Vikram Reddy's Residence

2009-04-28T01:40:00.000-07:00

A Bamboo-screen on the lines of what we did at Anand-Niketa school at Ahmedabad, is been proposed at the upcoming residence for Mr. Vikram Reddy, Bangalore.

Bamboo-screen will be almost 12 feet high and 120 feet long. The primary objective is to provide a visual barrier beteen neighbouring houses.
A standard panel 3' X 6' is a base unit which is fixed onto the bamboo-lattice columns placed at intervals.

The bamboo-screen forms a contineous feature along the exterior boundary of the house, appearing at places, in different sizes, but similar pattern.

A Bamboo Screen

2009-03-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

Bamboo is a material with versatile applications in the construction industry.

When it comes to Construction - applications in urban context, we have been exploring verity of solutions and products to address some of the periphereal needs of an urban-user, be it an indivudual, an institutions or a corporate house.

Bamboo-Screen:

Indian subcontinent is largely exposed to high temperatures in summers, from April to June, at some places like ahmedabad mercury touching 45'C. Urban buildings, now predominantly RCC-Steel-Cement-Aluco Bond, absorb large quantities f heat and inturn rediate it inside or to the surroundings.

Bamboo-screens can provide an excellent shade, giving a beatful aesthetic appeal and providing natural ventilation to the building. Bamboo screens from Wonder Grass come as a modular panels with simple joinery methods for on-site installations and assembly.

Bamboo-screens for Anand Niketan School at Ahmedabad.

Bamboo Screen at Bangalore:

If you are looking for Screens, fencing and other similar applications, do contact us and we can provide you the solution you are looking for.

Residance for Mr. Sanjay Jayaram

2009-02-20T00:53:00.000-08:00

The Residence for Sanjay, is now nearing completion. The beauty and character of the built-form has lot to do with the setting and its surrounding, rather than anything exceptional about the building itself. The best part of the buiilding i beleive is that it has been able to gel well with the site, and provide some amazing views.

All credit to Sanjay's perseverance and his faith in implementing bamboo-based building systems. All through the project, his support and help has helped us see through the project.
Appropriately, after bamboo-house Sanjay has now started work on Eco-San as sanitation unit near this house.

This house is in a way a pilot for the 'Rural housing model' that we have in mind. Implementation on site helped us understand and realize some design-shortfalls, junction-problems etc. We are committed to improving, refining and fine-tuning the system as we keep building with bamboo.

Terrace-Top Structure at HSR Layout

2009-01-27T01:30:00.000-08:00

The installation and erection of Terrace-top structure at HSR Layout was completed on Friday, 23rd January.

The overall construction has come out really well. Herewith we post some of the images of the completed structure for those who would be interested in the works at Wonder Grass.

The Succesful installation of the structure at HSR layout has demonstrated the efficacy and effectiveness of the modular building system we have developed specially for such applications in Urban areas like Bangalore.

Some systems were improvised and some devised to address some site-specific demands of the structure.

We devised a very interesting panel-system for laying Mangalore-Pattern tiles above bamboo structure. A Panel of the size of 5' X 6' made from woodan-battens is manufactured on ground and then laid above the roofing understructure, it standardizes the process and brings in efficiency.

The structure is generating a lot of curiosity and enthusiasm in the nearby vicinity.

House for Mr. Sanjay Jairam

2009-01-19T01:48:00.000-08:00

We recently completed a small housing unit for Mr. Sanjay Jairam on his farm on Magadi road. The farm is about 35 kms from Bangalore on Bangalore - Magadi Road.

We built 2 structures, one is 15' X 20', which is used primarily for living quarter and a smaller structure 14' X 9', to be used as sit-out and open kitchen.

Here we have experimented with our Prefab building system for Standard Dwelling unit for Rural applications, 12' X 27'. The structure uses a standard conventional Plinth (using Stone and Mortar), Bamboo structure, Modular bamboo panels, and Bamboo Mat corrugated sheets as roof.

The bamboo wall panels are plastered with Mud and Cement.
The structure has come out to our satisfaction, it looks very interesting, well proportioned and has a pleasing aesthetics.

There are few details that needs our immediate attention and concern. There are some corner junctions, the junction between roof and wall, the gable-end opening needs to be designed better.

Our client, Mr. Sanjay and Aparna were very cooperative, they have been helpful and helping us in logistics, support on-site etc. The site or location of the project is breathtaking. we had amazing experience of staying and working there.

Post-Flood Rehabilitation and Wonder Grass

2008-12-29T23:14:00.000-08:00

Kosi region in the Northern-Bihar faced a severe flood disaster in 2007. As many as 1 million families were displaced, divastation followed.

Massive relief operation carried out by the Govt. of Bihar in partnership with various government and non-government agencies is considered a milestone in handling relief operations on such a huge scale.

The relief is followed by Rehabilitation. The rehabilitation process in the aftermath of a disaster is long-drawn and painstaking process.

In the Floods, it is estimated that as many as 0.35 million housing units are damaged and need reconstruction. Building these many houses in the span of next 2-3 years is a staggering challenge for the state-government, for institutions involved and more so for the people for whom the houses are to be built.

A workshop 'Owner-driven Rehabilitation' was organized by Government of Bihar in partnership with ODR Collective, a group of individuals and institutions who work extensively for Disaster-rehabilitation. The focus of the workshop was to explore systems, strategies and mechanisms that would eventually ensure a rehabilitation process that would provide for shelter and livelihood opportunity to a large section of society.

Wonder Grass initiative was invited to participate in the workshop and provide inputs and suggestions on the subject.

Mr. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister for Bihar, who has shown some considerable leadership in executing efficient relief operation, is now taking a next logical step for initiating a Rehabilitation program on the massive scale.

His presence and direct interest in the proceedings of the workshop was crucial in setting the pace and focus of the workshop.

DUring his inaugral address he touched upon a very important factor of rehabilitation, that is of the Building-material resource, and Bamboo as one of the key-building material resource when it comes to Kosi region.

Bamboo is naturally available in the region, and there is a long tradition of building bamboo houses in the region. The skills are available aplenty and Material is available in abundance. What probably needed is a political will combined with sustained institutional effort to implement bamboo based housing systems on large scale.

Wonder Grass initiative was represented by Vaibhav Kaley.

As one of the few action points, it is discussed that we need to build some technology demonstration structures using bamboo as primary building system, and then take this technology to the people at large.

Terrace-Top Structure for Mango Technologies, Bangalore

2008-12-25T02:04:00.000-08:00

Terrace-top structure:
The structure is 16'-0" X 35'-0",
it is a semi-open structure designed as an informal and relaxation space for corporate office of Mango Technologies, Bangalore.

The structural system is based on a modular standardized format that we have developed at Wonder Grass. All the basic building components like Columns, Trusses, beams and Purlions were brought to the site prefabricated and in knocked-down form.

The truss assembled on site and erected as per the structural-grid requirement of site.