Plaster art technique for Pune experimentation
Pune-based Chronicles of Mud has designed the Jhopdi, which was to experiment with natural building practices, using local materials, reduced transportation, biodegradable ingredients and sustainable practices, while building a house.
Approximately 35 sacks of sand were used for custom-made plaster, with 20 sacks of lime brought in from Mumbai. The structure was made of natural material; the waterproof roof was achieved with recycled PVC sheets that were previously used as canopies for the nurseries and greenhouses in the region. The cob was made out of local soil dug out of a mound adjacent to the kitchen, while the straw used as fiber was cut from the surroundings and used in the mixture.
Deadwood was used in the reciprocal-style kitchen roof that lines the boundary of the property. The karvi is an indigenous reed widely used by the tribal communities in Maharashtra to make reed lattice, which was plastered to make the ceilings of the structure.
Locally-found stone and boulders make up the foundation. Plaster gives a neat finish to the cob structure, with customized natural plasters made with suitable ingredients submerged in water and left to ferment for two weeks. Fermentation breaks down the straw fibers present in the plaster mix to produce viscid enzymes that bond the plaster to their substrates, ending with aged plaster applied using plaster trowels or by hand.
The plaster art technique called Sgraffito, which entails multiple layers of plaster in a particular sequence to create murals and other decorative reliefs, was used. Manually-extracted natural pigments from plants and minerals added an earthen feel to the site, made from materials that were crushed, hand-ground and mixed with a carrier medium to obtain high-quality paint. A wood-fired oven and grill sculpted out of locally-produced clay soil lie near the outdoor cob kitchen, and clay and lime-based plaster, composed of site soil, render a rustic vibe. Motifs with plaster finishes and natural surfaces brighten up the mud kitchen, complete with a seating area for 12.
