The Lodsi Community Project for Forest Essentials
Noughts and Crosses

The Lodsi Community Project for Forest essentials

Morphogenesis. als Architekten

The Lodsi Community Project is nestled in the Himalayan foothills, near Rishikesh, India. The area lacks basic infrastructure such as electrification, water, roads, etc. Most of this community migrates to cities for employment.

photo_credit Noughts and Crosses
Noughts and Crosses

This project finished in the pandemic and has created a model of decentralised Industrialisation and an off grid sustainable project, that is net-zero on energy, water, and waste.This manufacturing facility provides employment to the local community. They walk to work and were spared dislocation and “catastrophic reverse migration”.

photo_credit Noughts and Crosses
Noughts and Crosses

We used local materials and construction techniques and improvised these so that the “un-skilled hill people” could build it, much as they build their own homes. The built-form draws inspiration from the traditional Garhwali ‘kholi’ (house). A rectilinear volume oriented along the East-West axis has been planned with a central entry that divides the facility into two parts.

photo_credit Noughts and Crosses
Noughts and Crosses

Functions that require a cooler environment such as herb grinding, packaging, and storage are located on the upper floor, whereas preparatory functions such as oil extraction with other high-internal heat-gain processes are on the lower floor. The North-South oriented butterfly roof form allows large openable windows that allow the prevailing North-East and South-East winds for ventilation, with 80% naturally day-lit spaces and unobstructed views of the valley. The high-volume of space with operable clerestory windows enforces Bernoulli’s principle and moderates indoor temperatures. A central light-well forms a Multi-purposecommunal space.

photo_credit Noughts and Crosses
Noughts and Crosses

This also doubles over as mother and child wellness camps and for students post school.Passive design strategies and indigenous construction techniques resulted in a strong architectural expression, one that contextually blends in and builds community pride. Façade shading, window-to-wall ratio and building materials were optimised to ensure a high-thermal mass façade resulting in an energy-efficient building envelope with an EPI of 38kWh/m2/year. A solar roof generating 55kWp offsets the facility’s requirements and generates surplus to supply back to the grid, hence ‘Energy+’.

photo_credit Noughts and Crosses
Noughts and Crosses

A site-specific rainwater collection, storage tank and treatment system, an effluent treatment plant offsets the water requirements. Waste-materials at site have been repurposed and used, e.g., reclaimed wooden rafter as light fixtures, waste purlin sections as tube light holders, stone chisels as door handles, re-bar as washbasin pedestal, and others. Any organic by-product is reused or composted. This project is net-zero on energy, water, and waste.

Caption

The planning incorporated the existing ‘gaushala’(Cow Shed) for production of milk-based products. 65 villagers built the project, the building supports 45% of the village households directly and the entire village indirectly. The use of vernacular materials, techniques, and village labour forms the ethos of the facility, making it “A Project for the locals, built by the locals and for the employment of the locals.”

Caption

The Lodsi Community Project addresses socio-cultural and economical sustainability. It is an example for decentralised development in the post-pandemic world. This project stayed functional through most of the pandemic, and we believe this is the exemplar for future growth across India.

Caption

Material Used:

1. Facade cladding- Local stone

2. Flooring- Tiles, Concrete Paver Blocks

3. Doors- Local Wood

4. Windows- Metal

5. Roofing- Metal Roof

6. Interior lighting- Repurposed Metal & Wood sections

7. Interior furniture- Repurposed Wooden Logs

Project Spotlight
Product Spotlight
Nachrichten
Archello houses of the month - January 2025
6 Feb. 2025 Nachrichten
Archello Häuser des Monats - Januar 2025

Archello hat seine Häuser des Monats für Januar 2025 ausgewählt. In dieser Liste werd... Mehr

Polish Embassy in Berlin by JEMS Architekci is a “testament to architectural diplomacy”
6 Feb. 2025 Nachrichten
Die polnische Botschaft in Berlin von JEMS Architekci ist ein "Zeugnis der Architekturdiplomatie".

Am 17. Januar 2025 wurde die neue polnische Botschaft in Berlin, ein Projekt mit dreizehnjährig... Mehr

Ika.architekti builds fun and functional DIY sauna in Brno
3 Feb. 2025 Nachrichten
Ika.architekti baut eine lustige und funktionelle DIY-Sauna in Brünn

Das Brünner Büro ika .architekti hat eine Upcycling-Sauna aus einer Reihe von alten Materi... Mehr

HGAA expands restaurant in Bãi Cháy with a building that embraces nature
29 Jan. 2025 Nachrichten
Die HGAA erweitert ihr Restaurant in Bãi Cháy mit einem Gebäude, das die Natur einbezieht

Das vietnamesische Architekturbüro HGAA wurde von Archello in die Liste der 25 besten Architekt... Mehr

Mole Architects elevates “mundane” 1960s English bungalow with new extension
29 Jan. 2025 Nachrichten
Mole Architects wertet "banalen" englischen Bungalow aus den 1960er Jahren mit neuem Anbau auf

Das in Cambridge ansässige Architekturbüro Mole Architects hat den Umbau und die Erweiteru... Mehr

New Samuel Paty School in Béziers plays with materiality
22 Jan. 2025 Nachrichten
Die neue Samuel-Paty-Schule in Béziers spielt mit der Materialität

Das Pariser Atelier O-S architectes (Vincent Baur, Guillaume Colboc und Gaël Le Nouëne) ha... Mehr