Building Communities.

Building Communities.

Optimized Roof Tile Design and Production Facility for Islamnagar Village

Optimized Roof Tile Design and Production Facility for Islamnagar Village

Overview.

Overview.

TEAM

Team of 25 members

TOOLS

AutoCAD, SketchUp, Photoshop CC

TIMELINE

Nov 2019

LOCATION

Islamnagar Village, Bhopal

AWARDS

Shortlisted Top 60 (National)

Reviving the forgotten traditions, learning from past mistakes, perceiving habitats differently, and embarking on an introspective future by blending together modernity with tradition. This is the essence of the design concept. Reviving the forgotten traditions, we try to embark on a future where habitat is perceived not as a finished product, but as a process from which its inhabitants can benefit economically and socially.

JUMP TO TRANSFERABLE SKILLS TO HCI

The Site.

The Site.

ISLAMNAGAR, BHOPAL

The fortified city of Islamnagar, originally called Jagdishpura, is a panchayat-governed region in the Huzur tehsil of the Bhopal district of Madhya Pradesh. Hitherto it was the capital of the Bhopal princely state. Linked to Bhopal by a state highway, the village is approximately 11 kilometers away from it.

The village has a population of 3638 people residing in 724 households.

To understand the site and its context more, we conducted structured surveys of 100 households asking questions about housing conditions, qualifications, and occupations.


HOUSING CONDITION

The village houses feature roofs made of locally crafted desi or factory-made angrezi kavelu clay tiles.

The village comprises of two types of houses: kutcha and pakka. The kutcha houses are one storied with walls of mud, stone and mud or brick and mud. The roofing material for kutcha houses is mainly desi or angrezi kavelu (locally made or factory-made clay tiles). The windows, if present, are either made of wood or metal. The pakka houses are made of brick and concrete walls with RCC roofs.

Most of the dwellings had toilets, either attached or at some distance. There was electricity supply in every house powering lightbulbs, fans and in some cases, coolers and TV.

MANCHKUTA - THE VILLAGE SECTION

SOCIAL PRODUCTION PROCESSES OF THE VILLAGE

The Kavelu Making Process

The Kavelu Making Process

Before the rapid urbanization, the villagers fabricated the roofs of their kutcha houses together as a community using locally available material. Rice husk, cowdung and water were added to locally available mud and then flattened out to give the shape of Desi Kavelu. The process, mainly involving women was a non-lucrative social production process.

Before the rapid urbanization, the villagers fabricated the roofs of their kutcha houses together as a community using locally available material. Rice husk, cowdung and water were added to locally available mud and then flattened out to give the shape of Desi Kavelu. The process, mainly involving women was a non-lucrative social production process.

The Brick Making Process

The Kumhaar community is involved in the brick making process which generates employment for them and housing solutions for the village. The process involves 8 months of labour and no work is done during the monsoon season. The bricks are sun-dried and then burnt in traditional kilns to make the brick firm.

ELEMENTS OF THE SOCIAL PRODUCTION PROCESSES

Mud

It forms an essential component of Kavelu and brick manufacturing mud having appropriate clay content is bought from nearby areas or procured locally.

Rice Husk

Addition of rice husk in the mud mixture and increases water absorption compressive strength of mud and helps in binding the bricks.

Cow Dung

Cowdung is used in the traditional kilns as a potent organic fuel. Alternative layers of brick and cowdung cake are burnt in kilns.

Coal and Ash

Coal is the conventional kiln fuel, important to keep the furnace stimulated throughout the process. After the process, pulverized fuel ash appears as the combustion product.

Kavelu Skill

A number of people possess the requisite finesse in Kavelu manufacturing.

The Problem.

The Problem.

THE KAVELU PROBLEM

Although the new factory-produced tiles (Angrezi Kabelu) manage to solve the issues of leakage, breakage and moss formation posed by locally-produced tiles (Desi Kabelu), they are expensive and have rendered the women of the vilage jobless. The import of foreign tiles has also hampered the traditional village economy.

WHY SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?

Design Solution.

Design Solution.

HALF PILLAR TAILOR TILES

Changes are made in the old kavelu design to solve problems of water leakage moss and breakage.

A semi-circular interlocking system is added to the conventional Mangalore tile design for higher interlocking and lesser leakage during rainfall. The addition of grooves on consecutive sides help in upward and sideward interlocking. These types of tiles are called Half Pillar Tailor tiles and are prevalent in Gujarat.

Small sizes require a greater number of blocks per cubic metre than larger ones, so the overall effort needed to produce small blocks is greater than that of making larger ones.


Thus, the size chosen is 16" * 10".

AN IMPROVISED KAVELU

Rice husk ash when added to the conventional Kavelu tiles replaced the space in the product, decreasing the density and the compressive strength of the desi kavelu. Thus, the conventional rice husk is replaced by rice husk ash. The ideal amount of rice husk ash by weight is found to be 2 percent.

Rice husk is locally available in the village and is a by-product of rice mills located at Gunj section of Islamnagar. The moss can be prevented by applying a coat of water-proof adhesive diluted with water in the ratio of 3:7 on the terracotta tiles.

HOUSE ROOFING MODELS

THE KAVELU PRESSING MACHINE

A pressing machine is designed for the easy and fast manufacturing of kaVelu. The prepared clay is first flattened out using a simple rectangular steel mould and then added in the mould base slate. The mould base slate is taken to the sun-drying area after the shaping and gently removed. Coal ash is used as the releasing agent.

THE KAVELU FACTORY

The optimization of Kavelu to revive it as a social production process could have various economic, social and enviornmental benefits, such as:

Social

Social

  1. Roofing Solution: The programme aims to improve the roofing section of the village.

  2. Co-operative values: Eliminating the middlemen in the industry, will indulge the workers in decision making processes thus imparting values of self-responsibility.

  3. Social Cohesion: The programme also focuses to improve social cohesion among the villagers.

  1. Roofing Solution: The programme aims to improve the roofing section of the village.

  2. Co-operative values: Eliminating the middlemen in the industry, will indulge the workers in decision making processes thus imparting values of self-responsibility.

  3. Social Cohesion: The programme also focuses to improve social cohesion among the villagers.

  1. Roofing Solution: The programme aims to improve the roofing section of the village.

  2. Co-operative values: Eliminating the middlemen in the industry, will indulge the workers in decision making processes thus imparting values of self-responsibility.

  3. Social Cohesion: The programme also focuses to improve social cohesion among the villagers.

Enviornmental

Enviornmental

  1. Embodied energy: Embodied energy of clay roof tiles is half of the cemented roofs.

  2. Durability: The tiles are durable and have a long-life expectancy of around 50-70 years.

  3. Material efficiency: Clay tile systems use one of the world's best insulators.

  4. Reusability: Reusing crushed broken bricks (as brick mortar), rice husk and cow dung helps reduce waste generation.

  1. Embodied energy: Embodied energy of clay roof tiles is half of the cemented roofs.

  2. Durability: The tiles are durable and have a long-life expectancy of around 50-70 years.

  3. Material efficiency: Clay tile systems use one of the world's best insulators.

  4. Reusability: Reusing crushed broken bricks (as brick mortar), rice husk and cow dung helps reduce waste generation.

  1. Embodied energy: Embodied energy of clay roof tiles is half of the cemented roofs.

  2. Durability: The tiles are durable and have a long-life expectancy of around 50-70 years.

  3. Material efficiency: Clay tile systems use one of the world's best insulators.

  4. Reusability: Reusing crushed broken bricks (as brick mortar), rice husk and cow dung helps reduce waste generation.

Economic

Economic

  1. Reduced cost of one Kavelu: The new proposed kavelu costs Rs 8.2 cheaper than one foreign kavelu.

  2. Women Employment: 50% of seats for women will ensure their involvement in money-matters.

  3. Increased Inter-Economy: As the villagers realize the cost-effectiveness and durability of the new kavelu, they will start replacing foreign kavelu to the it. This will enhance rural economy.

  1. Reduced cost of one Kavelu: The new proposed kavelu costs Rs 8.2 cheaper than one foreign kavelu.

  2. Women Employment: 50% of seats for women will ensure their involvement in money-matters.

  3. Increased Inter-Economy: As the villagers realize the cost-effectiveness and durability of the new kavelu, they will start replacing foreign kavelu to the it. This will enhance rural economy.

  1. Reduced cost of one Kavelu: The new proposed kavelu costs Rs 8.2 cheaper than one foreign kavelu.

  2. Women Employment: 50% of seats for women will ensure their involvement in money-matters.

  3. Increased Inter-Economy: As the villagers realize the cost-effectiveness and durability of the new kavelu, they will start replacing foreign kavelu to the it. This will enhance rural economy.

Transferable Skills to HCI.

My project focused on optimizing local clay roof tiles in Islamnagar, a village in Central India, to revive it as a social production process. This involved analyzing user needs, designing sustainable solutions, and developing an economic model—all of which align closely with human-centered design in UX research and HCI.

My project focused on optimizing local clay roof tiles in Islamnagar, a village in Central India, to revive it as a social production process. This involved analyzing user needs, designing sustainable solutions, and developing an economic model—all of which align closely with human-centered design in UX research and HCI.

  1. Ethnographic Research → UX Research


To understand the needs of the villagers, I conducted field surveys, interviews, and ethnographic research. This mirrors UX research methodologies, where these methods help designers craft solutions tailored to user needs.

  1. Ethnographic Research → UX Research


To understand the needs of the villagers, I conducted field surveys, interviews, and ethnographic research. This mirrors UX research methodologies, where these methods help designers craft solutions tailored to user needs.

  1. Problem Identification & Systems Thinking → UX Design Thinking


The project tackled the dual challenge of expensive foreign tiles and the decline of local craftsmanship. By systematically analyzing pain points and proposing an iterative solution, I developed an approach similar to UX design thinking, where research-driven insights drive iterative prototyping and problem-solving.

  1. Problem Identification & Systems Thinking → UX Design Thinking


The project tackled the dual challenge of expensive foreign tiles and the decline of local craftsmanship. By systematically analyzing pain points and proposing an iterative solution, I developed an approach similar to UX design thinking, where research-driven insights drive iterative prototyping and problem-solving.

  1. Data Collection & Analysis → UX Behavioral Analysis


Conducting surveys with 100 families, assessing material efficiency, and evaluating economic feasibility required deep data interpretation and behavioral analysis. These skills translate directly to HCI, where analyzing user interactions and engagement patternshelp optimize product design.

  1. Data Collection & Analysis → UX Behavioral Analysis


Conducting surveys with 100 families, assessing material efficiency, and evaluating economic feasibility required deep data interpretation and behavioral analysis. These skills translate directly to HCI, where analyzing user interactions and engagement patternshelp optimize product design.

Overview

The Site

Problem

Design Solution

Transferable

Skills

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