Vinu Daniel on transforming mud and waste into architecture

AJ Climate Champions

Episode 51. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman and Joe Jack Williams.

Daniel views mud and waste as opportunities, not obstacles. He advocates an approach of ‘maximum optimism’, explaining that mud and waste enhance his designs. ‘I follow the materials; they do not follow me,’ he says.

Sourcing materials primarily from within five miles of a site, Daniel describes how mud and waste can be transformed into beautiful buildings. But this was not the case from the outset. Daniel first incorporated waste bottles into an early project because the budget ran out before the windows had been purchased. He then realised that a new aesthetic had emerged from this approach.

Daniel argues that architects need to be on site, not in the office, in order to observe their surroundings. ‘Open your eyes. Be out there!’ he advises. Architecture is not a white collar job; it’s about going to site, according to Daniel. ‘Today architects are not able to see because we are simply oblivious to what is happening around us. This way of practice has to change,’ he insists.

Daniel’s ambition is to bring earth construction to the mainstream and he is not opposed to adding small amounts of cement to his earth mixes to increase structural strength. ‘We need to enter commercial construction. If that means using a bit more steel or cement than the purest form of mud architecture, I’m open to it,’ he says.

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