WINNER OF HUDCO DESIGN AWARDS - 2024
The Housing and Urban Development Corporation - HUDCO, National Design Award in the category of Cost Effective Rural / Urban Housing Deploying Innovative / Emerging & Disaster Resistant Technology was won by Architect N.S. Abhayakumar, for Project Bhoomika, a flood-relief housing initiative built in Cheruthana village of Alappuzha district.
HUDCO DESIGN AWARDS 2023-24 - TROPHY
HUDCO is a Navratna Public sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs, Government of India.
The first HUDCO Design Awards competition was launched on World Habitat Day 2012
The prime objective of the Award is to encourage and appreciate the creative and innovative thinking put in by the professionals to make Indian cities sustainable and more livable.
HUDCO DESIGN AWARDS 2023-24 - CERTIFICATE
Project Bhoomika’s design scheme is based on cost-effective, disaster-resistant technology for those who lost their houses in the 2018 flood
Abhayakumar received the award from Shri Sanjay Kulshrestha, Chairman & Managing Director, HUDCO at their 54th Foundations Day celebrations of HUDCO, a Miniratna PSU, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre. The award selected by an eminent jury of professionals includes a trophy and certificate.
The highlight of this design is the inclusion of beneficiaries in the design process. The construction program is a mix of precast elements for the foundation and prefab using Galvanised pipes and Ferro cement technology for the superstructure which minimises the site works, which usually is the reason for the higher cost of construction in Kerala. The cost for construction of the 450 sqft two-bedroom houses, erected on nine pillars of 1-metre height each, was kept at below Rs.6Lakhs each.
“Cheruthana experiences flooding at least three times a year during the monsoons. Considering the topography of the region which is surrounded by water with limited road access, the houses were conceived in such a way that the different parts, such as the well rings, pillars and wall panels could be pre-fabricated and transported by boat and then erected at site. It is hoped that this model can be replicated by local bodies in other flood-prone areas,” said Abhayakumar.
Please visit Project Bhoomika - Blog for more details and pictures of the project