The genesis of Wallmakers is one where defeat was met with resilience. Inspired by greats like Laurie Baker and his exposure at Auroville, architect Vinu Daniel set out to create a niche practice that would focus on sustainable mud architecture. He drafted a unique design and recruited manpower to build his first project, but the client changed his mind at the last minute, instead asking him to build only the compound wall.
That first hands-on experience in 2007, humbly making bricks, not only gave his practice the name Wallmakers but also charted a new journey of discovery of materials and the joy of offering in-house expertise in executing a project. “While the work and construction of a building results in the production of a lot of scrap, we believe in not being deterred by this demon, but instead have learnt to build with it,” says the principal architect.
Soon in 2008, he won an award for a low cost, eco-friendly house from the ‘Save Periyar’ Pollution Control Committee for the house constructed for a cancer patient. The “wallmaker” began to find widespread acceptance for his work: being featured in Rahul Mehrotra’s ‘Architecture in India’, winning the Kochi-Muziris Biennale Pavilion and building the largest Conoid ever built using ferrocrete; IIA National award; Commendation Prize of HUDCO DESIGN AWARDS; and the enviable International Sustainability Award 2018.
Each milestone has strengthened his initial resolve of devoting his energies to sustainable and cost-effective architecture – manifested as a robust design and delivery approach with an openness to experiment with new techniques and materials with his team of professionals and skilled craftspersons.