The Whirlpool Ceiling of This Tamil Nadu Home is Made Up Of 4000 Discarded Plastic Bottles | Chuzhi | Wallmakers

Vinu Daniel- an architect who is known for creating extraordinary buildings with waste materials and earth, has recently finished up an exceptionally unique project in Tamil Nadu with the help of his creative design team at Wallmakers. Dubbed 'Chuzhi'- a Malayalam word for "whirlpool", this project underscores swirls of precast poured debris earth composite bottle beams, fashioned from 4000 discarded plastic bottles designed around the three large Tamarind trees on site. The team has shared more about the project with SURFACES REPORTER (SR). Read on:

The unique spiralling home is situated in odd sites that had been deemed ‘unsuitable’ for construction.

"The idea was to make a subterranean home that would originate from the rock bed, forming multiple whirls around the tree and adjoining to create a secure private space below for the residents and a space around the trees above that ensures that the thick vegetation and ecosystem continues to thrive undisturbed, says studio's founder Vinu Daniel.

Camouflage Architecture

Situated in a gated community called Sanctity Fermein a picturesque location called Shoolagiri, the owner was in a fix as there were unwanted obscure plots at the periphery of the community characterized by steep rocky topography, huge trees and thick vegetation making people reluctant to make homes there as the buildable area seemed less. 

"In current times when people are obsessed with achieving beautiful scenic views from their homes and least concerned with how their houses end up looking like unnatural eyesores in virgin beautiful landscapes, their concept of Camouflage architecture, where the firm wants the buildings to stay hidden and merge seamlessly with the existing topography seems apt, he adds.

Walls spiral around trees

The swirls of Chuzhi start as walls and spirals up to form the roof. Perched in between the three trees, the house has been designed with a glass roof to give you the feeling of living underneath the canopy of trees.

Although the house has no elevation, it properly defines the public space from the private space with the roof doubling up as a seating area around the tree.

The idea was to allow the natural ecosystem of trees and the surroundings to be retained as it is above the house, without compromising on the comfort of the inhabitants. 

An epitome of unique sustainable architecture

Chuzhi is a two-bedroom residence designed with an open layout and minimalistic interiors and has floors that have been made of reclaimed wood that has been pieced together.

While the spiralling elements were partly made up of 4,000 concrete-filled plastic bottles that had been picked up by the team within a two-kilometre radius of the site. They filled the bottles with concrete and then covered them using the 'poured debris earth technique" and placed them around the trees.

The bottles had been dumped within a two-kilometre radius of the site and collected by Wallmakers in the lead-up to the project in the hope they could be reused.

But the surprising fact is that the building manages to tuck itself away into the landscape like a snake curling up under a rock on a hot day.

Project Details