Footings Phase I
Phase I of the footings is complete. The site is busy like a beehive at the moment. While concreting takes place two to three times a week on some footings, the carpenters and steel fixers work simultaneously on the other footings.
Waterproofing
Steel in footings
Concreting in progress ...
Some of the completed footings
Shilanyas Pooja : The laying of the foundation stone
The Shilyanas pooja was help on 15th March 2013. Being on a tight schedule to get out of the basement before the monsoons get here, work was not stopped even during the ceremony; so there was a bit of a cacophony with the sounds of the pooja bells ringing and the rhythmic hammering of the carpenters putting together the shuttering for the footings at the same time!
The foundation stone
Pooja being performed by Shanu Pai Panandiker
The excavation continues
The excavation of the first layer of 2.5 mts is almost complete. 
The excavation begins!
Excavation begins!
Finally, the South West monsoons have receded and we have begun with the excavation! It’s very sad to see some of our old trees go. But we’ve actually designed the building to minimize the damage. Off course we’ll replant as many as we have to cut down. Some young coconut trees are also being relocated to our farm in Rivona.
Apartments in villages in Goa
The following was recently published in the Times of India under the heading “Builders suffer blow at Carambolim meet” on the 31st of July 2012.
“OLD GOA: Carambolim locals have decided to act tough against builders who undertake projects of five flats and more in the jurisdiction of Carambolim panchayat in the future. Read more >>
How do you set up a terrace / roof garden?
We got this question from a number of people. So here’s how you do it, going by the order in which the layers are laid.
First of all, the slab has to be properly waterproofed. In case any of the water does come in contact with the slab there shouldn’t be any leakages. Read more >>
Why haven’t we gone for a green rating?
There are a number of good India-centric rating systems such as TERI’s GRIHA and IGBC’s LEED. While these rating systems are good to benchmark a project they do have a administrative and financial overhead that they place on the project. With all the little details that we patiently work with in order to make our project truly ‘Green’, this becomes an unnecessary burden on our resources. We are passionately committed to being environmentally friendly and creating a sustainable community during and after the design and construction phases. By putting green design methods into practice, we intend that our customers themselves will be our best rating system. We will also be disseminating information on both our blog on this site and through our social page at www.facebook.com/arjuntree and do hope that more of the Real Estate Development community adopts these methods. Constructive criticism to improve our methods is always welcome. Please drop us a line or comment on our blog or facebook page.
Natural Materials
Natural Materials
In keeping with our design objectives of creating spaces which are energy efficient and thermally comfortable, we have opted to use a combination of laterite blocks hollow terracotta blocks and wire cut bricks, for the external walls.
This forms an envelope with air cavities, the terracotta blocks on the outside and the laterite blocks on the inside, keeping the interiors cool, thus bringing down the use of air-conditioning. Besides serving as a passive cooling system, the external wall is also very low on maintenance bringing down the long term maintenance costs of the building.
Bioclimatic Architecture
Bioclimatic Architecture
Bioclimatic architecture seeks to create an architecture which is fundamentally more responsive to location, climate and human needs.
The buildings are characterized by the use of elements including walls, windows, roofs and floors, combining available materials and technologies, to manage energy flows and thus provide comfortable conditions in the occupied parts of the building at all times of the day and year.
Arjun Tree One has evolved from the study and careful analysis of local climatic conditions and other natural variations that arise from the site and its surroundings. It is a conscious effort to form a bridge between nature and the built environment making use of natural wind, day lighting and natural materials so as toreduce the impact of the building on the environment.
Lower Costs of Maintenance
Lower Costs of Maintenance / Operation
We have tried to bring down operational costs at two levels.
First, at the community level, where the use of natural materials like brick, laterite blocks and terracotta will remove the cost of external painting and hence reduce maintenance costs.
Secondly, individual costs are reduced through bio-climatic architecture that lowers energy consumption. This is achieved by natural day lighting and ventilation throughout the building.