Hyderabad: Prefab houses, anyone?

For all those dreaming of a cottage style home, their dream of owning one with a trellis attached is now gettable, thanks to the emergence of prefabricated structures built in factories and planted straight in the farm. Travel 60-70 km in any direction from Hyderabad and you are bound to see them sitting pretty in bright colours.

The trend kicked in a few years ago, when people started buying industrial shipping containers and converting them into homes. There was a problem though, of transporting these 20 feet by 8 feet or 40 feet by 8 feet behemoths. For instance, Mohammed Ashfaq Ahmed, a resident of Bandlaguda set up a prefab at Ippalapalli in Shadnagar, says, "We are happy with the prefab home. As commercial shipping containers are also used for transporting chemicals, we did not want to take a risk."

Another reason people started opting for customised bamboo, plastic and prefab homes is the 8 ft height containers become very hot during summer and when it rains, the sound could be irritating.

Allaying fears of staying in container homes, Rohit P Naik, a consultant says, "Once the lifespan of a container is over, it is treated, insulated to keep the home cool and a coat of paint is given. With a bit of imagination, these metal boxes can be transformed into beautiful homes."

People are also doing a mix and match with bamboo sheets, iron rods and corrugated sheets. Nayantara Nanda Kumar commissioned a couple of prefab cottages at her farm in Dharur in Vikarabad. Nayantara says, "The time has come to choose over brick-mortar structures. Native intelligence, using the available resources and most importantly making use of material that would otherwise end up in a landfill is important." She further added, "By building a structure 10 ft above the ground allows a bird's eye view of the horizon, facilitates fresh air and is a vantage point to spot birds. We managed to identify 29 kinds of birds."

People are weighing in with several alternate options. Prashant Lingam of Bamboo House India, a pioneer in bamboo houses in India, who has built over 300 of them, says, "What we need is low-cost housing. Bamboo and plastic waste can be wonderful options that go a long way in reducing overall carbon footprint."

In a way, bamboo houses too are prefab houses that can be built in 20-40 days depending on the size and location. Prashant says, "Bamboo and plastic are completely termite proof and withstand temperature variation. The perception that these houses are weak is slowing waning and there is a lot of awareness among people. In the coming days, one is going to see a lot more prefab homes not just in the outskirts but also within the city."

Bamboo house on the roof

In the city too, building one or two-room bamboo houses on the terrace is gaining ground. Prashant of Bamboo House India says, "60 per cent of the bamboo houses we built are on terraces." There is no need for permission from the GHMC as the civic body does not consider it as permanent structure. One can build a bamboo house for as low as Rs 1,55,000 excluding the cost of civil works, electricity and plumbing.

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