Architecture in India: Casa Rana by Made in Earth: a responsible project

Made in Earth (MiE) is an Italian NGO formed in 2010 by a group of architects who were later joined by other professionals; it works on responsible architecture for communities in the Indian region of Tamil Nadu. Casa Rana is home to 15 HIV-positive children and their carer: a virtuous example of sustainable architecture in India.



Part of the philosophy of Italian NGO italiana Made In Earth (MiE,) which designs and constructs buildings for disadvantaged communities is a design approach that is accountable to people and to the environment. It was founded in Naples in 2010 by a group of four architects and quickly expanded to include other professionals so it could offer an increasingly all-round service.





They are involved in humanitarian projects in places like Tamil Nadu, one of southern India’s rapidly growing regions. Unfortunately it is also rife with social problems, illiteracy and disease.



MiE is community-focused and the team used local labour and materials to build Casa Rana, a small home for 15 HIV-positive children and their carer.





The house is a great splash of colour and an open bamboo curtain wraps around the balcony to shade the outdoor areas, but this building in India hasn’t just been designed to look striking. As Flavia Sccognamillo, one of the group’s cofounders says, architects need to focus on the local reality, and the fact is that hardwearing concrete is often cheaper and more readily available than bamboo. So they have only used bamboo sparingly in this project.



Made in Earth doesn’t only design and build buildings, it is also involved in training young engineers, designers and architects, organising workshops and seminars. What they want to do is really engage with the territory to provide the means to really meet its needs, in the finest tradition of all-encompassing sustainable architecture.

Project: Made in Earth, http://www.madeinearth.it
Year: 2014
Location: Tamil Nadu, India
Photography: Courtesy of MiE