Banasura Hill Resort
| Banasura Hill Resort | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Rammed Earth Architecture |
| Architectural style | Indegineous Sustainable architecture, Organic architecture |
| Location | Wayanad, Kerala |
| Country | India |
| Coordinates | 11°42′49″N 75°55′23″E / 11.71361°N 75.92306°E |
| Elevation | 976m (3202ft) |
| Construction started | July 2008 |
| Completed | January 2010 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Eugene Pandala |
| Website | |
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Banasura Hill Resort is a nature resort in Wayanad District of North Kerala, India; located 37 kilometres (23 mi) away from Kalpetta, the district headquarters. It stands at an altitude of 3,200 feet (980 m) above sea level on a 35 acres (14 ha) plot amidst the mountains of the Western Ghats declared as one of the traditionally preserved sites in the world by UNESCO.
The resort is so named because it is located at the foot of the Banasura Hill which is the second highest mountain in Wayanad that often attracts climbers to attempt to reach the summit. Besides this, the Banasura Sagar Dam, which lies just 18 km from the resort and shares its architectural antecedents also had an influence in naming the resort.
The resort's architectural design follows a construction based on rammed earth. The various living structures within the resort complex is constructed using mud excavated from the very site where it stands on. The main building has an area of nearly 20,000 square foot spread over two floors, and is made entirely out of mud, with a roof of bamboo and coconut palm fronds.
BBC News considers it as a mud haven - India's only "earth" resort and possibly the largest of its kind in Asia.
A considerable amount of research went in before deciding on the type of architecture to be used in construction. "Earth" architecture was chosen because it would cause the least amount of ecological damage while blending harmoniously with the micro environment around the site. "Earth" (mud) that is used for construction can be recycled indefinitely or left to disintegrate without causing any environmental degradation.
Research also threw up striking examples of large earthen structures that had withstood the test of time and survived for centuries. The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali built in 1907, the Citadel of Rayen in Iran built during the Parthian rule (248 BC–224 AD); and the ancient city of Shibam in Yemen built in the 2nd century A.D are some such structures.
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Wikipedia