Progress on Structural Technologies for Affordable Housing
Real Estate

Progress on Structural Technologies for Affordable Housing

There has been a decent amount of progress on structural technologies and each developer has a choice, from building a conventional structure going all the way to precast or tunnel forms. As Rahul Sabharwal, CEO, VBHC Value Homes, observes, “The choice of technologies depends on what needs to be constructed in terms of volumes and at what speed we need to construct (depending on sales).”

“We use precast, tunnel formwork, aluminium formwork and sandwich panel technology, depending on what the project needs,” says Rajesh Krishnan, Founder & CEO, Brick Eagle. “Prefab technology is perfectly suitable for mass housing projects” According to him, there are already a lot of good technologies in the market today such as prefab that are not being used. Prefab is used all over the world, but not in the scale that it should be in India. “For a country that needs to build 5 million homes a year, why are such technologies not being adopted?” he questions.

In the past two to three years, Mahindra Lifespaces’ affordable housing brand, Happinest, has studied 32 construction technologies used worldwide for mass housing projects. “Of these, we have shortlisted five technologies, keeping in mind the Indian scenario,” says Amit Pal, Vice President-Operations, Mahindra Happinest. “Of these five, we, along with IIT-Madras, have developed a hybrid technology and have adopted the same for constructing buildings at our Happinest projects in Avadi and Boisar.” This hybrid technology is basically a lean foundation with a shear wall structure and light weight concrete blocks as the building envelope. 

Further, as the horizontal spread is greater than the vertical spread in affordable housing projects, there is a need to develop a technology for the foundation that is not time consuming, and is more cost-effective. “We have developed trench foundation technology, wherein the foundation is made with mass concrete ,” shares Pal. “With this technology, the foundation work for a building can be completed in 20 days or less, as compared to conventional methods, which would typically take months. Yet another simple, time-and-cost-effective technology we used in our Happinest Palghar project is the grillage foundation. It is like a closed grill at a low foundation depth that does not need much time to construct. This technology has helped us improve speed of construction.”

Parameters for Technology Selection
  • Durability: The structure should have a longevity of 50-60 years
  • Earthquake and wind-resistant
  • Faster construction
  • Cost-effectiveness
  • Improved space utilisation for customers.
Source: Mahindra Happinest

- SERAPHINA D’SOUZA

There has been a decent amount of progress on structural technologies and each developer has a choice, from building a conventional structure going all the way to precast or tunnel forms. As Rahul Sabharwal, CEO, VBHC Value Homes, observes, “The choice of technologies depends on what needs to be constructed in terms of volumes and at what speed we need to construct (depending on sales).”“We use precast, tunnel formwork, aluminium formwork and sandwich panel technology, depending on what the project needs,” says Rajesh Krishnan, Founder & CEO, Brick Eagle. “Prefab technology is perfectly suitable for mass housing projects” According to him, there are already a lot of good technologies in the market today such as prefab that are not being used. Prefab is used all over the world, but not in the scale that it should be in India. “For a country that needs to build 5 million homes a year, why are such technologies not being adopted?” he questions.In the past two to three years, Mahindra Lifespaces’ affordable housing brand, Happinest, has studied 32 construction technologies used worldwide for mass housing projects. “Of these, we have shortlisted five technologies, keeping in mind the Indian scenario,” says Amit Pal, Vice President-Operations, Mahindra Happinest. “Of these five, we, along with IIT-Madras, have developed a hybrid technology and have adopted the same for constructing buildings at our Happinest projects in Avadi and Boisar.” This hybrid technology is basically a lean foundation with a shear wall structure and light weight concrete blocks as the building envelope. Further, as the horizontal spread is greater than the vertical spread in affordable housing projects, there is a need to develop a technology for the foundation that is not time consuming, and is more cost-effective. “We have developed trench foundation technology, wherein the foundation is made with mass concrete ,” shares Pal. “With this technology, the foundation work for a building can be completed in 20 days or less, as compared to conventional methods, which would typically take months. Yet another simple, time-and-cost-effective technology we used in our Happinest Palghar project is the grillage foundation. It is like a closed grill at a low foundation depth that does not need much time to construct. This technology has helped us improve speed of construction.”Parameters for Technology SelectionDurability: The structure should have a longevity of 50-60 yearsEarthquake and wind-resistantFaster constructionCost-effectivenessImproved space utilisation for customers.Source: Mahindra Happinest- SERAPHINA D’SOUZA

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

DCPC Prepares for Special Campaign 5.0 with Focus on E-Waste

The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, is gearing up for Special Campaign 5.0, to be held from 2nd to 31st October 2025. The initiative will focus on e-waste disposal as per MoEFCC’s E-Waste Management Rules 2022, space optimisation, and enhancing workplace efficiency across field offices.Special Campaign 4.0, conducted between October 2023 and October 2024, delivered notable results in record management, grievance redressal, scrap disposal, and cleanliness drives.Key outcomes of Special Campaign 4.0Records management: 2,443 physical fil..

Next Story
Real Estate

BlackRock India Leases 1.4 Lakh Sq Ft in Bengaluru

BlackRock Services India, the domestic arm of global asset manager BlackRock, has leased 1.4 lakh sq ft of office space at IndiQube Symphony in Bengaluru, according to Propstack data. The 10-year deal is valued at around Rs 4.10 billion.The lease, among the largest transactions in India’s co-working sector, highlights the growing preference of global institutions for flexible office providers. The agreement, commencing October 1, 2025, covers ground plus five floors in KNG Tower 1 at Ashoknagar, MG Road — one of Bengaluru’s prime commercial hubs.As per the lease document, BlackRock will ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

L&T Bags Rs 25–50 Bn Order for Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Track Works

Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) Transportation Infrastructure business has secured an order valued between Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 billion from the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor.The contract, Package T1, involves the design, supply, construction, testing, and commissioning of 156 route km of high-speed ballastless track on a Design-Build Lump Sum Price basis. The stretch runs from Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex to Zaroli village in Gujarat and includes 21 km of underground track and 135 km of elevated viaduct.Se..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?