Sustainable Living Vision
Leena Dandekar's journey to creating Kamal Bungalow stemmed from a deep-seated commitment to sustainable living and minimizing her environmental footprint.
Moving to Pune presented an ideal opportunity to translate this philosophy into a tangible home. Her primary goal was to demonstrate that ecological responsibility does not necessitate higher costs or added complexity in daily life. This aspiration evolved into a dream of self-sufficiency, envisioning a home that required minimal artificial cooling and maximized water conservation, particularly crucial given the home's location in a drought-prone region. The acquisition of an urban plot on the city's outskirts was the first step towards realizing this vision of a 'sustainable' dwelling, a concept she actively explored and refined throughout the design and construction process.
Harnessing Solar Power
Central to Kamal Bungalow's sustainable design is its sophisticated solar energy system. Recognizing the importance of passive solar orientation, the home's roof is angled to the south, optimizing exposure to sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere. This strategic placement allows a comprehensive solar panel array, integrated with inverters and battery storage housed in the basement, to be the primary source of electricity. While solar power is the main energy provider, the grid serves as a supplementary power source, ensuring consistent energy availability. This intelligent integration of renewable energy significantly reduces reliance on conventional power, contributing to the home's eco-friendly profile.
Climate-Responsive Design
Kamal Bungalow's architecture is meticulously crafted to respond to Pune's climate extremes. To mitigate the intense summer heat, south and west-facing balconies are strategically incorporated. These projections shield the interior living spaces from the harshest midday sun, allowing direct sunlight only after 4 pm. Conversely, to ensure the home remains warm and inviting during winter, bedrooms and the kitchen—areas of high morning activity—are oriented towards the east. This allows them to capture the gentle morning sun, naturally warming these spaces and enhancing thermal comfort throughout the cooler months, reducing the need for excessive heating.
Water Conservation Mastery
Water management is a cornerstone of Kamal Bungalow's sustainability. Even before construction began, three borewells were dug to capture and recharge rainwater. All runoff from the roof and the entire property is channeled into these recharge wells, replenishing groundwater resources. Furthermore, an advanced greywater filtration system is in place to treat and reuse water from sinks and showers. This recycled water is then used for flushing toilets and irrigating the terrace gardens. The plot's natural steep slope was ingeniously utilized to employ gravity, facilitating the movement of greywater through various filtration layers, a process also enhanced by attractive floral plantations within the tanks.
Green Roofs and Gardens
The home features innovative green roofs designed to support orchards and fruit trees, capitalizing on abundant sunlight. Crucially, this was achieved without compromising the building's structural integrity or incurring excessive costs. The load-bearing columns, already part of the building's design, were intelligently leveraged to support the weight of the plantations. Lawns are kept to a minimum, as they are water-intensive, and the chosen grass variety is drought-resistant to further conserve water. This approach to landscaping ensures both aesthetic appeal and ecological responsibility.
Eco-Friendly Materials & Furnishings
Kamal Bungalow adheres to stringent environmental standards, with all construction materials complying with IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) guidelines for green buildings. A significant commitment to local sourcing is evident, with all finishing materials procured from within a 400 km radius, supporting regional economies and reducing transportation emissions. The home is also furnished with a collection of refurbished and reused loose furniture. Despite initial concerns about stylistic cohesion, these pieces, gathered from different eras and sources, have harmoniously come together, creating a warm, welcoming, and deeply personal living space filled with treasured items from loved ones.
Productive Gardens & Ecosystem
The gardens are Leena Dandekar's pride and joy at Kamal Bungalow, encompassing a productive vegetable patch and a thriving food forest. The fruit garden is a vibrant space where local tree varieties, well-suited to the climate, flourish. Extensive planting of flowering shrubs and trees ensures a year-round food source for bees, supported by dedicated bee boxes. The home boasts a truly productive garden yielding fruits, vegetables, and flowers across all seasons. Large portions of the year's produce come directly from this garden, supplemented by eggs from free-range chickens, which also provide high-quality manure for the garden. This creates a beautifully interdependent and interactive ecosystem within a compact urban plot, growing more robust and fruitful each year.
