Build it green with clay roof tiles

The handcrafted clay roof tiles may have been a ubiquitous feature in small towns and villages a few decades ago. Yet, a walk through one of them now will see a near absence of their presence, the clay tiles literally on their way out as a roofing material. Interestingly, this discarded clay roof tile comes with an important quality of being climate responsive where it cuts down the heat ingress, thus serving as a fine source of insulation in hot regions. Architect Manoj Patel, of Manoj Patel Design Studio from Ahmedabad, stumbled upon this local material while doing his research to come up with sustainable green solutions for buildings. “Use of clay roof tiles is on its way out, leaving this handcrafted material on the brink of extinction, forcing traditional craftsmen to give up this vocation and look for employment elsewhere. The technique of handcrafting these tiles will certainly be lost a generation from now and with it the vernacular construction mode of addressing heat ingress”, states Patel.