Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
B.Arch Curriculum · Semester 1 · 25ARS122

Building Materials & Construction I

The foundation construction course — how India's traditional buildings are actually made. From a typical building section through rural materials, earthen construction, bamboo, and timber roofing & joinery, learnt the way architecture is learnt: by drawing every detail and handling the real material.

5Units
6Outcomes
4Credits
FreeForever
Start with the Bamboo lesson All student courses
Unit IV · Live now

Bamboo — the grass that builds

How a hollow, jointed grass stem becomes walls, floors, roofs and furniture — bamboo anatomy, properties, the four traditional joints, and where it goes in a building. With interactive diagrams, a labelling exercise, a studio drawing task and a quiz.

Culm anatomyPropertiesFour jointsWall · Roof · FloorDrawing taskQuiz
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The syllabus

Five units, from a building section to a timber roof.

Transcribed from the official B.Arch syllabus. 5 of 5 units are live as full interactive lessons — the rest are in production. Every unit ends with a hand-drawing studio task.

1

Unit 1 — Building Section & Components

Live

Typical section for load-bearing and R.C.C. structures — foundation, plinth, wall, lintel, roof and their relationships.

CO1
2

Unit 2 — Traditional Rural Materials

Live

Rural building concepts — bamboo, thatch, tile, straw bale. Properties, uses, and traditional techniques.

CO2
3

Unit 3 — Mud, Stone & Lime

Live

Mud wall, flooring, plastering and mud bricks; stone wall, floor and foundations; lime plaster and lime as an adhesive.

CO3
4

Unit 4 — Bamboo

Live

Bamboo types and techniques — wall, roof, floor, furniture. Bamboo joints; properties, uses, traditional construction.

CO2CO4CO6
5

Unit 5 — Timber — Roofing & Joinery

Live

Timber trusses (lean-to, king post, queen post, closed-couple); joinery for windows, doors, furniture, columns; Madras terrace, Mangalore tiles, pot tiles.

CO5CO6

Course outcomes

What you should be able to do after completing all five units (CO1–CO6, from the syllabus).

1
Understand

Understand typical sections of load-bearing and RCC structures, identifying their key components.

2
Analyse

Explore the properties and uses of traditional rural materials — bamboo, thatch, tile, straw — and apply traditional construction techniques.

3
Analyse

Analyse the applications of mud, stone and lime in building construction.

4
Apply

Apply knowledge of bamboo as a building material, including techniques for walls, roofs, floors and furniture.

5
Understand

Understand traditional timber joinery and roofing methods — king post, queen post, closed-couple, Madras terrace.

6
Evaluate

Evaluate building materials and construction methods through site visits, material samples and detailed drawings.

Topics and outcomes follow the published B.Arch syllabus (25ARS122; L1 · T0 · S5; 200 marks). Every illustration, diagram and worked drawing is produced originally by Studio Matrx for teaching — no published manual figures are reproduced. The hand-drawing studio tasks mirror the syllabus's own requirement for material samples, site visits and detailed drawings.

Begin with bamboo.

The most visual, hands-on unit in the course — and the benchmark for every lesson to come. Learn the material, study the joints, then draw it yourself.

Open the Bamboo lesson Back to Students

Studio Matrx is a tribute to Amogh N P. The curriculum is free, forever.