1) Masonry structures provide advantages like no formwork requirement, duality of function, economy, durability and aesthetics. However, they are structurally complex with many variables. 2) Historic unreinforced masonry structures from India and other parts of the world demonstrate the stability concepts used, with examples of multi-storey buildings with thick walls. 3) Masonry can provide sustainability benefits due to its materials and construction process, as shown in case studies of rural and urban housing that utilize local materials and resources. Engineered masonry systems are gaining acceptance for their benefits.

1. Structural and Architectural Potential of Masonry:
An approach towards sustainability?
S Raghunath
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
(NBA Accredited for 6 years : 2014-2020)
BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore 560019
www.bmsce.ac.in
raghunath.smrc@gmail.com
raghu.civ@bmsce.ac.in
NIVASA – an Architectural NGO
www.nivasa-ngo.org

2. 1. Some thoughts on “sustainability”
2. Introduction to Structural Masonry
3. Historic masonry structures
4. Masonry – a sustainable construction?
5. Concluding remarks
Lecture contents

3. Part 1 of 5
Some thoughts on “sustainability”

4. Sustainability?
• Sustainable society –
is the one which manages its economic growth in such a
way as to do no irreparable damage to its environment.
It satisfies the needs of its people without jeopardizing
the prospects of future generations
• Concept of “Economy of Permanence” propounded by
Dr. Joseph C Kumarappa
“Sustainable Development”
• “Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People
Mattered” - E. F. Schumacher
• “Small is Possible” - George McRobie

5. 1. the concept of 'needs', in particular the
essential needs, to which overriding
priority should be given
2. the idea of limitations imposed by the
state of technology and social
organization on the environment's
ability to meet present and future
needs
2 key concepts of sustainability

6. • Wind mills
• Hybrid cars
• Solar panels
• Gobar gas plant
• Rain water harvesting
• Cremation, burial
• Internet communication
• Cotton clothes
• Plastic bags
• Bicycle transport
• Cement
• Blended cement
• Stabilized Mud Blocks/ mud-based
construction
• Pre-cast concrete
• Monolithic concrete
• Air conditioners
• Electricity from thermal plants
• Electricity from atomic power plants
• Green buildings
• Timber/bamboo based construction
• Hydro-electric power
• Mini-hydro-electric power generation
• Solar power plants

7. NBC 2016 – part 11, titled “Approach to Sustainability”, covers the
parameters required to be considered for planning, design,
construction, operation and maintenance of buildings and those
relating to land development, from the point of view of sustainability.
It sends out a clear advice about issues pertaining to resource
consumption (materials and energy), degradation of environment and
eco-balance, climate change, global warming, green-house gas
emission…..and even inequitable development
In other words sustainability should be addressed/understood from
the life-cycle perspective and in a holistic manner
All these were discussed profoundly by Dr. Ajit Sabnis

8. Structure of part 11, NBC - 2016
Foreword, scope (especially on provisions for
persons with disability), terminology
Adoptive Thermal Comfort, Biodiversity
Building environment,.. built environment,
…Disaster, Eco footprint, EE, EIA,.. ‘green’ roof,
HSA, LCA….Re-use, Recycle,.. Skylight,
SUSTAINABILITY, sustainable development,
Thermal parameters,… VSA, VOC, Waste

9. Structure of part 11, NBC - 2016
The following sections are remarkably similar to the
parameters considered in most of the current “rating systems”
• SITING, FORM AND DESIGN …
• EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENT AND LANDSCAPE
• ENVELOPE OPTIMIZATION …
• MATERIALS …
• WATER AND WASTE MANAGEMENT …
• BUILDING SERVICES OPTIMIZATION …
• CONSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES …
• COMMISSIONING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE AND
BUILDING …
• PERFORMANCE TRACKING

10. Part 2 of 5
Introduction to Structural Masonry

11. Concrete Masonry
Composition Fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and
binding material
Masonry units and mortar
(fine aggregate and binding
material)
Distribution of
constituents
Behaviour

12. Concrete Masonry
Composition Fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and
binding material
Masonry units and mortar
(fine aggregate and binding
material)
Distribution of
constituents
Behaviour

13. Concrete Masonry
Composition Fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and
binding material
Masonry units and mortar
(fine aggregate and binding
material)
Distribution of
constituents
Behaviour Good in compression, weak in tension,
Brittle,
Crack pattern is irregular
Can be considered isotropic
Good in compression, weak
in tension, Brittle,
Cracks occur generally at
unit-mortar interface,
Orthotropic

14. Concrete Masonry
Reinforcement
For a civil
engineer

15. Concrete Masonry
Reinforcement
For a civil
engineer

16. Advantages of Masonry
• No formwork
• Plays a dual role – functional and structural
• Economy
• Durable
• Aesthetic
• Can be made ductile
• Can be made light-weight
Disadvantages of Masonry
• Structurally very complex
• Too many variables!

17. Structural Walls have 3 functions:
1. Resist vertical compression
2. Resist out-of-plane bending from eccentric vertical loads
(gravity loads), and/or transverse loads such as wind
loads and earthquake loads
3. Resist in-plane forces (in-plane shear and in-plane
bending) attracted by the masonry building as a whole

18. Factors:
Effective height of wall
Effective length of wall
Effective thickness of wall
Eccentricity of load
To be chosen:
Strength of brick or block
Type of mortar
Load on wall, kN/m

19. Masonry is
• Weaker than the brick
• Weaker than the mortar (?)
Example
• Block strength 40.0 N/mm2
• Mortar type H1, strength 8.0 N/mm2
• Masonry strength is only 3.05 N/mm2

20. Typical “Masonry Prisms”

21. Masonry Walls:
Slenderness and Eccentricity
Stocky wall,
central load
100% strength
Slender
wall, central
load
Reduced
strength

22. Masonry Walls:
Slenderness and Eccentricity
Stocky wall,
eccentric load
Reduced
strength
e
Slender wall,
eccentric load
Much more
reduced strength

23. Effective height
Effective length
Effective thickness
Eccentricity of load
Slenderness
Ratio
Stress
Reduction
Factors
Ult. load on wall x Factors (of safety)

26. Advantages of Masonry
• No formwork
• Greater flexibility in terms of plan forms
• Plays a dual role – functional and structural
• Economy
• Durable
• Aesthetic
• Can be made ductile
• Can be made light-weight
Disadvantages of Masonry
• Structurally very complex
• Too many variables!

27.  In un-reinforced masonry structures the lateral
stability is provided by gravity.
 No tension can be allowed to develop at the base
of the structure. Hence un-reinforced masonry
structures have to be sufficiently massive (large
base width) so that the resultant of all forces acting
on the structures does not fall outside the middle
third of the base.

28. Part 3 of 5
Historic masonry structures – a few examples from
South India

29. Multi-storeyed
Un-reinforced
masonry tower,
Tanjavur, India

30. Un-reinforced masonry arches and
aqueducts
(Ref: KS Jagadish and BP Sinha)

44. 9 STOREYED HOTEL – NASHIK
LOAD BEARING MASONRY BUILDING USING HOLLOW CONCRETE BLOCKS.
Er. Ganesh Kamath

45. Few examples from other
countries…

46. Vault at Tiryns: circa 1400 BCE

47. Monadnock Building, Chicago, 1891
1.82m thick wall at basement!
(Ref: BP Sinha)

48. Stability concept (Ref: BP Sinha)

49. 16 storeyed load
bearing masonry
(Ref.: BP Sinha)

50. 18 storeyed load
bearing masonry at
Cleveland
(Ref.: BP Sinha)

51. Stability concept, Atlintada Church designed by
E. Dieste (Ref: BP Sinha)

52. Antoni Gaudi

55. • Church of the Colònia Güell, (1:10 scale model,
4m height)
• At that point, he took a picture that, when
inverted, showed the structure for columns
and arches
• Gaudí then painted over these photographs
with gouache
• On the outline of the church defined, he
recorded every single detail of the building:
architectural, stylistic, decorative and
structural!

59. ANTONIO GAUDI – CRYPT OF THE GUELL INDUSTRIAL VILLAGE

60. ANTONIO GAUDI – LA PEDRERA

61. Reinforced Masonry
 Un-reinforced load bearing masonry should be avoided since
it is not entirely insulated from brittle modes of failure. This
can be easily rectified by the usage of reinforced masonry.
 Lesser unit weight when compared to massive URM
 Eliminating the need for RC beams
 Elimination of expensive form work which is otherwise
required in conventional RC framed construction

62. Reinforced
masonry

63. Reinforced/Pre-stressed masonry

64. Reinforced/Pre-stressed masonry

65. CORBELLED ARCH (ANTONIO GAUDI)

66. Masonry Construction Practice in
Developed Countries

68. Here the buckets are being moved up to 18′ in preparation for the pouring:

70. This features the masonry task in the integration of the massive steel beam
into the wall so that when it’s finished, you’ll never know it was even there.

71. Part 4 of 5
Masonry – a sustainable construction?
Case studies
Masonry houses in rural context and urban context

72. BMS College of Engineering
Structural Masonry Resource Centre
BMS-SMRC
Bangalore - 560019
Guidance to a Sustainable Future…

73. Case studies
Rural context

74. a house in Kottamedu village in Kanchipuram dist., TN

76. Stabilised Adobe Blocks
5
6
7
8
10 11 12
1 2 3 4
9

80. a typical house in Udagirinallappana Halli, Chikkaballapur
district, Karnataka

81. Ease of assembling, acceptance of technology, upgradation of skills, employment
generation, 100% REUSE….
Δx approach…

82. Stabilized Adobe Blocks (Udagirinallappana Halli, Chikkaballapur dist.)

85. SAB technology at Thimmayannadoddi, Anekal taluk, Karnataka
Technical inputs: Dr. Yogananda MR

86. Interlocking blocks with thin-bed joint mortar, Cherkady, Udipi
district

87. Laterite blocks, Udipi, Kundapura districts

88. Some case studies in semi-urban and urban
segment

89. DRRT school, near Chickkaballapur

90. BMS-SMRC
DRRT School,
Chikkaballapur district

91. BMS-SMRC
DRRT School,
Chikkaballapur district

92. Courtesy: M/s AXON Concrete Products

93. Engineered Hollow Concrete Block Masonry: Light weight, thin
mortar joints, no plastering…
Reduction in materials requirement
BMS-SMRC

94. No form work
needed till roof
level, minimal wet
work
BMS-SMRC

95. Masonry products and techniques
developed at BMS-SMRC
BMS-SMRC

96. Platinum rated
villa
Project: ZED
Earth, BCIL

98. RHCB Masonry, SVYM Campus, Mysore

99. SVYM, Mysore

100. RHCB Masonry, SVYM Campus, Mysore

101. Sadhana @ Vivekananda Institute of Leadership Development, Mysore
•

102. Exposed EHCB masonry, partly reinforced; EE: ~ 2.4 GJ/sq.m

103. ZERO WASTE
Planning – Design to Site Concept: Residence of Sri. Nagendra, Mysore
Conventional Plan of house 3D modeled Plan of the same house
Bill of Material generated from Software!

104. Types of blocks:
Engineered Hollow Block Masonry

107. Plinth Beam Laying
U-Blocks used for Plinth (and Lintel
and Tie beams) U-blocks laid to form beam structure
 Metal rods
for Plinth
Beam inserted
into U-block
Pillar rods (if
required) tied
to the Plinth
beam rods
before casting
plinth 

108. Wall Construction
Wall construction on top of Plinth beam starts
Lighter blocks help speed up construction!
Retaining old Parapet wall and continuing construction
with new technology.
A Day’s worth construction with 3 masons and 5 helpers!

109. Tools for applying mortar!
Mortar applied with a special tool! Reduces wastage due to
dropping inside hollow blocks, Better Packing of mortar, and
uniform 10mm thick layer!
Reduces effort on the Mason and speeds up a mason’s work!
Uniformly laid 10mm thick mortar, packs mortar
better between 2 courses and avoids wastage to a
significant extent!

110. Reinforced
Masonry
Columns
 Pillar rods
fastened to
Plinth beam
rods
 Pillar made
out of blocks
too! No need for
box, casting,
curing!
 Rings at each
course of blocks
for pillars.
Pillar gets erected along with your walls!
Daily by 4-5 course heights! No need for
separation of wall and pillar construction!
Pillar height
achieved in 2
days! 

111. Window Sills, Drilling, Cutting
Inverted U-blocks for Window Sills
Blocks yield extremely well for drilling and cutting
tools!
Window grill inserted into accurately drilled holes!
Side rods (Kooti) of window grill goes into a slot cut
in the brick! Brick poured with concrete for strength!

112. Lintel Beams -1/2
Support for Lintel Blocks (U-blocks) setup
U-Blocks placed to form running lintel along all walls
A Typical doorway opening when casting Lintel using U-blocks
U-blocks cut in 45 degrees to negotiate a corner!
U- blocks completely placed on all running walls!

113. Lintel Beams -2/2
Inserting beam rods into u-blocks! Casting of Lintel!
 Lintel
after casting!
Next course
can start
immediately
a day after
casting!

114. Electrical Switchboxes, Conduits
Electrical switch boxes, and ducts placed as the walls
come up! NO NEED TO TEAR/BREAK WALLS!
Electrical conduits are
routed through the
Hollow blocks during
construction! 
Blocks cut with a
diamond cutting
tool, metal boxes
for switches
fastened to them
at site! 

115. Finishing – No Plastering!
Puttying First round for all
covering all pointing zones.
(Both Internal walls and
external no plastering
required!)
Walls After first
round of putty
finish 
Walls After
second round of
putty finish! 

116. Nearly Finished!

117. Recent developments in mortar-less masonry –
Dry stack, interlocking
Ar. Rajesh Jain, Mysore

118. Engineered dry-interlocking blocks with provision for vertical
reinforcement (photo courtesy: Sri. NR Ashok, Mysuru)

119. Comply robust design
Satisfy anthropo-dynamic
requirements

120. Flexibility in floor plans

121. Photo courtesy: Jagadish KS

122. SMB vaulted
roof

123. • Jack arch roofing
and
• Opening on
western wall
• Solar passive
architecture

124. Residence of Sri. Ramesh Kikkeri, Mysore; exposed EHCB
masonry, EE: 1.05 GJ/sq.m

125. Part 5 of 5
Concluding remarks

126. Research work by Dr. Varsha BN

127.  Engineered masonry systems have been gaining acceptance, possibly for
multiple benefits it offers – cost, aesthetics, variety, and structural benefits.
Perhaps, low-embodied energy is a by-product of this choice.
Research work by Varsha BN

128. Some personal thoughts….
• Develop technologies that satisfy ‘Reduce –
Re-use & Re-cycle….’ tenets
• Exploit local resources – local human resource
(with skill-set), local material, local machinery
etc.
• Avoid capital intensive technologies since they
are very cost sensitive to time over runs –
work out the overall economics

129. DISPROPORTIONAL technology!!

130. Some personal thoughts….
• develop and promote technologies that
– Generate employment
– Sustain employment
– Upgrade skills
– Encourage participation from wide skill sets
– Open up new skill-sets

131. Reduce
Re-use
Re-cycle
Refuse
Re-invent
Re-think
Re-purpose, Repair, Rehabilitate, Retrofit..
..
…
Respect Natural Resources

132. Contact
S Raghunath
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
BMS College of Engineering
Phone: +91 80 98457 94060
email: raghunath.smrc@gmail.com
raghu.civ@bmsce.ac.in
www.bmsce.ac.in
www.nivasa-ngo.org
Thank you!