“They built my home with mud, dog hair, and memories”: Bengaluru woman’s cement-free house redefines sustainable living

Bengaluru: When Sindhoor Pangal told architects Sridevi Changali and Rosie Paul she didn’t want cement anywhere on her farm site — “not even in the stabilisation” — she wasn’t sure what to expect.

The duo, known for pushing sustainable design, delivered a home built with mud, stone, and reclaimed wood. The termite-prone land posed another hurdle. “When using mud in a project, you need a lot of binders and fibres, but none of the usual ones would hold against termites,” Sridevi said. “So, interestingly, we decided to use dog hair instead of natural fibre.

”Today, Pangal isn’t just living cement-free. She’s living in a home designed with nostalgia at its core. “It feels like the house understands me,” she said. Sridevi and Rosie of Masons Ink say material challenges are part of making sustainability personal. For Pangal, that meant a house where every wall carries both ecological intent and emotional memory.