Āthangudi tiles
Handmade oxide floor tiles
Born in Tamil Nadu (Chettinad).
How it works
Dense cement-and-oxide tiles hand-cast on the sand of Athangudi, laid over a lime bed. The mass keeps the floor cool underfoot through the day, and the local, low-fired craft carries far less embodied energy than a vitrified tile trucked in.
In a modern home
A cool, characterful, low-carbon floor for an apartment; the same coolness a stone or oxide floor gives underfoot in summer.
What it answers
Built from
Source
Chettinad vernacular craft; documented by INTACH and craft revival studios.
Follow the threads
Cavity brick wallshares overheating, store & slow heat, cool→Insulating & green roofsshares overheating, store & slow heat, cool→Lime-and-brick flat roofshares overheating, store & slow heat, cool→Polished oxide floorshares overheating, store & slow heat, cool→Earth-sheltered cave dwellingshares overheating, store & slow heat, cool→Mudbrick catenary vaultshares overheating, store & slow heat, cool→