Architects meet and design for clients with unique needs, and visions for their projects. One aspect that clients are particular about is the cost of the project.
It is a common understanding amongst the architecture community that delivering a project, with all the design requirements while staying under budget is a mammoth task.

Low-cost building materials make this task easier, aiding the overall design, and reducing the cost, resulting in client satisfaction.
The building material can be classified into:
Raw, and Natural Material
- Bamboo
- Compressed Earth Bricks
- Reinforced Mud Bricks
Prefabricated Material
- Concrete Blocks
- Fly Ash Hollow Bricks
- Aerated Autoclave Cement
- Shipment Containers
Low-Cost Raw, and Natural Material
1. Bamboo
- A green, and sustainable material, bamboo is abundantly available in India.
- Bamboo can be used for structural, and aesthetic purposes.
- Its flexibility is advantageous in seismic regions.
- Bamboo is also fire-proof and can be treated to be termite-proof.
- Bamboo is also available as corrugated sheets for roofing.
- Aesthetically, bamboo adds an earthy and soothing touch to the design.
2. Compressed Earth Bricks
- Also known as Adobe bricks, these bricks are made out of the soil of that region and reinforced using lime and cement.
- Sustainable, fire-proof, and lightweight, they are quite possibly the most efficient low-cost material.
- They are thick and are used for exterior walls.
- They are one of the least expensive building materials too.
- Since it can be made on-site using the soil there, it reduces transportation costs as well.
3. Reinforced Mud Bricks
- Mud bricks gain strength even through natural reinforcements such as straw and coconut.
- Coconut and straw add strength and sturdiness to the unadulterated (untreated) soil.
- Other fibers such as rice husk, bagasse, oat straw, and corn straw are also added with cement to make them corrosion resistant.
- A sulphur coating is added to the bricks to make them waterproof.
- These bricks are used in houses to make them durable and weatherproof.

Prefabricated Material
1. Concrete Blocks
- These blocks are manufactured to specific dimensions as per requirements.
- They can be hollow or dense.
- The blocks are made out of Portland cement, water, stone, or quartz.
- They are lightweight, sturdy, and fire-proof.
- They are usually used for foundations, basement walls, and partition walls.
- Steel rods can be used for additional reinforcement.
- They are naturally termite-proof and insulative.
2. Fly Ash Hollow Bricks
- These are made out of fly ash, stone powder, or sand. Slag and cement, or gypsum are used as adhesives.
- They are used for load-bearing walls of low-ascent structures.
- Additionally, mineral buildups, glass, and water are added to improve the water-proof and insulative properties of the structure.
3. Aerated Autoclave Cement (AAC)
- Autoclaves are machinery that adjust the temperature and pressure to alter the physical and chemical properties of the objects placed in them.
- AAC is made out of gypsum, lime, quartz sand, water, and aluminium powder.
- It is then heated in an autoclave, where the necessary heat and pressure are applied to give the blocks structural integrity.
- They are heat-safe and lightweight, and thus used for both exterior and interior walls.
- The material is eco-friendly as it creates 30% less waste than normal concrete.

4. Shipment Containers
- Shipping containers are a popular low-cost material among the users researching recyclable material.
- The smallest of containers can provide a space of 100 sq feet.
- These can be pre-assembled and placed upon a ready foundation.
- The assembly can be done as per the requirements and gives creative liberty.
- The containers can be imagined as Lego® blocks, with physical limitations.
5. Prefabricated Houses
- In an age where the cost of cement, and brick, and mortar is increasing, pre-fabricated houses have become a go-to solution.
- The houses are made of steel framing, wooden boards, and concrete floors.
- Factory-made doors, windows, ceilings, and walls are added to the frame.
- Based on the necessities, the walls, ceilings, and other features can be altered to specification.
- Though the materials used are considerably expensive, in the big picture, the production, transportation, and labour costs are brought down.
- Electrical, plumbing, and miscellaneous work are also done at the casting stage, thus, the post-construction time is also cut down.
Low-cost materials hit the spot when a design demands aesthetics, time, cost, and sustainability, as we have seen from the above discussion.
With scientific research underway to develop more low-cost building materials and the direction it is leaning towards, we believe in a promising future where low-cost building materials are used in iconic and game-changing designs.