NEW DELHI: At a time when being environment- friendly is the need of the hour, a group of architects and engineers have come together to create eco-sensitive and sustainable community housing models.

“It is the need for social security in our lives that prompted a group of us friends to come forth and create — Good Earth — a community guided by the need to live in an environment-friendly and sustainable neighbourhood,” architect Jeeth Iype, one of the founders of Good Earth, told the media.

The group, which was featured among the four innovators globally by US magazine ‘Time’, has worked for varied clients ranging from NGOs, government departments and private players in tourism, housing, institutional and educational sectors.

Inspired by the work and philosophy of Laurie Baker, Good Earth is exploring the concept of holistic development through ventures like housing, organic farming and tourism for the past 17 years.

Baker, the British-born Indian architect, was renowned for his initiatives in cost reduction and low-cost housing.

Good Earth, which is trying to provide green homes that meet the rising standards but provide space that is still in some ways shared, has completed 12 projects involving 200 units and is working on three more projects.

The projects, mainly located in Bangalore and some parts of Kerala, emphasise on designs to create environment that is responsive to climate, location and human needs.

“When one is young, one hardly gives much thought about community living, but as one embarks on a family life, especially with children at home, the need becomes all the more poignant,” Iype said.