Adobe Homes for All Climates: Simple, Affordable, and Earthquake-Resistant Natural Building Techniques
Computer Modeling to Build Better Mud Bricks
Rammed earth and stabilized mud block or brick are cheap, easy to make, usually durable materials widely used for building homes and low-level structures, especially in developing countries. Despite their widespread use and long history, the structural properties of these materials are not well understood, so how they could be manufactured to better withstand destructive natural forces, such as earthquakes and weathering, remains a goal. Craig Foster, assistant professor of civil and materials engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, hopes a specially tailored set of computer models he is developing may provide the necessary answers. He has just won a three-year, $243,000 National Science Foundation grant to conduct the work.
EARTHWORKS: International Summer School
EARTH WORKS: International Summer School will take place September 1st – 18th, 2010 in Gmunden, Upper Austria. Instructed by Martin Rauch and Anna Heringer, the aim of the summer program is to acquire intensive hands-on experience and to gain application-oriented knowledge in buiding with earth to associate this timeless material to innovative architecture. The central focus in to obtain practical experience and to learn by doing.
The program is jointly organized by BASEhabitat, the Technical University Munich , CRATerre-ENSAG and the UIA. Closing date for application: 28th of June 2010. For further information and online-application, please visit www.basehabitat.ufg.ac.at
Handmade Houses & Other Buildings: The World of Vernacular Architecture
Vernacular architecture, by its very nature, is built from local materials that are readily to hand and is thus defined by the geology and ecology of the region and by local climatic conditions. Constructed by the community using traditional tools, these structures are highly practical, energy-efficient, and blend with the landscape. They carry many of the attributes that we are now seeking in green architecture as we struggle to adapt our built environment to the demands and concerns of the climate-change era. Handmade Houses & Other Buildings: The World of Vernacular Architecture
Bio-Engineered Sand Brick
The winner of the 2010 Metropolis Next Generation Design Competition proposes a radical alternative to the common brick: don’t bake the brick; grow it. In a lab at the American University of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, Ginger Krieg Dosier, an assistant architecture professor, sprouts building blocks from sand, common bacteria, calcium chloride, and urea (yes, the stuff in your pee). The process, known as microbial-induced calcite precipitation, or MICP, uses the microbes on sand to bind the grains together like glue with a chain of chemical reactions. The resulting mass resembles sandstone but, depending on how it’s made, can reproduce the strength of fired-clay brick or even marble. If Dosier’s biomanufactured masonry replaced each new brick on the planet, it would reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by at least 800 million tons a year. “We’re running out of all of our energy sources,” she said in March in a phone interview from the United Arab Emirates. “Four hundred trees are burned to make 25,000 bricks. It’s a consumption issue, and honestly, it’s starting to scare me.” Read more…
Trois Séminaires Thématiques Autour de l’Architecture de Terre
Grands Ateliers, Villefontaine, Isère: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 mai 2010. Trois séminaires thématiques autour de l’architecture de terre organisés par Le laboratoire CRAterre – ENSAG Dans le cadre du 8e festival des architectures de terre “Grains d’Isère 2010” et de la Chaire Unesco Architectures de terre, cultures constructives et développement durable.
1- Sciences de la matière et du matériau (17 et 18 mai 2010)
* Comportement du matériau terre saturé d’eau à l’état de pâte (17 mai 2010)
* Comportement thermique et hygrométrique du matériau et des constructions en terre (18 mai 2010)
2- Patrimoine et développement local – Défis et opportunités de la conservation du patrimoine pour le développement (19 et 20 mai 2010)
3- Cultures constructives locales et amélioration de l’habitat (21 et 22 mai 2010)
Ces 3 séminaires auront lieu aux Grands Ateliers à Villefontaine (www.lesgrandsateliers.fr) et s’inscrivent dans la perspective de la concrétisation de la “Cité de la Construction Durable”. Ils s’articulent autour de présentations, suivies de discussions et de travaux de synthèse. Présentations, programmes détaillés et fiche d’inscription ci-joints. informations : craterre@grenoble.archi.fr / 04 76 69 83 35
Earth Architecture—The Book: NOW IN PAPERBACK
The groundbreaking survey Earth Architecture is now available in a paperback edition. Only a few copies of the hardcover collectors edition are still available, but going fast.
[ U.S. | Japan
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9th International Earth Architecture Photography Competition
The Centro di Documentazione sulle Case di Terra is hosting the 9th International Earth Architecture Photography Competition with the theme “Le case di terra paesaggio di architettura”.
CALENDAR:
Entry deadline: 30/06/2010
Judges meeting: 07/08/2010
Announcement of results: 31/08/2010 on the Internet page: www.casediterra.it
Works exhibition: dal/from 18/09/2010 al/to 30/09/2010 presso il / in the CED Terra Casalincontrada
Opening: 18/09/2010
Prize-giving: 18/09/2010
JURY:
President of jury:
Mr Maurizio Morandi – University of Firenze
Jury
Mrs Concetta Di Luzio – Mayor of Casalincontrada
Mrs Stefania Giardinelli – Terrae onlus Association
Mrs Gaia Bollini – Città della terra cruda National Association
Mr Gianni Ortolano – Member of Fotoclub Chieti
TEMPORARY JUDGES:
Mr Gabriele Esposito – Associazione Terrae onlus
Mrs Caterina Buccione – Associazione Terrae onlus
PRIZES: FIXED SUBJECT: “RAW EARTH ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES” One single section: B/W and Colour
1° Classificato/1st prize winner: Euro 515,00
2° Classificato/2nd prize winner: Euro 260,00
3° Classificato/3rd prize winner: Euro 130,00
To the five outstanding photographs: a book on earthen architecture
SPECIAL PRIZES
– To the best photograph on new earthen architectural structures;
– To the best photograph on earthen architectural structures in the Abruzzo Region;
– To the best photo of earthen architecture in Italy;
– To the best photo of earthen architecture in the world;
– Special prizes for schools.
PRESENTATION
The 9th International Photo Competition on “Earthen architectures: landscapes of architectures” is an initiative of the Municipality of Casalincontrada, in the Italian province of Chieti and the Documentation Centre on Earth Architectures, Terrae onlus Association The “rediscovery” of the knowledge linked to earthen architecture recomposed in images, like tiles of a mosaic made of people, things, material and places. Images that could be interpreted as “surviving structures” or “new scenarios”, as well as architectures of the territory, memories and situations.
For more information visit the competition website.
Terres, d’Afrique et d’Ailleurs
The 2nd Pan African Cultural Festival in Algiers, Algeria includes an exhibit and symposium entitled Terres, d’Afrique et d’Ailleurs, sponsored by the Algerian Ministry of culture and curated by architect Yasmine Terkhi, which facilitated the participation of 19 artisans from 5 countries (Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Nigeria, Algeria) who prepared wall panels in earth using indigenous techniques and motifs from the communities they represented. Invited speakers to the symposium include Ronald Rael, Hubert Gillaud, Hugo Houben, Salma Damluji, Marcello Cortes, Laetitia Fontaine and many other internationally renowned experts in the field of earth architecture.
Vote For Earth
Abari has entered the Dell Social Innovation Competition, which operates like a business-plan competition, awarding seed funding directly to the student-led venture that best meets the judges’ criteria. Vote for their project, which seeks establish a center to design and build/prefabricate houses, schools, toilets, furniture etc. out of bamboo and earth. The center will promote traditional (and dying) construction skills by mobilizing community members and appropriating locally available materials like bamboo and earth to build modern ecological, economical and beautiful infrastructure for individuals or communities.
Registration is easy and takes 20 seconds. Vote!