Middle East – Page 6 – EARTH ARCHITECTURE

April 24, 2004

Building A 25 Dome Warehouse

The photo above shows one of 25 domes used to construct a warehouse in Saveh, Iran (Markazi province, 130km south-west of Tehran) which has a climate with cold winters with occasional sub-freezing
temperatures and snow because of the altitude (1200 meters). The average rainfall is 40 millimeters/year. The materials used are cooked bricks, cement, clay, plaster, white cement as finish for inside walls, lime mixed with earth in the foundations, clay/straw for wall and roof insulation which enclose 620 square meters of space. The cost of construction (1999) was 50,000 US$ and took a total of 3 months to build. On average, every 2 days 3 domes were completed. The warehouse was constructed by Jacqueline Mirsadeghi. See more construction photos: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

March 12, 2004

Robot May Build with Mud

In a laboratory in Los Angeles early this year, a robot armed with a concrete pump built its first wall. Just a small wall, about a yard wide, a foot high and an inch thick, but beautifully formed in a graceful oval sweep. Iranian born engineer Behrokh Khoshnevis has tested his prototype with cement but believes adobe, a mix of mud and straw that is dried by the Sun, could be suitable. The chief advantages of the Contour Crafting process over existing technologies are the superior surface finish that is realized and the greatly enhanced speed of fabrication. The success of the technology stems from the automated use of age-old tools normally wielded by hand, combined with conventional robotics and an innovative approach to building three-dimensional objects that allows rapid fabrication times. Professor Khoshnevis believes that his technology will make it possible to build a house from foundation to roof in less than 24 hours: “Our goal,” he says, “is to be able to completely construct a one-storey 185-square-metre home on site in one day, without using human hands.”

February 8, 2004

Yemen Article

This article from the Architectural Review describes how for over two millennia, the inhabitants of the Yemen have built their strange tower houses out of the earth below them. The tradition continues still and seems adaptable to modern life. Though much is beginning to decay, the crafts continue.

February 7, 2004

1.9 Billion In Bam Damages

An official in Housing and Urban Development Ministry said in Tehran on Wednesday the earthquake which devastated the ancient city of Bam last December is estimated to costs rls 15,000 billion ($1.9 billion), IRNA repored.

February 5, 2004

Bam Photo Exhibition

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s Publicity Department expresses its sympathy towards its compatriots, and especially the survivors of Bam’s disastrous earthquake by holding an international exhibition and competition of photography centered on Bam’s tragic event, under the title “The Wrecked Roof of Bam”, using the expression influential and comprehensive medium of photography. Photographers all over the world who have succeeded in catching glimpses of various scenes of this nation-wide calamity are here by invited to contribute to this exhibition by sending their photographic works. The Dead line of this exhibition is February 5, 2004. The entry rules and application is attached to this mail. For more information contact saremi@photoagency-ir.com We are looking forward to receive your works!

Ali Reza Karimi Saremi,
Directing Manger of Exhibition
tel +9821868117

February 4, 2004

Experts Size Up Daunting Task to Rebuild Bam

Iranian officials have said they plan to restore the ancient city, near the center of the modern city of Bam. “You cannot rebuild it in concrete,” said Dinu Bumbaru, secretary general of the International Council on Monuments and Sites who came from Canada to inspect the damage. “This is not public works. This is heritage.”

January 16, 2004

Earthquake Proof Houses Hard to Sell

Iran-born architect Nader Khalili has a technique for building earthquake-proof houses, but he is struggling to sell it to governments even though he teaches it for free and it could save countless lives.

January 6, 2004

Nader Khalili Proposes Mud and Barbed Wire

Most experts are suggesting that if Bam is to be rebuilt, the mud-brick construction that made the Iranian city unique should be replaced by more modern methods. But Nader Khalili disagrees. ‘I can rebuild city with mud and barbed wire,’ says architect

December 29, 2003

Superadobe Iran

Iranian-born architect, Nader Khalili, now working in California’s seismic zone urged his fellow Iranians to try his “superadobe” building technique, using sandbags and barbed wire, in rebuilding the 2,000 year old quake-flattened city of Bam.

December 26, 2003

Earthquake Destroys World Treasure

A devastating earthquake virtually leveled the historic heart of Bam which was one of the wonders of Iran’s cultural heritage, boasting a 2000-year-old citadel that was the largest mud-brick structure in the world. Built entirely of mud bricks, clay, straw and the trunks of palm trees, the city’s old quarter dates from pre-Islamic times, although most of the monuments were from Iran’s modern heyday under the Safavid rulers of the 16th and 17th centuries. 20,000 feared dead in the collapse of buildings in the city.

>Watch Video

Photos of Bam pre-2003 earthquake:

Photos 1 | Photos 2 | Photos 3

Photo of Bam post-2003 earthquake:

Photo 1 | Photo 2

Architecture for Humanity appeal