Innovative Techniques using age-old building materials - Buildotech Magazine

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I nnovative Techniques using age-old building materials

April 4th, 2012 - 1 year, 13 days ago Anupama Kundoo Building Technology, Construction materials/Chemicals | Viewed times | No Comments

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4/17/2013

Innovative Techniques using age-old building materials - Buildotech Magazine

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Socio economic and other development pressures force rural population to move to cities, resulting in chaotic settlements and haphazard unplanned growth. According to Architect Anupama Kundoo, sustainable development is not an option but the only way to meet growing housing demand.

Terracotta Filler ex 2 urban eco community T he green building construction and technology in India need to be affordable by the masses and not just by the elite section of the society to be able to make an impact in the larger context. This can be achieved if modern building design includes integral systems to get climatic comfort through passive strategies and technologies that allow the use of local materials and skills. Architects need to engage construction methods that local workers can relate to and keep the manufactured material component low in the construction. While manufactured building materials are high consumers of energy apart from their other negative environmental impact, the maximum use of local labour benefits the local population socio-economically. Moreover, rather than following green building standards based on the western lifestyle and architecture that would sanction high consumption patterns as a norm, it is imperative to set green building standards that are conducive to Indian environment and natural resources. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of scope for local solutions that are site-specific which should be explored. For example, roofing which provides climatic comfort and protection, has a big influence on the cost of the project and uses most of the high-embodied energy materials.

jack arch ex 4 urban eco

http://buildotechindia.com/innovative-techniques-using-age-old-building-materials/

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Innovative Techniques using age-old building materials - Buildotech Magazine

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Furthermore, building strategies for a given climatic zone and geographical conditions are the same for any dwelling, irrespective of the social status. A low-cost strategy should not get restricted to only the low cost constructions. For instance, reinforced cement concrete (RCC) in the current Indian context has become a vernacular material too hastily, in spite of the rich tradition of diverse building techniques of the past. Some of the alternatives to RCC column frame construction are: Terracotta I nterlocking Tubes Hollow burnt clay tubes are stacked to achieve catenary vaults that require no structural steel. Substructure such as wooden rafters in terracotta roof tile application is redundant as the system is self supporting. Neither is shuttering required. This leads to an insulated roof based on locally produced materials and quick assembly. Terracotta Filler Slabs

Terracotta filler ex 1 wall house This is an option for building floor slabs that are not the uppermost and as such not require thermal insulation. The idea is to increase the effective slab depth and there by save steel substantially, while also reducing the volume of concrete by creating voids. Inexpensive and commonly used shuttering planks can be used to achieve good finish and plaster and paint can be eliminated leading to further savings. Terracotta Jack Arches Series of shallow vaults are built out of hollow burnt clay trapezoidal tubes that are assembled between prefabricated trapezoidal beams involving minimal steel for reinforcement, which is far less than the regular RCC slab. This option is ideal for roofs that are the uppermost layer and therefore need insulation but where the vault cannot be applied, such as in case of a desired flat terrace above. Ferrocement

http://buildotechindia.com/innovative-techniques-using-age-old-building-materials/

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Innovative Techniques using age-old building materials - Buildotech Magazine

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Terracotta cone technology 1 It is a type of thin-wall reinforced concrete construction where cement is reinforced with layers of small diameter mesh of metallic or other materials. Although similar to reinforced concrete, the amount and distribution of reinforcement is such that it acts as a composite material exhibiting a completely different behaviour compared to reinforced concrete. Ferrocement is always less than 3cm thick and reinforced concrete usually more than 10cm. It is easy to fabricate and skills for construction are quickly acquired including many skills that are traditional in developing countries. Ferrocement construction does not need heavy plant or machinery; it is labour intensive. Rammed Earth Lightly moistened soil excavated from the site or nearby is compacted in a shuttering similar to concrete for monolithic walls. The walls may be stabilized as in this case with an addition of 5% of cement to the soil mixture which makes the walls water resistant.

Terracotta jack arch 1 Fired M ud Bricks A highly peculiar building technique pioneered by Nader Khalili and further developed by Ray Meeker, the idea is to build brick houses, not by sourcing brick from factories, but by building large mud structures and firing them in-situ. The interesting aspect of this technique is that it treats the void of the house as a kiln and produces all or some of the necessary ceramic products to finish the house such as tiles, pipes, washbasins and toilet fittings. It eliminates the need for cement and steel and achieves a permanent house with local skills and materials. Tagged with: Anupama Kundoo Architecture Ferrocement Fired Mud Bricks Rammed Earth Terracotta Filler Slabs Terracotta Jack Arches Issue Month : April 4 Issue Year : 2012 Issue Volume : VOL.: 6 Issue Number : I SSUE.: Effective Building Envelope

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http://buildotechindia.com/innovative-techniques-using-age-old-building-materials/

4/17/2013