This Oxfordshire farmer has built an eco-house in his garden, using only natural materials for £150. The 'cob house' was built using only earth, clay and straw. The inside was mainly built using materials from a rubbish skip. … Read more
Underground Greenhouse How to build an underground greenhouse
This greenhouse is very cheap and effective as it uses the principles of passive solar heating with earth-sheltered building to allow heat energy to be stored. For only $300 the Benson Institute was able to build an underground greenhouse measuring 6mx22.5m. … Read more
Hassan Fathy Architecture The Vernacular Architect of the Egyptian Architect, Hassan Fathy
Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy died in 1989 but left behind a legacy of 160 building projects ranging from small projects to large-scale communities complete with mosques and schools. Hassan Fathy is the most famous of the Egyptian Architects, who used traditional materials, means of construction, and vernacular styles in his search for an inexpensive form of architecture for the poor. His projects are based on the use of a narrow range of forms made from morphological and structural elements … Read more
Mudbrick Houses Ecologically sustainable building with mud
Due to the scarcity of wood, the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud brick and stone, mainly limestone, but also sandstone and granite in considerable quantities. From the Old Kingdom onward, stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, while bricks were used even for royal palaces, fortresses, the walls of temple precincts and towns, and for subsidiary buildings in temple complexes. The core of the pyramids came from stone quarried in the area, … Read more
Tandoor Clay Ovens Ovens consisting of a clay-lined pit or a large, earthen jar buried in the ground
A traditional Tandoor oven is a cylindrical clay oven with wood coals at the bottom. The thick clay inner walls of a Tandoori oven hold in heat and radiate it back to the food. Some Tandoors are set into the ground for increased insulation. The Tandoor is used for cooking cooking meat, poultry, fish or bread in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Transcaucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia as well as India and Bangladesh. Food is exposed to live coals and cooks via convection … Read more
Kerpiç (Adobe Brick) Natural building with sand, clay and water
Kerpiç (adobe brick) is a traditional construction material made out of clay and straw widely used in Anatolia, also in the Middle East and the Americas. Use of adobe brick dates back to 7500 BC in one of the earliest human settlements in Catalhoyuk, Anatolia. As such, adobe bricks used for construction are made out of clay, with straw and manure and are baked in the sun before they are used. The result is not as hardy as regular bricks and it becomes less so with time, being especially … Read more
Beehive Houses Traditional Natural building
Beehive homes can be found in the midst of hot deserts and cities. Most are found in rural farming communities, but there are also villages located in Urfa, Turkey and Aleppo (the largest city in Syria), which have been continually inhabited since the 6th millennium BC. Beehive homes are used for both storage and residences. Built from all natural local materials, the thick walls help cool the interior by keeping out the sun, and acting as thick insulation. The walls are made from mud bricks … Read more
Open Courtyards Creating Cool Spaces in Buildings
Under some circumstances, architectural designs can be used to take advantage of the sun as a driving force for maintaining air movement. Warm air is less dense than cool air and therefore will rise in an environment of cool air. This movement is called convection. The relatively static cooling system used in a courtyard house can provide the basis for understanding modifications that can generate air movement by convection. In hot dry zones, air temperature drops considerably after sunset from … Read more
Malqaf Wind catch tower (Malqaf)
To satisfy the need for ventilation alone, the Malqaf or wind-catch was invented. It is a shaft rising high above the roofline, with an single large opening and a diagonally sloping top that faces the prevailing wind. It traps the wind from high above the building where it is cooler and stronger, and channels it down into the interior of the building. The Malqaf thus dispenses with the need for ordinary windows to ensure ventilation and air movement. The Malqaf is also useful in reducing the … Read more
Construcción con Paja y Tierra
- Date: 11 – 16 April 2017
- Language:
- Spanish
- Location: Can Cases (Castelví de Rosanes, Barcelona), Spain
¿QUÉ Y PARA QUIÉN? Descripción Curso: Este curso está pensado para personas que no tienen gran experiencia con la construcción con paja, y tienen interés en construir con un sistema de “relleno”; es decir, que se hace un ESTRUCTURA que carga con el peso del tejado, y se rellena con paja para el cerramiento y aislamiento del edificio. En la práctica, aprenderemos todo lo básico sobre construcción con Paja revoques de tierra arcillosa: elegir, medir y manipular balas como … Read more
