[GSBN] Catalan vaulting

Wed Sep 21 21:26:03 UTC 2011

Thank you so much for this link.

Its also very interesting to take a look at the Indian Arches, Vaults and
Domes, developed by Auroville Earth Institute, in India. Their techniques
and equipement are amazing!

http://www.earth-auroville.com/vaulted_structures_introduction_en.php

Regards

Jorge VK
Portugal

On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 11:43 AM, valentina maini <vmaini at mac.com> wrote:

> Thank you Kim for the great Link!. And....is sad that here in Catalonia
> were the system is so traditional and present in buildings until XIX
> century...we are loosing the knowledge and skills among builders and
> architects....
> thank you again, valentina
>
>
> El 20/09/2011, a las 01:04, kim thompson escribió:
>
> Hi
> Further to Bob's notes. My interest in catalan vaults was rekindled through
> various personal (indirect) connections to Peter Rich (Architect). Peter won
> the
> World Building of the Year award for Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in S.
> Africa. (
> http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/news-detail.cfm?newsId=120)
>
> See also his work at:
> http://www.theearthawards.org/site/built-environment-win/
>   I quote the web site for The Earth Awards:
> "One of the biggest infrastructure challenges facing developing countries
> is the need to build with local skills and materials. A country cannot
> become self-sufficient if it relies on Western construction techniques and
> imported talent and the budget is rarely available.This challenge was taken
> up by architect Michael Ramage of Cambridge University and engineering
> professor John Ochsendorf of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Working
> with South Africa-based architect Peter Rich they have pioneered a solution
> for sustainable building in the world’s poorest and remote areas.
>
> Sustainable Shells has been held up as a truly global revolution in
> construction, winning it recognition as the finalist in the 2010 Earth
> Awards’ Built Environment category.Sustainable Shells marries earth bricks
> with traditional tile vaulting to enable the construction of strong and
> durable medium-sized buildings. Versatile in its design, it provides a new
> opportunity for communities to develop the skills needed to build their own
> schools, clinics and homes.
>
> Michael Ramage explains: “Sustainable Shells is about making a home from
> the ground on which is it built. It is about giving a community the skills
> and tools to construct their own buildings without the need for costly
> imports. Most importantly, it gives people the confidence to construct their
> own environments and be truly self-reliant”.
>
> Peter Rich Architects and Ramage’s team have worked with tile press
> manufacturers to pioneer the first stabilised-earth tiles for structural
> vaulting, made from earth and a small quantity of cement. The vaulting
> technique is centuries old. What is new about Sustainable Shells is its
> combination of locally-made earth tiles with structural vaulting (rather
> thanfired bricks) to maximise the energy savings and effectiveness of
> construction.
>
> Michael adds “The most effective sustainable design comes where constraints
> drive innovation. We identified a challenge and have addressed it with
> Sustainable Shells – a brand new way of building which can radically reduce
> the energy consumed. This is exactly what The Earth Awards is about:
> identifying new techniques which help people all over the world to build a
> better tomorrow.”
> kim
>
> On 2011-09-19, at 4:47 PM, Bob Theis wrote:
>
>
> It's not really about bales, but some of us have been grousing for years
> now that our wall systems are quite green but our roof systems  are
> business as usual.
>
> Well,  Kim Thompson reminded me of a technique I loved while living in the
> depths of NYC, but forgot about when I got to California. And I've been
> talking it up since, so I decided to save myself some effort by posting an
> introduction here.
>
> Known variously as Catalan vaulting, timbrel vaulting, cohesive
> construction, or Guastavino vaulting, it's centuries old, had its heyday in
> the industrial world in the early 1900s, ( for the archinerds, Gaudi and
> McKim, Mead and White used it extensively ) and is so counterintuitive it
> still makes my head hurt.
>
> It's used to form vaults and domes,  and big ones, too.  Using several
> layers of thin flat tiles,  something like 6" x 12" x 3/4 - 1 " thick.
> Traditionally ceramic, but recently pressed soil cement has been used.
>
> The first layer gets installed using a gypsum mortar, buttered at the edges
> and tapped into place without any falsework under it ( ! )  This is possible
> because gypsum sets so fast. After the first layer has been extended out a
> few feet, it is followed with at least two additional layers laid with
> cement lime mortar, typically in diagonal courses to avoid joint alignment
> between layers.  Out into space it extends until you lock it all up at the
> apex.
>
> Impressive enough, but the astounding part is how fiendishly strong the
> finished product is.  The floor vaults created with it at places like the
> Boston Public Library ( McKim, Mead and White,  architects) are incredibly
> flat, with a rise to span like 1:10. I wish I had a copy of the photo my
> architectural  history professor showed, of a vault being demolished by a
> worker with a jackhammer standing on half a vault  cantilevered out about 15
> feet.
>
> There's a revival of interest in the technique in academie,  and MIT is one
> of its hotbeds. They've set up several good websites, and  is a good place
> to start.  Professors there have advised on the design of recent buildings,
> including one in very rural South Africa, which has a good photo album at
> http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bellamyjk/BuildingInSouthAfrica#  ( Thanks
> to Kim for the link )
>
> There are issues to address, of course, such as how best to insulate it,
> and whether it needs to be made more ductile for seismic regions. But it's
> handsome,  fireproof, rot proof and not based on sticks; that seems like a
> good place to start.
>
> Check it out. Tell Guastavino I sent you.
>
> Bob
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