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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>My further 2 cents - from living and working
in Southern Africa in a diverse range of natural and cultural landscapes I echo
Keller Lerner’s take on observing and asking lots of questions first so
as to be prepared to come up with and adapting to a whole range of appropriate
solutions…. I would say looking at recycling all the rubble in various
ways could definitely be something to incorporate…I’ve used
building rubble for rubble trench foundations, in timber ladder re-enforced “sand”
bag walls and in rock gabions before. I have also build a “rubble-crete”
wall - a random rubble stone wall except using stones are blocks of rubble.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Architectural history offers plenty of clues
to successful approaches to natural building. Vernacular buildings styles
and materials have adapted to their specific climatic and resource bases some over
many centuries. At times solutions can vary remarkably according to very
specific local conditions. However, many common patterns emerge. In humid
climates one often observes that buildings are typically raised off the ground
to help with air movement. The roofs are often high volume mostly hipped roofs
with big overhangs and wrap around verandah’s to help shade the walls and
openings from the blazing sun. From a thermal comfort point of view, I would
say buildings that hold heat – like concrete buildings are a total
disaster in humid climates. They are hot day and night! Having travelled in the
tropics and grown up in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Swaziland</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
which is only a semi tropical climate, I know allot about humidity and let me
tell you its all in the breeze! Cross ventilation is key to designing a
thermally comfortable house.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>As far as materials go, what is a locally
appropriate and relies on renewable non fossil fuel based resources would be my
question. Perhaps bamboo – it grows extremely fast – especially in
tropical zones and is an excellent building material. In <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Laos</st1:place></st1:country-region> people
live in houses entirely constructed of Bamboo – tiles, floors, beams
roofs walls, gutters, down pipes, furniture, cutlery etc. I saw old French colonial
buildings in Luang Prabang made of something they called “Collonberge”
where they lime plastered (area of pure limestone geology) over woven split
bamboo panels between expressed timber and / or bamboo structures. The current
local vernacular of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Laos</st1:place></st1:country-region>
had “modernized” where it had started replacing the timber posts
with these thin pre-cast concrete frames probably only 200x200mm thin!!! The
rest is the typical vernacular with local woven bamboo screens, clay tile,
bamboo tile or corrugated iron roofing. Must say the concrete did not always
look the most structurally sound as a vernacular ….but could be something
to consider – as a compromise - where trees are scarce – though would
think bamboo would suffice. Things like observing moon phase harvesting and
proper curing or destarching by heat of washing to remove nutrient content from
the bamboo would be essential as one would not want to use toxic pesticides
with its construction.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>In my travels to Japan, which can get extremely
humid and suffers from many typhoons and earthquakes, I witnessed 400 - 600
year old bamboo timber wattle and daub buildings – some 4 storey high - essentially
built for timber posts on small little stone feet to stay dry with bamboo sub-framing
and split bamboo wicker work first covered with big daubs of rice straw cob and
then plastered over with layers of very fibre rich earth plasters. I saw one of
such old 3 storey structures in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kyoto</st1:place></st1:City>
sadly being demolished - All the old bamboo was still in perfect
condition as was the long rice straw in the cob!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Andy Horn<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Eco Design Architects<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>6<sup>th</sup> floor <st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street
w:st="on">79 Roeland St</st1:Street>, <st1:City w:st="on">CAPE TOWN</st1:City></st1:address>,
8001<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Tel: 021 462 1614 Fax: 021 461 3198<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><a
href="http://www.ecodesignarchitects.co.za/">www.ecodesignarchitects.co.za</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
GSBN-bounces@greenbuilder.com [mailto:GSBN-bounces@greenbuilder.com] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Kelly Lerner<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> 19 February 2010 07:19 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> GSBN@greenbuilder.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [GSBN] Bales for <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></font><span
lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Hi all,<br>
Just my two-cents worth from working in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>. For developing a
sustainable, appropriate building approach in any new country, I think you need
to employ an investigative approach - lots of questions:<br>
What's the climate? <br>
Other environmental factors (earthquakes, hurricanes, etc)?<br>
What materials are available? (resource mapping)<br>
What skills do people already have? (resource mapping)<br>
What are/were people living in now? traditionally? What worked and didn't work
about those housing types?<br>
What's the family structure?<br>
What are the economic factors?<br>
What do people want? <br>
etc, etc, etc<br>
<br>
Strawbale construction may make sense or there may be some other techniques
that are better suited to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region>
(reinforced waddle and daub or reinforced adobe?). Rural and urban locations
will have different solutions. Establishing relationships that empower people
to look around them for solutions is always a good place to begin.<br>
<br>
I do worry about the longevity of strawbale walls in a climate with so little
drying potential and so much wetting potential (rains and hurricanes and
poverty which often equals lack of ability to maintain roofs). <br>
<br>
All my best to you all.<br>
<br>
Kelly<br>
<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<x-sigsep>
<p style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'></x-sigsep><font size=3 color=green
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:green'>Kelly Lerner,
Architect<br>
Certified Sustainable Building Advisor<br>
One World Design Architecture<x-tab> </x-tab>509-838-8812<br>
<a href="http://www.one-world-design.com/" eudora=autourl>www.one-world-design.com<br>
</a><a href="http://www.naturalremodeling.com/" eudora=autourl>www.naturalremodeling.com<br>
<br>
</a>Have you read <b><i><span style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>Natural
Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House</span></i></b>? Available in bookstores
throughout the universe.<br>
<br>
<br>
</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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