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<FONT FACE="Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14.0px'>All, <BR>
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I will second both, as I was in complete agreement yesterday when four people from this list were in the same room in fertile discussion among ourselves, and Mark and Henri, about bamboo and alternative masonry unit testing. We looked at each other and immediately agreed both would be great additions to the GSBN. In fact we were surprised they weren’t on already. (How often has that happened?) <BR>
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Both Mark and Henri have excellent experience and minds regarding the engineering aspects of strawbale and other natural building materials and systems. Mark has done intensive work with me on the proposed strawbale code regarding seismic performance, and as Bruce mentioned, has been at the helm of many structural tests of strawbale wall systems and components. Mark is also a contributing author of Design of Straw Bale Buildings, and has written peer-reviewed papers for engineering journals and conferences on the structural capacities of strawbale construction.<BR>
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Henri has done the structural design for a number of strawbale buildings in seismically active California and is the project engineer for the first straw bale building in Haiti (I owe the GSBN a post on this work. I go back to Haiti tonight, Bruce follows). Henri cut his strawbale teeth working with David Mar (by the way, what about David Mar on the GSBN?). Both an architect and engineer he brings both sensibilities to his work.<BR>
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Occasionally there is talk about there being too many representatives on the GSBN from one place or region. At this point there might be more members from the San Francisco bay area or northern California than anywhere else. This area just seems to be a cauldron of good strawbale minds, and I feel privileged to be surrounded by so many capable people who are making great contributions to this many-dimensioned movement.<BR>
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Cheers.<BR>
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Martin Hammer<BR>
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On 1/6/11 2:56 AM, "Bruce King" <bruce@ecobuildnetwork.org> wrote:<BR>
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Baleheads --<BR>
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A small network of folks has been at work adapting natural building technologies to Haiti, and it suddenly made us aware that two of us are not but should be on this list. I want to vigorously put forth a nomination for:<BR>
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<B>Mark Aschheim</B>, professor of structural engineering at Santa Clara University. Many of Marks students are at work testing bamboo joinery for us, and getting an education in earthen construction, straw bale, and the weird but irresistible humor of folks like us. Mark did a lot of the heavy lifting 10 years ago when we (EBNet) conducted seismic tests of straw bale walls.<BR>
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<B>Henri Mannik</B> is both an architect and structural engineer, was working with David Mar back during the EBNet test program, and is now out on his own doing lots of natural buildings. He engineered the first straw bale building in Haiti, now nearing completion.<BR>
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Do I hear seconds?<BR>
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Thanks,<BR>
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Bruce King, PE<BR>
Director of EBNet<BR>
Ecological Building Network<BR>
<B><I>the art and science of building well<BR>
</I></B>bruce@ecobuildnetwork.org <BR>
PO Box 6397<BR>
San Rafael, CA 94903 USA<BR>
(415) 987-7271<BR>
follow us on Twitter: @EBNetwork<BR>
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