[GSBN] Colombage in Haiti (was Modeling or measuring mass effect of interior plaster)

Wed May 8 20:00:34 UTC 2013

Hello Jorge,

You beat me to it.  I¹m a co-author of the report/book on the ³Gingerbread
Houses² in Haiti.  Part of a small team sent by the World Monuments Fund to
investigate these remarkable Victorian-era houses 3 months after the
earthquake (see attached photos of a few, the second visibly distorted from
the earthquake).  Some of these buildings are extraordinary works of
architecture, and an important part of Haiti¹s cultural heritage.
Unfortunately many are in peril of disappearing.

The book is also published French.  This link gives access to free download
in English and French:

http://www.conservationtech.com/PROJECTS/2010HAITI/haiti(1)book.html

Three methods of construction were used  masonry bearing wall, colombage
(braced wood frame with masonry infill), or braced wood frame with wood
siding.  Sometimes more than one method in a single building.

Most used the colombage method, and we routinely saw them standing (though
some with damage) next to a collapsed reinforced concrete and concrete block
building (see 4th photo).  Even though the Gingerbread houses (the name used
by Haitians) are 85-120 years old (and the concrete buildings only 10-40
years), and often with deteriorated wood framing from rot or termites.
(Note: If I¹m reincarnated as a termite I will request deployment in the
termite paradise of Haiti).  Lots of reasons for that, but it demonstrated
the resilience of this wood reinforced masonry wall system.  (However,
Jorge, your statement that they were the only ones that did not fall down is
greatly overstated.)

There are many cousins of the colombage system, including what Jorge
mentioned in Portugal (gaiola).  There is also dhajji dewari and bhatar in
Paksitan, taq in Kashmir, and others by various names in Turkey and Spain,
and the many half-timber systems in Europe (fachwerk in Germany, etc).  An
excellent book on the buildings in Pakistan and Kashmir (³Don¹t Tear It
Down!²) was written by our Haiti team lead and can be seen at:
http://www.traditional-is-modern.net/

Also lots of related info at:  http://www.conservationtech.com/

Although none of this is strawbale, I see it all as vernacular ³natural²
building (using wood, rock, fired and un-fired brick, lime or earthen
mortars and plasters) (see last photo), as well as high architectural and
building system art.  I hope others see it as relevant.  I do think modern
applications are not only possible, but are being done.  I noticed interior
walls with a form of colombage in a strawbale building in one of the links
David Eisenberg just posted.  Jorge identified the poor insulation
shortcoming, but there are ways to address this (and is not an issue for
interior walls or in a tropical climate like Haiti¹s).

Martin

On 5/8/13 10:17 AM, "Van Krieken" <vankrieken at gmail.com> wrote:

> Concerning my last post, there is a very interesting paper about the colombage
> building in Haiti:
> 
> http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_publication/WMF%20Haiti%20Mission%2
> 0Report.pdf
> 
> Best
> 
> JVK
> Portugal
> 
> 
> On Wed, May 8, 2013 at 3:32 PM, Van Krieken <vankrieken at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> We put a 12 cm clay bricks  wall on the interior side of the strawbale walls,
>> filling the timber framing. 
>> 
>> We also leave a 2-3 cm space between the strawbale (also rendered with clay)
>> and these adobe bricks. If any condensation is to occur, looked to me that's
>> the way to avoid complications. Also, no chimenea effect, as there is nothing
>> there to burn.
>> 
>> We have temperatures of 43º C in Summer and -5ºC in Winter, and the inside
>> temperature of this house need very little heat on Winter (depends more on
>> the sun direction) and no refrigeration al all on Summer. Ofcourse, we need
>> good shading on Summer.
>> 
>> At this moment, we are building several houses with his method, using 10 and
>> 20 cm aglomerated cork painels instead of strawbale, rendered with lime mixed
>> with aglomerated cork granulate.
>> 
>> You may see the strawbale/colombage building method we use at
>> http://strawhouses.carbonmade.com
>> 
>> The colombage method was very popular in Europe and was known by the Romans
>> as the opus craticium technique.
>> 
>> In recent Haiti earthquake disasters, it seams that these colombage houses --
>> (the technique was taken to Haiti by young haitian architects graduated in
>> Paris in the early XX century) -- were the only ones that did not failed
>> down. 
>> 
>> In Portugal, we still have many houses like this with more then 400 years,
>> and still in good conditions.
>> 
>> However, they did not had a good insulation, so when you add a good
>> insulation from the outside (strawbale its also good), the result is
>>  amazing. 
>> 
>> And simple.
>> 
>> All the best
>> 
>> Jorge Van krieken
>> 
>> 

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