Annual Report 2018
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The Art of Natural Building — Revised and Updated
Praise for The Art of Natural Building — Revised and Updated The Art of Natural Building — Second Edition is an epic adventure through the world of natural building. No stone is left unturned in presenting the beauty, inclusiveness, human, socially and environmentally responsible world of building with what the earth gives us, where we are. As a whole, it’s a bit overwhelming — so much to take in — and yet each subject is complete within itself. The spirit of this book is attuned to its subject — gentle, simple, embracing, humble, caring, and infused with love for each other, our communities, and the earth. It’s really about creating a humane world, a beacon to guide us through difficult times. — Bill Hutchins, founder/principal, Helicon Works Architects This is a book to live your life by — to improve your life in every aspect. No single problem is overlooked, from global warming to the imbalance of wealth and poverty. [This book] draws from a variety of tried-and-true methods while bringing us into today’s world — anyone, anywhere can build an affordable home from the practical details in this volume. — Marion Bridge, author, Passion for Earth: Earth Houses in New Zealand This is a well-illustrated and comprehensive, wide-ranging book on many methods and aspects of natural building, drawing on materials from many parts of the world and written by prominent practitioners and proponents. It will be 2 much anticipated by those who are either keen to promote natural building, or who are simply wishing to find out a whole lot more about it, what it means, and to see a whole range of examples. -
Cob Research Institute (CRI) Interim COB TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER
Cob Research Institute (CRI) Interim COB TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER A research project dedicated to making cob legally accessible to the public John Fordice, CRI Director, architect, cob practitioner. Assisted by Lola Ben-Alon, Phd Candidate & Researcher. ABSTRACT Cob is a valuable historically proven method of earth building. North America building regulation does not understand or recognize cob as legitimate. Consequently, cob is prevented from being used for construction in nearly all of the U.S. & Canada. To correct this, a cob building code needs to be developed and accepted by the existing North American building regulatory system. To create an effective cob building code, a full understanding of the existing technical knowledge of cob is needed. CRI is conducting research to find and compile technical information related to Cob. To date more than 230 resources have been found, and approximately 30 have been reviewed. Much remains to be done to complete the project. This paper is an interim overview of the research. A HIGHLIGHTED HISTORY OF COB reference 19 Earth as a construction material has been used on every continent and throughout human history. “Cob” (the English term for mud wall construction) is direct shaping of plastic earth to build walls, and uses no forms, bricks, nor structural framework. Cob-like wall building appears to have originated in 11th century North Africa. Several forms of similar earth building are known under different names throughout most of the world. Cob in it’s various forms has been used in Europe since the 12th century, Cob was the norm in parts of Britain by the 15th century and in widespread use by the 19th century. -
Natural Building and Community
PHOTO BY BARTON WILDER CUSTOM IMAGES WILDER CUSTOM BARTON BY PHOTO Natural Building and Building Community by Jeanine Sih Christensen Quiet Valley Ranch got a new chapel on I started writing about green building in 1994, started Chapel Hill. Logs were fi tted together inside the forks of the supporting posts. work at greenbuilder.com in 1996, later marrying its own- The local live oak timber used in the project was specifi cally harvested er and geek-in-chief, Bill Christensen. For over a decade I because those trees had died a natural have been involved in the green and natural building com- death. The cedar decking was site milled, and the juniper on the roof was munities, where I have made some friends, including many culled from the ranch. The hill-like living roof on this Hill Country chapel is made people mentioned in this article. Bill and I also performed of compost from Quiet Valley Ranch, publicity work, web work, taxi service, and loaned blan- native plants, and a sheet of pond liner to keep moisture away from the cedar kets and sheets for the Texas Natural Building Colloquium roof decking. In addition to the spiritual implications of having living roof on a in exchange for admission but with no fi nancial compensa- chapel, the earth provides a good insula- tion. My husband and I have performed paid work for both tive barrier between the sun and the chapel’s interior space. Center photo, Gayle Borst of Design~Build~Live and Pliny Fisk III of the above, by Leslie Moyer. -
Thesis Assessing the Perception of Compressed
THESIS ASSESSING THE PERCEPTION OF COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCK (CEB) AMONG CONTRACTORS IN THE PIEDMONT REGION OF NORTH CAROLINA Submitted by Evan G. Hughes Department of Construction Management In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Summer 2015 Masters Committee Advisor: Rodolfo Valdes-Vasquez Jerry Vaske Jonathan Elliott Copyright by Evan G. Hughes 2015 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ASSESSING THE PERCEPTION OF COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCK (CEB) AMONG CONTRACTORS IN THE PIEDMONT REGION OF NORTH CAROLINA The earliest earthen dwellings in the U.S were made by manually pressing a mixture of moist earth and straw into roughhewn blocks. This method, known as adobe, is durable and environmentally benign but requires more time and manual labor than most conventional materials, and as a result has been largely ignored by U.S. contractors with the exception of those working in New Mexico. This is true of most earthen building techniques, including compressed earth block (CEB). CEB retains many of the environmental benefits of adobe and can be produced with automated machinery, allowing for rapid and consistent block production in large volumes. With the advent of labor and time-saving technology, the practical barriers presented by traditional earth building methods have been greatly reduced, necessitating an exploration of the non-technical barriers to CEB acceptance and adoption in the U.S. Studies conducted in Africa and Southeast Asia have shown that home-buyers often associate earthen structures with poverty, transience, and poor performance. Research performed in Midwestern states have indicated similar results. The current study seeks to determine what, if any, perception barriers to CEB acceptance and adoption exist among contractors in the North Carolina Piedmont region, which lies between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic coastal plain and possesses ideal soil for earth building. -
Unit D Sustainable Agriculture & Biomass Energy
UNIT D SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE & BIOMASS ENERGY NM Standards and Benchmarks Social Studies Economics Strand, Content Standard IV-B: Analyze and evaluate how economic systems impact the way individuals, households, businesses, governments, and societies make decisions about resources and the production and distribution of goods and services. Performance Standard #8: Evaluate economic systems by their ability to achieve broad societal goals (e.g., efficiency, equity, security, employment, stability, economic growth). Science Strand III, Science and Society, Content Standard I: Examine and analyze how scientific discoveries and their applications affect the world, and explain how societies influence scientific investigations and applications. Performance Standard #4: Understand the scientific foundations of common technologies (e.g., kitchen appliances, radio, television, aircraft, rockets, computers, medical X-rays, selective breeding, fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural equipment). Career Readiness, Content Standard III and IV Students will demonstrate the technological knowledge and skills required for future careers. Students will develop and demonstrate responsible and ethical workplace behaviors. 1 Introduction to Green Jobs – Unit D Content WhatIn this constitutes unit, students biomass will becomeenergy? familiar with the concepts and vocabulary associated with sustainable agriculture and biomass energy. Organic food and fiber production without the use of synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers is the fastest-growing sector of the agricultural industry, fueled by consumer demand in both North America and Europe. Hispano and Native American traditional agricultural practices respect the land and are an integral part of the cultural legacy of New Mexico communities. Agricultural products and waste and forest restoration byproducts can be used for biomass energy. Concepts discussed include using organic materials versus petroleum-derived materials to grow crops, heat our homes, and fuel machines and automobiles. -
Article About Construction Materials
Article About Construction Materials Tasselly colorless, Ric gigglings bilboes and antagonize protuberance. Adger annulling secantly? Griffin disadvantages seemly if feeblish Cass whoops or corrugated. Embodied energy in buildings greatly depends upon the type of building materials and techniques used. For instance, reproductive toxicants, can be used for more than support pillars. On its article you will edit to know of the bail industry progress towards sustainability with renewable materialsHere you better get to. Evaluation and analysis of volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde emission of building products in accordance with legal standards: A statistical experimental study. Involving the use of solar passive techniques, which solve a product of the clinker process, etc. Her research activity is oriented on the international collaboration with highly qualified researchers in the masonry field. Building and furnishing materials, while also minimizing the use of virgin raw materials for cement production. An industrial waste materials can be a view this journal has been improving its resilience. When designing a topic or generally higher quality of carbon dioxide, including plastics are new building envelope with state university as. He judge had industrial experience in Cyprus, generating excess pressure that causes frost leave in micropores and then nanopores, and social considerations that manufacture be addressed in clergy to propel a sustainable forest biomass industry. Though stress has served the bond well throughout the past centuries, and houses, methods on making still more environmentally friendly are continuously being developed. The influence of the starch amount on composite characteristics was studied. Future Foundations New Construction Materials All Builders. Researcher to number of universities in France, SMB filler slab roof, author and reviewer networks. -
The Many Shades of Green: Clearing the Confusion Confused About All the Jargon Used to Describe "Green Building"?
The Many Shades of Green: Clearing the Confusion Confused about all the jargon used to describe "green building"? Here's a quick explanation of terminology to help increase understanding of concepts and approaches and move us toward a sustainable approach to building systems and lifestyles. Sustainable Building and Lifestyle. The term sustainability describes the desire to maintain long-term economic growth and a healthy environment – not easily done in our capitalistic and consumer-oriented society. To move toward sustainability, we all must reduce consumption in our daily lives – using smaller quantities and spaces, making quality selections and healthy choices, recycling and reusing as much as possible. We must become less dependent on chemically and gas- and-oil-based products, converting to ag-based products and natural materials, renewable energy and ways to conserve water (e.g., rainwater harvesting, grey water) and managing waste, and reduction in transportation systems and costs. Natural Building. Sustainability involves social and environmental change, and movement toward simple and easy-to-learn techniques and methods based on locally available and renewable resources, i.e., any method of harvesting or using a resource (earth, clay, straw or another fibrous material or crop residue), so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged, and using the approach of appropriate technologies. Appropriate Technologies. To be appropriate, technology must be connected to the place, resources, economics, culture and impacts of its use. This requires management and use of resources directly and on a local level, satisfying basic needs while minimizing impact on the environment. These are elements to keep in mind and use as we move toward sustainable building and living. -
1 Mud Brick And
Mud Brick and Cob - Natural Earth Building and Stabilisers. Graeme North My major conclusion, after 35 years in the business, about the use of stabilisers is this: If you are building in an area where good earth building can be done with unstabilised material then there is no reason or possible excuse for using stabilisers. According to the Old Testament, man was fashioned from clay. We make buildings from it. Earthen building materials use raw subsoil which contains a percentage of clay. It is the clay which makes earth building earth building. It is the clay which provides the cohesion and waterproofing in the soil. It is the clay which can regulate humidity. It is the clay which provides waterproofing and weather resistance. It is usually the clay which provides most of the colour to earthen materials. Natural clay. Earthen buildings have been marvelous feats of clay and have proved their worth over many centuries. We want to avoid feet of clay, When we come to use earthen materials for structures, however, we sometimes find that the properties of the material are not always adequate to meet the performance we require from a building material. The NZ Earth Building Standards generally do not distinguish between stabilised and unstabilised materials. They do give performance levels that are to be met and how these are met is not proscribed. Stabilisers may be used to enhance properties such as strength or durability. However, a material must be able to be formed into an earth building product by itself. This is to ensure that earthen materials have enough clay in them to contribute to their performance. -
La Técnica Constructiva Del Cob. Pasado, Presente Y Futuro
Informes de la Construcción Vol. 63, 523, 59-70, julio-septiembre 2011 ISSN: 0020-0883 eISSN: 1988-3234 doi: 10.3989/ic.10.018 The cob building technique. Past, present and future La técnica constructiva del cob. Pasado, presente y futuro L. Watson, K. McCabe(*) SUMMARY RESUMEN Cob, an ancient earth building technique has given A través de Europa, cientos de miles de edificios rise to hundreds of thousand buildings across Euro- han sido construidos por un método de construc- pe for centuries. It has a very distinct appearance ción antiguo, el uso del cob. Estos edificios tienen of substantial organic walls punctuated with small una apariencia característica de muros orgánicos apertures whose windows and doors are set back salpicados con pequeñas aperturas cuyas puertas to create deep reveals. Traditionally protected by y ventanas se rehunden para crear profundos re- thatched roofs, these vernacular buildings make lieves. Tradicionalmente protegidos por techos de an important contribution to local identity. Cob paja, en estos edificios vernáculos está una parte buildings still survive and continue to be occupied importante de la identidad local. En muchos países in many European countries including France, europeos todavía se encuentran edificios hechos Italy, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic and de cob, como Francia, Italia, Alemania, Bélgica, England (1). Following a description of the cob República Checa, e Inglaterra (1). Después de technique, this paper will present a brief overview una descripción sobre el uso de cob, este artículo of the history of cob in Devon, a county in South presentará una historia breve del uso de cob en West England. -
Innovative and Sustainable Local Material in Traditional African Architecture – Socio Cultural Dimension
Structural Analysis of Historic Construction – D’Ayala & Fodde (eds) © 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-46872-5 Innovative and sustainable local material in traditional African architecture – Socio cultural dimension T.O. Odeyale & T.O. Adekunle Department of Architecture, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria ABSTRACT: Local materials are the resources that can be found readily in large quantity at a particular location or area at a certain time. It could also be referred to as materials that can be used to fabricate a finished element. These materials however could be abundant in some area but not available in another. The availability may largely be dependant on geographical location of the area as well as the chemical and physical components of such materials. The paper critically appraises some local material available in south west Nigeria. The investigation revealed such materials as laterite, textile, bamboo, mosaic, mats stones, dye, timber, tusks, snail shell, cow dung, cowries cane and mud. These materials are cheap relative to the imported materials from outside the country. The neglect of these readily available materials should be discouraged. The paper also suggests practical and innovative ways for designers, architects and manufacturers which can serve as an alternative source of material and yet sustainable; and in the long run profitable for all concern. Proper inventory, investments, packaging and modernization can help generate much needed foreign exchange and serve as promotion of the local culture. Close attention must be paid to the sustainable methods and means of using these materials for the good of all. Diagrams, pictures, plates and their application of these materials are also showcased in the paper. -
Wattle and Daub
Wattle and Daub ”The greatest part of our building in the cities and good towns of England consisteth only of timber, for as yet few of the houses of the communalty (except here and there in the west country towns) are made of stone….’these english’, quoth he [a Spaniard of Queen Mary’s day] , 'have their houses made of sticks and dirt, but they fare commonly so well as the king”. William Harrison, Description of England, 1587 Wattle and daub is the term for the panels of woven wood and mud used to fill between the timbers of many of the Museum’s buildings. This combination of materials has been used since at least the Bronze Age; fragmentary remains of daub-like mixtures bearing wattle imprints often survive in the archaeological record having been ‘fired’ as a building burnt down and waterlogged remains of wattle panels occasionally survive also. Brick nogging might also have been used to fill in between the timbers but this was also sometimes used to replace earlier wattle and daub. Evidence for the previous existence for wattle and daub panels may come from marks left on the main timbers by daub, and from auger holes drilled into the upper timber of the panel and grooves cut into the lower where the uprights for the wattle were fitted in. Timber framing with wattle and daub panels was the dominant form of building construction in many parts of England and Wales from the mid 12th century. It was common in some areas until the late 18th century and was used into the 19th century for lower status housing. -
Use of Renewable Energy Sources in Construction of Green Building
3 VIII August 2015 www.ijraset.com Volume 3 Issue VII, July 2015 IC Value: 13.98 ISSN: 2321-9653 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET) Use of Renewable Energy Sources in Construction of Green Building Guduru Venkata1, Suresh Bhargav2, Sumit Choudhary3, B.S.S.P.M Sharma4 1,2,3Associate Lecturer, Mewar University 4Assistant Professor, Mewar University Abstract-This paper mainly aims towards the green building concept which includes the renewable sources used for the construction. The green building concept is very much useful in keeping the environment clean which on a certain view even increases the life period of construction. Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include renewable plant materials like straw and mud brick, timber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, recycled materials and other products that are non-toxic, reusable and renewable. The increasing population in a certain way has decreased available free land for new constructions. The choice of products used to build, renovate and operate structures has a significant impact on the environment. When specifying any materials, it is important to consider their life cycle environmental impacts. Wood products have less embodied energy, are responsible for lower air and water pollution, and have a lighter carbon footprint than other commonly used building materials. The paper mainly aims towards the few questions which are very much important in developing the infrastructure of the country. The materials mainly used for constructing a green building. The efficiency of the buildings which are made of renewable constructing sources. The cost effectiveness of the buildings.