Mud Brick Architecture and the Case of Korestia
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Nafsika Exintaveloni UD RICK RCHITECTURE AND THE ASE OF Athanassios Balasas M B A C Fani Vavili KORESTIA VILLAGES IN GREECE Clay and mud-bricks as construction materials reinforce their consistency and additives (sand, – Composition, properties, improvement of gravel, ceramic fragments, etc.) that prevent them material from shrinking when dried. The mixture is then Clay is a material which is in abundance poured into single or multiple oblong molds and everywhere on earth. It is a loose, earthy, the resulting bricks are left to dry under the sun extremely fine-grained, natural sediment or soft for 10 to 15 days .[2] rock composed primarily of clay-size or colloidal Building with clay was purely empirical and did particles and characterized by high plasticity and not follow any construction regulations, so today by a considerable content of clay mineral and that method is not used any more. subordinate amounts of finely divided quartz, Mud-bricks have many advantages, such as the decomposed feldspar, carbonates, ferruginous fact that they can be made from local materials, matter and other impurities, a product of long- they are recyclable, environment friendly, term erosion of surface rocks1. incombustible, cheap, they do not require special The stabilization of clay, namely the improvement skills or large amounts of energy for their Fig.1 - Oblong mud-bricks are laid out to dry under of some of its characteristics can be achieved construction, they have plasticity, they provide the sun through: insulation against sound or temperature Source: www.flickr.com/photos/ variations, adequate rigidity to the building and 28723020@N05/2682593185/ a) altering its granulometric curve by adding subsequent elasticity against earthquakes, and sand and gravel or by adding argillaceous finally, they can act as barriers against minerals, electromagnetic radiation. b) adding hydraulic mortars, Clay can maintain the humidity of a building’s c) adding plant, animal or synthetic fibers, such interior atmosphere stable between 50% and as hay, animal hair, etc. 55%, it protects any wooden parts that are in contact with it and can preserve the small amount Mud-bricks are hand-made (fig. 1) and do not of hay that is mixed into it. have fixed dimensions. These can range from On the downside it has some disadvantages, such 20x10x16cm up to 40x20x20cm. as the increased thickness of the walls that are Their construction method is based on mixing built with it, the necessity for reinforcing the argillaceous clay, fibers (hay, animal hair, etc.) that construct with hay or fiberglass, reduced Fig.2 - Djenn Mosque in Mali is built entirely with mud bricks. Source: http://palinstravels.co.uk/book-1943 tolerance against compressive forces, susceptibility against erosion from water and frost and the subsequent need for plastering. Mud-brick from ancient times until today Clay was introduced to construction some 10.000-12.000 years ago, while the method for producing mud-bricks with molds as we know it today evolved in the Mesopotamian area 7.000 years ago and to the settlement of Khirokitia in Cyprus (6.000 – 7.000 b.C.). In the book of Exodus there are mentions of mud- brick constructions, but also in the works of Aeschylus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Aristotle, Galenus, Pausanias, Vitruvius, etc. Mud-bricks as construction material (adobe) were used throughout the ages in public and private works3 around the world: In Jericho (bread-loaf sized mud-bricks), Egypt (the mausoleum of Ramses II, 3.200 b.C), Iran4 (Chogha Zanbil ziggurat, 13th century b.C.), India (Tabo monastery, 996 b.C.), Fig. 3 - Private house in Trikala, Thessaly, Greece Photo: Fani Vavili, 2012 Bagdad, Samara, Mexico, America (settlements of Pueblo native Americans), Greece 018 SMC Magazine n. ONE Fig. 4 - The stone foundations that support this mud- brick wall protrude from the ground for protection against humidity Photo: Athanassios Balasas, Nafsika Exintaveloni, 2009 Fig. 5 - West Basin House, New Mexico. Source: http://www.dailytonic.com/west-basin-house- new-mexico-by-signer-harris-architects/ are produced by clay that contains 8% to 18% hero, Orestes. The Korestia consist of the villages humidity, increased density and improved of Agios Antonios, Mavrokampos, Ano and Kato physical and mechanical properties5. Kranionas, Gavros, Neos Oikismos, Halara, Walls that are built with non-stabilized mud- Makrohori, Melas, Ano Melas, Poimeniko, Kottas, Map 1 - In this map of Greece, Kastoria County bricks have 3.6 times lower resistances in Prasino, Trigono, Antartiko, Koryfi and Trivouno. where the Korestia villages are situated is marked in red. Map created by Nafsika Exintaveloni comparison to similar walls built with traditional, It can’t be pinpointed exactly when they were compact, hand-made bricks. Mud-brick structures established, but verbal testimonies confirm their can be made to meet the necessary requirements presence in the beginning of the 18th century. for load bearing walls, if there are no special The village houses are in complete harmony with (Neolithic settlements of Sesklo, Dimini, N. restrictions as far as the building’s seismic their surrounding environment (fig. 6), they have Nicomedia, 6.200 b.C, ancient Olynthus, the wall behavior is concerned. This is very important, common morphological characteristics and their of Eleusina, 5th century b.C, Thera, Knossos, 4.000 since it debunks the long-held belief that mud- basic construction material is the mud-brick. b.C), Yemen (eight and twelve story buildings in brick structures were unreliable6. Their urban and architectural character was the city of Shibam and Sanaa), Africa (Dogon and Today, architects like Signer Harris (West Basin shaped by the natural environment, the terrain, Tellem tribe settlements in Mali, the mosque of House, New Mexico, fig. 5), Rael San Fratello (Mud the river Livadopotamos and the economic and Djenn, fig. 2), etc. House, 2009, Marfa West Texas) or the office of social framework of local communities. Most of It should be pointed out that in many Greek Arias Arquitectos Surtiera Arquitectura (Casa these mountain villages are rural and do not villages, especially in the regions of northern Munita Gonzalez, Chile), etc. were inspired by clay follow any particular urban planning, whereas Greece, Thrace and Thessaly, there are individual to create various works. their individual houses are morphologically mud-brick buildings that date from the 18th to the urbanized. 20th century (Palamas village in Karditsa, in The unique architectural character of the As a whole, these settlements are characterized by Trikala fig. 3, Chalkidiki, etc.). However, the Korestia villages in Kastoria freedom in synthesis and conformity to the Korestia villages are the only mud-brick The Korestia villages are situated in mount Vitsi, human scale. There is no consistent urban plan residential complexes in Greece (map 1). north of Kastoria in Greece. The area has a rich and public spaces were not designed, but rather Mud-bricks co-exist with wooden and stone history and its name originates in the mythical emerged organically. Their urban structure has structural elements. Structural mud-brick walls are up to 70cm thick and the bricks are laid in horizontal lines that are supported by rough stone foundations 100-150cm high. These foundations protrude approximately 60cm from the ground for protection against humidity (fig. 4). The floors and the roof trusses are made of wood, while the roofs are tiled and usually four-sided. Mud-bricks in modern times – Contemporary compressed mud-bricks Mud-bricks were used consistently from prehistoric times, but with decreasing development. Even today, 30% of the earth’s population (1.500.000.000 people) still lives in buildings made of mud-bricks. The technique for making contemporary mud- Fig. 6 - The village of Ano Kranionas is in complete harmony with its surrounding environment Photo: bricks developed in the early 1960’s. Mud-bricks Athanassios Balasas, Nafsika Exintaveloni, 2009 SMC Magazine n. ONE 019 not changed, due in most part to the fact that there was never any need for expansion, since the villages were abandoned during the Greek civil war (1945-49) and their population immigrated inside and outside of Greece. The remoteness of the area -either because of the natural terrain or because of political developments- as well as the absence of potential investors, did not favor the construction of new buildings, which is the reason why traditional forms were so well preserved. The majority of the houses in Korestia have two levels and few of them have one or three levels (fig. 7). They are mainly oriented due south, with a few exceptions due east, a fact that suggests the incorporation of bioclimatic considerations in the buildings, known since ancient times. There are very few cases of houses that completely deviate from this rule, mainly due to the terrain. All houses have living spaces as well as auxiliary rooms on the ground floor, which means that, in Korestia, the local house is gradually acquiring the functional structure of a countryside mansion. Many of the houses have a broad façade and are orthogonal of the so-called “closed type”, some are of the so-called “open type”, with a porch on the Fig. 7 -Three story house in Ano Kranionas village Photo: Athanassios Balasas, Nafsika Exintaveloni, 2010 ground and the first floor, or only on the first floor. The open type with broad façades houses precedes those of the closed type, which are reminiscent of neoclassical architecture. The wooden balcony on the first floor appears often. The houses of Korestia have mainly T or L shaped floor plans. One of their most striking features is the “sahnisi” (protrusion), which is unusual for mud-brick houses. These are either of triangular shape (Antartiko), or they are deployed along the entire length of the main façade (Ano Kranionas, fig. 8) or sometimes they are limited to 2/3ds of it (Gavros, Kottas).