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Arid Lands Newsletter Vol. 36 (Fall/Winter 1994) Item Type text; Newsletter Authors University of Arizona. Office of Arid Lands Studies. Publisher Office of Arid Lands Studies, College of Agriculture, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) Download date 05/10/2021 18:50:36 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/228231 Volume 36ARIDLANDS N E W S L E T T E R DESERTARCHITECTURE III: Building A Sustainable Future Office of Arid Lands Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA. John M. Bancroft EDITOR'S NOTE Styling this issue of the Arid Lands Newsletter "Desert Architecture II" was the Spring/ "Desert Architecture III" implies that it was Summer 1989 number of the Arid Lands preceded by "Desert Architecture I" and Newsletter (Vol. 28), edited by my predeces- "Desert Architecture II " -as, indeed, it was. sor, Emily E. Whitehead. Articles in that issue The first volume in this de facto series was a considered tower houses in Yemen and book published by the Office of Arid Lands courtyard houses all over the ancient and Studies in 1980 and titled Desert Housing: modern and world, among other topics. Balancing Experience and Technology for Dwelling in Hot Arid Climates. The book NEW ENERGY -EFFICIENT MATERIALS was edited by Kenneth N. Clark, who also contributes an article to "Desert Many of the principles advanced in this It is an axiom of the Architecture III," and by Patricia issue's predecessors remain constant and true, Paylore, the founding editor and of course, but the market has seen a number building process that guiding spirit of the Arid Lands of major innovations in materials and Newsletter. technology in recent years. New -and readily the earliest decisions available -products range from "lumber" Clark and Paylore enlisted in their made from recycled plastic to roof sheathing are the most aid the expertise of fifteen of their that, in its first incarnation, might have been colleagues from the U.S. and abroad, your morning newspaper. important....The who among them had learned valuable architect's design lessons in the deserts of the American Among the most exciting innovations are Southwest, Australia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, basic building materials that promise much concept has energy Jordan, Mexico, North Africa, and greater energy efficiency than the run of Turkey. Their topics ranged from the modern materials and, as a result, much less consequences and venerable art of building with adobe to reliance on energy -hungry mechanical establishes the limits modern solar technology. They even heating and cooling systems. Adobe, rammed took a stab at that moving target earth, and straw bale construction (see within which all summed in the phrase "development PUBLICATIONS in this issue) are among the policy" low -tech solutions that have been known in subsequent energy one part of the world or another for genera- Their book, although now out of tions, but other, often higher -tech options decisions are made.' print, is still very much in demand have just appeared. fourteen years after publication, as attested by the frequency with which all Structural material innovations include or part of it is photocopied at The those sold under the trade names Energy University of Arizona's Architecture Block, Ice Block, Integra Thermal Mass Block. Library and the requests for copies at and the Rastra Building System, which has a professional meetings. There is some history of use in both very hot and very cold talk here of bringing out a revised climates of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia second edition of the book, but to do that we'll but has only lately gained broad acceptance need more than anecdotal evidence of demand in the U.S. These materials, though com- for it; publishers, now more than ever, must pounded of various elements and sold in a mind the market, after all. If you'd like to vote variety of configurations, share a single goal: either way- "I'd buy a copy" or "don't bother" improving the energy efficiency of structures. -we'd be pleased to hear from you at the The Rastra Building System, for example, address on the opposite page. according to information supplied by the U.S. manufacturer (Rastra Building Systems Inc. of Riverside, California; phone, 909 -653 -3346), achieves an R -value of from 24 to 41.67, depending upon the construction method used and finishing techniques; the basic Rastra building unit (varying in size from Continued on page 32 Fall/Winter 1994 Volume 36ARIDLANDS I N Editor John M. Bancroft Design CONTENTS Cindy Tinnes, Steve Tkachyk Biomedical Communications The University of Arizona 2 Architecture and Environment by Hassan Fathy Circulation Mary Villafane, Sydney Hutchinson, 5 Paradise on Earth: Historical Gardens of the Hanna Varady Arid Middle East by Safei el -Deen Hamed The Arid Lands Newsletter is published semian- nually for an international readership by the Office of Arid Lands Studies, College of Agriculture, The 12 A Bio- Climatic Approach to Desert Architecture University of Arizona, and is distributed worldwide by Yair Etzion without charge. The purpose of the Arid Lands Newsletter is to explore events and issues of interest to arid lands researchers, resource managers, and 20Sustainable Community Planning policy makers. When quoting from the Arid Lands by Kenneth N. Clark Newsletter, we would appreciate appropriate recognition. 27 Publications We'd like to hear from you. Address letters of Straw Bale Construction comment, article proposals and queries, news items Green Building Sources about projects of interest to our readers, and Building for Safety requests for future mailing to: Water -Use Efficiency Editor, Arid Lands Newsletter Office of Arid Lands Studies 30 News The University of Arizona ALRS Doctoral Program Adds Fourth Track 845 North Park Avenue Letter from Sky High Ranch Tucson, Arizona 85719 USA Fax: 602 -621 -3816 33Call for Manuscripts E -mail: [email protected] The Arid Lands Series 1;v50% post- consumer content On the cover: Malqaf of the Pharaonic house of Neb -Amun, from a painting on his tomb, Nine- teenth Dynasty Egypt, c.1300 BC. (Fig. 50 from Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p. 118, reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press.) 1 MOMMOMMIMMfiifilfil@CHNIAMMINAIiifiMMIUMMIMMOMMIMMINIMMINCIIMMOINGINtilfilM ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENT Since antiquity, man creating, using handmade has reacted to his tools, were lost and are now environment, using his forgotten. Energy- intensive faculties to develop mechanized tools have techniques and tech- diminished man's personal, nologies, whether to cellular contribution to the bake bread or make fabrication of objects, the brick, in such internal building of structures, and psychological balance the growing of food. The with nature that lesser the challenge for man humanity historically to imprint his genius, the lived attuned to the less artistic is the product. environment. Man's The resulting economic creations were natural and political disturbances when built of the are visible today. Production materials offered by of beauty, once the preroga- the landscape. tive of millions, is replaced Learning to manipu- by industrialization -even late clay, stone, marble, of bread -under the control and wood, man of a minority of owners. The penetrated their negative consequences of properties, and his the industrial revolution techniques gave have disturbed the natural expression to his Figure 1. A malqaf, in section and plan, with wetted intake baffles and a organization of the divine aspirations toward the wind -escape to exhaust hot air; design by Hassan Fathy (Fig. 56 from concept for humanity. Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p. 124, reprinted by divine. In architecture, permission of The University of Chicago Press.) Sixty years of experience environmental harmony have shown me that was known to the Chinese, the Indians, the Greeks, industrialization and mechanization of the building and others. It produced the temples of Karnak, the trade have caused vast changes in building methods great mosques of Islam, and the cathedral of Chartres with varying applications in different parts of the world. in France. Constant upheaval results when industrially developed With the advent of the industrial revolution, the societies weaken the craft -developed cultures through inherited techniques and perfected knowledge of increased communications. As they interact, mutations create societal and ecological imbalance and economic Figure 2. Plan for two rows of houses showing (a) the malqaf of each inequities which are documented to be increasing in arranged to bring wind to each dwelling and (b) detail of a malqaf. (Fig. type and number. 10 from Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p. 81, reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press.) Profoundly affected is the mass of the population, which is pressured to consume industrially produced goods. The result is cultural, psychological, moral, and material havoc. Yet it is this population that has an intimate knowledge of how to live in harmony with the local environment. Thousands of years of accumulated expertise has led to the development of economic building methods using locally available materials, climatization using energy derived from the local natural environment, and an arrangement of living and working spaces in conso- 000000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000 000000íc despised becomes suddenly something to be proud of. It is important that this pride involves products and techniques of which the local people have full knowledge and mastery. Thus the village craftsman is stimulated to use and develop the traditional local forms, simply because he sees Figure 3 Sections and elevations of houses planned for the village of Bans, them respected by a professional architect, while the AI- Kharga Oasts, Egypt, showing the maigaf applied on a neighborhood ordinary person, the client, is once more in a position scale; design by Hassan Fathy (Fig. 58 from Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, p 126, reprinted by permission of The to understand and appreciate the craftsman's work.

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