Natural Materials and Building Techniques for Social Sustainability

POLITECNICO DI TORINO – DOCTORATE SCHOOL DOCTORAL COURSE “TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT”

RESEARCH PROFILES FOR PhD STUDENTS

RESEARCH TOPICS Research title: Natural materials and building techniques for social sustainability

Abstract: The proposed theme aims at merging two aspects of sustainability-oriented research, which usually are unfortunately disconnected. On one side, the search of lower-impact building technologies in terms of energy performance, resources consumption, and health (of dwellers as well as the environment at large). On the other, an again increasing attention for ameliorating the housing conditions of low-income groups, both in Northern and Southern countries, making use of empowering tools. Ph.D. students who are be interested in such research proposal should be able to perform interdisciplinary investigation on both sides of the problem.

Background and state of the art: Much research has been dedicated in the last years to reducing the environmental burden associated with building. Nonetheless, most results can be useful for the wealthiest countries and social groups only. Just a few authors have uncompromisingly addressed the issues of natural building (Berge, 2009; Elizabeth and Adams, 2005; Harris and Borer, 2005; Minke and Mahlke, 2005; Minke, 2006; Woolley, 2009). Many of them have investigated and sometimes experimented refined, albeit “low-tech”, building solutions which can now be assessed as reliable and widely tested – for instance, those making use of materials such as earth, straw-bales, or, more recently, hemp and lime. Besides test and certification costs, techniques based on these materials can offer superior living environments in terms of building physics, psychophysical comfort, and health, and are not more expensive than current ones. Yet, they may turn out to be cheaper in case labour is at least partially provided out of market exchange.

Sustainability of building materials depends on local context. Due to the lack of available data in developing countries and the complexity of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology, other relevant instruments can be applied for the analysis of sustainability, such as the international Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) system and certification schemes and labels. These last ones can provide complementary ratings on specific aspects of a product. Locally produced building materials should be favoured because not only transportation related impacts on the environment are avoided, but it can also include positive economic and social impacts at the local level. Likewise recycling and reuse of materials are requirements for the sustainability. Many researches deal with the development of “high-tech” construction materials by the up- cycling of wastes from working activities. For example, a more sustainable lightweight concrete can be prepared substituting natural aggregates with Mineralized Wood Concrete (MWC) achieving a triple pourpose: preservation of natural raw materials, reuse of wastes and energy saving (Becchio et al., 2009). However, caution is needed with regard to building products with a large energy demand during the production process. For example, in the case of cement and burnt clay bricks the scale of production, the availability of soil and fuel, the market conditions and the availability of skills are the depending factors for the choice of the production technology. Naturally available alternatives are preferred, e.g. the use of the energy demanding clay brick can be substituted with raw earth (Claes et al., 2011). Sun-dried adobes, together with stone and wood, are building materials that were used for thousands of years because of the easy availability and their simple manufacturing process. Raw earth has been used continuously over the years in less developed countries due to its natural sustainable origin, cheapness and remarkably low thermal conductivity. However, due to the influence of the developed countries, the use of raw earth has gradually lost interest and the western construction materials and methods has been used as a way to differentiate in the social status, (Claes et al., 2011). In addition, the believe that raw hearth is less durable than other materials, such as concrete and bricks, and that not all the soils are suitable for earthen constructions, the use of raw earth in buildings received negative connotations. Jimenez Delgado et al.(2005), following a selection of more than 20 technical documents including standards from National Standards Bodies, analyzed the provisions they offered concerning soil suitability. The work articulated the whole of the different approaches and kinds of recommendation offered, for providing a way of comparison. An evaluation and a characterization of the soil’s constituents play important roles in developing efficient and durable adobe building materials. Maritano Comoglio and Pagliolico (2008) and Pagliolico et al. (2010) characterized the constituent materials of UBs (unstabilised sun-dried adobes) from vernacular constructions in the north-west of Italy dating the nineteenth century in order to provide the basis to select the proper raw materials for the maintenance of the rural constructions and for restoration purposes. Hassan Fathy (Kulick, 1973; Richards et al., 1985) has been one of the first 20th century architects to rediscover the material in all its richness and technical possibilities. His architecture is characterized by the use of available local materials such as mud-brick, and is adapted to the local area, tradition and culture. Raw earth is currently an object of a renewed interest as a material for constructing walls also in Europe. For example, a pilot project on a residential earth building area was promoted at Isle d'Abeau (Lyon, France) in the eighties by the Ministry for the Environment in order to re-propose and to innovate traditional fabrication techniques. More recently, the construction of a village in rammed earth has been started on the outskirts of Kassel, in Germany. The creation of new educational programs by research institutes such as The International Centre for Earth Construction (CRATerre) in France or in Germany at the university of Kassel creates an increasing demand also for developing countries. At least, attention towards the conservation of ancient structures earthen has increased in the recent years, as witnessed by the fact that 20% of the world heritage buildings listed by UNESCO are made of earth. The UNESCO Chair Earthen Architecture proposes to research and develop earthen architecture throughout the world and to transfer all research results through training and education activities in existing universities and in scientific as well as technical centres. However, the issues of affordability and adaptation to diverse socio-cultural contexts have seldom been the realm of the same research groups. It was another tradition of investigation and action (sometimes coupled with a ‘hands-on’ approach to teaching) that focused on appropriate ways to ameliorate housing conditions of the large majority of humankind, both in the Northern and the Southern hemispheres (Architecture for Humanity, 2006; Bell and Wakeford, 2008; Friedman, 2009; Hamdi, 2004; Oppenheimer Dean and Hursley, 2002; Oppenheimer Dean and Hursley, 2005; Palleroni, 2004; Smith, 2007; Smith, 2011). Obviously, ‘appropriateness’ includes a sensible, unimposing approach where the ‘beneficiaries’ are an active part of the process, and not passive recipients. Some of the aforementioned examples were born out of extraordinary or emergency circumstances, while others appear to have aimed at a more continuous and/or structural engagement for change. Although individual examples can be traced in literature and in practice, it seems that more-than-embryonal attempts must still be developed to merge the most advanced and environmentally sound understanding of natural materials and building techniques with a realistic, effective, co-operative, and localised approach towards helping the poor access better housing.

Objectives: - analysis of needs and of locally available resources - development of appropriate, low-cost building techniques - design of products and shelters in socio-economically disadvantaged contexts

REFERENCE PROFESSOR(S) - Carlo Caldera (DISEG) - Andrea Bocco (DIST) - Simonetta Pagliolico (DISAT)

INTERNATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION - TUWien / Gruppe für angepasste Technologie, Wien - Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth - University of Bath / Building Research Establishment - Gaia Lista, Farsund - Rural Studio, Newbern AL - Sermig di Torino – Arsenale della Pace - Isolpack S.p.a. - Matteo Brioni s.r.l.

RESEARCH GROUP - Carlo Caldera (DISEG) - Andrea Bocco (DIST) - Simonetta Pagliolico (DISAT) - Emiliano Cruz Michelena Valcárcel - Anna Rita Bertorello - Irene Caltabiano - ...

REFERENCE PAPERS Bjørn Berge, The Ecology of Building Materials, Amsterdam : Elsevier, 20092. Rachel Bevan et al., Hemp Lime Construction. A Guide to Building with Hemp Lime Composites, London : BRE Press, 2008. Lynne Elizabeth; Cassandra Adams (eds.), Alternative Construction. Contemporary Natural Building Methods, Hoboken : John Wiley and Sons, 2005. Cindy Harris; Pat Borer, The Whole House Book. Ecological Building Design and Materials, Machynlleth : Centre for Alternative Technology, 2005. Friedemann Mahlke, Schwerelos erdverbunden – vom Leichtbau zum Lehmbau. Das Werk des Architekten Gernot Minke, Staufen bei Freiburg : Ökobuch, 2007. Gernot Minke; Friedemann Mahlke, Building with Straw. Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture, Basel : Birkhäuser, 2005. Gernot Minke, Building with Earth. Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture, Basel : Birkhäuser, 2006. Gernot Minke, Building with Bamboo. Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture, Basel : Birkhäuser, 2012. Fernando Pacheco Torgal; Said Jalali, Eco-efficient Construction and Building Materials, London : Springer, 2011. Jean-Pierre Oliva, L’isolation thermique écologique, Mens : Terre Vivante, 2010. Pete Walker et al., Rammed Earth. Design and Construction Guidelines, IHS BRE, 2005. Pete Walker et al. (eds.), 11th International Conference on Non-conventional Materials and Technologies – NOCMAT 2009 Conference proceedings, Bath : University of Bath, 2009. Tom Woolley et al., Green Building Handbook. A guide to building products and their impact on the environment, London : E&FN Spon, 1997-2000. Tom Woolley, Natural building. A guide to materials and techniques, Ramsbury : The Crowood Press, 2006.

Kulick, J. (1973). Architecture for the poor: Hassan Fathy. University of Chicago Press, Urban ecology 3(4): 382-384. Richards, J. M., I Serageldin and D Rastorfer, 1985. Hassan Fathy. Concept Me. eds. J. M. Richards, Ismail Serageldin, and Darl Rastorfer. Singapore: Singapore: Concept Media. Claes, K., Vandenbussche, L., Versele, A., Klein, K., Verbist, B. Sustainable urban planning and construction in the South. KLIMOS working paper 7 – July 2012. Jimenez Delgado, M.C., Guerriero, C.G., 2007. The selection of soils for unstabilised earth building: a normative review. Constr. Build. Mater. 21, 237–251. Maritano Comoglio N; Pagliolico S.L.,2008. Astigiano: una terra per costruire. Aracne, ROMA, pp. 95-101. ISBN 9788854818781. Becchio C.; Corgnati S.P.; Kindinis A.; Pagliolico S.L., 2009. Improving environmental sustainability of concrete products: Investigation on MWC thermal and mechanical properties. In: Energy And Buildings, vol. 41, pp. 1127-1134. - ISSN 0378-7788. Pagliolico S.L., Ronchetti S., Turcato E.A., Bottino G., Gallo L.M., Depaoli R., 2010. Physicochemical and mineralogical characterization of earth for building in North West Italy. Applied Clay Science, vol. 50 n. 4, pp. 439-454.Architecture for Humanity (ed.), Design Like You Give a Damn. Architectural Responses to Humanitarian crises, New York : Metropolis Books, 2006. atelier d’architecture autogérée, Urban/Act, Paris : aaa-PEPRAV, 2007. Nishat Awan; Tatjana Schneider; Jeremy Till, Spatial Agency. Other Ways of Doing Architecture, London : Routledge, 2011. Bryan Bell; Katie Wakeford (ed.), Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism, New York : Metropolis Books, 2008. Peter Blundell Jones, Peter Hübner. Bauen als ein sozialer Prozeß, Stuttgart : Menges, 2007. Peter Blundell Jones; Doina Petrescu; Jeremy Till (eds.), Architecture and Participation, London : Spon, 2005. Santiago Cirúgeda, Situaciones urbanas, Barcelona : TeNou, 2004. Yona Friedman, L’architettura di sopravvivenza. Una filosofia della povertà, Torino : Bollati Boringhieri, 2009. Nabeel Hamdi, Small Change, London : Earthscan, 2004. Jorge Mario Jáuregui, Estrategias de Articulación Urbana, Proyecto y Gestión de Asentamientos Periféricos en América Latina. Un Enfoque Transdisciplinário, Buenos Aires : FADU - Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Buenos Aires - Secretaria de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Técnica, 2003. Andres Lepik (curator), Small scale big change. New architecture of social engagement, New York : The Museum of Modern Art, 2010. Ezio Manzini; François Jégou, Quotidiano sostenibile. Scenari di vita urbana, Milano : Edizioni Ambiente, 2003. Andrea Oppenheimer Dean; Timothy Hursley, Rural Studio. Samuel Mockbee and an Architecture of Decency, New York : Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. Andrea Oppenheimer Dean; Timothy Hursley, Proceed and Be Bold. Rural Studio after Samuel Mockbee, New York : Princeton Architectural Press, 2005. Sérgio Palleroni, Studio at Large. Architecture in service of global communities, Seattle : University of Washington Press, 2004. Cynthia E. Smith, Design with the Other 90%, New York : Smithsonian, 2007. Cynthia E. Smith, Design with the Other 90%: Cities, New York : Smithsonian, 2011. Jeremy Till, Architecture Depends, Cambridge Ma. : The MIT Press, 2009.

CONTACTS prof. Carlo Caldera +39.011.0905328 [email protected] prof. Andrea Bocco +39.011.0906415 [email protected] prof. Simonetta Pagliolico +39.011.0906477 [email protected]