nórma Da.'s List: Arquitectura [HandMade]

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• hand-built in four months by architects, local craftsmen, pupils, parents and teachers,
   this primary school in rudrapur, a village in north west bangladesh, uses traditional
   methods and materials of construction but adapts them in new ways. the architects,
   anna aeringer from austria and eike roswag from germany, made every effort to engage
   the skills of local craftsmen, helping them refine processes and learn new techniques
   that they could then use to improve the general standard of rural housing
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• sunlight and ventilation can be regulated through the use of shutters.
  
• in rudrapur, the traditional local materials are bamboo for constructions and earth for
   walls and foundations, straw for the roofs and jute rope for lashing constructions
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• earthbound materials such as loam and straw are combined with lighter elements like
   bamboo sticks and nylon lashing to create a environmentally sustainable foundation
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• thick walls assure a comfortable climate on the ground floor of the building.
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• the philosophy of METI (modern education and training institute) is learning with joy.
   the teachers help the children to develop their own potential and use it in a creative
   and responsible way. the building reflects these ideas through its materials, techniques
   and architectural design.
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• moulded ‘cavespaces’ – an area to retreat into for contemplation/concentrated work
• the design solution used in this rural town may not be replicable in other parts of the islamic
   world as local conditions vary. however, new design solutions can emerge from an in-depth
   knowledge of the local context and new ways of building. this provides a fresh and hopeful
   model for sustainable building globally. the final result of this heroic volunteer effort is a building
   that creates beautiful, meaningful and humane collective spaces for learning which enrich
   the lives of the children it serves
• the construction method used is a historical earth building technique similar to cob-walling
   which is ideal for ‘self building’. the wet earth is mixed with straw and applied to the wall
   in layers. each layer is approximately 50-70 cm high, and after a couple of days drying,
   it is trimmed on the sides with a sharp spade to obtain a regular flat wall surface.
   after a second drying period, a further layer can be added. the earth in this region is well-suited
   for such construction and the stability of the mixture was improved by adding rice, straw and jute.
   
   earth construction: the most important technical improvement in comparison to traditional
   buildings is the introduction of a damp proof course and a brick foundation. the traditional
   building technique (which uses very wet earth) has been replaced by the 'weller' technique
   that is quite similar to the traditional one
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• the school building was built by experts and volunteers from germany and austria along
   with craftsmen, teachers, parents and students from bangladesh over the period of
   september to december 2005.
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• the aim of the project is to improve existing building techniques, to contribute to
   sustainability by utilising local materials and labour and to strengthen regional identity
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• the ceiling consists of three layers of bamboo poles arranged perpendicularly to one
   another with bamboo boarding and an earth filling as the surface of the floor.
   the same construction in a modified form can be used for general residential buildings
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• the second step was planning and construction of private housing
• society in bangladesh is changing. although it is still strongly rooted in agriculture, people
   are getting more educated - privacy and individuality are gaining more importance.
   a house is no long just a shelter to store things or to sleep in at night. it has evolved to
   becoming more defined as a home.
   
   METI school in rudrapur dinajpur, bangladesh
   built area: 325 m2
   cost: $ 22,835
   
   commission: january 2004
   design: march 2004 - august 2005
   construction: september 2005 - cecember 2005
   occupancy: december 2005
   
   client: dipshikha/ METI non-formal education, training and research society for village development
   
   design and concept: anna heringer
   technical, detailed planning and realisation: anna heringer and eike roswag
   
    anna heringer (b. 1977) studied architecture at linz university of the arts, austria.
   since 2004 she has held a lecture there, and is project manager at BASE - habitat/architektur
   konzepte, linz university of the arts. in 2006 she began her doctoral studies at munich
   technical university, on strategies for sustainable building in northern bangladesh.
   she is vice chairwoman of shanti, a german-bangladeshi partnership founded in 1983,
   with the aim of arranging exchange programs such as the transfer of professional volunteers.
   
   eike roswag (b. 1969) completed his architectural studies at berlin technical university in
   2000, after which he took on freelance architectural work and consultancies. in 2003, he joined
   ZRS architects and engineers to plan and build a variety of projects using earth as a building
   material. in 2006, he joined the staff of berlin technical university and founded
   roswag & jankowski architects partnership.
   
   founded in 1978, dipshikha - informal education, training and research society for village
   development is a bangladeshi development organization set up to encourage the independence
   of communities in rural bangladesh through sustainable development.
   
   the METI school won the aga khan award for architecture 2007

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• Architects: TYIN Tegnestue
   Location: Ban Tha Song Yang, Thailand
   Project team Professors: Hans Skotte & Sami Rintala
   Project team Students: Pasi Aalto. Jan Kristian Borgen, Mari Folven, Ragnhild Førde, Sunniva Vold Huus, Olav Fåsetbru Kildal, Lene M. N. Kværness, Oda Moen Møst, Ørjan Nyheim, Karoline Salomonsen, Anne Sandnes, Ola Sendstad, Kristoffer B. Thørud, Caroline Tjernås, Anders Sellevold Aaseth
   Client: Safe Haven Orphanage
   Budget: 29.000 NOK (Approx. 4,650 USD)
   Project year: January 2009
   Sponsors: Norsk Betongforening, Bygg uten grenser, Minera Norge, Spenncon, Norwegian University of Technology and Science (NTNU)
• In January 2009 TYIN invited 15 norwegian architect students from NTNU to participate in a workshop at the Safe Haven Orphanage. The workshop was led by Associate Professor Hans Skotte and architect Sami Rintala. The most immediate needs at the orphanage was a library and a new sanitary building. TYIN worked on a bathhouse, together with the Karen workers from Noh Bo, while the workshop participants put their efforts into the library.
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• The concrete base of the library is cast on a bed of large rocks gathered on-site. Walls made of plastered concrete blocks cools the building during the day, while the open bamboo facade gives a good ventilation. Iron wood makes up the solid frame construction and serves as comfortable floor for the children to play on.

   

  The bookshelves run along the concrete walls in their full height, and the floor is left unfurnished to give room for different activities. The entrance, creates a comfortable buffer between the outdoors and indoors and divides the ground floor into a small computer area on one side and a larger library room on the other

• The most important thing to Tasanee is that her children are provided food and education. In the library the children at Safe Haven Orphanage now have a space to do homework, use a computer with internet and read books written in different languages. The new building has also attained the important role of a gathering space and is frequently used for play, games and crafts.

   

  That NTNU, as an educational institution, contributes to workshops like this is of great importance. It creates a unique opportunity for young, skilled students to engage real problems and make decisions with real consequences
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• Architects: TYIN Tegnestue
   Location: Ban Tha Song Yang, Thailand
   Project team: Andreas Grøntvedt Gjertsen, Yashar Hanstad
   Client: Safe Haven Orphanage
   Budget: 22.500 NOK (Approx. 3,300 USD)
   Project year: January 2009

• TYIN tegnestue is a non-profit organization working humanitarian through architecture. TYIN is run by five architect students from NTNU and the projects are financed by more than 60 Norwegian companies, as well as private contributions.

   

  Through the course of the last year TYIN has worked with planning and constructing small scale projects in Thailand. We aim to build strategic projects that can improve the lives for people in difficult situations. Through extensive collaboration with locals, and mutual learning, we hope that our projects can have an impact beyond the physical structures.The new bathhouse covers basic needs like toilets, personal hygiene and laundry. A simple structure was already built and became the framework for the project
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• Project Description

   

  The most intimate functions are located in the two separate parts of plastered concrete blocks. In the central area you find a space for bathing that opens up towards the vast teak plantation. The bathing area is only partly privatized, adapted to Karen culture. A tilted facade of bamboo covers the front of the building and creates a passage, tying the functions together
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• A great challenge in this project is that sewage and drainage had to be dealt with on-site and handle large amounts of water during the rainy season. The waste from the toilets passes through pipes into buried. Concrete tanks that are drained from the bottom and sides. Gravel and wooden floors are easy to keep clean and dry, and all wet rooms are drained by using layers of stone and gravel.

   

  The existing sanitary facilities at Safe Haven Orphanage, as well in the district in general, are narrow, dark and have concrete flooring that accumulates water and dirt. With this bathhouse we have tried alternative solutions that hopefully will be an important asset in the future development in the district. The climate of northern Thailand makes good personal hygiene essential to prevent diseases, especially for small children. With this bathhouse TYIN wanted to create well functioning and dignified facility for personal hygiene
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• Architects: TYIN Tegnestue
   Location: Min Buri, Bangkok
   Collaborator: CASE Studio Architects
   Project team: Pasi Aalto, Andreas Grøntvedt Gjertsen, Yashar Hanstad, Magnus Henriksen, Erlend Bauck Sole
   Client: Old Market Community
   Project: Community house
   Cost: 27,000 NOK
   Project year: March 2009 – May 2009

• TYIN tegnestue is a non-profit organization working humanitarian through architecture. TYIN is run by five architect students from NTNU and the projects are financed by more than 60 Norwegian companies, as well as private contributions.

   

  Through the course of the last year TYIN has worked with planning and constructing small scale projects in Thailand. We aim to build strategic projects that can improve the lives for people in difficult situations. Through extensive collaboration with locals, and mutual learning, we hope that our projects can have an impact beyond the physical structures.The Old Market Library is built in a 100 years old market building. The section for the library is 3×9 meter, with a back yard facing a small canal. The roof and walls were in poor condition and it was important that new elements in the building supported themselves, without attaching to the old structures.
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• Project description

   

  The high ceiling in the main room introduced the building a loft that creates a more intimate situation both below and above. The library is divided into two zones along its length; one side lets you pass through the building along the book wall, while the other is for reading and other calm activities.

   

  Beyond the main room is a smaller space, the study. An old toilet in the corner serves as a bed for a small tree, that hopefully will have good fertilization in the years to come. In the back yard a pergola is constructed to protect against the blazing sun. Jasmine and climbing plants are placed in some large ceramic pots
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• One of the main challenges for the community is the annually flooding during the rainy season. In this period the water can rise 50 cm above floor level. To retain the water would be very challenging, and the solution was rather to elevate the calmer zones to ensure that the library is usable throughout the flooded periods. Concrete sidewalls and aired connections prevents humidity and rot in the wooden constructions.

   

  A very important principle in this project is the use of local and reused materials. The bookshelves are made of wooden boxes from one of CASEs earlier projects, while the cladding is put together using old and decayed wooden pieces, found in the immediate surroundings. The constructive materials had higher quality requirements and was bought at a local secondhand wood shop
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• The Min Buri Old Market Community was once a commercial center for the area, but a fire in the late nineties caused the market activities to move across the canal. In recent years the community has diminished from a lively origo into an almost slum-like area. The land rights are uncertain and partly because of this the inhabitants are reluctant to invest in their houses. The people of The Old Market Community belong to a large group called Urban Poor.

   

  Urban Poor is a term used to describe those who do not enjoy security of tenure and have limited access to services like health, water, sanitation, housing, education, and/or employment. Even though many of the people in Min Buri have an income, they are suffering from the high cost of living in urban areas as the demands of an accommodationis higher as the density grows. The urban poor, in areas like Min Buri, are in many regards a group left out of the socialand humanitarian support systems.
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• For TYIN it is not only the building of a library that is important, but also that the efforts made will affect the bigger scale. Through the use of local, inexpensive materials we have tried to show that this is something the inhabitants of the community can do by their own initiative, using their own resources. The aim of the library project is to strengthen the passion in the neighborhood that eventually can contribute to a positive development in the area.

   

  Involve the inhabitants actively throughout the whole process. Initially we mapped the needs in the community by holding regular meetings. The meetings ranged from drawing and building models to cleaning garbage by the playground. Aside from getting to know the people we wanted create an awareness around the wishes and challenges in the community. As part of a survey we interviewed people in the area to learn about their views on the community, its past, present and future. Through this we got a deeper understanding of the situation the people here live in.
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• It was not always easy to get everyone involved, especially with the adults this proved difficult in the beginning, but when the project became more tangible and real, this changed. When the construction got started we soon had a regular group that worked with us every day. Through this process they got a personal attachment to the library, something we feel is a premise for the library to function in the long term
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• Architects: TYIN Tegnestue
   Location: Noh Bo, Tak, Thailand
   Project team: Pasi Aalto, Andreas Grøntvedt Gjertsen, Yashar Hanstad, Magnus Henriksen, Line Ramstad, Erlend Bauck Sole
   Client: Ole Jørgen Edna
   Program: 6 sleeping units
   Budget: 68.000 NOK (Approx. 10.000 USD)
   Project year: November 2008 – February 2009

• TYIN tegnestue is a non-profit organization working humanitarian through architecture. TYIN is run by five architect students from NTNU and the projects are financed by more than 60 Norwegian companies, as well as private contributions.

   

  Through the course of the last year TYIN has worked with planning and constructing small scale projects in Thailand. We aim to build strategic projects that can improve the lives for people in difficult situations. Through extensive collaboration with locals, and mutual learning, we hope that our projects can have an impact beyond the physical structures.
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• In the fall of 2008 TYIN travelled to Noh Bo, a small village on the Thai-Burmese border. The majority of the inhabitants are Karen refugees, many of them children. These were the people we wanted to work for.

   

  A few months prior we came in touch with Ole Jørgen Edna from Levanger, Norway. Edna started his orphanage in Noh Bo in 2006, and was now in need of more dormitories. From sheltering 24 children, the orphanage would grow to house almost 50. The Soe Ker Tie project was finished in February 2009
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• The main driving force behind the project was to somehow recreate what these children would have experienced in a more normal situation. We wanted every child to have their own private space, a home to live in and a neighbourhood where they could interact and play. These six sleeping units are our answer to this.

   

  Because of their appearances the buildings were named Soe Ker Tie Hias by the workers; The Butterfly Houses. The bamboo weaving technique used on the side and back facades is the same used in local houses and crafts. Most of the bamboo is harvested within a few kilometers of the site. The special roof shape of the Soe Ker Tie Houses enables an effective, natural ventilation, at the same time as it collects the rain water. This renders the areas around the buildings more useful during the rainy season, and gives the possibility of collecting the water in drier period
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• The iron wood construction is prefabricated and assembled on-site, using bolts to ensure reasonable precision and strength. Most of the materials is delivered by the Karen National Union on the Burmese side, and this dependency on tropic timber has led to a line of difficult and complex problems to be addressed.
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• By raising the buildings from the ground, on four foundations cast in old tires, problems with moisture and rot in the construction are prevented. After a six month long mutual learning process with the locals in Noh Bo we hope that we have left something useful behind. Important principles like bracing, material economization and moisture prevention may possibly lead to a more sustainable building tradition in the future.
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  El arquitecto se llama Vo Trong Nghia y es un maestro en el uso del bambú y materias naturales autóctonas de Vietnam
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  Para su construcción, al borde de un río, el arquitecto levantó una estructura de bambú en forma de cúpula que cubrió con hojas de arbustos locales y dejó aperturas en todo el diámetro, para que entrase la luz.
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  Esta construcción tendrá una vida de unos 20 años, pasados los cuales los materiales con los que ha sido construido se podrán reciclar o devolver a la naturaleza de donde salieron sin dejar apenas huella de su existencia.

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• designboom has dedicated a large amount of time to learn more about clay - one of the earliest natural building 
   materials in history of men. our intent is to promote earth also as a building material of the future.
   it represents an excellent alternative to cement whose manufacture releases considerable quantities of CO2.
   individual housing units and small apartment buildings can easily be built from earth in every part of the world.
   however, concrete remains an essential material for high-rise construction. the research effort should be
    therefore two-pronged: tailoring earth to the needs of modern construction and making concrete 'greener'.
   
   in this first article of a series, which we will publish in the upcoming weeks, we'll examine a few ancient building
   techniques.
   
   the musgum, an ethnic group in far north province in cameroon, created their homes from compressed
    sun-dried mud. the tall conical dwellings, in the shape of a shell (artillery), featured geometric raised patterns.
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• musgum clay houses in cameroon
• what strikes at first sight is their almost organic simplicity, a second reading reveals the functions behind the forms. 
   the walls of the houses are thicker at the base than at the summit, which increases the stability of the building
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• a characteristic settlement form is the compound, a cluster of units linked by walls
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   the domed huts of the musgum people are built in shaped mud, a variant of cob.
   cob building is the most widely used technique in the world, since no tools are needed
   - hands, earth and water are enough
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• the name of these houses ('cases obos') comes from their similarity with the profile of shells.
   it is very close to the catenary arch, the ideal mathematical form to bear a maximum weight
   with minimal material. this profile also reduces the pressure effect of the impact of water drops
   on the walls. furthermore, the extraordinary height (up to 9 meters) of these houses provides
   a comfort climate during hot days. the top of the house is pierced with a circular opening,
   allowing the air to circulate, resulting in the sensation of freshness.
   today, these buildings have become somewhat obsolete, with only a few groups still practicing
   this 'cases obos' type of construction.
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• it is customary to lay the mud spirally in lifts of approximately half a metre, allowing each lift to dry before adding the next.
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• cross section of a musgum dwelling
• curves and grooves are the language of natural forms.
   the musgum house follows the profile of shells - the arc of a chain.
   bows and vaults obtained in this way can be very slim and allow the use of a minimum
   of material for maximum rigidity. the arc adopting the inverted profile (figure below)
   will only work in compression and does not produces parasitic twisting or bending moments.
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• musgum throwing knives
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• maintenance of a musgum
• the decorative surface allows for further refinement and individualization.
   the veins are also contributing to the drainage of rain. the musgum houses require
   regular maintenance of the coating and the veins allow people to climb atop the building
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• the construction technique of musgum clay houses is currently also mentioned in the
   exhibition 'ma terre premiere pour construire demain'.
   it explores how and why we should build with earth.
• on show at the cité des science et de l'industrie, paris until june 10th, 2010.

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• El pueblo dogón habita en los precipicios de Bandiagara, una falla geológica de 150 kilómetros de longitud cuyo desnivel alcanza los 300 metros. A lo largo de este descomunal accidente geológico se encuentran diseminadas las aldeas que forman el País Dogón. Son villas construidas en lugares arenosos y rocosos, donde el agua es el bien más preciado.  Los dogón llegaron a estos parajes del Sur de Mali huyendo de la esclavitud y la islamización en el siglo XIV, aunque finalmente una parte del pueblo se convirtió durante la Yihad del XVIII. Los misioneros europeos también hicieron proselitismo entre los dogón, evangelizando a algunos de sus miembros desde la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Este pueblo es célebre por sus sorprendentes conocimientos astronómicos y por sus manifestaciones artísticas, destacando las elaboradas tallas en madera que en muchos casos son integradas en elementos arquitectónicos como puertas y ventanas. Con frecuencia, estas piezas son arrancadas y vendidas a coleccionistas occidentales.

• Las villas dogón son reconocibles por su morfología urbana y por la propia construcción de sus edificios. Los dogón expulsaron en el siglo XIV a los ancestrales pobladores de la falla de Bandiagara, los Tellem, obligándolos a abandonar sus asentamientos construidos en las hendiduras naturales del  precipicio. Los dogón, en lugar de ocupar estas aldeas, pasaron a utilizarlas como lugares de sepultura. Aún hoy, los muertos son izados hasta estos lugares con la ayuda de cuerdas fabricadas con corteza de baobab.

   

  Las aldeas dogón se construyeron en las llanuras a ambos lados del precipicio, en tierras llanas y secas. Calles laberínticas flanqueadas por viviendas y graneros de baja altura forman la trama urbana de cualquier ciudad dogón. Sus edificios se erigieron con madera, adobe y piedra, materiales abundantes en el entorno.
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• Aldea dogón
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• Vista aérea de Labbezanga, 1972
• Las construcciones más singulares del tejido urbano Dogón son los graneros. Estos equipamientos indicaban la prosperidad de un pueblo, su abundancia implicaba fortuna. Se trataba de edificios de adobe elevados sobre troncos de madera de baobab para evitar que la humedad dañase el cereal acumulado en su interior. Pero los Dogón no sólo reunían alimento en sus graneros: acumulaban también tallas y objetos personales. La forma y el material de la cubierta variaba según el género de su propietario: cónica de paja si pertenecía a un hombre, cúpula de adobe si era de una mujer. En algunas aldeas aparecieron otras variedades tipológicas con cubiertas planas. Las puertas de estos edificios conservan aún hoy tallas de madera de enorme calidad.
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• Graneros
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• Graneros
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• Graneros

• En este tejido desordenado de pequeñas viviendas y graneros destacan por su vínculo con ancestrales ritos y costumbres dogón una serie de construcciones: la mezquita, la Topuna Gina y el Toguna.

   

  La Topuna Gina es la ‘casa de la menstruación’, un edificio circular aislado donde las mujeres son recluidas durante este periodo. El  Toguna, por su parte, consiste en una simple cubierta de paja sostenida por pilares de un metro de altura. Es el lugar donde se reúne el consejo de ancianos, donde se toman las decisiones que afectan a la vida y sociedad del País de los Dogón.
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• Mezquita en una aldea dogón
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• Toguna

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• En el Sur de Túnez el clima es extremo. Los recursos no abundan y las lluvias son escasas.  Para las tribus seminómadas bereber, mantener sus provisiones a salvo de las variaciones de temperatura y los saqueos enemigos ha sido siempre una prioridad. Esta necesidad dio forma a un edificio característico, la ghorfa. La principal característica de estas estructuras abovedadas es la verticalidad: llegan a alcanzar seis plantas de altura, con sólo 10 metros de profundidad y  tres de crujía.  Sus irregulares huecos se cierran con puertas de madera de palmera, y sus gruesos muros de piedras ayudan a mantener en el interior de la ghorfa una temperatura óptima para el secado de la cosecha. Los paramentos exteriores son, en ocasiones, decorados con huellas de pies y manos. El acceso a las plantas superiores se resuelve con un sistema de escaleras exteriores que vuelan desde los robustos muros. Tras su aparente arbitrariedad, cada elemento responde a una necesidad concreta resuelta con los materiales disponibles en un entorno donde casi todo escasea.
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• La construcción de una ghorfa era extremadamente sencilla. En primer lugar se construían dos muros paralelos de 1,5 metros de alto con rocas de pequeño tamaño trabadas con barro. A continuación, en el espacio resultante entre estas dos paredes, se colocaban cestas llenas de barro hasta superar la altura de los muros, y sobre ellas se disponía una estructura de paja previamente trenzada con forma de arco. Una vez finalizada esta rudimentaria cimbra, se colocaban sobre ella las piezas pétreas que conformarían la bóveda, trabadas también con barro y en algún caso con mortero de yeso. Una vez finalizado el proceso, la cimbra era retirada. Por último, se revocaban los paramentos y se construía el muro frontal que cerraba el granero.
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• Las ghorfa, lejos de ser edificios exentos, se agrupan habitualmente en estructuras fortificadas dispuestas en torno a un vacío central. El conjunto se conoce como Ksar, y suele encontrarse en mesetas elevadas o en la falda de algún promontorio rocoso. Al exterior se presentan como potentes muros continuos, sólo interrumpidos por una puerta de acceso. Siglos atrás, el Ksar contenía edificios donde habitaban los guardianes del fuerte. También residían allí los ancianos y enfermos que no podían soportar el constante desplazamiento de la vida seminómada. Los Ksour servían como lugar de asamblea y comercio a estas tribus bereber en tiempos de paz, y eran muy útiles como plazas fuertes en tiempos de guerra. La gran cantidad de provisiones almacenadas y, en ocasiones, la existencia de pozos, los convertían en lugares óptimos para resistir sitios prolongados.
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• Exterior de Ksar
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• Patio interior del Ksar desde una ghorfa
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• Patio confinado por las ghorfas
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• Ksar haddada, Túnez
• Aún hoy en día se conservan numerosos Ksour en la región Sur de Túnez, en las proximidades de las ciudades de Medenine, Tataouine, Ksar Haddada y Ksar Ouled Soltane. A pesar de todo, los Ksour perdieron su razón de ser cuando las tribus bereber se hicieron sedentarias. Muchos de estos conjuntos fueron destruidos. Otros simplemente fueron abandonados. Una pequeña parte de ellos se conservaron y han sido rehabilitados como graneros, viviendas o incluso como complejos turísticos. El cine hizo populares estas estructuras en Occidente al mostrarlas en la película Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Pero su origen y su forma derivan estrictamente de la necesidad de sobrevivir donde los recursos son exiguos

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• Sostenibilidad Humana. Ecología y dinámicas urbanas en las ciudades del subdesarrollo.La situación ecológica a lo largo de muchos países del mundo, tiene una cara muy distinta a la que puede verse en aquellos que, habiendo alcanzado ciertas cotas de atención social, se pueden permitir el involucrarse masivamente en todo lo tocante al medio ambiente, su preservación y recuperación. En Latinoamérica, y más puntualmente en Venezuela, el problema ecológico, si bien agravado por la sobrepoblación de algunas de sus ciudades, es un mal menor en las grandes extensiones territoriales, deshabitadas o muy poco pobladas, que componen alrededor del 75% del espacio geográfico venezolano. Venezuela, según algunas fuentes, posee una huella de carbono negativa, es decir, la masa forestal, aunada a que el 70% de la energía eléctrica en el país proviene de turbinas propulsadas por agua (represas hidroeléctricas), conlleva a que el volumen de anhídrido carbónico (y otros gases de efecto invernadero) que se absorbe sea mayor al producido, en cierta manera el territorio venezolano, a pesar de sus múltiples problemas de contaminación urbana, mantiene en negativo la contaminación liberada a la atmósfera. La ecuación antes mencionada nos lleva entonces a comprender que el principal problema ambiental radica en el manejo urbano de los recursos y las problemáticas suscitadas debido a la mala disposición de desechos y residuos domésticos. El agravante de éstos problemas es que anterior a éste nivel de desarrollo, que partiría de la atención correcta al tema del desecho urbano, se encuentra aquel que contiene las problemáticas que ocupan la atención general del estado, elementos como la alta mortandad por actos violentos, la precariedad económica, entre otros; es por ello que nuestro enfoque hacia la sostenibilidad ha partido de la creación de un prototipo doméstico de sustitución que atienda a las necesidades urbanas, refiriendo dinámicas presentes actualmente en las comunidades a intervenir.
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• Sostenibilidad humana deviene en un concepto de la visión tropical del subdesarrollo, refiriendo a la ecología y la atención al medio ambiente como primer peldaño para garantizar una calidad de vida digna de sus habitantes. La vivienda integra, a su entorno doméstico, un proceso de sustitución que permitiría actuar sobre tejido barrial consolidado de alta densidad, como sería el caso de Petare o La Vega, por mencionar alguno, basándose en un contenedor que actúe como un recinto donde se acumulen todos los sistemas sostenibles; sobre el cual se posarían las actividades domésticas del cotidiano, dicho contenedor atiende a las situaciones que vulneran la calidad humana, actuando principalmente sobre el área de servicios (agua potable, aguas servidas y clasificación de desechos), y plegándose éstos a la situación tan particular del barrio y sus acontecimientos.
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• Un intento masivo dentro del subdesarrollo ha sido formalizar lo variado del barrio, el problema antes ésta situación es que se ha visto al mismo como una masa estructurada, y no como una criatura amorfa y cambiante, de manera que las soluciones deben partir del barrio y no hacia éste. Al no poseer sistemas de tuberías para la recolección de aguas servidas o la distribución de agua potable, el prototipo doméstico utiliza tanques que almacenarían ambas (dinámica que ocurre ahora con el agua potable, más no con las aguas servidas), permitiendo ser llenados o vaciados por camiones que circulen en las estrechas vías de la trama barrial; con éste gesto se mantiene a ésta antes mencionada criatura casi intocada, pero se comienzan a solventar los problemas que la aquejan. A su vez, se suma la recolección de aguas de lluvia y la clasificación de desechos como elementos que descenderían el gasto hídrico y ayudarían a la disposición de la basura adecuadamente.
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• La sostenibilidad humana busca que ambiente y hombre se solapen, que su atención ocurra al unísono e incluso, que una acción pueda aludir a ambas figuras. En la medida en que seamos capaces de atender las necesidades de nuestra población, podremos también solventar las de nuestro medio ambiente, siempre y cuando se llegue al estadio donde una de ellas no tiene por qué ir en detrimento de la otra.
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• Project: Infiniski Manifesto House
   Architects: James & Mau
   Location: Curacaví, Chile
   Built Area: 160 m2 ( + 15 m2 terraces 2nd floor)
   Landscaping: Infiniski
   General Contractor and manager: Infiniski
   Renewable strategy: Infiniski + Geotek
   Project year: 2009
   Execution Time: 90 days
   Total Cost: 79.000 €
   Photograph: Antonio Corcuera
   Furniture: Cómodo Studio, gt_2P
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• Infiniski designs and builds eco-friendly houses and buildings based on the use of recycled, reused and non polluting materials and the integration of alternative and renewable energy. The Infiniski projects are designed by James&Mau – Architects and designers,  Jaime Gaztelu and Mauricio Galeano, founders and partners of Infiniski. James & Mau offer Innovative and contemporary designs based on bioclimatic and modular architecture.  Infiniski is not only green, it is cheaper and faster … it tries to think the values of architecture and construction differently; a contribution to the needs of our changing environment.

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• Muchas buenas ideas y buenos proyectos pasarían al olvido de no ser por los croquis. Este registro, que acompaña a los arquitectos desde sus primeros días, es una herramienta inseparable e indispensable tanto en la concepción de las ideas como en el registro y diseño de un proyecto. Esto queda demostrado al ver que aun se mantiene vigente, en tiempos donde tecnología se ha apoderado de gran parte de los procesos de trabajo de los arquitectos.

  En esta oportunidad, veremos una selección de croquis y dibujos que About.com realizó acerca de proyectos diseñados por grandes arquitectos, algunos que incluso que nunca se construyeron.
• World Trade Center Tower 2
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  Norman Foster imaginando 4 bloques en altura y señalando el sitio del memorial junto a criterios y orientaciones.
• The Burberry Line
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• Nuevamente FLR proponiendo una linea modular para un espacio interior con una serie de configuraciones.
• The Senedd, National Assembly for Wales
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• Este croquis hechos por Rogers ilustran las perforaciones de cielo y otras estrategias de eficiencia anotadas.

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• No existen puertas en el edificio, en su lugar se proyectaron seis enormes contraventanas: dos en los lados cortos del prisma de madera, destinadas a las personas, y cuatro más en los lados largos para uso de los animales.Estas contraventanas pueden ser abiertas de forma manual o automática, reaccionando ante la salida del sol. Su cierre se produce al final del día cuando el sol se ha puesto. De este modo, los animales pueden aprender fácilmente a entrar y salir a tiempo. De noche, el edificio se transforma en un punto de luz en medio del parque.
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• Texto: 70F Architecture

   

  Traducicón y maquetación: BLC

   

  DESCARGAR AQUI PDF CON MAS INFORMACION

   

  Obra: Granja en Almere

   

  Arquitecto: 70F

   

  Año: 2008

   

  Emplazamiento: Almere, Holanda

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• Architects: Anagram Architects
   Location: New Delhi, India
   Design Team: Vaibhav Dimri & Madhav Raman
   Client: South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre
   Site Area: 50 sqm
   Project Area: 172 sqm
   Project Year: 2005
• The site is at a busy street corner with essentially pedestrian traffic. As the site is not very large, the acoustic and visual intrusion of the street activity into work spaces was a key concern.
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• CONSTRAINTS OF SPACE AND COSTS

   

  The method of construction adopted had to optimize the space available on site and a modest budget.

   

  SOLAR THERMAL GAIN

   

  The orientation of the site is such that the longer 10m side is exposed to direct sun throughout the day. Reducing the resulting solar thermal gain was an important design generator.
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• Design response

   

  ENGAGING THE STREET

   

  Although some fortification against the street was required, it was crucial for the façade “converse” with the external activity. The external wall is conceived as an animated, dynamic skin reflecting the bustle of the street and activating what would otherwise have been a mundane façade with minimal fenestrations. The porosity of the wall maintains a degree of privacy while playfully engaging with the street corner.

   

  SPACE AND COST OPTIMISATION:

   

  Efficient Space utilisation is achieved by creating a single consolidated volume on each floor to be flexibly partitioned as per the client’s requirements. This volume is serviced by a flanking buffer bay of a single flight cantilevered staircase and a toilet stack. Costs were minimised by using exposed brick construction and by creating a beamless soffit at every floor. To create a beamless soffit without increasing the thickness of the slab, a gently vaulting roof was designed. Lateral inverted beams were introduced and flooring laid onto an infill so that each floor plate insulated eliminating the need for a false ceiling.
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• BREATHING THERMAL BARRIER:

   

  This buffer bay forms a breathing thermal barrier along the sun facing side. By situating the staircase and toilet stack in this bay, the internal workspaces are protected. The porosity of the wall ensures that the buffer bay is well ventilated and yet shaded so as to reduce the amount of heat transmitted to the workspaces. A single repeating brick module creates a visually complex pattern in the manner of traditional South Asian brise soleils.

   

  The construction of the wall:

   

  A six brick module is laid in staggered courses that create twirling vertical stacks and an undulating surface. The construction of the screen wall was a result of a five-week process devising masonry techniques on site. From verification of plumbline to the structural bonding of the brick courses, methods of brick laying were devised through a deep on-site collaboration between the masons and the architects.
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• There were four objectives that the construction of the screen wall was attempting to achieve:

   

  High level of porosity in the central portion of the wall.

   

  Effective horizontal bonding and load distribution between the bricks.

   

  No visible intrusion of any material other than brick masonry onto the façade.

   

  The repeating pattern modules must be complete end to end over the entire width and height of the wall i.e. there should be no deviation in the pattern.

   

  Through computer modeling, the architects realized that a simple rotating module of bricks would create the kind of visual and textural complexity need to achieve the design objective of engaging the street corner.
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• To begin with a six brick module of bricks on edge was devised for the construction of the wall. This was so that the module would cubic in shape and therefore directionally inert. Bricks were laid on edge so that the voids created by missing bricks would substantially contribute to the porosity in the central portion.

   

  But using a 6 brick module created to very basic masonry concerns:

   

  For proper alignment (prevention of corbelling), all the centres of the modules in a vertical stack had to fall on one perfectly vertical axis around which the module would rotate. This was difficult to estimate accurately on site during bricklaying (owing to human errors).

   

  The other issue was verification of plumbness of every course. Dropping an accurate plumb line from one course to the next was not feasible since the brick faces were not in the same plane.

   

  A single vertical stack was built and rebuilt five times on site with both the architects and the masons trying to co-strategise on a simple and practical brick laying technique that could be replicated by the various masonry teams without relying heavily on the individual skills of a master mason.
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• The floor slabs were cast at floor-to-floor heights of 3180 mm. This was distributed over two sets of continuously repeating 6 module course patterns so that the 1st, 7th and 13th course are the same. A set of 6 individual course drawings were prepared in studio and the angle of rotation between them calculated. From these, sets of triangular wooden wedges were made and distributed amongst the masonry teams. They were used by the bricklayers to verify the orientation of the bricks while laying them.

   

  The horizontal interlocking between modules essentially happens through the cross-stack overlapping of the central bricks in the modules. In the porous central portion of the façade, brickwork is reinforced horizontally by a laying a thin section (95mm X 125 mm) reinforced cement concrete beam along the cavity created by the missing central brick.

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• invited by the metropolitan museum of art to create a site-specific installation
   for the iris and b. gerald cantor roof garden, the twin brothers mike and doug starn
   (born in New Jersey in 1961) present their new work, 'big bambú: you can't, you don't,
   and you won't stop'.
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   the monumental bamboo structure, ultimately measuring 100 feet long, 50 feet wide,
   and 50 feet high, takes the form of a cresting wave that bridges the realms of sculpture,
   architecture, and performance. 'big bambú' is a growing and changing installation,―a vast
   network of 5,000 interlocking 30- and 40-foot-long fresh-cut bamboo poles, lashed
   together with 50 miles of nylon rope. it will continue to be constructed throughout
   the duration of the exhibition. the first phase of the structure―measuring about 100 feet
   long, 50 feet wide, and 30 feet high―was completed by opening day, April 27.
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• visitors witness the continuing creation and evolving incarnations of 'big bambú' as it
   is constructed throughout the spring, summer, and fall by artists and a team of rock
   climbers. they will be continuing to build up the eastern portion of the sculpture to an
   elevation of 50 feet. by summer, the western portion of the sculpture will be about 40 feet
   high. an internal footpath artery system grows along with the structure, facilitating its progress.
   the evolving state of the work is being documented by the artists in photographs and videos.
   
   set against central park and its urban backdrop, 'big bambú' suggests the complexity and
   energy of an ever-changing living organism.
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   for other large bamboo installations by the starn brothers, see here.
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• Architect: Benjamin Garcia Saxe
   Location: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
   Type: Residential
   Budget: 40,000 USD
   Project Year: 2010
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• Architects: Studio Mumbai
   Location: Nandgaon, Maharashtra, India
   Principal Architect: Bijoy Jain
   Project Team: Jeevaram Sutar, Roy Katz, Mangesh Mhatre, Samuel Barclay
   Project Year: 2007
• Located outside of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea, Palmyra House was built as a refuge from the bustle of the busy city. The 3000 sq ft. house consists of two wooden louvered structures set inside of a functioning coconut plantation. Anchored to stone platforms, the structures overlook a network of wells and aqueducts that weave the site into an inhabitable whole. Living room, study and master bedroom are contained in the north volume, while the south volume contains the kitchen, dining, and guest bedrooms. Set in the plaza between the buildings, the pool provides a channel for swimming, with expansive views of the sea to the west and views into a dense foliage of palms to the east.
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• Structural framing for the house was built of ain wood, a local hardwood, and was constructed using traditional interlocking joinery. The extensive louvres were handcrafted from the outer part of the palmyra trunk (a local palm species). Exteriors are detailed with hand-worked copper flashing and standing seam aluminum roofs; interior surfaces are finished with teakwood and India Patent Stone, a refined pigmented plaster. Locally quarried black basalt was used to construct the stone plinths, aqueduct walls and pool plaza.
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• Palmyra House
   Nandgaon, Maharashtra, India
   completed 2007
   Architects: Studio Mumbai Architects
• “Located outside of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea, Palmyra House was built as a refuge from the bustle of the busy city. The 3000 sq ft. house consists of two wooden louvered structures separated by a courtyard and pool, set inside of a functioning coconut plantation. Anchored to stone platforms, the structures overlook a network of wells and aqueducts that weave the site into an inhabitable whole. Living room, study and master bedroom are contained in the north volume, while the south volume contains the kitchen, dining, and guest bedrooms. Set in the plaza between the buildings, the pool provides a channel for swimming towards endless vistas of palm trees to the east and the sea to the west.
• Structural framing for the house was built of ain wood, a local hardwood, and was constructed using traditional interlocking joinery. The extensive louvres were handcrafted from the outer part of the palmyra trunk [a local palm species]. Exteriors are detailed with hand-worked copper flashing and standing seam aluminum roofs; interior surfaces are finished with teakwood and India Patent Stone, a refined pigmented plaster. Locally quarried black basalt was used to construct the aqueduct walls and pool courtyard.”
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