Earth architecture handmade school bangladesh

METI school in rudrapur dinajpur, bangladesh

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.



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.



earthbound materials such as loam and straw are combined with lighter elements like
bamboo sticks and nylon lashing to create a environmentally sustainable foundation.



thick walls assure a comfortable climate on the ground floor of the building.


1st floor: open space


a view into the classroom

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.


a view into the classroom


a view into the classroom


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.


'if you give someone a fish you can feed him for a day.
if you show him how to fish he can feed himself for his whole life.' - lao zhu



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.



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.



the joints are secured with a steel pin fixed with a nylon lashing



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.


section


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

Furnish Green

Picking up some threads of a recent post about some inventive site furnishings, as well as the ongoing obsession with Vegetated Architecture brings another melding of the two. A range of vegetated furniture that ranges from the purely decorative to the downright functional. First, a quick shot from Michael Cannell's blog at Dwell - with some unique seating spotted at the Milan Furniture Fair.


:: image via Dwell
Another interesting furnishing seen a bunch over the past few weeks is from Greenform, and the bench 'Relax' by designer Stephan Stauffacher... which is more art piece than furniture, with a 5" height and grass-stain causing surface... but I strangely want one, filled with some different type of plant...


:: image via gardenhistorygirl

A bit more functional are a couple of examples of GYO furniture, via Inhabitat. First is the TerraGrass Armchair kit featuring a cardboard frame that is filled with soil and planted for a comfy looking overstuffed chair.


:: image via Inhabitat

Another from Inhabitat - with a Lawn Couch DIY kit feature from the magazine Ready-Made (link to this project seems to be gone)...


:: image via Inhabitat

And another from designer Julian Lwin, via Inhabitat: "The recycled cardboard cylinders of the new “Ephemeral BioTube Bench” are embedded with seeds using a cellulose liquid, so that as they are exposed to moisture, rain and light, they biodegrade (to a rich mulch layer) and turn into an instant garden."

:: image via Inhabitat

Taking this to other forms of furnishing, a table with a built-in-trough for some sort of vegetation - we'll call it a living centerpiece. 'Side Table' is by designer Jonas Hauptmann - as seen on The Design Blog seems perfect for a stand of cut-your-own lemongrass, or perhaps a nice area for someone to hide those brussel sprouts.

:: image via Hauptmann Products Inc.

Taking functional furnishings a bit further, GreenU, by Andrew Volpe, a student at the Northern Michigan university envisions a self-contained and self-sufficient shelter, information kiosk, seat, recycling/trash receptacle all in one handy, sustainable, easy to assemble vegetated unit.

:: images via The Design Blog

Maybe the artful inclusion of vegetation into the idea of furnishings can avoid the inevitable wardrobe changes that may be necessary to comfortably occupy urban spaces. While a tad tongue-and-cheek, there is some social commentary associated with Archisuits by Sarah Ross - which meld fashion, function and localism to accomodate the specific seating barriers in Los Angeles.

:: images via Sarah Ross

Space-Age Tech Coming to a Building Near You: Aerogel as Insulation

Photo: Peter Tsou at NASA's JPL, Public domain.

Frozen Smoke in My Walls

Aerogel, also known as Frozen Smoke, is quite an interesting material. It has the lowest bulk density of any known porous solid, it is mostly transparent but feels a bit like Styrofoam to the touch, and it has remarkable thermal insulation properties (NASA has used it on the Mars Rover and space suits). But it's always been too expensive for most large scale uses... And that might be changing.

Photo: Aspen Aerogels

Aspen Aerogels has started selling aerogel blankets for use as insulation in buildings.

"Aspen Aeorgels says that its Spaceloft blankets have two to four times the insulating value per inch compared to fiberglass or foam. It's also relatively easy to work with, allows water vapor to pass through, and is fire resistant--a common demonstration of aerogels is to have a person fire a Bunsen burner below the aerogel while putting a hand on the top side." (source)
The fact that it's just 2 to 4 times better than fiberglass or foam makes me think that they paid a pretty big performance price to bring costs down, since pure aerogel would provider higher thermal insulation, but it's still a pretty big step in the right direction. We're not talking about a few percent improvement. Over time, in a big building, this could represent a lot of heat that would otherwise leak out (or heat that would leak in when the air conditioning is on).
Other companies that are coming out with more affordable aerogel derivatives to be used as building insulation are Cabot and Thermablok.
I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years (or decades at most) very high-quality aerogel was used almost everywhere for insulation. Unless we make something even better, that is.
Trivia: According to Wikipedia, "Aerogel was first created by Samuel Stephens Kistler in 1931, as a result of a bet with Charles Learned over who could replace the liquid in 'jellies' with gas without causing shrinkage."

Via CNET, Reddit

More Green Science
Potentially Amazing Technology: Is Spray-On Liquid Glass About to Make Everything Greener?

Puma City: Container Retail by Lot-Ek.

photos by Danny Bright
Nobody does shipping container architecture like Lot-ek, one of the originals. They have designed a demountable retail space for Puma, with "with large double heights as well as with 4-container-wide open spaces to challenge the modular box-quality of the container inner space; offices, press area and storage occupy the second level and a bar, lounge and event space with a large open terrace is at the top."

Love that cantilever! I wouldn't think you could do that.

"The building uses 40-foot long shipping containers as well as a number of the existing container connectors to join and secure containers both horizontally and vertically. Each module is designed to ship as conventional cargo container through a system of structural covering panels that fully seals all of its large openings to be removed on site to re-connect the large, open interior spaces."

Plug n' play...
"Puma City is a truly experimental building that takes full advantage of the global shipping network already in place. At 11,000 square feet of space, it is the first container building of its scale to be truly mobile, designed to respond to all of the architectural challenges of a building of its kind, including international building code, dramatic climate changes, plug-in electrical and HVAC systems and ease of assembly and operations.”




World Architecture, ecosystema urbana via noticiasarquitectura




Source: Treehugger 

More Lot-ek in TreeHugger:
LOT-EK Container Housing Coming to New York
Lot-ek Builds Student Pavilion From Recycled Airplane
More on Shipping Containers:
Crate Expectations: 12 Shipping Container Housing Ideas :

RIBA Announces Winners of the President’s Medals Student Awards 2009

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) today announced the winners of the 2009 President’s Medals Student Awards.

RIBA has been awarding the President’s Medals since the 1850s and the awards were established in their current format in 1984. The aim of these prestigious awards is to promote excellence in the study of architecture, to reward talent and to encourage architectural debate worldwide. Students from RIBA recognized schools in the UK and overseas aspire each year to be selected by their school to enter for the medals and for the opportunity for their work to be recognized and publicly exhibited.

Two student projects, “A Defensive Architecture” and “An Augmented Ecology of Wildlife and Industry”, were awarded Medals, as well as the dissertation “The Art of Skew Bridges: The Technique and its History Explored”.

Here are the winners of 2009:

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Medal Winner 2009 - SOM Winner: “A Defensive Architecture” by Nicholas Szczepaniak (University of Westminster, London, UK)

Student Statement by Nicholas Szczepaniak on “A Defensive Architecture”:

This thesis is intended to expose unexpected readings of the built environment in the future if we don’t take more drastic steps to deal with climate change. Set in the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, the project envisages a set of militarised coastal defence towers that perform multiple functions:

1. The principle role of the towers is to act as an environmental warning device. The architecture is alive, dramatizing shifts in environmental conditions; breathing, creaking, groaning, sweating and crying when stressed. Air-bags on the face of the towers expand and contract, while hundreds of tensile trunks are sporadically activated, casting water on to the heated facades to produce steam. An empty watchtower at the top of each tower gives them the impression that the fragile landscape below is constantly being surveyed.

2. Across the estuary, a bed of salt marshes provides a natural form of flood defence and habitats for wildlife. Due to rising water levels and adverse weather conditions, the salt marshes are quickly deteriorating. The proposal suggests how megastructures can be integrated and used to encourage the growth of natural defence mechanisms against flooding in order to protect the erosion of fragile coastline areas and our most important cities. Over time, sand is collected at the base of each tower to form a spit across the mouth of the estuary, absorbing energy from the waves.

3. Internally, the towers serve as a vast repository for mankinds most valuable asset; knowledge. The architecture is a knowledge ark, which protects books from culminative and catastrophic deterioration.

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Medal Winner 2009: “An Augmented Ecology of Wildlife and Industry” by Wen Ying Teh (Architectural Association, London, UK)

Student Statement by Wen Ying Teh on “An Augmented Ecology of Wildlife and Industry”:

An existing salt mine sits as a scar on the Galapagos Landscape. Once the natural habitat of Flamingos, this salt lake has long been a desolate space ravaged by the nearby restaurant industry. The Galapagos is caught between its massive contribution to the Ecuadorian economy and its value as a historic wilderness.

This project is conceived of as a provocation and speculation on how these two demands may be hybridized as an alternative to the typical conservationist practices applied across the islands. The two traditionally mutually exclusive programs of salt farming and Flamingo habitat are re imagined as a new form of symbiotic designed ecology; a pink wonderland, built from colored bacteria and salt crystallization, dissolving and reshaping itself with seasonal and evaporative cycles. The building becomes an ecosystem in itself, completely embedded in the context that surrounds it.

Formed from fine webs of nylon fibers held in an aluminum frame, this strange string instrument allows the salt farming process to be drawn up out of the lake, returning it to the endemic flamingos whilst at the same time ensuring the continuation of a vital local industry. Using just capillary action, salt water from the lake crystallizes on the tension strings forming glistening, translucent enclosures. It encrusts the infrastructure of a flamingo observation hide and solidifies into a harvestable field ready to be scraped clean by miners.

The project has been developed through scale models that were used as host structures for an in depth series of crystallization experiments. Material erosion, spatial qualities, structurally capacity and evaporative cycles were all determined through physical testing. The architecture and its physical models grew slowly across time, emerging from the salt waters they were immersed in, to become fully developed crystalline structures.

The Galapagos is an ecology in crisis. The project is positioned as part documentary, part science fiction offering both a rigorous technical study and a speculative near future wilderness. An evolving future for the islands is imagined and it demands an evolved and mutated architecture.

Further Commendations went to:

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High Commendation: ”(Re)making _City” by Paul Durcan (University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland)

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Commendation - SOM Winner: “The Secret Policemen’s Saloon” by Robert Taylor (The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK)

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Commendation: “Media City-Vertical Discovery (MC-VD)” by Selvei Al-Assadi (London South Bank University, London, UK)

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Commendation: “Digital Intimacy” by Stephen Townsend (University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK)

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Commendation: “Pygmalion’s Cathedral of Cosmetic Surgery” by Biten Patel (University of Brighton, Brighton, UK)

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Commendation: “Wide Open / Land[s] in Lands” by Marcus Todd (University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK)

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Serjeant Award: “New Malacovia” by Pascal Bronner (University College London, London, UK)

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Serjeant Award: “Desert(ed) Hotel” by Anam Hasan (University of Greenwich, London, UK)

These projects are the Dissertation Winners:

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Medal Winner 2009: “The Art of Skew Bridges: The Technique and its History Explored” by Rebecca Gregory (University of Westminster, London, UK)

Student Statement by Rebecca Gregory on “The Art of Skew Bridges: The Technique and its History Explored”:

In the nineteenth century, with the advancement of the railway networks across the United Kingdom, bridges were becoming an increasingly necessary part of the industrial landscape. And despite the increased use of materials such as cast iron, many were still constructed of brick and stone.

The masonry arch bridge can be regarded as a relatively simple structure when two systems cross at ninety degrees to each other; however a question arises when the systems cross at an oblique angle. This problem was raised previously in the design of canals, but became more widespread with the railway system due to the increased regularity of its occurrence. The long sweeping curves of the railway line also add additional complexity in contrast to the predominantly straight road and canal layouts: The solution to this problem was the skew or the oblique bridge.

This may sound like a reasonably simple solution and a relatively insignificant piece of civil engineering, but when one attempts to visualise a masonry arch bridge and to consider how the stonework may be skewed to allow for the oblique angle, the complexity quickly becomes apparent. This study looks in detail at one particular solution to the nineteenth century problem of the skew bridge. It is based on a drawing, published in The Builder in 1845, to accompany an article on the construction of skew bridges. An attempt is made here to fully explain this drawing and to investigate the circumstances surrounding its publication.

Importantly, although my dissertation concentrates on one particular drawing, this serves as an example of the way knowledge of descriptive geometry, derived from French military engineering was adapted by British architects and engineers. It also looks at the way nineteenth-century civil engineering structures such as bridges were inevitably appropriated by the champions of British modernism in their search for a functionalist tradition. But also, focussed on the working relationship of two relatively unknown architects, my research also reveals something of their individual professional lives and their place in history.

Further Dissertation Commendations went to:

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Commendation: ”[Here Be Monsters]” by Jamie Williamson (Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK)

Results of 3rd Advanced Architecture Contest “The Self-Sufficient City”

Barcelona-based Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) just announced the winning entries of the 3rd Advanced Architecture Contest “THE SELF-SUFFICIENT CITY: Envisioning the habitat of the future”. The international competition, organized by the IAAC in collaboration with HP, invited architects to submit ideas which transform cities into more stimulating environments for the human life. The contest was open to architects, planners, designers and artists who aim to contribute to progress in making the world more habitable by developing a proposal capable of responding to emerging challenges in areas such as ecology, information technology, socialization and globalization, with a view to enhancing the connected self-sufficiency of our cities.

The jury presented a joint first prize to contestants “HURBS” designed by Sergio Castillo Tello and María Hernández Enríquez from Spain and “WATER FUEL” designed by Rychiee Espinosa and Seth Mcdowell from the United States.

Here are the two winning entries in detail:

Finalist “HURBS” Hybrid Human Urban Re-adaptive Bidirectionally-Relational System which proposed the creation of a participatory experiment in order to develop an urban informational system in which the citizens and experts work together to develop cities through solutions that optimize urban resources. The jury acknowledges this vision of a city as a structure which is re-informed through digital management systems.

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1st Prize: “HURBS” Hybrid Human Urban Re-adaptive Bidirectionally-Relational System by Sergio Castillo Tello and María Hernández Enríquez, Spain

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1st Prize: “HURBS” Hybrid Human Urban Re-adaptive Bidirectionally-Relational System by Sergio Castillo Tello and María Hernández Enríquez, Spain

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1st Prize: “HURBS - Hybrid Human Urban Re-adaptive Bidirectionally-Relational System” by Sergio Castillo Tello and María Hernández Enríquez, Spain

Finalist “WATER FUEL” which proposed the development of technologies that transforms salt water into energy, generating hydrogen in urban environments, to be utilized for transportation systems and urban consumption. The jury acknowledges this as the integration of energy production systems into an urban context and it’s ability to transform civic environments and foment the generation of energy by means of self sufficiency. These structures have been well designed and are capable of urban landscape integration.

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1st Prize: “WATER FUEL” by Rychiee Espinosa and Seth Mcdowell, USA

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1st Prize: “WATER FUEL” by Rychiee Espinosa and Seth Mcdowell, USA

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1st Prize: “WATER FUEL” by Rychiee Espinosa and Seth Mcdowell, USA

The jury also gave honorable mentions to the following four projects:

“Massive Urban Recycling-Plastered Stadium”, designed by Adrian Garcia from Mexico which proposed to recycle urban obsolete structures, incorporating new functions such as domestic functions, without destroying prominent urban buildings, when they’ve lost their function.

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Honorable Mention: “Massive Urban Recycling-Plastered Stadium” by Adrian Garcia, Mexico

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Honorable Mention: “Massive Urban Recycling-Plastered Stadium” by Adrian Garcia, Mexico

“SKY CITY” designed by Victor Kirillow from Russia which proposed the construction of urban mega structures, in which the city is stacked vertically to protect it’s green spaces, giving access to each level through future transportation systems.

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Honorable Mention: “SKY CITY” by Victor Kirillow, Russia

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Honorable Mention: “SKY CITY” by Victor Kirillow, Russia

“RECIPROCITY” designed by Jason Butz from the United States which proposed the creation of recycling structures which recycle urban waste and capable of creating materials of high architectural design for urban reuse.

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Honorable Mention: “RECIPROCITY” by Jason Butz, USA

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Honorable Mention: “RECIPROCITY” by Jason Butz, USA

“MOBILIZING VILLAGES” designed by Do Trung Kien from Vietnam, which proposed a floating city off the coast of Vietnam, with forms that abstract the surrounding landscapes, approaching the question ¨Is it possible to rise above sea level?¨, and its effect on coastal cities.

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Honorable Mention: “MOBILIZING VILLAGES” by Do Trung Kien, Vietnam

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Honorable Mention: “MOBILIZING VILLAGES” by Do Trung Kien, Vietnam

708 proposals from 116 countries were evaluated through the internet from October to December by the jury comprising Jaime Lerner, Architect, former Mayor of Curitiba, former President of UIA; Mr. Mityrev, Representative for the Governor of Saint Petersburg; Brett Steele, Director of the Architectural Association, London; Stan T. Allen, Dean of Princeton University School of Architecture; Yung Ho Chang, Head of the MIT Department of Architecture; Aaron Betsky, Director of The Cincinnati Art Museum; Haakon Karlsen Jr, Director of MIT Fab Lab Norway; Pankaj Joshi, Director of Urbanism Design Research Institute. Mumbai, India; Benyam Ali, Head of the Addis Ababa University Department of Architecture; JM Lin, Architect , The Observer Design Group, Taiepi, Taiwan; Bostian Vuga, Sadar & Vuga architects, Lubjana , Slovenia; Michel Rojkin, Rojkin Arquitecto, México; Vicente Guallart, Director of IAAC, Barcelona; Willy Muller, Director of IAAC Development; Marta Male-Alemany, Co-director of IAAC Master in Advanced Architecture; Areti Markopoulou, Academic Coordinator of IAAC Master in Advanced Architecture; and Lucas Cappelli, Director of 3rd Advanced Architecture Contest.

Images: Institute of advanced architecture of Catalonia (IaaC)