earth-bag constructionpractical experience with natural building

Ilonka Marselis

Building with the earth below your feet

from one-day emergency shelter to ecological family home

Why earth-bag building?- Low-tech, natural building technique

- Bullet, flood and earthquake proof

- Thermal mass

- Local

- Low-cost

- Easy

- No need for wood

- Organic shapes, retain spirit of nature

- Healthy

- Regulates humidity levels

Arch-itecture

Arch is strongest shape in nature rotated arch forms a strong dome

Nepal

Earthbag construction vs. standard constructions after the Nepal earthquake

Nader Khalili’s Pegasus Childs orphanage

Haiti

Building a new church after the earthquake in 2010

AfricaVillage project for Uganda

Western World

La Casa Vergara - José Andrés Vallejo

Some terminology on building with earth‐ Adobe – sundried mudbricks

‐ Sandbags

‐ Earthbags – tamped clay composition

‐ Superadobe – friction and tensile resistance

‐ Hyperadobe – knitted fabric with open netting

Adobe bricks Sandbags Earthbags Superadobe Hyperadobe bag

Plastic bags?‐ Discarded packaging bags‐ Cloth / jutten bags‐ Cal-Earth ‘ professional bags’‐ Cheaper polystyrene bags

Earth composition‐ Mix sand, water and earth

‐ Sticky in your hand but no fingerprints

‐ Adding cement = stabalized bags Only single sand bags, +20 years old

Stabalized sand tubes, cement added to sand

The NetherlandsInsulation?

‐ Two rings of earthbag with cavity between them

‐ Insulate wall, for exp. With straw

‐ Different earth composition, for exp. glassfoam granulate

High-rise?

‐ Adding 5 % aramide, keflar or coalfibre can create every strength

‐ Adding a compression ring halfway along the dome

How to do it yourself?

All you need is‐ Earth‐ Bags / tubes‐ Shovel‐ Buckets‐ Stamper‐ Hammer‐ Spirit level‐ Chain‐ Stanley knife‐ Either barbed wire or wooden pegs‐ Measurer

Let’s start building!

An empty plot and a pile of earth Drawing the diameter of the dome

No design?‐ Diameter gives shape of dome

‐ Along the way adjustments to environment

The ‘ design’ for our dome

First layer

Use of gravel instead of earth for strength Getting the perfect fold Stamping the entire cirkel

Moisture control

Waterproof foil after first layers Waterproof foil against outside, drainage pipe for rainwater

Layering!

Placing a bag/tube Filling it with earth Finish a circle Stamp the circle Twag the sides

Keep checking

The spirit level across the circle The diameter of the dome The opening for the entrance

Earth bags vs. earth tubes

Less folds, easier shaping, more even, possible on your ownComplicated shapes, easy adjusting

Barbed wire vs. wooden pegs

After placing the bag, no adjustment possibleNot frienly and not natural

Faster, saver, easier, naturalMaking pegs can be a sore!

Stamping away

Making the arch-entrance

Lancet arch with temporary wooden support

Taking out the support

Making a window‐ Use sandbags / car tire / oil barrel / etc.

‐ No need for wood

‐ Fast and easy

Airducts using PVC pipes‐ Fresh air

‐ Light

‐ Cheap, easy, fast

‐ Seasonally adjustable

Finishing the dome

Making the top window

A piece of glass from the dump, placed under a slight slope and supported by wooden pegs

Finished?

Covering an earth-bag dome‐ UV-light breaks down the plastic bags

‐ Rain and dirt can enter

‐ Better indoor environment

Dome needs:

- A hat

- A breathing coat

- Good boots

Plastering‐ Rough cob layer (mud mixed with sand)

‐ Clay plaster

‐ Cement

‐ Cow dung

Careful!

A cob layer under cement: nature will grow!

Cladding

Wooden shingles

Wooden constructionStones

Roof‐ In very rainy climates

‐ Wooden construction

‐ Straw

‐ Cement cloth

‐ Shingles

‐ Grass

Flat roof

Pointed roof‐ Arquitectura en equilibrio

‐ Using earthbags as regular walls

Vaulted designAn earth-bag design doesn’t need to look like a dome!

What we didWe first applied cob

Sculpting

Finishing plasterA mix of sand, clay, water and wheat paste

Make different mixes, test them for cracks Apply the mix on a test wall Make a large batch

Natural painting- Paint based on clay- Mix clay, sand, pigment and wheat paste- Consistancy of quark- Pigments: colored clay, charcoal, dried flowers, spices

Earthbag building for everyone and everywhere

References‐ http://earthbagbuilding.com/index.htm info

‐ http://earthhandsandhouses.org/ workshops/projects

‐ http://calearth.org/ info/workshops

‐ http://www.joseandresvallejoarquitecto.com/ ‘modern’ architecture

‐ http://www.matthiasroth.org/SpiritualMusic_IndianHarmonium/Nepal.html a friend building in Nepal

‐ http://earthbagbuilding.com/projects/uganda.htm Uganda project

‐ http://www.naturalbuildingblog.com/earthbag-projects-in-haiti/ rebuilding Haiti

‐ Documentaries by Nader Khalili

‐ Building with earth – Paulina Wojciechowska

‐ Earthbag building guide – Owen Geiger

‐ Google: earth-bag building!

‐ Ask me: ilonka@marselis.eu