Earthbag Homes for Post-Earthquake Haiti

All photos courtesy: konbit shelter

Coverage of Haiti's 2010 earthquake disaster may have dwindled in the news, but rebuilding efforts are still slowly continuing, running the gamut from shelters made from tires, shipping containers and recycled plastic bottles -- each with their advantages and disadvantages.

But that's not all; besides these methods, the superadobe "earthbag" building technique is also being used. Originally developed by architect Nader Khalili and Cal-Earth, the practice involves layering long fabric or plastic tubes or bags filled with sand, clay, water and fibrous material like sticks, straw, and/or manure to create a domed compression structure that is resistant to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and fire.

Organizations like Konbit Shelter ("konbit" means communal effort in Creole) are partnering international artists, builders, architects, and engineers with local artisans and builders to create durable and low-tech earthbag structures that can be tailored to fit each community's needs:

This system of building provides an easily replicable model, which can be built without using specialized construction machinery and can be participated in by the men and women of any community. Utilizing 90% earth, and only 10% cement, these structures are stronger than the now common cinder block and concrete slab construction. The technique also uses little to no wood, an invaluable asset in timber-depleted Haiti.

Timber is not the only thing that is difficult to obtain; even the process of finding suitable polypropylene bagging for earthbag building in Haiti was a bit of a headache, as one of Konbit Shelter's members chronicles in a post about one of their local suppliers.

Despite all the hurdles, Konbit Shelter recently completed a community center in the village of Bigones in 2011 (seen above), and from the looks of the photos showing the building process on Konbit's blog, it was an inspiring cooperative effort for all involved, not to mention the lovely structure that was ultimately created.

One of the supports for the main windows was made from welded oil drums -- a beautiful example of adaptive reuse.

Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign raising over $30,000, they're returning this January to build another house; keep track of the upcoming details on Konbit Shelter's site and blog.

Temporary Building Built From Recycled Newpapers

All photos courtesy: © Dratz&Dratz Architekten

It's not too uncommon to see paper recycled into things like jewelry, wallpaper or even furniture. But it's a bit surprising to see a seemingly flimsy material being used exclusively in a building that actually withstood hard rain and high winds, like this 2,045 square foot temporary workspace in Essen, Germany that's made with 550 bales of recycled paper.

With the aid of a $200,000 grant from Essen’s Zollverein School of Management and Design, Berlin-based architects Ben and Daniel Dratz of Dratz&Dratz Architekten were commissioned to design and construct a new building on an old mining locale (incidentally also a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The brothers experimented with large bales of compressed, recycled paper taken from neighbourhood grocery stores which were then stacked to create an unexpectedly well-insulated structure that dried quickly in the sun despite several days of rain.

The moment of initial inspiration came by chance, says Daniel on Inhabitat:

Rather unexpectedly, we passed by a recycling station and saw these bales of used paper. We were fascinated by the structural variety and by the fragments of compressed information – like traces of society. Later we discovered that these bales could be layered and stacked to form monolithic walls, and we recognized the potential for architectural projects.

Admittedly, it's not the most photogenic of structures, but these recycled paper bales can also apparently be stacked up to 100 feet high, which has led the brothers to conclude that with more research, there is plenty of potential for recycled paper bales to be used in more permanent and challenging applications in the future. More over at Dratz&Dratz Architekten (in German).