Clinica dentale in superadobe in guatemala

Rainbow Guatemala Project
Dental Clinic built with Sandbags
(Superadobe technique)
“Superadobe is an adobe that is stretched from history into the new century. It is like an umbilical cord connecting the
traditional with the future adobe world” Nader Khalili
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Rainbow Guatemala Project
Conceived by
Caterina Vetro, psychologist with several experiences in developing country and
Pino Scotto, Italian rocker committed in social work,
in collaboration with SMOM, Italian onlus that works all around the world
promoting health prevention and care throughout construction of dental clinic,
hospital, wells, housing and working on a social base for the development of the
society.
Goals:
- Finance housing built with the sandbags technics
(ecofriendly and earthquake/flood/uragane resistant)
- Sensitize che local population to this type of construction in order to replace
their shack
- Involve the poulation in the building site
- Teach how to handle catastrophic events /natural disaster
- Improve environment & health condition
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Where? Context
First hypothesis:
Colonia El esfuerzo – Coban, Guatemala - Coban Damp
Problems on site:
- People are not the owner of the land
- No safety in the damp
- No possibility to store tools and materials
- Harshness to create reliable atmosphere with people
Solution:
Building in the school “Comunidad esperanza”, just at the side of
the damp, planned to save children from poverty and
criminality
What to build
First hypothesis:
House prototype. Help people to learn how to build it
Problems on site:
- Envy (who’s going to live in the prototype?)
- Future difficulty in collaboration
Solution:
The prototype will be a dental clinic for chidren of the damp and
the school
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Coban Damp
Comunidad Esperanza
School
How to build
-
-
Involving poeple of the damp
Using damp materials and everything than can be collected and reused
Why building?
-
-
Teach the importance of decent life /self esteem problems
Teach them a job: how to build it, give them knowledge
assistance and materials to realize it
Give a chance to live a better and safe life
Teach the respect of nature
Help them to be aware of their resourses
Realize the effort it takes to build the house, then the respect
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Which technology to use?
Superadobe technology
(sandbag and barbed wire)
•
•
Originally presented by architect Nader Khalili
that wanted to fuse the ancient earth
architecture of the Middle East using sun-dried
mud bricks with its portable nomadic culture of
fabrics and tensile elements
The innovation of barbed wire adds the tensile
element to the traditional earthen structures,
creating earthquake resistance despite the
earth’s low shear strength.
•
The aerodynamic forms resist hurricanes. The
innovation of sandbags adds flood resistance,
and easy construction, while the earth itself
provides insulation and fire-proofing.
•
Structures have successfully passed tests for
California’s high seismic building codes, making
them resistant to earthquakes as well as fire,
flood, and hurricanes.
www.rainbowprojects.it
Long or short sandbags are
filled with on-site earth and
arranged in layers with
strands of barbed wire placed
between them to act as both
mortar and reinforcement.
Stabilizers such as cement,
lime, may be added.
Bags: synthetic, low UV
(ultra-violet) resistant
degradable material,
plastered over to provide an
erosion resisting layer.
Barbed wire: four-point, two
strand, galvanized barbed
wire and is recyclable.
www.smomonlus.org
Why using Superadobe?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Materials available on site / in the damp
Natural materials
Very fast
Easy
Any earth can be used
Design and thermal mass create
comfortable living spaces
earthquake resistance
Hurricane/flood resistance
Insulation
Fire proofing
Affordable
Sustainable
Flexible
Easy to duplicate
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Project – 1° step
House prototype
Modular structure - repeatable
Crawl space for ventilation
Buttress for structure
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Project – 2° step
Dental Clinic
- Modular structure - repeatable
- Crawl space for ventilation
- No template for crawl space to
speed construction
- Buttress for structure
- Porch to cover entrance and wall
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Project – 3° step
Dental Clinic
Optimization construction:
- No porch, just metal sheet to
cover entrance and wall
- No crawl space
- Pipe for ventilation
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Project – 3° step
Dental Clinic
Roof plan
Timber roof structure
Electrical plan
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Project – 3° step
Dental Clinic
Door and window section
Wall section
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
How we started
Before starting to plan
Before starting to build
On the spot investigation
Meeting the community and
present the prpject
Meeting the community and
starting a process of
acquaintance
Visit and study a case
study in Belize
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Building site
1. Pick, clean, prepar and
dug the building site
•
Locate where to build exactly
•
Buy all the tools and material needed for
the building site
•
Organize the building site: store for
tools and materials, safety issue
2. Test the earth and
try different types
3. Cover the earth and
level the site
4. Trace as per
drawings
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
5. Dig
9. Protect foundations and
wall from humidity with
heavy duty plastic sheet to
prevent ground moisture
6. Level the site, have a
clean slate and sign
level
10. Prepare the mix of gravel
earth + sand + cement
11. Fill the bags up with the
mix
7. Reused pipe drainage
8. Fill stone and gravel in
the trench, put drainage
pipe and cover with gravel
12. Tie the bags or stitch it
with strond cord
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
13. Place the bag and tamp
it from center line towards
the sides, ditributing the fill
all over inside the bag
17. Prepare hydraulic
system and drainage
14. Measure the levels
every row of bags and fix
the level 0 as internal floor
height
18. New mix for sandbags:
earth+sand+cement
19. Prepare wattle and
daube structure for panels
used as internal division
15. Put two lines of barbed
wire between each row of
bags
16. FIll the empy spaces
with earth and tamp it
20. Prepare door and windows
frame, protect them from
thrmite and humidity with
wood preservative (mix of
gasoline and oil)
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
21. Once ou are higher than
grade level, fill the bag with
mix of earth+sand+cement
25. Window details
26. Put rebar every meter
to give strength and
connect all the bags
22. Install door and window
frame with velcro plates
27. Ensure barbed wire
on the timber section
and on the rebar
23. Nail timber section to
fasten door and window
frame
28. To reinforce the
structure, build buttress
and put several rebar on
the on the wall crossing
24. Make sure the window
sill and lintel are long
enough to ensure the
window stability
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
33. Instead of a ring beam,
(due to imited resourses)
use rebar to tie up roof
beam to the walls
29. FIx electric plates on
timber section already
predisposed
30. Install panels frame
and nail them to timber
section
34. Ensure roof beam to
the timber setion and on
the rebar
31. Put pipe for ventilation
35. Roof detail
32. Roof structure
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
39. Start to plaster: fill the
empty spaces between the
bags with the same mix of
earth
36. Roof detail
37. Nail the galvanized
metal sheet to the timber
structure
40. Put the chicken mesh
41. Plaster with the same
mix of earth in the bag
38. Enjoy the view
42. n. 2 layers of plaster
and 1 layer finishesurface
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
47. Dig the drainage and
put the duct on the roof
and on the floor to drain
rain water
43. Internal plaster: use
lime in the mix instead of
cement (2 layers)
44. n.1 layer finishing
surface
45. Paste ceramic tiles i
the bathroom instead of
cement layer
48. Last electrical –
hydraulic work
46. Put in windows and
door
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Collaboration of
comunity
Interior
External finishes
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Quantity - Materials
Example of calculation while planning of
some of the materials used in the first
phase of construction
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Costs, Labor, Time
Materials and tools = 8000 €
Labor
= 4400 €
Total
= 12400 €
1° Costruction phase (6+1/2weeks):
1 building site director
1 bricklayer senior (mason) 1 man/day= 10 €
3 bricklayer junior
1 man/day= 5 €
6 volonteer
Organization building site, excavation, impermeabilization = 1 week
Foundations and drainage = 1 week
Walls until window frame = 1 week
Window and door frame, walls until roof= 2 + ½ weeks
Roof structure and metal sheet = 1 week
2° Costruction phase (6weeks):
1 building site director
= 1500€
2 bricklayer senior (mason) 1 man/day= 10 €
6 bricklayer junior
1 man/day= 5 €
Internal panels= ½ weeks
Plaster (n. 2 layers) = 2 weeks
Electrical works = ½ weeks
Plaster (finishing layer)= ½ weeks
Intrnal finishing (ceramic tiles for bathroom) = ½ weeks
Floor (Slab + floor finishing)= 1 week
Entrance + floor&roof drainage +slope= 1 week
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org
Conclusion
Failures:
To remember:
Too much humidity
Rush in plaster didn’t let the structure to dry properly
Carelessness in ecofriendly way to build by the workers
Working FOR the people = Working WITH the people
Don’t forget human side
Better to test techniques before working with people
Self construction feasible but long process
Volunteers of the damp abandoned the construction
Difficult relationship with damp community
Problems organizing the building site
Earth is not about perfection, is about truth
Not only one way to build, different goals
Success:
Being built
Proved Earthquake resistant
Open minded workers learning new techniques
Interest of people of the damp
Collaboration of community and children
Acknowledgment of the earth value
www.rainbowprojects.it
www.smomonlus.org