digital aptitudes - Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 - 12:30PM - 2:00PM
Disaster
School for Darfurian Refugees: Building as a Teaching Tool
Jeanine Centuori, Woodbury University
Artur Nesterenko, Woodbury University
This project began with a study of material and human resources.
Through an examination of indigenous building practices of Sub-
Saharan Africa, a material palette was created. This included a
family of earth construction techniques such as compressed mud
bricks, rammed earth, thatch roofing, recycled metals, and minimal
amounts of concrete, and steel work.
The process of developing a design that would be transmitted to
a local population on the ground in Chad involved the alternating
process of full scale materials testing with designing through scalar
models and drawings. A sequence of brick and rammed earth
studies informed the design of the school. A non-verbal pictorial
construction manual complemented the drawings as a communication
tool.
Building as a Teaching Tool
The Vocational Academy Building Project serves as a classroom
space and a learning tool for matriculating students. In addition to
housing classrooms for teaching reading and writing subjects, its
construction is meant to serve as a practicum in sustainable building
practices. Students enrolled in the program will participate on
building teams to erect portions of the structure.
It is a building that combines indigenous building practices with
state-of-the-art sustainable ethics. A simple rectangular open floor
plan accommodates approximately 80 students (40 male and 40
female students). It employs a double roof structure with a thatch
pyramidal roof that is covered with a second metal roof. The large
metal roof canopy acts as a shade device to protect the interior
from the intense heat.
The main structure is made of compressed mud bricks using a
compression machine with a hand lever. There is a minimal amount
of concrete and steel rebars needed for beam construction. The
infill walls between the columns are non-structural rammed earth
that is made of soil, and a small amount of cement. These walls are
ventilated with fiber cement cylindrical tiles that may be made by
the students on the site.
This single volume building is designed as one classroom space,
and is intended to accommodate one gender. It is anticipated that
two volumes will be built, along with smaller open-air canopies that
serve as shade devices, lunch areas, and prayer spaces. Additionally,
composting toilet structures will be built on the site.
This building acts as a tool by which students will learn sustainable
building practices. This is a prototype structure that may be
duplicated and adapted to many other sites in the Darfur region
as repatriation takes place. Student/builders of the school will
acquire skills such as brick making, rammed earth construction,
thatch and metal roofing, installing composting toilets, and water
management and conservation. These skills will be the foundation
to entrepreneurial ventures as resettlements begin to take place.
SunShower SSIP House
Tiffany Lin, Tulane University
Judith Kinnard, Tulane University
The SunShower SSIP House was the winning entry in an invited
sustainable design competition sponsored by OceanSafe. The program
called for a disaster relief house that uses Steel Structural
Insulated Panels (SSIPs) and prescribed a highly specific kit of materials
and equipment that could be transported in a standard shipping
container.
The design of this house is a modest single-level home that uses
its roof forms to serve seemingly opposing roles, providing shelter
from the elements while collecting solar energy and water. The
higher “sun-roof” is angled to the South to maximize efficiency for
solar collection while a lower sloping “shower roof” channels water
into a catch basin and cistern. The house is divided into public and
private zones and designates areas for wet (utility) and dry (leisure)
living. Lightweight SSIPs can be assembled without special
equipment and the house is weather tight before any finishes are
applied. Innovative use of SSIPs in this project offers sliding panels
that extend the living space on to a shaded deck. Shaped cut-outs
in exterior panels allow for a moment for individual expression at
the entry of this prototype. Solar panels and a wind turbine provide
the necessary renewable energy and enables the house to operate
off-grid when electrical service is interrupted.
A prototype of the SunShower SSIP House is currently under construction
in the Lakeview area of New Orleans, slated for completion
in the Fall of 2011.
Digital Apptitutes + Other Openings - Boston, MA - 45