Haiti – Earth Bag House
Earthbag House – Haiti
Father Marc Biosvert, working in Haiti has documented the construction of an eco-friendly guest house using “earth bags” which are simply poly bags that once contained grains are re-used by filling them with a mixture of sand and clay and stacking them in a bond pattern similar to brick laying. The “mortar” is barbed wire which keeps the bags from shifting. Once a wall is topped out it is covered in stucco. The roof and floor support the wall at the top and bottom so they are unlikely to overturn in a wind.
From Father Marc’s Blog:
We have long embraced the concept of environmental sustainability. We use compost. We recycle. Our energy for pumps comes from PV solar panels; electricity for the Guest House is augmented by a wind turbine and we stick with natural pesticides for the farm. Having read about alternative construction going on around the world, we decided to try our hand at it. We will be building a small house with earth bags. Rice, barley, wheat (staples of our diet here) all come in poly bags which we’ve saved. They will be used to hold a mix of moistened sand and clay. Gotta purchase the sand which comes from riverbeds nearby but we have tons of clay on our property. The bags will be laid out much like bricks or blocks and barbed wire will be used as mortar between the rows. It’s a learning process and we are anxious to see what will develop. Enjoy the project vicariously.
Check out the blog for lots of photos and instructions: Earthbag Building: Sun House
January 18th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Hi
Is there any project of earthbags or superadobe shelters to be build in respond to the actual emergency in Haiti?
February 4th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Owen Geiger and Kelly Hart have received many requests for help planning earthbag buildings for Haiti. He is working with Engineers Without Borders to get a little more structural testing done. I am trying to find out about Haiti’s traditional homes and the culture that has shaped them to give some input into how these relief structures can work well for Haitians. His blogs on earthbagbuilding.com have some of the most recent information.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Hi-
I taught engineering in the Architecture program at University of Michigan. Earthbags will need some sort of reinforcing to withstand the lateral loads generated in a quake. Possibly there could be vertical voids in the structure where rebar and concrete can be poured. Testing is a must.
Thanks for the comment!
jsbarrie
April 5th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Dear John: You are an Architect. I’m not sure why you are recommending reinforcing, rebar and concrete. I don’t have any architectural background and I am not a rocket scientist. Yet, in all the earthbag projects I have participated, we have built domes with arches, with no need for what you are talking. In a dome, there is no “roof” to support, one side of the dome that weights probably tons is counterbalanced by the other side weight. The principle we were using is that the arch is the strongest structure in the universe, far superior to rectangular structures that need reinforced rebar to counterbalance the force of gravity pushing down the roof.
April 8th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Hi-
Reinforcing and rebar keep buildings from collapsing. Domes and arches that span short distances can work without steel but longer spans require tensile strength. I once attended a workshop on buildings and habitat with Bucky Fuller, and he would be the first to admit that domes can fail! While geometry can help a design be stable it can’t overcome differential forces. If the foundation of a non-reinforced dome is moved in two directions due to seismic forces, it is likely to collapse.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Elias-
Structures are not always subject to uniform loading. Under earthquake loading there can be tension and compression forces simultaneously in different parts of the same structure. An earth bag dome can’t withstand tension forces. It is designed to work when the earth bags remain in compression only. When shaken past a certain point a simple unreinforced (earthbag) dome will fail. Domes also create lateral forces that have to be compensated for. For example in the Pantheon in Rome there is an iron chain cast into the concrete to keep the lateral forces in check. You can overcome the lateral force with lots of vertical force or buttresses, but a simple earth bag dome isn’t a safe place in an earthquake.