“Work continues in El Jicarito School site! The elementary class is almost finished and the preschool is in very good shape! We are getting closer! Thanks to all the groups that have helped over the past weeks, the community, Seeds of Learning and all of you for your support!
On a different note, our collective, knitknot architecture, has been awarded the RUNNER UP prize in the competition “City of Dreams Pavilion 2017”, organized by Figment and Governors Island in New York. The project proposed a continuation in the social, material and formal explorations of the Earthbag System as a collaborative construction, and we are extremely happy to see the enthusiastic reception from the jury and organization!
As opposed to traditional construction, Earthbags use only non-destructive techniques, making the construction completely reversible, and materials easily returned.
Other advantages of this construction technique include:
•Low cost of materials.
•Easy process that uses few materials, making it easy to teach volunteers and to control quality.
•Fast and systematized, works great with an organized group of workers.
•No construction knowledge required. Materials are easy to work with and understand.
•The construction doesn’t rely on accurate cement mixes, for example, or specialized labor: the quality of each layer can be checked instantly, making it safe for construction and later use.”
If you want to learn more about this project, follow this link:
http://www.knitknotarchitecture.com/MARL-City-of-Dreams-Pavilion-Governors-Island-New-York-US-Runner-Up
Help spread the word about the campaign!
Yes, Governor’s Island is stunning, with amazing views all around. I’m so glad the developers didn’t get a hold of it.
One step closer to the normalisation of sustainable building?
I checked out the MARL site. It looks interesting and they seem to really “get” the concept of earthbags. In their drawings they showed designs for free standing wall structures, which brings up a age old question for me. In my experience with earthbags they need to be covered by some kind of roof or rendered with some outer layer for protection from sun and rain. I’ve often puzzled on how to do that for a free standing wall. If you render them with cement, the cement will retain water and eventually mold and turn black. Lime will breathe, but quickly gets worn away by the elements. Any thoughts on how to protect a free standing earthbag wall that would not be cumbersome or take away from its asthetic?
Good question. Maybe they can tell us how they’re going to protect the earthbag walls. I wonder if swimming pool cement or something similar would stop wicking of moisture.
The MARL project is in New York by the way. That’s pretty amazing, especially for a high profile public structure.