“This open source Information Package is in response to the great, unmet demand for safe and affordable housing in a region prone to earthquake, tsunami and typhoons. After the recent Typhoon Haiyan EBS has decided to upload this disaster resistant low cost housing solution for SE Asia as open source information.
The construction system is disaster resistant, suited to self-build programs underwent earthquake simulation testing at University of Technology Sydney, Australia. A proto-type was designed and built for a coastal tropical climate in Gingoog City, Mindanao, Philippines in 2006. Peter Hickson and other Australian Business Volunteers (ABV) trainers occupied the building for several months in both wet and dry season and attest to its comfort.
The building has survived two minor earthquakes, the worth flooding recorded in Gingoog’s history. Fortunately Gingoog was far enough from the centre of Typhoon Haiyan to avoid the worst effects of the storm cell though the building survived the associated bad weather and many other monsoons. The bamboo -reinforced cob house is a solution for both rural and urbanising population rather than for inner city housing.
The solution is designed to be affordable, comfortable, safe, desirable and durable. It can be built in stages starting with basic shelter that can be lived in if required whilst completed. The home is a reasonably large home constructed mainly utilising sustainable local building materials such as clay, sand, rice straw, bamboo, palm thatch and coco lumber. ”
More at the source: Earth Building Solutions.com
Whenever i see movies that show large bamboo trees,i think of the home i could build with it. If i remember right ‘nippa?’ is something used in the PI.
Search for nippa hut. Here’s one photo in a previous blog post. https://naturalbuildingblog.siterubix.com/huts/
Nippa huts are common in the Philippines. Nippa huts are low cost, simple and easy to build. But they do not hold up under hurricane winds.
Great post! These homes look amazing and hopefully affordable to all as most of SE regions are poor. Thanks for sharing your post.
Looks preety good. Ive been wondering if there are any free plans out there for a straw bale home. Maybe put out by the government or someone interested in affordable housing.In the USA. I could make something but having a plan that would meet codes. I think straw bale would be a more energy efficient and cheaper than a stick home. I also like load bearing walls. Owen,something a bit larger than your emergency shelter,which is a good plan by the way.
Here’s the link to my Free Plans page: https://naturalbuildingblog.siterubix.com/house-plans/free-house-plans/
The Economizer would probably work for what you’re describing. Walls can be built with earthbags, straw bales, adobe, etc.
Note: there are minimum room size requirements in the codes. You can’t get houses permitted without meeting these requirements.
Thanks Owen
It DOES have good building material qualities. It even looks strong by the picture I saw at the site. In the article it states that it has 3 different densities. I wonder if the lightest would be good for sound proofing? Without really knowing what is consider soft, it’s hard to know for sure. Where you live, is it used much in this manner? The bamboo I know is used considerably but, I do not know it’s use where you live besides for food. When I first brought up the original question, I had wonder about the fiber of the coconut being used in wall building. It seems really strong. That’s where I was originally going with the question. What say you?
You want to use what grows locally. Are there lots of coconut trees nearby? Shipping materials hundreds or thousands of miles pretty much wipes out the environmental benefits.
All the coconut wood I’ve seen is hard. It’s just a matter of degree: hard, harder, hardest. But I’m no expert on coconut wood.
This looks to be a very good building material and I hope if any major storm goes directly across the home it will stand firm. I am particularly interested in the use of coconut. In my way of thinking, this is a very strong building material. Am I correct in assuming that?
This article explains everything: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_timber