GIFT PROJECT crit

Tabula rasa/Moon/Colonia Hermosa

the scale within the desert could have been anything

GIFT PROJECT crit

Secondly the leap into the main project: 

To be able to start making paving blocks, Marta and I will try to organize a workshop opposite the Elementary school. A permanent workshop, which would work first as a testing area - so that the locals can come and have a look how to make bricks. The position across the road from school is deliberate. The workshop is to develop into "Pliny's playground, where enhancements, he has been testing and building in his Centre For Maximum Potential Building Systems in Austin, could be transplanted and adjusted to local specifics. Pliny's playground would generate and gather resources for a "fab lab" - a space for rent, workshop and tools and knowledge for rent. Slowly perhaps the school kids would be organized to come visit, locals would use the facility to improve their homes. Pliny would come and run a workshop, so would Texas A&M. Slowly the Fab lab would generate employment from block making, start selling it. The fab lab could also venture into making timber building components from Salt Cedar - the invasive species blocking nearby Rio Grande River. 

Over production could be sold to the rest of the Texas via rail running at the southern edge of Las Lomas. 

Both the Pliny's playground and the Fab lab would be a permanent venture at Las Lomas. Las Lomas already is an example Colonia, which has managed to arrange electricity, water, sewage. It already is a place of contact and expertise. 

When starting a new colonia, from scratch, from Caliche, it would seem logical to start from a fab lab. 

A collective "factory" that would be built on the empty future colonia, conveniently for everyone (in the middle?) this would be where the layer of caliche soil would be gathered, tested, dried, mixed, turned into blocks, cement... ; This is where the people who bought a piece of land, hoping to over time - incrementally build their house, could gather forces, cut out middle men, do in bulk, locally. 

Fab lab would be their locker rooms, showers, workshop, material store, tool hire, share, swap. Their notice board, perhaps meeting room, site office, shade, site toilet, fridge. 

I imagine the fab lab to be a courtyard with material in the middle - drying, mixing, and sheds around it with workshops and the rest. 

When the fab lab finishes its primary function - to build the colonia, the new life, which has already begun, kicks in - it has already established itself as a centre, a public building, all routes lead to it and from it, metaphorically, and maybe physically. The hierarchy of the residents has been negotiated on her grounds, she was there at the beginning of the founding of the city. She is the Zocalo, the Square, with the town hall, the prison and the church. 

I am very happy about this idea coming along to me, as the establishing of the new town was to be my next problem. Now. I can jump to the next one - how to ensure the cultural heritage transfere of the future residents? 

GIFT PROJECT crit

Firstly the Gift project: 
the pavement, as varied as the residents. 
This is how I imagine the colonia might end up, if we manage to organize Impact 2001 - Caliche block making machine from Texas A&M to arrive at the Colonia and introduce self-making of paving blocks to the locals. 


Then it will be up to them whether they would like to pedestrianise their hood or not. 
It should be fairly straight forward. Caliche is everywhere, Impact 2001 can make blocks, how to lay them - that will be coming in a post wrapped as an actual pressie from London Met. 

comments: 
I should look up some contemporary pavements. 
The kerb would be the boundary between what is a responsibility of the Colonia and what is managed by each resident. - unlike in standard city ownership distribution. The pavement depending on the width of the road would vary between being on public land (road) to cutting back into private property. In my opinion the current ad hoc "street"line suggests that the owners of plots set themselves back from the road to leave a bit of breathing space without much precision, so the line of the front fence does jump in and out. 
Therefore the decision of where the kerb should sit, should be made on site, measuring from the middle of the road - to avoid reducing the width of the road beyond practical. 
Then depending on the boundary, the pavement would sit between the two, creating a semi - public, PEDESTRIAN zone. 
This would be the strategy for all the roads except for the Embassy Road, where I would suggest wider set back and greater pavements, perhaps done by the colonia as main connector used by majority. 
This is where TEX_MEX sharing comes to play. I leave Embassy Road to Marta. 

So we had a crit on Monday

So I have been producing rather then uploading. 
and then resting rather then uploading :)

But here it comes. 


GIFT project crit: 13 DEC 2010
critics: 
Robert Mull
Peter Carl
Catrina Beevor
Nicholas Boyarsky
Tom (???)


Eden Grove 
aaaall day long


Even though it looked like we didnt have much time after the trip to Texas (we only got back 24th Nov), 
we did pretty well I thought. Some projects moved so far from when I saw them last. 
For example Sam is now doing RIBA for RARA  haha (dont forget to buy the xmas BD to have a bit of RARA)

Michelle brought a bit in lunch box :) what bit i dont know. I have to ask. 

Silviya and her intellectual link between Sofia and the seaside

Scary 








favourite quotes and images (to be imagined):


urban underwear


aprons of tarmas


monotonous > "hang on this is the one to burgler"


neo baroque brutalism (silv about seafront hotels)


church in a tent


a vehicle of getting crossed 


don't over prescribe their reaction to your gift


Square of national pissed offness


how much knowledge does the person receiving the gift have about the project?


I am somhere between a german commander and ..


EU says start with economy, all will follow
? said start with Latin..


This is like talking to Che and Castro in Eden Grove


roads created more traffic


Braille on drive-through cash points 


two storeys make urban


youve gone step too far


post office is great- its about business, its about love-life, its everything


unpaid job for life


monuments to architecture itself


RIBA was founded by angry youngsters


OSB looks like gold


You young lads will take over and become old farts


shimmy up and flirt


are you going to make friends or enemies


Recreation is the means when things start emerging from nothing


you are turning it into what it already is


We sell the Protland stone to replace it with OSB


RIBA is superbrand


What are they going to take ? OSB


RIBA dining room - get divorced there




10 JANUARY the gift would have left us. gone. burnt. 

Model making

site model of colonia Las Lomas:

and the victim of the site model of colonia Las Lomas:

Pliny's playground/ fab lab/ factory

Changing places - visit to material recovery company

Sumita Sinha took us to Powerday material recovery company in Willesden. 


Mindblowing for the following reasons: 
A/ they make profit twice
B/ they make profit twice 
- i.e. once when they are paid to take away the rubbish from a construction site
- second time, when they re-sell the end products 


C/ this business works, and it is making profit twice
D/ this is not a local/national or whatever incentive, this is business


I owe an apology to London, I was convinced - as massaged by all the greenpeace alikes conspiracies - that the recycling trucks were just to make us feel better. Collecting separately, but then dumping into same landfill. NOPE. AND IT IS GOOD BUSINESS.  


They did mention however, that not all council are as mindful at the "out" end as they might appear on the "receiving" end. 
So some might not recycle as much as they collect. 
Some councils recycle more on the out end then they appear on the "in" end. and so on. 


Great news. 
watch video

pic courtesy of Powerday

Stats

:))))
nobody from Czech yet.pffff

OAN project submitted

After listening to Cameron Sinclair, I have decided I have to get in touch with him. 

So I did: I submitted my project to the Open Architecture network.

It is called: How to make a better colonia.   (for now)

TED: Cameron Sinclair on open-source architecture

Open source architecture - watch video!


this is it!  


thank you Artur

Pliny's playground/ fab lab/ factory

site model Las Lomas

salt cedar - building material

The invasive species Salt Cedar, has proliferated through large portions of the Big Bend area (where the Rio Conchos joins the Rio Grande), and is known to consume large quantities of water. One monoculture of Salt Cedar is believed to have choked 150 miles of the river corridor downstream of El Paso/Ciudad Juarez and may be the most extensive infestation of this species in the world.

source: Rio Grande: Threat of Water Extraction


WWF sponsors to get rid of salt cedar:
Our community-based work joins WWF with indigenous communities as well as small, with self-governing communal land organizations. Moving down stream, WWF is developing a payment scheme for downstream water users who would pay for better upstream watershed management. Along the mainstem, we are working with commercial agriculture interests to develop water conservation techniques for cotton, pecan and chili pepper production.

source: Rio Grande - Rio Bravo: Solutions



 salt cedar is on the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) invasive species list

Salt cedar, Tamarix spp., invading riparian areas in the

United States (Photo: Bugwood.org/1624021/S. Dewey)

Caliche - building material

4.0 Caliche and Soil Block Construction

4.1 Materials

Caliche is used in many areas as a road base material and in the production of cement and lime. Although not commonly used as a building material, there are historical as well as current examples of caliche for construction. For an in-depth treatment of the subject, see The Caliche Report (see Resources). Caliche occurs in abundance in the Austin area and may be possible to get from the construction site. However, if this is not possible, caliche may be purchased from area suppliers. Be sure to test the source. The use of soil as the basic block material is also possible, but will have slightly different stabilization demands.
Subsoils are the basics of Earth Block Construction. With a clay content of plus or minus 30% and a water content of 6% (equivalent to soil that has received an inch of rain a week previous. No straw, roots, twigs, leaves, etc.

4.2 Block Production Methods

A backhoe and/or a front end loader will be needed to dig the soil on-site or handle soils imported. Soils obtained from the site may need to be dried and screened prior to mixing. Soils should be tested to prove their compactability and to determine any needed additions such as sand or clay. The next step of hydrating and mixing has traditionally been the largest labor and time investment being done either by hand or with a front end loader. The use of concrete and stucco mixers have proven ineffectual for large projects such as a home, however there are earth mixing or blending machinery available that are especially cost effective for adding portland cement or lime and for adding water in dry areas.
Sun Dried Adobe

• Molding techniques may be in the form of monolithic walls (See Rammed Earth ) or molded into blocks or bricks. For the latter, the mix is poured into molds, or pressure molded using special machinery. These methods provide for a variety of standard and custom size and shapes of block. With the hand mold technique, the prepared mix is poured into damp or oiled molds, spread evenly, and the molds are shaken slightly to ensure even filling of the forms. The blocks are then removed and allowed to cure before stacking.
• Air curing must occur for 10-14 days before the block can be used in construction. Protection from direct sunlight for 5 days and protection from rain throughout the curing process are important. Drying bricks may be temporarily covered with tarps or plastic sheeting, but these must be removed for curing to continue. Once bricks are sufficiently cured, they can be set on end to continue drying.
• With a wheelbarrow and gang forms, a crew of two can produce 300 to 400 bricks per day. With the addition of a plaster mixer and gang forms for 500 bricks, this production can be doubled. The addition of a front end loader with a driver will additionally increase production.

Compressed Earth Block

• Compressed earth or soil block can be manufactured on site with a variety of block-making machines, including hydraulic presses, mechanical presses, and various combinations. Some mechanical presses are small enough to be operated by hand (Cinva-Ram, for instance). With a mobile industrial block machine powered by a diesel engine as many as 800 blocks can be produced per hour. Compressed soil blocks can be used immmediately. They continue to cure and gain strength after they are installed. When green (before they are cured), they can be readily shaped or nailed into with hand tools.
• Compressed Earth Block come in two basic types, The vertical press where the block are normally 10″ x 14″ (there are many variations) that are fixed with the height of the block nominally 3″ which is variable due to the variability of the soil. These block are treated like Adobe in that they need to be mortared and cut to fit. The Horizontal Press are of a fixed dimension normally 4″ x 14″(again there are variations) with a length of the block variable from 2″ to 12″ depending on the machine. These blocks do not require mortar and can be dry stacked with ease by basic skilled workers, the block can also be custom sized to minimize cutting for electrical, plumbing and wall changes.

4.3 Mortaring

Mortar for blocks must be applied to the entire surface of the block, as opposed to ribbon mortar beds often used with conventional brick. Full surface mortaring allows for maximum compressive strength. The same soil used in block making, mixed with water to form a slurry, is usually used as a mortar for binding blocks together into floors and walls. Cement can be added to the mortar mix, but this increases the cost. The main advantage of cement mortar is stabilization.

4.4 Design Methods

Block size can be varied easily to accommodate a variety of designs. Walls can be sculptured, rounded, or formed into keystone arches to create custom effects. Relatively unskilled labor can be utilized in construction with compressed earth block.
Design of structural walls using any soil material block must take into account wall height and thickness, size of block, mass value * , and the desired style and finish. Wall height-to-thickness ratio must be adequate for stability * .
Because thermal mass equates to insulation in soil block a minimum of 12 inches is needed for a comfortable abode.
Earth block structures need not have the “pueblo” style if this is not desired. In fact a gable or hip roof can protect the home better while offering solar protection from western exposures. A bond or collar beam is necessary if the roof is supported by the walls. This will serve to spread the loads over the entire wall, and stabilize the tops of the walls from horizontal movement. (See code)
Plasters

• Soil blocks are typically stuccoed or plastered to prevent them from getting wet, however, any veneer or siding can be used on Pressed Earth Block as they can hold a nail or staple. Interior finishes are normally plaster (structolite) or earth plasters that are simple to apply and maintain. Petroleum based finishes do not work well with unstabilized earth block and cement plasters do not stick to asphalt stabilized adobe. A common mix for a stabilized interior mud plaster is 5% portland cement to 30% minimum clay fine screened with window screen. Exterior mud plaster will need 6 to 10% portland cement with 30% minimum clay and 1/8″ screen.
• Fully stabilized structures do not require any exterior finish unless desired for aesthetics.
•  
•  
•  source:   Earth Materials Sustainable Sources: Celebrating 16 years of online Green Building info
                                                                                                                                          
  
  
  
  
  Caliche is a sedimentary rock, a hardened deposit of calcium carbonate. This calcium carbonate cements together other materials, including gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It is found in aridisol and mollisol soil orders. Caliche occurs worldwide, generally in arid or semiarid regions, including in central and western Australia, in the Kalahari Desert, in the High Plains of the western USA, and in the Sonoran Desert. Caliche is also known as hardpan, calcrete, kankar (in India), or duricrust. The term caliche is Spanish and is originally from the Latin calx, meaning lime.
  
  source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliche

Nolli map comparison

Materials - Caliche (dirt)

caliche - is a dirt that covers 60% of Texas' surface (Logan @ A&M)

A crude sodium nitrate occurring naturally in Chile, Peru, and the southwest United States, used as fertilizer.
[American Spanish, from Spanish, pebble in a brick, flake of lime, from cal, lime, from Latin calx, calc-, lime; see calx.]
definition by freedictionary.com


I took some home. 

and separated it into respective components: 

thin layer of lime 

water

the rest

and then various 

pieces of rubbish

paper

plastic

textile

glass

and stones, 

which I separated into 

categories by colour

for now. 

site Las Lomas - gift project

The site of existing colonia - Las Lomas jumps between approximately 160 feet above the sea level to 240. 

The town grid does not follow the terrain apart from the main road - Embassy Road, which is taking the easiest route - between the hills - section taken through the Embassy Road: 

DYI architecture

The world's largest DYI timber house
(13 storeys, Russia)

article and images courtesy of designboom.com


nikolai sutyagin's home in arkhangelsk, a city in russia's far north-west, started life as a two-storey building,
however this is no longer the case. for the past 15 years sutyagin has dedicated much of his spare time 
transforming the house into what is considered the tallest wooden building in the world, or at least russia.
at present the building has 13 floors and stands at 144ft / 43m high. 




DYI Pet architecture


“Fotomo Streetcorners” by is Kimio Itozaki.
itozaki.com 

pictures linked from super colossal

open source housing

definition of open source by wikipedia: 

open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology.

construction manual

courtesy of OSH core

Actions: What You Can Do With the City presents 99 actions that instigate positive change in contemporary cities around the world. 
Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 26 November 2008 - 19 April 2009

#67. Wood Makes People Big as Cars

#2. Mapping the Incomplete Creates Housing

images courtesy of CCA

info found on: anArchitecture blog

dissertation on PUNK ARCHITECTURE  

21st Century D.I.Y. Architecture

Ayala Zapata, Fernando1

wow

abstract: 

Abstract:

Self/Auto Construction by Low/High Tech

In order to find new terminology in sustainable design, with recycle, reduce but mostly reuse thinking. Trough the analysis of

new concepts born within alternative communities (from punk to cyber), and the application of these terms with architectural

filters. The focus is in contemporary “do it yourself” culture, ethic, process and tips, and its creative incorporation in academic

experiences of architectural self construction. The concept of low energy cost fits really well with the benefits of D.I.Y.

techniques, and the diffusion systems of practical learning looks like potential languages of architectural projects, always

based in the development of process, sequences and construction (even virtual simulations). The use of manuals and

graphical instructions to express the “How to” and the “ready made” buildings elements, make new frontiers to conceptual

design in prefabricate free form dwellings.

studying existing Colonia: Las Lomas

we have become a tex mex :) to join forces for making a site model.
and finally learned the pain of making a laser cut kind.
It definitely saves time, but not the first time.

The Colonia seems to be stretching from the entrance over a (railway track)
along a single line. Picking up the kids from the School on the left up to the community centre and post boxes device.

Services - taking a step back

The site for the new Colonia is a tabula rasa: 

Let the services be the guts, but lets not get 

cought up in the 'modern' hygiene and brave 

to step back. 

Lets steal some of Pliny's ideas and NOT 

connect to the engineering networks, and 

rearrange the urban form around these basic organs. 

What happened to the vertical water idea, Bara. 

comon. 

things to look into for the BIG project: 

- sewage into made soil (sewage)

- rainfall (water collection)

- shading (electricity)

maybe focus on 1

Pave ment

Roads and paths map Las Lomas Colonia

Pedestrian strategy for Las Lomas Colonia

connecting the school with the Colonias Unidas Centre/post boxes (far more visitors then centre:)

pavement in London

I was lucky enough on my way to the tutorial with Peter on Monday to come across
a section through a pavement in one to one. 

 I was also told that the reason for the layer of concrete underneath the pavement is 
to prevent the asphalt from "moving" , it basically holds the road in place. 


There is also a stone piece - kerb, which sits along the edge of tarmac, beyond its depth - 
this kerb is then held in place by the said concrete strip underneath pavement. 


Under asphalt is a fair layer of rubble from building demolitions. 
Under the pavement concrete strip are services in "soft soil, sand. 
On top of the concrete strip is sand and pavement tiles. 




The recommendation for adding a layer of pavement of top of existing tarmac was to anchor the pavement 
into the road, so that it does not slide on it. 
Basically cut the tarmac short and add layer of tiles. 


Considering an easy way of providing pavement network to Los Lamas just got a bit more difficult. 
DYI and buldozing roads dont go hand in hand. 
Perhaps I could start with the unpaved roads.

Las Lomas on street view!!!!!

find Colonia Las Lomas on google maps

I genuinely thought my project was tackling third world corners of US as to paraphrase various official definitions of COLONIAS.
It has streetview! my little town in Czech Republic, world famous Austerlitz, where Napoleon won a battel of 3 imperors

does

NOT

have

street

view!

thank you

Stats

Stats to date 

people people click on the blog and write me comments. 

thank you!

Explicit houses

after my flatmate and I have brought up to our second floor a tonn of wood bag by bag yesterday. And counted that it took us approx 30 mins to bring 10 bags each.

and we had to go:

10 bags him alone

break

10 bags both of us

break

10 bags both of us

break

3 bags both of us and a nice friend, but he had bigger bag

----------------------------------

so 60 bags all together

we have meanwhile butnt 2 bags throughout the day/evening

- weekend (day and evening use of the flat)

that makes it

5 bags Monday to Friday (only evening use of the flat)

4 bags Saturday and Sunday (day and evening)

-----------------------------

9 bags a week

60/9 = 6.6 weeks.

that is month and a half.

it cost us £ 80 (which is very lucky cheap)

plus 3 man hours - say £20an hour

---------------------------------------

£140

We were quite happy with the exercise, so

we would minus an average £9 per session (1hr) of typical exercise in London

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

£104 for 6.6 weeks of warmth

this is what happens when brains do repetitive work :)

together with ongoing Pliny Fiskation:

EXPLICIT HOUSES.

I think its time that not only Web interface, but energy consumption

was self evident/explicit/self explanatory again!

and so the structure please - as per manual idea before.

thank you

Micro finances - TED

TED - Jessica Jackley speech and her project $100 loans

she was inspired by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus

Free Gift - initial idea

photo courtesy: Chomutovsky.denik.cz

Creating a pavement like sweeping snow each in front of their own.

Dark strips start popping up and disappear again under a layer of white

to eventually link into a road that leads somewhere.

Would the neighbours collectively cut back into their own to offer a strip

each, that would link them to Somewhere?

Would they build the parts themselves as they gathered to fight for

sewage and electricity and water?

Public space is a sign of not surviving, sheltering inside, but spending time out and

around, parading, visiting, it is the living room of the city.

So far the Colonia is bedrooms. with a post office, where everyone flashes their chevy.