In a 12-day workshop, Building Trust International and Terraepaglia joined the Ciuffelli Agricultural Technical Institute in Todi, Italy, with the aim of exploring a series of construction techniques with raw soil. In addition to producing earth bricks and rammed earth structures -in collaboration with experts such as Eliana Baglioni and Pouya Khazaeli-, a curved wall was erected with a wooden structure and a cane framework, on which a massive layer of earth and straw was spread.
Workshop in Italy Constructs Rammed Earth Structures to Rescue Constructive Traditions
This Low-Cost System Creates Sleek Shelving from Simple Plasterboard Profiles
The premise for this design was to create an iconic space, with a concept adaptable to any property and versatile when exposing the product. It should also be a design that could be quickly built and at a moderate cost.
How the World's Largest Building Materials Manufacturer Used Its Own Products to Create a World-Class Headquarters for Its Employees
Saint-Gobain’s new corporate headquarters campus in Malvern, PA—the North American home to the world’s largest building materials company—is not a typical corporate campus. As the company approached its 350th anniversary, they set out to build a headquarters that would offer a dynamic showcase for its products.
Oskar Zieta Inflates Steel Arches With Air to Create This Lightweight Pavillion
How Oskar Zieta uses FIDU process to inflate steel for pavilion.
See How This Lightweight, Collapsible Aluminum Structure is Built
The geometric design of the 'Protostar Pavilion' for the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a morphological response associated with the iconic brand logo: a three-pointed star.
Scientists Uncover the Chemical Secret Behind Roman Self-Healing Underwater Concrete
More than 2000 years ago, the Roman Empire invented a unique marine concrete that allowed for the construction of enormous, durable structures – even underwater. Incredibly, the exact chemical properties of this concrete mixture have eluded scientists to this day – but now, researchers from the University of Utah believe they may have finally cracked the code.
This Robotic Arm Can Cut Marble Into Unique Freeform Shapes
This video is part of a conference held every two years by the Rob|Arch Conference series, developed by the Association for Robots in Architecture and related to robotic fabrication in architecture, art, and design.
From Foundations to Roofs: 10 Detailed Wood Construction Solutions in 3D and 2D
Developed by the POLOMADERA Program at the University of Concepción, the 3D Building Construction Solutions Catalog is a free tool that helps users design construction details for lightweight wooden structural systems.
Though created with the intention of meeting new standards soon to be implemented nationally in Chile (and therefore in Spanish), the catalog was developed jointly with international experts from the Wood Construction Institute at the Holzbau Institut in Germany, and thus incorporates best practices that are applicable around the world.
Black Concrete: How Attilio Panzeri Creates Contrast with a Specialized Recipe
Materials: How Attilio Panzeri Architects make black concrete.
This Sketchup Plugin Designs Structures Made From Plastic Bottles and 3D-Printed Joints
The capabilities of personal 3D printing and fabrication are only beginning to be tested, but a new system is pushing the boundaries for feasible, structurally-sound large scale structures. Unlike other structures created by 3D printing systems, Trussfab doesn’t require access to specialized equipment, nor specific engineering knowledge, to print and build large-scale structures capable of supporting human weight. Phd researcher Robert Kovacs with his team from the Human Computer Interaction Lab at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany created Trussfab as an end-to-end system allowing users to fabricate sturdy, large-scale structures using plastic bottles and 3D-printed connections, making them easy and relatively quick to construct.
This Magnetic Drill Screws Through Wood Leaving No Visible Holes
Invis Mx2 is a device that allows you to connect screws and bolts easily without leaving any holes. Its cordless screwdriver works through a MiniMag rotary magnetic field, which adapts to any conventional drill, allowing to generate detachable connections with a tensile force of 250 kg per connector.
Learn About Seismic Design of Wooden Buildings With These Online Resources
With the aim of raising awareness and expanding knowledge about the advantages of wood in the built environment, reThink Wood has created an online library that collects a series of articles, reports, studies and videos that can be freely accessed right now.
6 Timeless Details Using Stone
Stone is elemental to our built world. It is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) materials used in man-made habitats. The sense of timelessness in stone is attributed to its long and varied history alongside architecture. From ancient monoliths to cities to houses, the diversity of stone means that it can be used to convey a variety of expressions. Carved, polished, sedimented, stacked, preserved - the list can go on and on. The feeling stone conveys in contemporary projects usually brings with it a sense of place – a raw materiality when paired with timber or other natural materials. With that in mind, check out these 6 details of projects that stand out for their use of stone:
Bamboo Bridge in Indonesia Demonstrates Sustainable Alternatives for Infrastructure
As part of the second Bamboo Biennale held in October 2016, the city of Solo in Central Java received a public Bamboo Bridge courtesy of Indonesian Architects Without Borders (ASF-ID). Connecting the Pasar Gede market and colonial Dutch Vastenburg Fort, the 18-meter bamboo structure offers a revitalization of river life in the historic Indonesian city. Spanning across the Kali Pepe river, residents of Java can traverse the pedestrian bridge on its track that varies in width from 1.8 to 2.3 meters.
Bamboo Showcases its Flexibility in Hyperbolic Pavillion
Hyperbamboo pavilion wins CAMBOO design competition in Cambodia.
The Construction Details of ELEMENTAL's Incremental Housing
Good location, harmonious growth over time, concern for urban design, and the delivery of a structure that has "middle-class DNA" are the key points of the ABC of incremental housing, developed in detail by the Chilean architects ELEMENTAL. It's a question of ensuring a balance between "low-rise high-density, without overcrowding, with the possibility of expansion (from social housing to middle-class dwelling)."
Learn More About Permaculture by Building Your Own Herb Spiral
Australian ecologists, David Holmgren and Bill Mollison, first coined the term permaculture in 1978, encompassing holistic methods for planning, updating and maintaining environmentally sustainable, socially just and financially viable systems. For Mollison, "Permaculture is the philosophy of working with and not against nature, after a long and thoughtful observation." In this sense, herbal spirals are an excellent exercise to begin to understand some of the concepts of this culture, as it brings together various natural functions in a single element, making it more productive and healthy.
How to Design a "Building that Breathes": A Sustainable Case Study of Colombia's EDU Headquarters
In the Colombian city of Medellin, a new headquarters is being constructed for the Empresa de Desarrollo Urbano (Urban Development Company), combining optimal thermal performance with local urban regeneration. The new EDU headquarters is the result of a three-part collaboration between the public company, the private sector, and Professor Salmaan Craig from the Harvard Graduate School of Design who has family roots in the Colombian capital.