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 At this time we lance
the Project competition for 2009. And, our memory takes us back to
the third international EcoMaterials conference in 2005, when the
EcoSur Network organized a competition of projects in two categories.
Among the 43 works presented 5 were selected in each category for a
second round and the winners were invited to the conference to
present their work.
Fabiana Zapata of
Venezuela and the duo of Fernando Martín and Francisco Botella of
Spain were the winners and presented their work at the conference in
Cuba, and during an evening fiesta with everyone they received their
trophies.
Fabiana´s
It was a Project to
build a habitat for fishermen in the Paraguana peninsula in
Venezuela, a design integrated with the
natural environment, traditional constructive customs, nature, and
the tasks of the fishermen. We quote from her presentation:
"The proposal
departs from the need to explore the non-urban landscapes, virgin
spaces little explored by humanity, and check out ancient
construction techniques and traditional materials in order to give
them a new form of appreciation and use, to explore an Architecture
that with the march of the years has been
lost, to open the way to new technologies of contemporaneous
construction.
An investigation
developed around such themes as climate, vegetation, location, winds,
traditional construction materials, foreign influences, architectonic
uses, needs of the inhabitants, leading to develop a specific theme
for the fishermen of the zone.
As it is a coastal
zone timber and earth are the materials
most used, these same materials having been used in Colonial
Architecture of the region, thus the use of adobe and wooden posts
and beams are the fundamental base for the development of the
proposal.
Designs sought an
ecological architecture with materials of the area, in this manner
achieving a conceptualization of the Colonial Architecture of
Paraguana and the quantity of coastal influences it has had."
Fernando and
Francisco building
Together with
Higinio Estébanez, who was not able to be present in Santa Clara,
they designed and constructed a community centre for a women´s
association in Opti, Mali:
"The program of
the building responds to the activities and workshops carried out by
the women of the association to earn their livings, with space for
teaching activities and living quarters of private habitations with
sanitary installations. As the principal activity is the restaurant,
the patio is occupied to function as an eating area, as well as part
of the terrace which has views of the landscape that surround Mopti.
We have sought to
respect to the maximum the traditional constructive techniques of the
zone, inherited from Sudanese architecture, as it is the best adapted
to the climatic conditions and to the resources of the zone. In Mopti
people consider that building with adobe is not endurable and of
little quality. Nevertheless, there exists an extensive tradition of
construction with adobe, and the primary material is abundant.
The adobe bricks are
produced in the neighbourhood of Mopti, with earth from the Niger and
rice straw, and carried to the site by local donkey transport, as was
timber and earth for the mortar. Trucks were used only to bring
stone, sand and gravel, as well as steel beams used in the ceiling
structure that enabled economizing on traditional structural wood. On
top of the steel beams thinner wood was placed to serve as a base for
the clay floor of the upper level.
The foundations were
made of cyclop concrete, with large blocks of local rocks and mortar
and small amounts of cement. Being close to a zone with a propensity
to inundations and a high ground water level, the upper part of the
foundation was built of stone to avoid humidity in the walls through
capillarity. To reduce the thickness of the walls, they were designed
in a way to balance the inner and outer façades by means of walls
perpendicular to the façade, and built with a tie beam of reinforced
concrete on top of the walls. This beam allows large openings in the
patio walls and, at the time, distributes the load of the steel beams
with the floor evenly on the wall.
The floors were
built with palm timber and a layer of
compressed clay on top. Impermeability of the roofs was achieved
through a layer of expansive clay, a system that is effective in the
extreme climatic conditions of Mali, as the clay expands and closes
the gaps when it gets wet by rain. Fired clay tiles were placed on
top of this to permit public access to the top of the building.
Plastering of the
walls was done in the traditional "crepissage" which is a
fermented mixture of clay, sand and straw. This is being reapplied
every two years, a well established custom in Mopti."
New competition
Along with the
announcement of the fourth conference, EcoSur lances the competition
to seek design ideas, and at the same time offer a platform for
architectonic and engineering discussion. Within this platform are
the bases for the competition and also
documentation about the winning Projects from 2005.
EcoHabitat 2009 contest
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