Green Construction

We are moving towards an era where green building methods should become more mainstream and our building materials more natural. The objective should be to build simpler, consume less fossil fuel and transportation. These green buildings, when built correctly, are always aesthetically pleasing – because it feels ‘right’, quiet and organic. Such examples include:

Adobe Construction
When we add water to dirt to create a 20% clay-consistency (with added straw or strengthening fibres if you wish), shape it and letting it dry in this mould (such as brick-shape), we get ‘Adobe’ – an ancient building method. These shapes can be made through block-pressing, leverage presses or mould to pour it into and letting dry – after which, the bricks can then be used to build walls with etc. Adobe has fantastic thermal qualities.

Cob Construction
Cob is another ancient building method and entails an Adobe mix (see above) with more added long straw fibres added to it and, instead of filling walls (as with straw-bale building) or moulding into shapes (as with Adobe) – cob building is applied by hand in large cobs. The ‘mixer’ tosses it to the middle man, who tosses it to the applier – traditionally. This form of building is the most creative of ‘natural building’ as one can shape and free-form to your heart’s content.

Cordwood Construction
Cordwood building is when the builder uses short, round wood pieces (such as firewood shapes) that otherwise has little use. Buildings are often supported by a post and beam structure before being filled by the cordwood. These walls have fantastic thermal and insulating values once the logs are cemented together with a paste such as cob or cement mortar. The logs’ ends are aligned together and left ‘open’ in-between for breathing purposes and one can add the odd coloured bottle in the same way to let in light.

Earth Bag Construction
Building with earth bags is an old method used originally for flood control or other protective barrier purposes. Nowadays homes are build with sand bags as they are strong, weather-, bullet- and bomb-proof buildings. Earth bags can be filled with sand, crushed volcanic rock or other – which will influence its values in insulation and maintenance. These buildings are finished off with plaster.

Earth Ship Construction
Passive solar architecture designs entail the retaining walls to be constructed with used tires (or cans, tins etc) and filled with earth – like bricks. The interior walls are plastered with adobe for instance. These buildings can be tricky as the necessary wood framing is complicated.

Rammed Earth Construction
One of the oldest building methods, ramming earth has similarities with both cob and adobe methods and again clay-and-sand soil is used, compressed into flat vertical walls with added insulation on the outsides and traditionally interiors are finished off with natural oils.

Rock Construction
Not new, this type of building is a lasting building method where rocks are laid (larger rocks at the bottom for strength) with mortar or by dry stacking, in a best-fit-puzzle method. The technique should be much the same as with brick laying where overlapping creates strength and insulation.

Straw-bale Construction
In many countries, building with straw-bales has become common practise, such as in the SW United States and in others, it’s an ancient building method. The reason for this is that straw is an environment-friendly, easy to build with material that insulates well.

The builder needs to ensure that only dry straw is used and that the structure is condensation-proof, otherwise it will rot. The straw-skin should be 100% resistant to insects and rodents.

Non-load bearing straw-bale building is popular because it’s such a fast and flexible building method. The builder use a post and beam framework for supporting the main structure and use the straw to fill. In other words, the framework is hollow, but gets filled with straw, which becomes the walls etc.