A Community of Superadobe Earthbag Domes Empowers Its Residents

 

Built with earth-based materials, these colorful domes were constructed with the help of local residents looking to revive their local economy.

In reducing the carbon footprint of both existing and new buildings, there are a number of possible strategies. One approach is to reduce the size of homes, thus reducing the energy needed to heat and maintain them (which is one reason why smaller homes are gaining popularity). Another is to increase their energy efficiency, as we see being done with Passivhaus / Passive House homes. Yet another tack is to change the kinds of materials we use in constructing more eco-friendly homes, swapping out materials with high embodied carbon (a.k.a. upfront carbon emissions) like concrete and steel for more sustainable materials like wood, cork and bamboo.

There's yet another weapon to add to the growing arsenal of sustainable materials – but it's not a new one, rather, it's something that humans have used for millennia – earth. The soil beneath our feet is actually a great building material, whether it's rammed, or compressed into modular earth blocks. We've seen a number of interesting architectural projects using earth-based materials, be they large or small.

Superadobe to the Rescue

On Iran's Hormuz Island, these distinctive domes were constructed by Tehran-based firm ZAV Architects, using an innovative method called superadobe. Initially developed as a form of earthbag construction by Iranian-born architect Nader Khalili, the technique involves layering long fabric tubes or bags filled with earth and other organic materials like straw to form a compression structure.

Intended as a project that encourages "community empowerment via urban development," the domes have been built with the help of local residents, who were trained with the necessary construction skills.

The architects explain that the idea was to help boost the local economy, and provide alternative options to locals:

"Hormuz is a formerly glorious historic port in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, south of Iran, that controls the shipment of petroleum from the Middle East. The island has outstanding colorful surreal landscapes. Oddly, the local inhabitants of the beautiful, touristic and politically strategic island struggle economically, getting involved in illegal trafficking activities using their boats."

Seen from above, the small-scale domes take on organic shapes and connect in a variety of ways to form clustered structures.

In between these clusters, walkways and other connective spaces for gathering, playing and resting are formed.

Seen from far away, the domes seem to echo the landscape, while offering a brightly colored contrast to the earth from which they are made. The designers make an interesting analogy of these domes as parts of a vibrant carpet:

"In this project a carpet is woven with granular knots inspired by the particles that make up the ecotone of the island. The sandbags that create the spatial particles (a.k.a. domes) are filled with the dredging sand of the Hormuz dock, as if the earth has swollen to produce space for accommodation."

Inside the domes' shady interior, one can see that this type of construction is well-suited to the arid climate, as earth-based materials provide wonderful thermal mass. That means that the domed interiors stay cool during the day as the thick earthen walls absorb the sun's heat, and at night, when temperatures drop, the walls can radiate that stored heat, helping to regulate temperature fluctuations.

The way in which the interiors are painted also offer clues into how to use the space. The inherent roundness of the spaces are a refreshing alternative to the angularity of orthogonal buildings.

The aim was to choose an approach that benefitted the island's residents as much as possible, since international sanctions have affected the island and the whole country for many years, say the architects:

"[By] earmarking a bigger share of the budget to labor costs rather than expensive imported materials, [it benefits] the local population, empowering them by offering training for construction skills."

As the architects point out, the project raises some interesting questions on how far architecture can be a vehicle for socio-economic change: "In a country where the state struggles with political disputes outside its borders, every architectural project becomes a proposal for internal governing alternatives, asking basic questions: what are the limits of architecture and how can it suggest a political alternative for communal life? How can it attain social agency?"

These are fascinating questions that many architects have asked themselves in the past, and likely won't be answered any time soon. But regardless of the possible answers, the aim to build a better future for residents will go on: the next phase of this award-winning project will involve constructing a "multipurpose cultural residence" that will boost local tourism generated from an annual land art event held nearby, which will hopefully continue to fulfill the empowering mission of this unique project.

https://www.treehugger.com/superadobe-presence-domes-by-zav-architects-5091869 

 

 

A New Coronavirus Strain Emerges

Sources are reporting the displacement of various strains by a strain of the virus that appears to have arisen in the last month or two. The New York Times writes:

LONDON — Alarmed by a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson abruptly reversed course on Saturday and imposed a wholesale lockdown on London and most of England’s southeast, banning Christmas-season gatherings beyond individual households.

The decision, which Mr. Johnson announced after an emergency meeting of his cabinet, came after the government got new evidence of a variant first detected several weeks ago in southeast England, which the prime minister asserted was as much as 70 percent more transmissible than previous versions.

Viral mutations are not uncommon, and British officials said this variant had been detected in a handful of other countries, without naming them. But the government’s medical experts expressed alarm about its apparent infectiousness, noting that it now accounts for more than 60 percent of the new infections reported in London.

“This spread is happening at a moment in time when there are already many lineages circulating, and despite that it is displacing them all,” said Kristian Andersen, a geneticist at the Scripps Research in La Jolla, Calif. “We can’t say for sure, but to me it looks like this very explosive growth is primarily because” of its new mutations.

“We normally see 20 to 30 lineages in our samples at a given time,” said Tulio de Oliveira, a professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, in Durban, who first flagged the variant. “Now, we see only one.”

More research will be needed to confirm that the new strain is more infectious. So far, it does not appear to be more virulent or deadly. Also, it does not appear to be resistant to vaccines, but this will be closely monitored in the coming months. If  a second mutation arises that leaves the new strain more infections but also more virulent, that would probably ratchet up pressure to get populations vaccinated as soon as possible.

That leaves the question, can the president handle this or will he botch (incompetence) and/or sabotage (treason) the vaccination effort? Only time will tell.

JUST IN TIME FOR THE WEEKEND - SNOWFLAKE HAD AN IDEA (YES WE KNOW - THAT IS RARE)

 I kind of stole this idea from Susan who did a similar thread on my Forum, but that one was exclusive to ANGER expressed at Trump.

I would like to expand beyond TDS though.

It has become increasingly clear, people just need to vent, let all the anger, anxiety, angst and anguish out of their system so they can ENJOY a nice calm, headache and bellyache free Christmas.

You can do so in the form of a meme, or a picture or something that let's you express your frustration.

Within limits of course, you wouldn't want to run afoul of Germaine.

Here is my minor contribution, and I feel confident you can all do better and challenge you all do do so:

courtesy of your favorite SNOWFLAKE 

Christian Preacher Calls Out Trumpism as “Dangerous” and “Not of God”

 Among white evangelical preachers, Beth Moore has been unique over the past few years because she’s used her virtual pulpit to call out the hypocrisy of the Christian Right. It even led to one pastor telling her to “go home”

Yesterday, she pulled no punches in calling out Trumpism and Christian Nationalism. It came on the heels of a MAGA cult rally in Washington, D.C. on Saturday that featured many prominent conservative Christians.

Beth Moore

@BethMooreLPM

I do not believe these are days for mincing words. I’m 63 1/2 years old & I have never seen anything in these United States of America I found more astonishingly seductive & dangerous to the saints of God than Trumpism. This Christian nationalism is not of God. Move back from it.

She’s right that, for many Americans, Trumpism is both “seductive & dangerous.” Those of us who aren’t members of her conservative Christian tribe have been saying that for years. But it obviously means more coming from someone who shares the faith of many of MAGA cultists.

Religion News Service points out that Moore wasn’t alone in the denunciation either. Former Liberty University professor Karen Swallow Prior said something similar:

Karen Swallow Prior (Kiddo Notorious KSP)

@KSPrior

While I did not ever vote for Trump, I did vote for local and state @GOP candidates. (I am a lifelong conservative, after all.) I am now embarrassed and ashamed that I did so. What a bunch of money-grubbing, power-hungry, partisan cowards who care nothing about conservatism.

Once again, I’m grateful she said that. And once again, I’m internally screaming about how she missed what critics have been saying about conservatives for years.

It’s not news that the Republican Party is morally bankrupt and frequently corrupt. They don’t play fair. They use their power to hurt people. This happened long before Trump even if he accelerated and amplified the problem.

How ignorant do you have to be at this point to still vote for Republicans at any level, if you actually care about decency, evidence-based policies, and more effective government?

It’s one thing if you didn’t see this until Trump came along, because you weren’t paying close attention, even though it was there for decades.

But maybe the Christians who didn’t recognize the batshittery among their own tribe members until now will do us all a favor and start listening to — and appreciating and amplifying — those of us who saw what was happening this whole time. At least recognize that the critics were never “anti-Christian” despite the best efforts of conservatives to paint us that way.

BY HEMANT MEHTA

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2020/12/14/christian-preacher-calls-out-trumpism-as-dangerous-and-not-of-god/