A Revival of Natural Building Methods
by MaHuSeen
"The prosperity of a country depends not on the abundance of its revenues, nor on the strength of its fortifications, nor on the beauty of its public buildings; but consists in the number of its cultivated citizens, in (those of) education, enlightenment, and character; here are found its true interest, its chief strength, its real power."
~ Martin Luther
Today, 50% of the earth’s population lives modestly in a variety of naturally-made habitats whose tried and true methods of construction date back thousands of years, with a minimum of environmental and natural resource depletion. However, there is an alarming, and disproportionate, flip side to the "Western" mode of building practices, which seem bent on the fast track of ravenous resource consumption (including the massive escalation of U.S.-led global consumerism) with little regard for sustainability or the long-term conservation and preservation of our global environment. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a typical 1,700 square foot wood-frame home requires the equivalent of clear-cutting one acre of forest. The question is, what can be done to simplify our modern building practices so that a significant reduction in resource consumption and energy expenditure can be achieved?
Consider for a moment just a few of the facts from the Natural Building Colloquium website (www.networkearth.org) concerning the global use of natural resources and the enormous daily impact it has on the environment and our lives:
- Buildings consume approximately 40% of the materials and resources entering the global economy each year and account for 25% of the world's wood harvest, 40% of its material and energy usage, and approximately 17% of its fresh water usage.
- The construction industry accounts for 60-70% of global deforestation.
- The manufacturing of portland cement contributes 4% to greenhouse gas emissions.
- 94% of U.S. homes use wood as the main construction material.
- In the past 100 years carbon dioxide emissions has increased 27% globally from fossil fuel burning—a quarter of which provides energy for buildings.
Real solutions and answers to the rapid decline of global resources and the devastating impact it is having on the environment can be found amongst a growing movement of concerned and conscientious architects, builders, planners, and environmentalists who, for the last 20 years, have been reviving and fostering age-old methods of natural building. Their primary objective has been to educate and reintroduce several methods of natural construction which have been successfully used for thousands of years by indigenous peoples the world over. Methods of building such as Superadobe (sandbag and barbed wire construction system), straw bale construction, cob construction, and rammed earth are just a few of the popular styles being revived and refined using only raw and natural materials such as stone, earth, clay, bamboo, straw, and wood. Integral to the resurgence of natural architecture is the cooperative desire of wanting to foster sustainable, practical, affordable, and health-enhancing environments for all people on the planet.
One of the prominent architects of the natural building revival today is Nader Kahlili, who has been creating and refining the methodology of domed adobe construction for more than 20 years. This style of architecture is found in many parts of the world, including the Middle East and several other developing countries. For years Kahlili has worked with the United Nations and other development organizations in helping to design and improve native habitats in many of the developing third world countries where simple and practical housing is greatly needed. Kahlili is also the founder of the Cal Earth Institute in California where students and apprentices learn and practice the construction techniques of Superadobe dwellings which use sand bags filled with earth from the local building site and are bound together with barbed wire. The sand bags are layered and coiled and arched into soft curves and arches with portal-like windows and are finished using different plastering and fire glazing techniques. Some advantages to this form of natural architecture include:
- It is affordable.
- It is simple to construct almost anywhere in the world.
- The creative aesthetics are pleasing to the eye and health promoting in comfort.
- Its cooling and insulating qualities are conducive to extreme climate variations, whether hot or cold.
- It is one of the most sound structures known (even stronger than any modern concrete or steel-reinforced building).
- It can stand up to all weather conditions, including volatile seismic activity.
- There is no impact on the natural environment because of the nature of the organic materials used.
- There is no use of any refined or toxic building materials.
Eco-visionaries like Kahlili and many others within the global sustainability movement today bring to us much more than just another trend or "green" way of thinking and doing. They are striving to educate and encourage all who will lend an ear and have an open mind to the possibilities of leading a more holistic and alternative lifestyle based on simpler and more conscientious living standards. By putting others first and acting responsibly on behalf of the next generation, the world can become whole again. "The weak indulge in resolutions, but the strong act. Life is but a day's work—do it well. The act is ours; the consequences God's." (The URANTIA Book, p. 566:11)