THE BUILDING MATERIALS
The school buildings will be constructed entirely of mud and other local materials, as it is tradition in the region. Earth architecture is getting more popular even in modern day construction due to its ecological and aesthetic benefits. There are examples of airports, embassies, hospitals, museums, and factories around the world that are constructed out of earth. In fact, it is estimated that half of the global population, approximately three billion people on six continents, lives or works in buildings constructed of earth. Some of the benefits of building with mud are:
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as a material, earth costs little or no money
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it is locally available worldwide
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it requires the absolute minimum use of energy in the production cycle
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mud is nontoxic, fire proof and has very good thermal and acoustic properties.
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it is the most sustainable of all building materials: the mud can either be returned to the ground or it can be recycled as a building material (indefinitely).
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building with earth today can preserve traditional building techniques and organisational principles, while introducing modern design and sustainable building technologies
MUD AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL
For both modules earth and wood are the core building materials as both are natural materials and widely available. The walls of the main module are built as rammed earth walls. This is a traditional method of erecting walls in rural Africa which has slightly fallen into oblivion due to its, arguably, relative elaborate construction process. In recent years however a steady increase can be recorded in building with rammed earth and it is currently a regular research topic. The columns and roof structure are build with wood. Although the production standards for wood aren’t at the standard we apply here in Europe, it is still one of the most sustainable building materials available. However, as larger wooden beams are relatively expensive we to use wood efficiently. The main beams that span the roof therefore are composite beams comprised out of smaller wooden pieces that together form a framework that has the strength of a larger beam.