Chile Earthquake Reconstruction

Light Clay Straw

Ecoescuela El Manzano

Welcome to El Manzano, a small rural community in

the BioBio region of Chile.

El Manzano

Santiago

Epicentre

El Manzano has embarked on a mission to provide viable

solutions for Chileno people;

to show how they can build their own permanent, earthquake

proof housing with local materials, local labour, and

at an affordable price.

This is an update on our progress to design and build

three 35 square metre houses for around US$5000 each.

We pick up the story at design time, with two young

architects, Miguel our client and a bare site.

Angel & Santiago, two young Chilean Permaculture Designers

An empty site with Eucalytptus round pole ready to go

On site with Miguel having design conversations

Sketching up the site, taking GPS points

1. Bathroom2. Kitchen3. Living4. Bedroom

1

2

3

4

A simple 35m2 design emerges

Heavily braced for earthquake

North Elevation showing few windows

Angel explaing the design to Carlos, Juan…

and Jose who make up the local construction team

Angel & Carlos translating the design onto the ground

Putting in the foundations

Reinforced concrete , chain of super adobe footing, compacted gravel and

a cement floor on top

The first holes go in

Putting the foundations in place

Gravel under the footing

Making the brackets for the posts

Welding the brackets for posts

Welding the bracket to the steel in cement footing

Preparing the mold

Mix for the footing

Pouring the footing

Finishing it off

Cement footing with steel bracket for post

Footings ready to go

gravel goes in and compacted

Sand & 10% cement into the mixer

Pouring mix into the recycled sacks

Jose sewing the sacks shut

Laying the first sacks

Positioning the sack

Compacting the sack

Recycled barbed wire between sacks

The locals lend a few hands

Foundations 3 sacks thick

Roundpole Post & Beam

Eucalyptus cut green from the forest, ends painted to reduce cracking,

worked mostly by chainsaw

Forming the posts

shaping the base of the post

Shaping the base of the post

Juan cleans it up with the axe

Posts numbered & ready to go

Threading bolt into the post

Bolting them up

All the posts up

Shaping the beams

One by one

The first beam goes onto the post

Beams going up quickly

Team work

Beams joined on post

Post fixings

Posts in place with chain of footing visible

The rafters arrive from the forest

Marking the rafters

marking the bottom cut on rafter

first rafters go up

oops…in the wrong place

rafter on the end of the beam

the horses leave

Juan fixing rafters

rafters on central beam

ready for the purlins & roof

starting to look like a house

fixing the bracing

bracing between posts

view of the diagonal bracing

quake proof? Juan gives it a shake…

The Roof

3 x 2 purlin on the rafters, plywood ceiling to brace, sheets of zinc, experimental light

clay straw insulation compacted into cavity

the first purlin goes up

each rafter shaped individually to take the purlin

the ceiling goes up

ready for insulation

mixing straw and clay

mix it well, getting it just right

perfect

up on to the roof, compacted into the cavity – a bit low on the r-value

on with the zinc, and vertical builders paper…

the last sheet goes up before nightfall

stoked at the end of the day

Walls

Local small diameter pinus radiata, rough sawn 2x2 framing 25 cm wall

Miguel surveys the progress a happy client

Finished roofhouse ready for the walls, Oskar arrives

Juan & Carlos putting up the walls

it happens in a flash

Oscar gets into it

internal wall framing

finishing touches to the framing

almost ready for the clay straw

Oskar putting the window frames in

final touches

Santiago reflecting on progress

framing is ready to go

Insulation

Light clay straw. Straw cut from the farm, clay from collapsed houses in

Cabrero, non-load supporting

first molds go on ready for the straw

Oskar setting up for the volunteers

the team arrives, all hands on deck

mixing clay and straw, a slight soaking

the community pitches in

compacting straw into the molds

everybody gets involved

…progress is rapid

satisfying work, getting our hands dirty

the second mold goes on

a handmade house

the rain starts coming, with the roof on we can work inside

second half of July another group of volunteers

this time more organised

with a big team & more experience things go smoothly

carefully placing handfulls of straw and compacting

Santiago on quality control

Miguel gets involved

the north wall goes up

the end of the day & rain starts again

and then progress is slow

the sun comes out

The molds come off

the straw begins to dry

not closed, but warm inside

eastern wall

north wall with windows into the kitchen

ready for the windows and doors, and a few coats of stucco

Now at the final stages, the doors and windows are

going in, and the first coats of stucco starting soon.

You can join us this summer of 2011 for a practical experience

in bioconstruction and regenerative design.

www.ecoescuela.cl