Unique Construction Techniques

 

Some unique construction techniques have been around for thousands of years, while others are the offspring of the modern age. In some cases, like the rubber tire houses of the American Southwest, unorthodox building materials are necessitated by excess accumulations of non-degradable waste items. What is most fascinating about the subject of construction techniques, is that the modern methods can often be found in close proximity to the ancient techniques.

1. Straw Bale Buildings. Making a dwelling from dried plant material is nothing new - just take a look at the sod houses of the prairie or the thatched roof cottages of England. However, using the tied up bales of straw (not to be confused with hay) is a creative construction idea that has flourished in modern times. Each bale acts as a building block similar to a brick. With a protective water barrier, the bales can be stacked like cement blocks or used as building units placed in between post and beam framing members.

2. Sculptured Adobe. The Pueblo Indians learned how to build with adobe bricks from the Spanish. As a result, these functional and economical type of dwellings can be found in many places of the Southwest. An adobe is nothing more than a mixture of mud and straw, placed in a rectangular mold and sun-dried with the wet adobe mixture serving as a mortar. Instead, of putting together a standard four-cornered structure, contemporary designers have taken to making circular and irregularly shaped buildings. The plastic nature of the materials lends itself very well to creating this type of structure.

3. Rubber Tire Homes. Excess non-degradable rubber tires have become a major environmental headache and in some cases a fire hazard. In drier regions, some enterprising builders and architects have found creative ways to fill each tire with rammed earth and then stack each unit in alternating rows, as if they were bricks. Buildings made in this way tend to have very thick walls that are covered with earth or coated with adobe or even concrete. When properly designed and constructed a rubber tire structure can make for a liveable home.

4. Carved Rock. Arid climates that support soft durable rock formations are ideal locations for hand carved caves that can function as a year-round living space. Many of these structures date back for thousands of years, when they were constructed for basic shelter by older cultures. A visit to a locale, like Southern Spain, will reveal that this construction technique has not died out, but is in fact thriving. In fact, cave homes in Spain have deeds, property rights and are often designed and completed by skilled craftsmen.

Many people associate the construction industry with difficult and laborious jobs. In reality, there are a number of different types of careers available in this industry, ranging from white-collar management jobs to highly-skilled building trade positions. No matter what your skills or interests, you're likely to find a career you'll enjoy in this field.

 

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Three Basic Factors

 

Nearly two thousand years ago the Roman architect Vitruvius listed three basic factors in architecture. They are convenience, strength and beauty. These three factors have been present and are always interrelated in the best constructions till the 21st century. No true architect could think of any of them without almost automatically considering the other two as well. Thus, architectural design entails not only the necessity to study various solutions for convenience, structure, and appearance as three separate processes. Architectural design also includes the necessity to keep in mind the constant interaction of these factors.

It’s impossible for an architect first to plan a building from the point of view of convenience, and then make the design of a strong construction around his plan to shelter it. Then, as a final touch, try to adjust and decorate the whole to make it pretty.

Any design evolving from such kind of work will produce only a confused, incoherent, and unsatisfactory building. When speaking about any truly great building we cannot but say that every element in it has a triple implication or significance.

This triple nature of architectural design is one of the reasons why architecture is a difficult art. It needs some unique type of imagination as well as long years of training and experience to make a designer capable of getting requited in the light of these three factors – use, construction, and aesthetic effect – simultaneously.

The designer must have a good knowledge as of engineering so of building materials. This knowledge will enable him to create economically strong and practical construction. The designer, in addition, must possess the creative imagination, which will enable him to integrate the plan and the construction into the harmonious whole. The architect’s feeling of satisfaction in achieving such integration is one of his/her (their) greatest rewards.

 

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