About the Buildings

 

People have asked me why some of the buildings have a zigzag look to them.

It’s because of the way the compressed earth buildings are built. The walls are straight up and down, of course. But the roof structure is the barrel vault.

The barrel vault is just taking the arch and repeating down the length of the building.    

 

The Compressed Earth Block Barrel Vault

 

This is a very strong type of construction. The Colosseum (Coliseum) in Rome used the barrel vault structure as a base for seating, walking and standing for the thousands of people for untold years. And yet it is still standing 2000 years later!

But in it’s simplest and most stable form, the ends of the buildings have to be squared off. So that’s why you have the zig zag look.

And these buildings are made out of compressed earth blocks. The idea is to have at least 85% of the building materials coming from the property itself.

 

Constructing the Extreme Green Village with Compressed Earth Block.

 

You can see the way these buildings are designed they are very simple to construct. Even though these compressed earth blocks look like big bricks, they don’t require mortar in between each block. All that is needed is to paint the surfaces that contact each block with a brushed on coating of a slurry of the same earth and hydrated lime (if it’s used).

 

The advantage is that each block can be painted with the slurry and placed into position in seconds. People in different groups can be building in different areas around the structure simultaneously.

 

There will be forms for the arches and windows and walls. The blocks are placed along these forms. Then the forms will be removed, to be used again and again.

 

The barrel vault form will need to be very strong and on wheels and with hydraulics to raise and lower it into place.

 

The important point here is that once all the work systems are perfected and enough people are working at once, the walls and the roof of even the largest of these buildings can be constructed in one weekend!!

 

All of the Green-Burbia town homes and some of the small Town Center buildings can be built in a day!

 

This does not mean all the connections, finishes and interiors. It means the basic structure. But wouldn’t you want to be able to say you were one of the people to build a building in a day? I would.