ARC2010

ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGY 2.2:

CONSTRUCTION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

1:1 MATERIAL PROJECT REPORT

COMPRESSED STABILIZED EARTH BLOCKS

STUDENT ID- 200527387

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND LANDSCAPE

 PRECEDENT STUDY 3
MATERIAL DESCRIPTION 4
CONTENTS

MATERIAL PROPERTIES 5
TESTING 6
PROCESS (1:5) 7
PROCESS (1:1) 9
HUMAN AND URBAN SCALE 10
REFLECTION 11
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 12

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 IHA RESIDENCE 1 – IHA Residence façade

Location – Mannanthala district,

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Architect – Vinu Daniel, Wallmakers
Materials – Compressed Stabilized Earth
Blocks(CSEB), Bamboo, Wood, Washing
machine plates, Rammed earth
PRECEDENT STUDY

foundation
Purpose – Residence

This house in Kerala has similar climatic

conditions to North Shields where Site A 2 – Patterned wall from inside 3 – Patterned wall from
inside
is present. The CSEBs are arranged into a
jaali* pattern to form the outer walls.
This placement allows natural light and
ventilation for the spaces.

For ARC2001, the blocks can be used for

the parapets of the courtyard and roof. It
guarantees the safety of children as well.

* Jaali – Grille – framework of blocks to form outer walls (here) 3

 VISUAL DESCRIPTION FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
Solid Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks are The voids between the blocks allow
arranged diagonally perpendicular to each other natural light as well as help with easy
to form a permeable wall. ventilation. The diagonal placement of
the block also ensures the privacy of the
MATERIAL DESCRIPTION

spaces. The blocks, like bricks, regulate

temperatures and can keep a space
heated or cooled down according to the
external temperatures.
(Climate Crisis Determinant – High
4 – Wall in plan summer temperatures )

5 – Sketchup model showing wall 6 – Sketchup model showing dimensions

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 COMPONENTS ADVANTAGES
Local Soil + Sand + 5% Cement + Water • Bio-degradable materials – due to the bio-
chemicals in topsoil, the soil cement mix
The soil is slightly moistened and poured will disintegrate within a decade or two.
not a steel press and then compressed • Locally available – saves transportation,
MATERIAL PROPERTIES

either manually or with a motorised press. fuel, time and money.

These compressed earth blocks can be • Cost efficiency – produced locally and uses
stabilised with cement or lime. Cement is semi-skilled labour.
used as a stabiliser for sandy soils while • Reduced carbon emission
lime for clayey soils. • Energy efficient
• Less cost of labour
The stabilization helps build higher and • Durable
thinner walls with better compressive
strength and water resistance.

Material (Generic) – Masonry

Material (Type) – CSEB
Material dimensions (Length x Width x Height) – 230mm x 115mm x 75mm (Indian standard brick
size)
Section thickness – 245mm
Material surface – Rough
Finish – Untreated, colour depends on soil available locally

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 SCALE OF CONSTRUCTION
The scale of construction is taken as 1:5. This is because I wanted to focus on the patterned wall
more than the individual block. Replicating the wall at 1:1 would require more quantities of soil,
sand and cement. To save on the cost of the materials as well as time, I thought I would make the
wall at a different scale with one block at 1:1. The scale made it easier to make more moulds out
of limited material as well. For the moulds, I used Formica board.

EXPERIMENTING
Since the form and the dimensions are fixed, I would be experimenting with the proportions of
TESTING

soil and sand. Cement is about 5% of the mixture.

THE EXPERIMENTING AND THE BLOCKS FOR THE WALL ARE DONE AT 1:5

TYPE 1- Soil(50%) + Sand(30%) + 7 – Blocks with different compositions for testing

Cement(5%) + Water (15%)
TYPE 2- Soil(40%) + Sand(40%) +
Cement(5%) + Water (15%)
TYPE 3- Soil(30%) + Sand(50%) +
Cement(5%) + Water (15%)
There is a difference in the colours of the
block due to the different amounts of sand
and soil.

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 MAKING THE MOULDS RESULTS
9 After 24 hours, the blocks were dry
and taken out of the mould. Type 1
and 2 with 50% and 40% of soil
respectively bound well and remained
as blocks. Type 3 didn’t bind because
of the high content of sand.
I decided to do Type 1 blocks since
PROCESS (1:5)

more soil than sand is considered

10 ideal proportions.
8 – Dimensions for the mould for 1:5 blocks

9+10 – Pieces of mould made using Formica board.

The longer bits were stuck onto the base using
glue but did not work well so I decided to screw
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them to the base. The smaller pieces fit into the
grooves and can be removed easily using the
screws on top to pull them out. 12

11 – The mould. There are four hollow rectangles

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for the mixture. Since the grooves have to be
accurate, Nathan, from the workshop helped me
with the cutting. A measurement went wrong so
only three out of four blocks can be made. I made
three of the same moulds so 9 blocks could be
made at one time.

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 15 16 17

18

SAND
SOIL
PROCESS (1:5)

14 – CEMENT
Components of the 15 – The components are mixed and bonded by water and 17 – Plan of courses 1, 3, 5…
mixture – Type 1 block – 50% then put into moulds as seen. The bricks are then taken out 18 – Plan of courses 2, 4, 6…
Soil + 30% Sand + 5% Cement after 12 hours and left to completely dry for another 12 hours.
+ 15% Water 16 – Cement mixture used as mortar for building the wall.

19 – Permeable wall without mortar – easy to place on top of 20 – Permeable wall with mortar – the mortar made the
each other since surfaces were even surfaces uneven due to which the blocks kept falling down and
the edges chipped off

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PROCESS (1:1) 22 23

21 – Isometric sketch showing dimensions for the 1:1 22+23 – 1:1 mould made using Formica board. The longer sides are
mould screwed into the base with grooves. the shorter sides are fit in between
and screwed to the sides.

25 26

24 – The mixture is added to the mould and left to dry 25+26 – The final 1:1 block. It is solid and has even surfaces which are
for 72 hours. The block takes more time to dry because rough in texture. Some portions that did not mix well can be seen on
of its size. the surfaces (like in 25 on the shorter side).

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HUMAN SCALE AND URBAN SCALE HUMAN SCALE URBAN SCALE

CSEB wall as a parapet for courtyard (wall at an

CSEB size in comparison to a hand angle so that voids are seen)

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 I enjoyed working on the 1:1 material project. Making the blocks on my own helped me
understand the method of construction better. Practically working on it was more interesting than
theory. Experimenting with the composition made me realise the individual properties and how
they affect the final mixture. It also made me apprehend how important was to select materials
according to the site and its weather conditions.
After the blocks are used, they can be put into the soil. Since the material is bio-degradable, it
mixes with the soil. The material is sustainable and no harm is done to the environment.
REFLECTION

Learning to make the blocks went well. I learned several skills like drilling holes and screwing two
surfaces together. I also improved my skills with the saws and sanding machines.

27 – 1:1 CSEB 28 – 1:1 CSEB

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 IMAGES
1-3 –
https://www.archdaily.com/917075/iha-residence-wallmakers/5cdb253e284dd1a50a000153-iha-
residence-wallmakers-photo
4-28 –
Own images – SketchUp model, Procreate, photographs of process and product

INFORMATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. About IHA Residence - https://www.archdaily.com/917075/iha-residence-wallmakers

2. About CSEB - https://www.earth-auroville.com/compressed_stabilised_earth_block_en.php

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