akaa cover final uk/us 20/10

Sandbag Shelter Prototypes

51

Siberia

Thailand

United States

Canada

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 25/9/04 10:32 PM Page 51

Sandbag Shelter Prototypes – Various locations • Architecture and Polyphony 52

52


TJ521-8-2004 IM

UK

HU

C0186 A

ga Khan A

ward F

or Architecture (C

TP

) W:215m

mX

H:278m

m 150L 140 P

rofijt White W

/F M

agenta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 27/9/04 10:54 AM Page 52

52

The global need for housing includes million refugees and displaced persons – victims of natural disasters and wars. Iranian architect Nader Khalili believes that this need can be addressed only by using the potential of earth construction.After extensive research into vernacular earth building methods in Iran followedby detailed prototyping, he has developed the sandbag or ‘superadobe’ system.The concept allows people to build their own shelter simply by packing whateverearth they find in their location into sandbags, which are then stacked into domeforms, held together by barbed wire.The shelters are structurally strong – able to resist earthquakes, fires, floods and hurricanes.They are extremely quick, easyand cheap to build.They can be made into permanent structures by renderingthem with external plaster and adding any necessary ancillary spaces.They are sustainable in terms of energy, using only sun, shade and gravity.They are adaptable in terms of size, material and configuration, and the system can also be used to build roads and other infrastructure.

These shelters focus on the economic empowerment of people by enablingthem to participate in the creation of their own homes and communities.Theresult is sustainable developments that integrate traditional building materialswith modern materials and technology, providing comfortable living spacesacceptable to modern safety standards.



53

These shelters serve as a prototype for temporary housing usingextremely inexpensive means to provide safe homes that can be builtquickly and have the high insulation values necessary in arid climates.Their curved form was devised in response to seismic conditions,ingeniously using sand or earth as raw materials, since their flexibilityallows the construction of single- and double-curvature compressionshells that can withstand lateral seismic forces.

The prototype is a symbiosis of tradition and technology. It employsvernacular forms, integrating load-bearing and tensile structures,but provides a remarkable degree of strength and durability for thistype of construction, which is traditionally weak and fragile, through a composite system of sandbags and barbed wire. Created by packinglocal earth into bags, which are then stacked vertically, the structures are not external systems applied to a territory, but instead grow out of their context, recycling available resources for the provision of housing.The sustainability of this approach is further strengthened because the construction of the sandbag shelters does not require external intervention but can be implemented by the occupants themselveswith minimal training.The system is also highly flexible: the scaleof structures and arrangement of clusters can be varied and appliedto different ecosystems to produce settlements that are suitable fordifferent numbers of individuals or groups with differing socialneeds. Due to their strength, the shelters can also be made intopermanent housing, transforming the outcome of natural disastersinto new opportunities.

TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 27/9/04 10:55 AM Page 53


54

TJ521-8-2004 IM

UK

HU

C0186 A

ga Khan A

ward F

or Architecture (C

TP

) W:215m

mX

H:278m

m 150L 140 P

rofijt White W

/F M

agenta


●

●

●

●

●

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 27/9/04 10:56 AM Page 54

54

Architect Nader Khalili startedhis career as a modernist andachieved success building con-ventional high-rises. But in 1975 heclosed his offices in Los Angelesand Tehran and set out alone bymotorcycle into the deserts of hisnative Iran, convinced that the onlyway the world’s poor could everafford homes was to build withearth and fire. He dedicated his timeto researching traditional vernacularmud construction in Iran and beganto work on ideas for using earth as amodern building material. As well asdeveloping a concept for a ‘CeramicHouse’ constructed from sun-driedmud and then fired, Khalili alsodeveloped ‘Superadobe’ – a structuremade from sandbags secured withbarbed wire. The basic constructiontechnique involves filling sandbagswith earth and laying them in coursesin a circular plan. The circularcourses are corbelled near the topto form a dome. Barbed wire is laidbetween courses to prevent the sand-bags from shifting and to provideearthquake resistance. Hence thematerials of war – sandbags andbarbed wire – are used for peacefulends, integrating traditional eartharchitecture with contemporary globalsafety requirements.

Using this technology, several designprototypes of domes and vaults werebuilt and tested, including emergencyshelters for refugees and the home-less, a sustainable small housecalled ‘Eco-Dome’, and a convention-ally planned four-bedroom homeusing a three-vault design concept.The system is particularly suitablefor providing temporary shelterbecause it is cheap and allows build-ings to be quickly erected by handby the occupants themselves witha minimum of training.

Khalili found inspiration for the tech-nology and design of the structuresin the principles of Sufi philosophyand Iranian architecture: the unity ofthe elements of earth, water, air andfire; harnessing sustainable energy – sun, shade, gravity; geometry andsymmetry; and the unity of tensionand compression. Each sheltercomprises one major domed spacewith some ancillary spaces forcooking and sanitary services.The system is extremely flexible.The earthen materials of clay andsand with straw and water that havebeen used to make traditional sun-dried mudbricks for millennia arenot always available, nor do thosemost in need of a home have thetime to make blocks, dry them andstore them. By filling bags directlyfrom the land and reinforcing themwith barbed wire, occupants canuse almost any earth and the speedof building is much faster. Thestructures can be temporary or canbe made permanent by adding a layerof mud daub or other finishing.Incremental additions such as ovensand animal shelters can also be madeto provide a more permanent status,and the accommodation can betailored to individual needs. Thetechnology can also be used forboth buildings and infrastructuresuch as roads, kerbs, retainingwalls and landscaping elements.

The system employs the timelessforms of arches, domes and vaultsto create single and double-curvatureshell structures that are both strongand aesthetically pleasing. Whilethese load-bearing or compressionforms refer to the ancient mudbrickarchitecture of the Middle East, the use of barbed wire as a tensileelement alludes to the portabletensile structures of nomadic cultures. The result is an extremelysafe structure. The addition ofbarbed wire to the compressionstructures creates earthquakeresistance; the aerodynamicform resists hurricanes; the use ofsandbags aids flood resistance; andthe earth itself provides fireproofing.



55

TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

●

●

●

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 25/9/04 10:42 PM 5

55

The earth used to fill the sandbagsis taken from the site where sheltersare required and comprises at least90 per cent of the filling material,although stabilizers such as cement,lime and asphalt emulsion may beadded. The barbed wire is four-point,two-strand, galvanized barbed wireand is recyclable. Materials researchhas shown that the majority ofexisting bags made of natural orsynthetic material can be used.The ideal is a synthetic, ultraviolet-resistant, degradable material. In a temporary building, the bagsare allowed to degrade and thebuilding returns to earth.

Because the structures uselocal resources – on-site earthand human hands – they are entirelysustainable. Men and women, oldand young, can build using a canto pour earth. Barbed wire andsandbags are supplied locally, andthe stabilizer is also usually locallysourced. The shelters are alsosustainable and efficient in energyterms: the wind and the sun providepassive cooling and heating and thesandbags provide thick walls thatresist changes in temperature.

Since 1982, Nader Khalili has developed and tested the Super-adobe prototype in California. Hehas lectured widely on the concept,and presented his ideas at NASA’sfirst Lunar Habitat Symposium in1984, where he proposed construc-tion with lunar soil. In 1991 hefounded the California Instituteof Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth), a non-profit research andeducational organization that coverseverything from construction on themoon and on Mars to housing designand development for the world’shomeless for the United Nations.Cal-Earth focuses on researching,developing and teaching the tech-nologies of Superadobe. The intensedesert environment of California,with summer temperatures regularlyexceeding 40ºC and harsh winterswith snow and freezing temperatures,flash floods, high winds, and themost dangerous seismic zone inthe United States, has providedan ideal testing ground.

The prototypes have not onlyreceived California building permitsbut have also met the requirementsof the United Nations High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) foremergency housing. Both the UNHCRand the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme have chosen to apply the system, which they used in 1995to provide temporary sheltersfor a flood of refugees cominginto Iran from Iraq.

Throughout the period of proto-type building and testing, Khalili’seducational philosophy has continuedto develop. A distance-teachingprogramme is being tested for thelive broadcast of hands-on instruc-tion directly from Cal-Earth. Manyindividuals have been trained at Cal-Earth to build with these techniquesand are carrying this knowledge tothose in need in many countries ofthe world, from Mongolia to Mexico,India to the United States, andIran, Brazil, Siberia, Chile andSouthAfrica.


56

TJ521-8-2004 IM

UK

HU

C0186 A

ga Khan A

ward F

or Architecture (C

TP

) W:215m

mX

H:278m

m 150L 140 P

rofijt White W

/F M

agenta


Sandbag Shelter PrototypesVarious locations

ArchitectCal-Earth Institute, US: Nader Khalili, conceptand design; Iliona Outram, Project Manager.

ConsultantsP. J. Vittore Ltd, US, and C. W. Howe Associates,US, structural engineers.

Sponsors and clientsNational Endowment for the Arts, US; SouthernCalifornia Institute of Architecture (Sci Arc), US; the Ted Turner Foundation, US; United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP), US andSwitzerland; United Nations High Commissionerfor Refugees (UNHCR), Iran offices; the Bureaufor Alien and Foreign Immigrant Affairs (BAFIA),Iran; Laura Huxley’s Our Ultimate InvestmentFoundation, US; the Rex Foundation, US; KitTremaine, US; the Leventis Foundation, Cyprus;the Flora Family Foundation, US.

Prototypes built to dateHamid Irani and Iraqi refugees at BaninajarCamp, Iran; Eric Hansen, Mexico; Djalal and Shahla Sherafat, Canada; Michelle Queyroyand orphans at the MEG Foundation, India; DadaKrpasundarananda, India, Thailand and Siberia;Mara Cranic, Baja, Mexico; Virginia Sanchis,Brazil; Patricio Calderon, Chile; Jim Guerraand Mexican farmworkers, US; Don Graber, Craig Cranic, Giovanni Panza and YacquiPeople of Sarmiento, Mexico.

TimetableSandbag Shelters (Superadobe): first development, 1992.

Nader Khalili (b. 1937, Iran) trained as an architectin Iran, Turkey and the United States. From 1970 to 1975, he practised architecture in Iran, and hassince dedicated himself to research into buildingwith earth. He has served as a consultant to theUnited Nations (UNIDO) and a contributor toNASA. In 1991, Mr Khalili founded the CaliforniaInstitute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth) in Hesperia, US, and he teachesarchitectural research at Sci Arc. He hasreceived awards from organizations such asthe California chapter of the American Instituteof Architects, for ‘Excellence in Technology’;the United Nations and HUD (US Departmentof Housing and Urban Development), for ‘Shelterfor the Homeless’; and the American Society ofCivil Engineers (Aerospace Division), for hiswork in lunar-base-building technology. He isthe author of five published books, including twotranslations of the work of the thirteenth-centurySufi poet, Jalal-e-Din Mohammad Rumi.

WebsiteCal-Earthwww.calearth.org

floor plan

section 1

section 2

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 24/9/04 1:53 AM Page 56

56

living room

entrance

living room

air vent

entrance

kitchen

diningcounter

solar panels

solar oven

seating

seating

bathroom

bed, niche

living room

air vent

skylight

closet

57

57


TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 17/10/04 5:39 AM Page 57

58

58


TJ521-8-2004 IM

UK

HU

C0186 A

ga Khan A

ward F

or Architecture (C

TP

) W:215m

mX

H:278m

m 150L

140 Profijt W

hite W/F

Magenta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 22/09/2004 7:32 AM Page 58

59

59


TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 22/09/2004 7:33 AM Page 59

60

60


TJ521-8-2004 IM

UK

HU

C0186 A

ga Khan A

ward F

or Architecture (C

TP

) W:215m

mX

H:278m

m 150L 140 P

rofijt White W

/F M

agenta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 24/9/04 2:12 AM Page 60

61

61


TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 24/9/04 2:20 AM Page 61

62

62


TJ521-8-2004 IM

UK

HU

C0186 A

ga Khan A

ward F

or Architecture (C

TP

) W:215m

mX

H:278m

m 150L 140 P

rofijt White W

/F M

agenta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 24/9/04 2:24 AM Page 62

63

63


TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 24/9/04 2:25 AM Page 63

64

64

TJ521-8-2004 IM

UK

HU

C0186 A

ga Khan A

ward F

or Architecture (C

TP

) W:215m

mX

H:278m

m 150L 140 P

rofijt White W

/F M

agenta


TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 24/9/04 2:28 AM Page 64

65

65


TJ5

21-8

-200

4 IM

UK

HU

C01

86 A

ga K

han

Aw

ard

For

Arc

hite

ctur

e (C

TP

) W:2

15m

mX

H:2

78m

m 1

50L

140

Pro

fijt W

hite

W/F

Mag

enta

TJ521-8-2004 P001-101 150L CTP 24/9/04 2:29 AM Page 65

akaa cover final uk/us 20/10

Documents