1. Nourishing Dhaka
The design of an innovative, scalable, low-
cost, carbon-positive community for climate
change refugees.
Climate change Rising levels of atmospheric CO2
and other emitted greenhouse gases is
causing anthropogenic global climate change.
Refugees As a result, rising seas, and more severe and frequent storms have destroyed
villages, forcing people into cities to find work. Bangladesh houses the most
climate refugees of any country, most often in Dhaka from the rural south.
Urban expansion The world’s urban population experienced a 15-fold increase during the last
century. Overcrowded megacities are growing faster than their infrastructure.
Dhaka, the world’s fastest growing megacity, is home to 17 million people.
Carbon sequestration Living materials, such as plants, bacteria, and algae, are able to pull greenhouse
gases from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Mycorrhizal fungi help
convert this carbon into soil.
Low-cost shelter Most Bangladeshis live on less than $2 a day. In Dhaka, a majority of the
population lives in slums, lacking access to their basic human rights. This figure
is especially high among migrants.
Living materials Many natural materials may be grown from waste products at zero to minimal
cost. Mushroom bricks and crops are examples of organic waste matter
converted into useful products.
Jordan Solomonic
Thesis 2015-16
Concept We are inexorably part of the systems and cycles of nature. This project aims to
highlight the common misconception that we are able to create a world that is
distinctly human.
2. Dhaka, Bangladesh
Location Dhaka is located in a river basin and is
surrounded by eight rivers. Two-thirds
of the city falls into the flood-flow zone.
Population Dhaka is the world’s 8th
largest
and fastest-growing megacity. Its
population is growing by 4% annually.
Demographics Nearly half of Dhaka’s population
live in slums. Wages are lower than
anywhere in the world.
General information
History and Culture Bangladesh gained independence
from Pakistan in 1971. Most
Bangladeshis are Bengali Muslims.
Traditional Housing Mud and bamboo, available in the
Ganges delta, are the most common
building materials in Bangladesh.
A large portion of the Dhaka’s population lack
access to basic rights, making the city nearly
uninhabitable. With a high reproductive rate and
selective migration, 40% of the city is under 14.
Bangladesh has historic ties to the Indian
subcontinent. 90% of the nation’s population is
Muslim and 9% are Hindus. The average family
size is 4.4 and cricket is the most popular sport.
Dhaka is home to 17 million people, up from 12
million in 2005, and 6 million in 1990. It is projected
to have 20 million inhabitants by 2020. Bangladesh
is growing at 1.22% annually, with the US at .75%.
Age Demographics
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is located in the
country’s geographic center. Dhaka’s most urgent
issue to date is urban flooding. New development is
occurring in wetlands, exacerbating the problem.
Traditional mud houses are highly resistant to
cyclones and tidal surges. Their thick walls and
thatched roofs provide thermal comfort. However,
the houses are susceptible to earthquake damage.
Bangladesh United States
3. Carbon and Climate Change
Global Carbon Cycle Carbon is cycled through the planet
through a variety of natural and man-
made processes.
Climate Change Carbon emissions are causing
increased temperatures, sea level rise,
and more severe and frequent storms.
Carbon Sequestration Biotic sequestration is a natural
process and win-win scenario. Abiotic
is man-made and not cost-effective.
Adaptation and mitigation
Terrestrial Carbon This project will act as a carbon sink,
using the natural process of biotic
terrestrial carbon sequestration.
Drawdown Drawdown is the point at which
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
begin to decline (drawdown.org).
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The rate of warming averaged over the past 50
years is nearly twice the rate for the past 100 years.
Global surface temperature will increase by at least
2.0°C by the next century. (IPCC)
Within this process, humans, through fossil fuel
combustion and deforestation are moving carbon to
the atmosphere. To the right, the storage and flux
of carbon is measured in Gigatons.
Biotic carbon sequestration enhances ecosystem
and agricultural services. As a result, it is both
economically and environmentally positive. This
occurs through photosynthesis and soil building.
Soil is the major carbon sink in the biosphere,
holding nearly 3 times the carbon as crop biomass.
Terrestrial carbon sequestration is the process of
converting atmospheric carbon to soil.
Drawdown is the overarching goal of sustainable
practices. This project is looking to contribute to a
global drawdown of atmospheric carbon pollution.
4. Climate Change in Dhaka
Effects and strategiesg
Climate Dhaka experiences a hot, wet, and
humid tropical climate. Most rainfall
occurs during the monsoon season.
Climate Change Effects Climate change is triggering a
migration the likes of which the world
has never before seen.
Rapid Urbanization
Urban Flooding
The city of Dhaka is seeing rampant
overcrowding and floodplain
development, increasing future risks.
Climate Refugees With estimates between 15 and 30
million, Bangladesh has more climate
refugees than any other country.
In 1970 a Category-3 tropical cyclone killed 500,000
Bangladeshis. With the onset of climate change,
Dhaka is facing even greater risks due to more
severe storms and high population density.
Although it emits less than 0.1% of global
greenhouse gases, low-lying Bangladesh is one of
the most vulnerable countries in the world to the
effects of climate change.
Temperatures never drop below freezing and 80%
of the city’s rain falls between May and September.
The southwest monsoon occurs between tropical
storm seasons, and tornadoes are very common.
Bangladeshi climate refugees often move to the
slums of Dhaka in search of a new livelihood. As
the massive migration continues, half of Dhaka’s
population is expected to live in slums by 2050.
Urban flooding is the primary climate
risk facing the city and it occurs mostly
during the monsoon season.
According to the IPCC, Bangladesh will lose 17
percent of its land by 2050 and Director of NASA’s
Goddard Institute, James Hanson, predicts the
entire country could be under water by 2100.
Winter Wind Pre-monsoon
Monsoon Post-monsoon
Precipitation (mm) and
Days with Precipitation
Sea Level (m)
5. Dhaka, Bangladesh
Economy and Industry Garments account for 80 percent
($18b) of manufacturing exports and
will triple by 2020.
Land Use
Industry and land use
Pollution
Dhaka is experiencing massive
overcrowding and development has
occurred within flood-flow zones.
Sweatshops and
Exploitation
Bangladesh has the cheapest labor in
the world. Minimum wage (garment)
is $37/month, and was $20 in 2010.
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Manufacturing development has occurred along
waterways and roads for easy shipment of raw
materials and finished products. This development
is making the city more vulnerable to floods.
Bangladesh is experiencing export-oriented
industrialization, with the US as the its largest
trading partner. The maps below shows clusters of
development around Export Processing Zones.
82.8% of Bangladesh’s 150 million people live on an
income averaging less than $2 a day. With double-
digit inflation, protest and clashes with police have
become increasingly common.
$37
Bangladesh
Minimum Monthly Wage at 40 hrs/wk
USA
$1,276
Brick manufacturing is a major source
of pollution. Associated annual health
costs are estimated at $1million/kiln.
2,200-4,000 premature deaths and 0.2-0.5 million
asthma attacks per year have been linked to brick
manufacturing in Dhaka. With cleaner practices,
health cost savings could be $1/4 billion by 2020.
Manufacturing GGarment Industry
Flood-flow Zones Land Use over Time
Brick Kiln Locations Airborne Particulate
6. Slums of Dhaka
Informal Settlements 40 percent of Dhaka’s population lives
in slums beside railway tracks, along
riverbanks, and on swampy lowlands.
Slum Populations Three-quarters of the residents living
in Dhaka’s slums were migrants, with
recent migrants being poorest.
Korail Dhaka’s largest slum is home to
roughly 70,000 people. Sanitation is
absent and outbreaks are common.
Informal settlements in the megacity
Housing The most common housing condition
in Dhaka’s slums is an 85ft2
semi-
permanent, tin-roofed rental unit for 5.
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Measured on a per capita basis, the largest number
of migrants come from Barisal in the south. In
this area of the low-lying Ganges delta, land is
especially susceptible to sea-level rise.
Slum dwellers often have sporadic access to stolen
electricity, share hand-pumped water with as many
as 200 people, use communal open toilet pits, and
lack access to waste treatment.
The typical construction is one room of steel sheets
held up with wooden poles. During the monsoon
season, cholera and malaria are common as
residents wade through muck and excrement.
Most houses are considered semi pucca structures
with brick walls. Temporary, weak kutcha structures
were nearly as common. The average community
has 8 families per tap and 4 families per latrine.
Slums of Dhaka Metropolitan Area
Ward Number 17
Slum Population
by Origin
Barisal
Faridpur
Comilla
Mymensingh
Rangpur
22.7%
9.2%
9.1%
7.3%
4.6%
Latrine Access
by Type
Pit
Sewerage/septic
Hanging
Open
Water sealed
46.3%
33.7%
13.9%
3.2%
1.9%
7. Client
Refugees I use the term refugee to refer to
Internally Displaced Persons, the
UNHCR uses person of concern.
Refugee Population Climate change refugees are moving
into Dhaka to find a new livelihood
after the destruction of their land.
Slum Population
On average, household income in
slums is $45 a month, water and
latrines are shared by 9 families.
Climate refugees
Bangladeshi Culture Much of daily life in Bangladesh takes
place under a veranda. People speak
Bangla and eat rice, fish and curry.
Work
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Experts expect 250 million people to be forced
to move by 2050. Of those, 20-30 million are
expected to be in Bangladesh, likely the largest
number from one place.
The International Organization for Migration says
about 70 percent of slum dwellers have come
to Dhaka because of climate-change adversity.
Dhaka is the primary city for receiving in-migrants.
The majority of those who live in slums pull
rickshaws or work as part-time domestics. Others,
mostly women, work for apparel industries.
Children often scavenge instead of going to school.
Female migrants, seeking education
and marriage, are often younger than
males who move in search of work.
Rickshaw driver
Common Employment
Apparel industry
Women residing in slums were much more likely
to be engaged in paid employment than their male
counterparts and have a somewhat higher level of
education. Many migrants earn less than $1 a day.
than men but these rules are relatively relaxed
in cities. The harmonium, tabla, and sitar are
common musical instruments.
8. Mushrooms
Life Cycle The mushroom, the reproductive part
of the fungus releases spores in a
process known as sporulation.
Cultivation Mushrooms may be cultivated indoors
or outdoors. They feed by breaking
down nutrients, some require light.
Mycoremediation Fungi are biological gateway species
for remediation, producing enzymes
which convert oil into fungal sugars.
Biology and use
Fungal Carbon
Sequestration
Fungi sequester carbon in the form
of calcium oxalates and in soil when
living symbiotically with an autotroph.
Symbionts Lichens are fungal filaments filled with
algae. Endophytic and mycorrhizal
fungi associate with plant roots.
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Upper
cortex
Algal
layer
Medulla
Crustose Lichen
Lichens are symbionts whose parts cannot survive
alone. Algae capture carbon in photosynthesis.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are found in 80% of
plants and store carbon through soil aggregation.
Autotrophs are organisms which create their
own food. The hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi form
symbioses with plant roots, allowing both to grow
much faster. Carbon in the hyphae remains in soil.
Mushrooms, grown from hydrocarbons, sporulate
and attract insects, whose larvae are eaten by
birds, who bring in seeds, which sprout into plants.
Our best antibiotics also come from fungi.
After choosing a mushroom spawn and substrate,
the next step is inoculation. Given the right
environment, the growing medium will fill with
mycelium until mushrooms are ready for harvest.
Spores land and produce mycelium underground.
As the mycelium grow, they produce a small
mushroom covered in a universal veil. The
mushroom breaks through the veil as it grows.
9. Materials
Mycelium Materials Mycoworks
San Fransisco, CA
2015
Filatures BiotA Lab
Bartlett School of Architecture, London
2015
Mycelium
Myclium Material Study Studio Mur Mur
Chicago, IL
2014
Mycofiber Fortifiber
Fernley, NV
2014
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These materials are glued together through the
growth of mycelia. They are designed to various
specifications and may be altered with standard
shop tools.
This project explores robotic extrusion printing
of cellulose-based materials as a physical and
nutritional architectural scaffold for the growth of
mycelium.
This architecture studio tested a variety of
mushroom material substrates and reinforcing
methods for their structural capabilities. The report
is completely open source.
Fortifiber backs Ecovative’s rigid foam sheathing
with building paper for weather protection. This is
the first of many steps towards Ecovative’s goal of
developing a whole wall system.
MycoTEX Aniela Hoitink
Mediamatic Myco Design, Amsterdam
2014
As part of the Myco Design Lab Exposition at
Mediamatic Fabriek, Aniela aimed to develop a new
composite material, combining textile and mycelium
for architectural applications.
10. Culture
Religion Islam is the predominant religion in
Bangladesh. The nation’s monuments
are stylistically tied to India.
Traditional Architecture Various vernacular architectures of
Bangladesh use local materials and
are adapted to the tropical climate.
Use of space In traditional Bangladesh, the veranda
is the place where most of life occurs.
Everyday cooking is done outdoors.
Influence on Architecture
Formal beliefs Vastu Vidya is the ancient Indian
science of architecture dating back
3500 years.
Contemporary Bangladesh has the lowest minimum
wage of any country. Architecture is
often made with unfinished materials.
Historically, the country has been part of Buddhist
and Muslim empires. As a result, much of the
traditional architecture is Moorish in style.
While there are distinct differences between the
architectural styles of the tribes of Bangladesh, they
employ the courtyard typology and use the grasses
and mud widely available in the river delta.
Culturally, Bengalis are separated by gender,
often at meals. However, this distinction is not as
prevalent in the city. Also, when outdoor kitchens
are enclosed, a new one is built for everyday use.
The Manasara and Mayamata are important
treatises which describe rules for building. The
Vastu Purusha Mandala, the master grid for design,
symbolizes the cosmic man on an ordered site.
Although uncorrupted institutions and women’s
education are some long-term solutions to
Bangladesh’s troubles, inexpensive, beautiful
architecture can help provide some hope.
11. Suzanne Lee
Central Saint Martins, London
2010
BioCouture Jacket
Materials
Bio-receptive Concrete Richard Beckett & Marcos Cruz
Bartlett School of Architecture, London
2015
Self-Healing Concrete Henk Jonkers
TU Delft, Netherlands
2013
Living materials
Polyominoes Mycoworks
San Francisco, CA
2013
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This interdisciplinary research proposal aimed to
develop an innovative wall-panel system capable
of growing microorganisms directly on its surface.
Bio-receptive materials strive to act like tree bark.
When these mycelium bricks are placed in contact
with each other for a period as short as one day,
they form an organic weld that permanently fuses
them together.
In Vitro Meat Habitat Terreform One
Brooklyn, NY
2008
Architectural proposal for the fabrication of 3D
printed extruded pig cells to form organic dwellings.
Intended as a victimless shelter.
This concrete is colonized with calcite-precipitating
extremophile bacteria which can repair cracks in
the concrete. A potential downside is the inability
to kill the organisms as they continuously grow.
Lee’s garment is made of bacterial cellulose grown
in sweetened green tea. It is part of her collection
of compostable biofilm wearables.
12. Materials
Mycotecture Phil Ross
Monterey, California
2009
Hy-fi The Living, Arup
MoMA PS1, New York
2014
Mush-Bloom Planters Danielle Trofe
Brooklyn, NY
2014
Mycelium blocks
Mushroom Insulation Ecovative
Green Island, NY
2014
Veiled Lady Stool Eric Klarenbeek
The Netherlands
2014
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Composed of reishi mushrooms and chopsticks,
these blocks have mushrooms growing on one side
to showcase the material. While on exhibit, visitors
were invited to drink tea made from the bricks.
Organic, biodegradable bricks composed of farm
waste and mycelial cultures are grown over 5 days
in a mold. The Living used a digital process to
optimize form and determine brick placement.
Danielle partnered with ecovative to grow planters
from agricultural waste and liquid mycelium. At the
end of its life, mush-bloom can be composted.
Ecovative’s renewable biomaterial solidifies
through the growth of roots (hyphae/ mycelium).
Materials are baked to halt growth. This insulation
showcases the variable densities of the product.
Mycelial materials are 3D printed and grown inside
a bioplastic scaffold. Eric fabricated an open-
source 3D printer with heads for both materials.
Mushrooms grow out of openings in the scaffold.
13. Case Studies
Modular Bamboo Hotel Penda
Vienna/Beijing for China competition
2014
Sen Village
Community Center
Vo Trong Nghia
Sen Village, Vietnam
2015
Bamboo construction
This flexible, modular bamboo structure can easily
expand both vertically and horizontally. Joints are
tied with rope to allow for easy reassembly. Leaves
minimal impact on the site.
A forest of clustered bamboo columns fills the
dining room of this Vietnam restaurant. The design
had to be easily constructed by local builders using
materials readily available nearby.
Wind and Water Bar Vo Trong Nghia
Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
2012
This thatched bamboo dome is located at the center
of a lake in Vietnam. The lengths of bamboo are
bound together and bent into arches.
Son La Restaurant Vo Trong Nghia
Son La Province, Vietnam
2014
The community center’s thatch-covered roof is
supported by 28 arched and rope-bound bamboo
frame units. A circular skylight at the top admits
light and air and provides passive cooling.
14. Materials
Emerging technologies
Bloom DOSU Studio Architecture
Los Angeles, California
2012
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Bloom illustrates the emulation of botanical
behavior in nonbiological materials. In the presence
of direct sunlight, bimetal strips will curve upward,
admitting light into the open air pavilion.
Fungi Mutarium Livin Studio, Utrecht University
Austria
2014
This project uses a new process to cultivate edible
fungi that digests plastic as it grows. Oyster
mushrooms, used in mycoremediation, are used to
convert waste plastic and toxins into food.
Bamboo Reinforcing Dirk Hebel
Zurich, Swizerland
2015
As a composite with organic resin, bamboo fibers
have a stronger strength-to-weight ratio than steel
at a fraction of the cost. The material performs
comparably to carbon fiber at 1% of the cost.
Pervious Branching BiotA Lab
Bartlett School of Architecture, London
2015
This project focuses on the design engineering
of bioreceptive bricks with a pH level of 7-8 for
the colonization of moss species. Cementitious
compounds are 3D printed into the final form.
Biological Concrete Sandra Manso
Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
2012
Researchers at UPC’s Structural Technology Group
have developed a vertical multilayer concrete
which acts as a biological support for the growth of
microalgae, fungi, lichens, and moss.
15. Materials
Ecooler Mey + Boaz Kahn
Ramot Hashavim, Israel
2010
Edible Growth Chloe Rutzerveld
Netherlands
2014
Materials
Calera
Los Gatos, CA
2008
This 3D printed brick holds water for passive
cooling in hot and dry climates. It is inspired by
the Muscatese evaporative cooling window, which
combines a wood screen and a ceramic jug.
Virginia San Fratello & Ronald Rael
Oakland, CA
2015
This ceramic tile uses water to passively cool
in arid climates. It is based on the traditional
mashrabiya screen, which lets air and light into
spaces, and the jara jug, which cools water.
Seeds, spores, and yeast are 3D printed to form
this future food. Within 5 days the plants and fungi
mature and the yeast ferments the solid inside into
a liquid. Still conceptual.
Calcium Carbonate
Cement
Low-cost Reinforcing Natural Fiber Reinforced Concrete
MIT Department of Architecture
2002
Steel reinforcing is expensive and often critically
underused in developing countries. Natural fibers
retain carbon and are strong in tension. This study
found an optimal flax fiber reinforcing length of 3”.
Cool Brick
Calcium carbonate cement is carbon positive
because its raw ingredients are water and pollution.
This material is made using the process that
marine organisms use to produce shells and reefs.
17. Phase 1Areas of InterestSlums
Katcha (Temporary) Flood ZonesPucca (Permanent)Semi-Pucca (Transitional)
Manufacturing
Impervious Cover Permeable Cover Vegetation Water
Maps
Land Use and Planningg
20. Refugee Community
Program and standardsg
Restrooms
Community amenitiesEnergy
Bathing
Community sizeTotal area per person
Water
Cooking
Shelter per person
48ft2
Although minimum standards are often cited in refugee camp design, life that
is expandable, positive, and enhancing requires more than the bare minimum.
Numbers have been increased beyond minimum upon further research.
Buildings, amenities, roads, open spaces, growth
960ft2
Renewable microgrid
100-160 people, 27 shelters
1 per family2 taps per family
Efficient stoves in kitchens
1 per family
Park, nursery, market, workshop, library, worship
6 people per shelter
21. Low Cost Solutions
Air Air is filtered with indoor plants.
Planters may face in, out or both.
Carbon and toxins are removed.
Food The small gardens described here will
not provide full nutritional need in this
dense urban setting.
Technical Aspects and Case Studies
Using a variety of brick types, plants may be grown
on the walls. Species such as florist’s daisy, peace
lily, song of India, lady palm, and oyster mushrooms
break down environmental toxins as they grow.
The project will be interdependent with the existing
market and bazar system of Dhaka. New market
spaces may also be built in the community, utilizing
this new architectural typology.
Water and Sanitation
Cooking Efficient low-cost stoves are provided
in shared kitchens. Biomass is used
in lieu of the spotty electrical grid.
The low-smoke chulha is a clay biomass cookstove
which saves fuel and vents smoke through a stack
of slotted clay tablets to remove particulates.
Municipal water is currently available
in 90 percent of Dhaka’s slums.
Composting latrines will be provided.
Water access will be universal, harvested rain and
graywater will be reused. Easy Latrines are low-
cost, do not require indoor plumbing, and convert
humanure to usable compost in 2 years.
Energy and lighting One solar panel and battery per
house, minimal LED lighting, and wind
power at the community scale.
Electricity production will provide for efficient lighting
and USB electronics charging. Lighting will be
adjustable, directional, and sufficient for night-time
navigation and safety.
25. Engineering Considerations
Technical Details
Material/ Process CO2e/ Unit #Units Ctot (kg) Notes
Bioplastic 2.32 kg/kg 27 62.64 Shrink wrap (x3)
Flax Oil 1.915 kg/kg 21 40.215 Waterproofing (x3)
Timber Piles 6.73E-03 kg/kg 415 2.794 Footings (3 @ 14'x10")
Bamboo 5.72E-03 kg/kg 700 4.006 Framing (at 85% of pine)
Jute Twine 2.581 kg/kg 0.5 1.291 Lashing
Transport by van 3.70E-03 kg/tkm 500 1.85 Timber and Mold Delivery
Polycarbonate sheets 7.788 kg/kg 5.4 42.1 Molds
Thermoforming 0.7824 kg/kg 5.4 4.22 Mold Processing
Wood chips 1.10E-02 kg/kg 800 8.76 Brick substrate (x2)
Public Space Allocation 0.4 kg/kg 168 67 40% of housing total
Solar Panels 104.1 kg/kg 15 1562 180W/ house
Electronics 253 kg/kg 1 253 DC Electrical System
Lithium Ion Battery 5.827 kg/kg 1.5 8.74 1 per courtyard
Electricity Production Offset -0.0809 kg/kWh 25550 -2066 solar minus coal at 15yr
Landfill Divergence -0.031 kg/kg 1000 -31 Waste to brick/ compost
Soil Carbon Sequestration -0.15 kg/kg 350 -52.5 15% of non-ag soil mass
Total Emitted Carbon (kgCO2e) -91.29
Carbon Accounting
Waterproofing Mushroom bricks are waterproofed
using natural resins and upper walls
are made of bioplastic shrink wrap.
Blown flax oil, polymerized through oxidation, and
natural shellac from lac insects are both non-toxic
waterproofers which are locally available. Heavy-
duty shrink films are widely available.
Ventilation Strategy Specialty shrink wrap zippers, often
used for access will be used as
ventilation apertures.
Zippers will provide for climate control. Passive
ventilation will be optimized to provide for maximum
exposure to summer breezes from the south.
Site Considerations
26. Material Palate
Roof and Floor The primary roofing material is shrink
wrap and the primary flooring material
is soil cement.
Apertures Windows and doors are framed with
bamboo. Instead of glass, transparent
shrink wrap is used.
Inexpensive local materials
Bricks Bricks are grown and fused using
mycelium. Minor variations allow the
bricks to integrate with a diagrid.
Interior Partitions
and Screen walls
Traditional bamboo mat walls are
prevalent and many weaving patterns
are available.
The roof consists of a faceted bamboo frame sealed
with translucent shrink wrap. The floor is made of
bamboo matting, and covered in natural clay-based
textile-reinforced soil cement.
Bamboo is the framing material used for structure
and apertures. Much of the material used can be
grown in less than one year.
Bricks walls are reinforced with vertical bamboo
members. Bricks sequester carbon through the
interaction of mycorrhizal fungi and plant roots in a
layering material typology.
These lightweight walls can admit light and air
with low density patterns. Mat walls provide visual
privacy at denser patterns. They may also be
plastered for enhanced insulation.
Structure The primary frame is composed of
bamboo lashed together in a loose
diagrid with jute rope.
This method is fuses traditional skills with locally
available and rapidly renewable materials.
Furthermore, through the integration of a courtyard
typology, vernacular traditions are suggested.
27. Bamboo Details
Typical Connections
Traditional Framing Details are adapted from methods
used in traditional bamboo frame
houses of rural Bangladesh.
y
Bamboo is the most commonly used building
material in Bangladesh. Dwellings built among
different groups share a similar system of lashed
bamboo structural framing.
Namoshudra Housing The Namoshudra People of Southern
Bangladesh traditionally live in houses
arranged around a courtyard.
Common materials include bamboo, jute, coconut
fiber, chon (a local grass), and wicker. Diagonal
lashing with jute is the most common framing
method. Courtyard layouts are inward facing.
Vernacular Adaptation Learning from the local vernacular, the
design of this community will adapt to
the conditions of present-day Dhaka.
Principles which have evolved over millennia to
mitigate flood risk and increase occupant comfort
in a tropical deltaic region are crucial starting points
for innovation in this project.
Notching and
Lashing Methods
Typical Peg and
Lashing Details
28. Sustainability
Social, Economic, and Environmental
Grow the
community
Train and
educate
Intial Building
Blocks
Community Brick
Fabrication
Site Infrastructure Seed community
HarvestPlant Grow
Scale Brick Production
35. Oyster mushrooms at
farmer’s market
Set up workspace
Lab Process
Mushroom bricks from tissue culture
Wait for mycelium to grow
Set up clean room
Obtain sterile tissue sample
from center of mushroom
Inoculate sterilized grain
spawn with mycelium
Sterilize materials in
pressure cooker
Carefully add mushroom
tissue to agar
Transfer colonized spawn
to substrate, wait 3 days
Slant test tubes
Label individual strains
Add colonized substrate to
mold, bake after one week
36. Case Studies
Spatium Gelatum Zbigniew Oksiuta
Venice Biennale
2004
New technology
I’m Lost in Paris R&Sie(n)
Paris France
2008
Alga(e)zebo
Photobioreactors
Columns within this pergola contain CO2
consuming algae and local bacteria. Irregular
edges allow plants to grow and intermingle.
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Urban Algae Folly EcoLogic Studio
Expo Milan
2015
Richard Beckett
London, England
2012
Spirulina microalgae oxygenate air while absorbing
as much CO2
as a 4 hectare forest. The skin
is composed of ETFE to house the algae while
providing shade for visitors.
The exterior of this double skin is clad with 1200
hydroponic ferns and 300 glass components for
bacterial culture.
Sphere grown from a gel of biological polymers
suspended in agar solution, congealed around a
balloon. He also grew organisms on polymeric 3D
scaffolds for his Trangenic Habitat Project.
Horten Law Offices 3XN Architects
Copenhagen, Denmark
2009
The architects of this law office used a digital
fabrication process to construct an intricate
geometry out of a few repetitive pieces.
37. Concrete Canvas
Shelter
The $700 House
Concrete Canvas
Pontypridd, UK
2007
Jan Schreiber, Stefan Becker
Berlin, Germany
2009
Transforming a Slum
into a Paradise
Khondaker Hasibul Kabir
Korail, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2014
A local Landscape Architect has developed
strategies to ameliorate the effects of climate
change in Dhaka’s largest slum. One of his
projects is the Platform of Hope, built over a lake.
paraSITE Michael Rakowitz
Cambridge, Masachussets
1998
Progressive Shelters Design Without Borders
Guatemala
2002
The first two phases of this shelter are temporary.
In its final phase, the shelter made permanent
by covering the walls with concrete, building
foundation walls, and adding plumbing and electric.
For less than $5, this shelter can be carried in a
bag and deployed on an exhaust duct of a host
building, instantly inflating and providing radiant
heat to the homeless occupant.
Case Studies
Minimal shelters
Designed for post-disaster Latin America, this
20m2
brick house is earthquake resistant, is easily
dismantled and moved, and can be assembled in
two days by inexperienced workers.
This 270 or 580ft2
shelter is made of a flexible,
concrete impregnated fabric that hardens when
hydrated around a self-inflatable inner. It can be
constructed by two people in under an hour.
38. SpaceSafe
Case Studies
Kilis Refugee Camp Turkish Government
Kilis, Turkey
2012
Flat Pack Refugee
Shelter
Ikea Foundation, UNHCR
The Netherlands
2013
Refugee housingg g
This camp of 2,053 identical containers for
14,000 Syrian civilians has planned infrastructure,
amenities like schools, workshops, and grocery
stores, and is remarkably well-maintained.
Largo Refugee Camp UNHCR
Largo, Sierra Leone
2003
Jimmi Bagbo
Refugee Camp
Hiroshi Imai
Jimmi, Sierra Leone
2001
10’
23’
Kitchen
With a total population of 7,000 inhabitants living in
1,564 individual shelters in 101 communities, each
shelter averages 4.5 people and each community is
composed of 16 shelters.
With a total population of 6,100 people living in
1,221 shelters across 115 communities, each
shelter averages 5 inhabitants and communities
are composed of 12 shelters each.
Bathroom
This shelter comes in flat-pack boxes and takes
around four hours to construct without tools. At
17.5m2
it can house 5 people for at least 3 years. It
includes solar panel with usb charger and a light.
Christian Dalsgaard, et al.
Denmark
2007
SpaceSafe shelters are tagged with a green color
with a unique spectral signature, which is visible
on satellite images. This enables aid agencies to
locate their individual shelters, facilitating planning.
39. Super Adobe Cal-Earth
Baninajar Refugee Camp, Iran
1995
The $625 4.6m2
shelters were designed for UNDP
and UNHCR. They are made of sandbags and
barbed wire (tools of war), coated in clay and fired
from inside, becoming strong and water resistant.
Case Studies
Hybrid Muscle Pavilion R&Sei(n), Philippe Parreno
Chang Mai, Thailand
2003
Magunubwe
Interpretation Center
Peter Rich Architects
Limpopo, South Africa
2009
Low-cost building techniquesg
The Hybrid Muscle pavilion generates all the
electrical power it needs from the work of a single
large ox lifting a two-ton weight.
The Hobbit House Simon and Jasmine Dale
Wales, UK
2003
Nepal Project Shigeru Ban Architects
Nepal
2015
This building system can be assembled by
connecting modular 3’x7’ wooden frames and
infilling with rubble bricks. The roof is made of a
paper tube truss, covered in plastic and thatch.
This house was built for $4,650, mostly using
materials found on-site. It is dug into a hillside and
is well-insulated with straw bales under the floor
and an intensive living roof.
The unreinforced, unfired earth tiles that make up
the compression structure use 75% less energy
than reinforced concrete, are made with a hand-
press and are ready to use within one week.
40. Case Studies
DESI School Anna Heringer
Radrapur, Bangladesh
2008
Hopi Nation
Elder Home
Nathaniel Corum
Hotevilla, Arizona
2005
Traditional technologiesg
The building has a ground floor of loam (silt & clay),
rice straw, and water, compacted by water buffalo.
The remainder is constructed of woven bamboo. It
uses passive heating/ cooling, and solar electricity.
Maasai Integrated
Shelter Project
Intermediate Tech. Development Group
Kajiado, Kenya
1999
These $721 houses improve upon traditional cow-
dung plastering with rammed earth and cement-
stabilized soil blocks. New roofs of chicken-wire-
reinforced cement allow for rainwater collection.
Sra Pou Vocational
Center
Rudanko + Kankkunen
Sra Pou, Cambodia
2011
This building uses structural straw bales to
encourage independence in building financing
and construction. The material is low-cost and
highly-insulating.
Green School John and Cynthia Hardy
Bali, Indonesia
2008
The largest bamboo building in the world was built
with traditional techniques and new forms. Bamboo
reaches maturity in 4 years and produces 35%
more oxygen than an equivalent grove of trees.
Made of local materials - red earth, sand, straw,
cement, and bamboo - the school required no
machine-made or prefabricated components.
41. Case Studies
Plane-Tree-Cube
Nagold
Ferdinand Ludwig
Stuttgart, Germany
2012
Harmonia 57 Triptyque
São Paulo, Brazil
2008
Living Structures
Sportplaza Mercator VenhoevenCS
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2006
g
This leisure centre is designed as an overgrown,
camouflaged fortress next to the entrance to the
city. Both roof and elevations are covered with fifty
species of plants.
Musée du Quai Branly
Living Wall
Patrick Blanc
Paris, France
2006
Harmonia 57 treats and reuses rainwater, mitigates
high temperatures and utilizes Brazil’s heavy rains.
The structure is made of organic concrete, which
absorbs water and hold plants in its niches.
This vertical garden is built of a metal-framed, soil-
free self-supporting growing system of polyamide felt
stapled to expanded PVC. Drip irrigation at the top
delivers a diluted fertilizer mixture.
Living Roof Bridges Khasi Tribe
Cherapunjee, Northeast India
Traditional
The Khasi people have been building root bridges
for centuries. These bridges, grown out of rubber
ficus roots and guided by hollowed-out betel nut
trunks take from 7 to 15 years to mature.
This is the largest and first urban baubotanical
building to date. A scaffold is erected with trees in
planters. Once the branches grow strong and fuse,
the planters and scaffolding are removed.
42. Case Studies
Flowing Gardens Groundlab
Xi’an Intl. Horticultural Expo, China
2011
Formal precedents
Traditional SE Asian
Tropical House
The tropical house is open, light, and
airy. Inhabitants are lifted up into
breezes and away from damp earth.
Three main sites are connected by bridge or boat.
The design of the landscape hybridizes the natural
and artificial.
Folk Art Galleries Kengo Kuma
China Academy of Arts
2015
This building is designed to look like a small village
with each section appearing as a small house. The
design uses tiles discarded from local housing to
blend into its environment and reuse waste.
Kip Erik Kessels
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Dutch Design Week 2015
This pavilion was constructed of steel scaffold and
shrink wrap. This faceted design was intended to
look like a giant inhabitable chicken.
Panda Watching Zhe Peng
Xueshan, China
2014
The design proposes a post-earthquake
reconstruction of Xueshan, known as the hometown
of the panda. The project revives traditional
construction techniques and uses bamboo.
Its large roof provides maximum shade and the high
ridge allows warm air to vent out the upturned ends.
The high, steep profile provides protection against
heavy downpours during the monsoon season.
