The potential of earth architecture as low energy design
February 14th, 2010
Guest author: Monika Choudhary
This research investigates the potential of earth masonry as low energy design along with its applicability in sustainable contemporary design. Earth masonry is known for its insulation and sustainability properties. There is a lot of technology available for low energy design such as louvers, complex solar chimneys, various insulation layers, air-tight buildings and innumerable permutations of highly insulated curtain walls.
The question this dissertation tries to answers is how much of this technology is a solution for low energy design. Earth materials generally have very good sustainability characteristics across a broad range of criteria, but different forms of earth construction have different levels of environmental impact depending on their constructional context.
Vernacular materials produced by traditional means can have a remarkably shallow environmental footprint, by utilising very local resources in a low-tech production process. Mass-produced materials, made in industrial construction processes, inevitably have a deeper environmental footprint and this must be examined in some detail if they are to be promoted as being sustainable. The research focuses on thermal performance of the earth masonry and focuses majorly on operational energy rather than embodied energy. The U-value for rammed earth walls is high hence it might be expected to conduct or lose heat from a building. However the large mass of these walls and their thermal time lag in heat transfer from outside to inside may result in the walls performing satisfactorily in a building which is only occupied during working hours like offices.
Tags: architectural association, earth architecture, research, sustainble environmental design, temperate climate
This entry was posted
on Sunday, February 14th, 2010 at 11:08 PM.
Category: Research Initiatives.
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