In a place where most up-to-date buildings are constructed of concrete and cooled by standard air conditioning units, Issoufou’s work shows that classic techniques and materials sourced from the building site are not only better for the environment, but also provide a high-performance option for the people who will occupy them.
Living with a airy touch in Novel Zealand
Embracing this commitment to the land, McDougall designed Kāpiti House, his personal off-grid retreat set on 16 acres of reclaimed wetlands on the Kāpiti Coast, north of Wellington. The house is designed to leave the smallest possible footprint on the environment and is carbon positive in operation, removing more than the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Two vernacular-style farmhouse structures – a 1,750-square-foot barn for the main house and a separate two-story guest tower – form the estate constructed of cross-laminated timber, tempered hardboard, recycled local rim wood, Novel Zealand wool insulation and fly ash concrete. All of these materials have a significantly lower carbon footprint than their standard counterparts. With solar panels, rainwater harvesting, on-site wastewater treatment, and a permaculture garden and orchard, the project is self-sustaining. Passive design strategies, including deep eaves for self-shading, cross-ventilation and a high-efficiency baffle, mean it requires no heating or cooling.
“This approach reflects a shift from designing insulated buildings to designing systems that support the ground over time,” says McDougall. It is also a wonderful example of rural living with a low environmental impact.
Wattle and Daub earthquake resistant in Chile
In extremely seismically dynamic Chile, an 8,000-year-old housing technique has proven to be one of the best defense methods. The quincha, or half-timbered building, covers an interwoven wooden structure (hut) with a mixture of mud and straw (daub), secured with a skinny layer of lime plaster. The wood’s lattice structure and high thermal mass make it inherently stable, allowing it to shake without damage.
The antique method – which is both sustainable and hyper-local because the components can usually be found locally – is now being revived by forward-thinking architects to develop earthquake-resistant and passively cooled housing designs across the country. Outside the capital Santiago, architect Marcelo Cortés recently designed the two-story, 1,075-square-foot Casa Peñalolén using quincha metálica, a contemporary version of a technique that involves a steel frame and metal wire using tecno-barro, or lime-stabilized mud, to strengthen walls and ceilings.
Architects Bárbara Barreda and Felipe Sepulveda, co-founders of Chilean firm Base Studio, also explore the historic architectural style in a recent organic form, adding local clay to the mix of materials while surrounding the house with 10,000 fired tiles. Although the project is still in the implementation phase, this fall the duo is building a 1:1 scale model.
Bamboo, bricks and recycled plastics in Malaysia
Illustration: Ibrahim Rayintakath
Architect Eleena Jamil built her namesake firm in the Malaysian state of Selangor around contextual architecture, “a departure from the modernist ideal of the air-conditioned glass box common in many developing tropical regions,” she explains. “In Malaysia, the standard way of building [contemporary] the houses are based on reinforced concrete ceiling slabs and frames, and the walls are made of plastered brick. Roofs are usually supported by metal trusses and covered with interlocking tiles. Her practice aims to present a low-carbon, local alternative.