Superadobe project

What makes it so super? Superadobe is a form of adobe (earthen) construction that uses long snake-like sand bags and barbed wire in buildings with arches and domes, for strong and attractive results. The process was innovated by an Iranian-born architect - activist named Nader Khalili in 1984 in a project sponsored by NASA in pursuit of durable building material for sustainable habitations on the Moon and Mars. The design for Khalili´s superadobe structures met its application in the early 1990s, when large groups of Iraqis found themselves homeless as a result of the Persian Gulf War. Nader Khalili then partnered with the United Nations in order to disseminate his design as a means of emergency refugee shelters. Superadobe construction is a development based on the principles of traditional adobe construction with a few adjustments made to further stabilize the system. Whereas some traditional adobe construction boasts structures standing for over 500 years, traditional adobe is vulnerable to damage by earthquakes. Superadobe, on the other hand, is intended to be earthquake-resistant.^[1] Another benefit of Superadobe construction - which can be said of many natural building techniques - is that renovation is simply a matter of mixing more Superadobe and applying it to the existing structure. Maintenance is therefore easily achieved as structures can be continually improved upon.

The components of traditional adobe construction[edit | edit source]

Traditional adobe construction uses the following materials to form bricks.

• Earth: preferably with a high clay content, this provides structure
• Sand: provides resistance
• Horse Manure: acts as a binder
• Pine Needle or other natural fiber: gives lateral integrity
• Water: creates a paste

The components of Superadobe[edit | edit source]

Superadobe construction uses the following materials to form a paste applied to dome-like structures constructed of sandbags.

• Earth: preferably with high clay content; this provides structure
• Sand: provides resistance
• Cement: acts as a binder and a stabilizer: provides earthquake resistance^[2]

• Water: creates a paste

Pine Needle can also be added, but the use of cement has proven to be very effective in providing structual integrity.

Construction[edit | edit source]

Construction with Superadobe is a relatively simple process. Generally, the required values of materials gives a ratio of

10 earth: 1 sand: 1/5 cement

In our construction, we used the dirt contained with the fallen sandbags of a failed superadobe construction (USE MATH WHEN DESIGNING YOUR DOME). This particular type of sandbag is called a costal,^[3] and contains 60 liters of earth. We applied our paste to a cylindrical wall composed of more repurposed costales from the failed superadobe construction.

Materials[edit | edit source]

• Earth: 10 costales * 60 liter/costal = 600 liter
• Sand: 3 buckets * 20 liter/bucket = 60 liters
• Cement:(.15 bag)* (80 liter bag) = 12 liter
• Water: this material is a bit trickier to measure as every mix is different, depending on the quality of the earth and sand. For our construction,we ended up using about 60 liters of water to procure our paste.

• 

  these sacks full of dirt found on site were the source of earth for our superadobe.

Superadobe mixing[edit | edit source]

• Combine the dry materials, sifted sand and earth to begin with. Mix with shovels, sticks or hoes to achieve a soft brown blend of the two materials. A useful method for mixing well is to create a second mound by heaping all your materials about a meter away from your original mound. After you´ve moved all the material to the second mound, return the material to the original space. The more cycles you repeat of this, the better mixed your superadobe will be. After the sand and earth are well mixed, add the cement and repeat the mixing process.
• Create a crater in your mound of well mixed dry material. Fill the crater with water and proceed to turn the dry materials into the wet. Add the water in frequent but brief amount - best of all is to have a few friends working at once, 2 or 3 mixing and 1 dousing the pile in water. If you have worked with mortar before, you will recognize the desired texture of the end product: not brittle, but definately thicker than cake batter.
• To test the texture of your superadobe paste, try applying it to a costal. If the mix does not adhere to the costal, it is probably too watery ; add more dry material. If the mix does not spread well ùpon the costal, it is probably too brittle; add more water.

• 

  It is recommended that you sift the sand prior to mixing it with the materials. Sifting the sand will eliminate large rocks from your Superadobe and ensure that the resulting paste is smooth and easily applied.

• 

  This is approximately what your heaps should look like.

• 

  Adding cement to a mixed batch of earth + sand.

Here is a video demonstrating proper superadobe mixing technique:

Applying the Paste[edit | edit source]

As said before, we built a cylindrical wall of costales. Alone, the costales had a predicted durability of 10 years before succoming to weathering damage. With our paste, the predicted durability of the wall is 150 years! The term repello^[4] describes the process of maintenance of the wall, and includes intermittently reapplying superadobe paste upon the existing structure to prevent cracking. Cracks are inevitable - people walk into things.

Here is a look (albeit brief) at our completed superadobe wall:

Notes[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

• Wikipedia:Super Adobe
• Wikipedia:Nader Khalili - inventor of Superadobe construction.
• California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth)
• The Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2004. Sandbag Shelter Prototypes, various locations