BROTHERS!
(all of you... seriously, how do all of my brothers work in building construction? I mean, I get it, but like... ALL of you? We couldn't have one Policeman? Painter? Gym Teacher? Conductor? It's coo. - Daniel, get Ai to explain that reference to you.)
The idea for this blog began way back in May when Jigar and I ventured into the Spiti Valley via the small town of Reakong Peo. Little did I know that much of my summer would be learning about traditional Himalayan building techniques and the research going into more efficient and sustainable earth-building practices.
I wanted to show you some of what I found, unfortunately I didn't take the best photos to show case these things... walk with me through my summer in the Himalayas!
The Chandika Devi Temple outside of Reakong Peo
The use of these massive stones between the timbers is what fascinated me the most here.
I didn't learn anything more about that... there you go.
Building a greenhouse at 4400m, Langza, Spiti Valley
using the "rammed earth" method, we layered up the walls,
dumping the Adobe materials into the wall frame section by section,
LEDGeG courtyard stairs,
Which brings us to SECMOL
The whole campus is centered around alternative living, from the education model, to the building construction. They are currently making a new boy's dorm, so we got to see the process in action, on a very large scale...
mixing to make... Adobe bricks!
fresh cut Kashmiri fir (left)
timber features inside of the Timken Hall (above)
south side of the Terra building ft. grape vines (left)
finished cob walls and hardwood floor inside the Terra building (above)
outside of Timken Hall, in typical Himalayan fashion, you can see the poplar timbers of the roof, the black boarder above are the layers of willow branches.
a cafe in Leh, an example of the exposed poplar and willow branches from the ceiling.
(all of you... seriously, how do all of my brothers work in building construction? I mean, I get it, but like... ALL of you? We couldn't have one Policeman? Painter? Gym Teacher? Conductor? It's coo. - Daniel, get Ai to explain that reference to you.)
The idea for this blog began way back in May when Jigar and I ventured into the Spiti Valley via the small town of Reakong Peo. Little did I know that much of my summer would be learning about traditional Himalayan building techniques and the research going into more efficient and sustainable earth-building practices.
I wanted to show you some of what I found, unfortunately I didn't take the best photos to show case these things... walk with me through my summer in the Himalayas!
The Chandika Devi Temple outside of Reakong Peo
The use of these massive stones between the timbers is what fascinated me the most here.
I didn't learn anything more about that... there you go.
we spent much of our time mixing mud and straw to make Adobe,
using the "rammed earth" method, we layered up the walls,
dumping the Adobe materials into the wall frame section by section,
willow branches placed across poplar beams make the base of the roof,
about a foot of mud is placed on top of the wood and packed in
about a foot of mud is placed on top of the wood and packed in
Kunga, our Ecosphere host, the mason and the workers basically pointed us in the directions, I still have know idea what wetness or texture different things need to be or why. Along with rammed earth, we made some Adobe bricks for the front wall! All of the homes in Langza are made with these same techniques and principals. Kunga said the homes typically last about 25 years before they need to be rebuilt, seeing the remnants of the old homes gives a good perspective of the whole process. Of course there's only a few to be seen as the dirt gets reused for other construction.
The biggest resource obstacle is the lack of water due to mild winters...
The biggest resource obstacle is the lack of water due to mild winters...
Leh, Ladakh,
Leh Palace, 16th century, overlooking the main market
I really should've taken more photos here. The Ladakh Ecological Development Group is truly at the forefront of research and implementation of sustainable development practices in Ladakh.
One of my favourite things that I learned here was the use of the double wall. On the south-facing side of a structure, build a thick Adobe wall with regular breaks for the windows, and vents at the base and the top of the wall, paint the outside of it black. About a half foot further out, build a second wall consisting fully of window panes. The idea is to preserve the solar heat in the Adobe wall throughout the night, as it has spent all day warming in the sun. The ventilation circulates the air as needed.
One of my favourite things that I learned here was the use of the double wall. On the south-facing side of a structure, build a thick Adobe wall with regular breaks for the windows, and vents at the base and the top of the wall, paint the outside of it black. About a half foot further out, build a second wall consisting fully of window panes. The idea is to preserve the solar heat in the Adobe wall throughout the night, as it has spent all day warming in the sun. The ventilation circulates the air as needed.
The whole campus is centered around alternative living, from the education model, to the building construction. They are currently making a new boy's dorm, so we got to see the process in action, on a very large scale...
...but first, we looked at soil samples
mixing mud (see how much water you need??)
straw selections
cement bricks, made with old bottles filled with water, to preserve heat
base of cement bricks, Adobe brick on the upper storeys
the lumber yard
fresh cut Kashmiri fir (left)
timber features inside of the Timken Hall (above)
south side of the Terra building ft. grape vines (left)
finished cob walls and hardwood floor inside the Terra building (above)
outside of Timken Hall, in typical Himalayan fashion, you can see the poplar timbers of the roof, the black boarder above are the layers of willow branches.
a cafe in Leh, an example of the exposed poplar and willow branches from the ceiling.
And that's all I got for you!
Spending much of my life surrounded by a bunch of people who build things for a living makes me the person asking all the questions, and spending way too long looking at walls and ceilings... I also learned that rammed earth and Adobe bricks won't work in central Alberta, the soil needs to be sandy. Cob is the way to go for clay soil projects ;P
Hope all of your projects are on track for being closed up for winter.
Much love,
K
Spending much of my life surrounded by a bunch of people who build things for a living makes me the person asking all the questions, and spending way too long looking at walls and ceilings... I also learned that rammed earth and Adobe bricks won't work in central Alberta, the soil needs to be sandy. Cob is the way to go for clay soil projects ;P
Hope all of your projects are on track for being closed up for winter.
Much love,
K
