Architectural Details to Reduce Embodied and Operational Carbon

摘要

Handmade by local workers using mostly local materials—hydraulically pressed soil and broken granite—this trio of open-air tile vaults assumes a parabolic geometry that puts the structure entirely in compression, masonry's strong suit. At just 250 millimeters (10 inches) thick, the vaults span up to 16 meters (52 feet). Also noteworthy, says Cambridge, England-based Light Earth Designs founding partner Michael Ramage, is the use of a flexible polypropylene grid instead of reinforcing steel for seismic resistance. Because the grid is sandwiched between each tile course at the vault-and-pier connection, the construction team built temporary framework to hold the structure in place until the concrete set. "Changing the mode of operating and thinking isn't hard," Ramage notes, "but it does require some concentration."