La scuola di Gomme.
The need for international cooperation projects that can intervene in particularly critical areas is deeply narrowly linked with the need for developing technological solutions, cheap and easy to carry out. If the architect usually meets situations where short executive terms and limited budgets are required, it is even more so with cooperation projects: terms are the prestent and budgets are very limited. But results are often qualitatively surprising.
Vento di terra onlus is an association that has long dealt with international cooperation projects in the Palestinian area, but it first carried out a building cooerapiting with Jerusalem Bedonius Cooperative Committee of Anata in february 2009. The setting was imposing very complex restrictions: desertic climate, total prohibition of using cement and foundations - because of the strict israelian set of rules, that forbids the execution of crafts which are not inspired to a contemporay stile – a quick and easy execution of the structure, so that it is possible to work even without professional skills, use of local material, maily earth, clay and rocks, very low cost. A young group of engineers, architects and bachelors, through the help of the Architectural and Lanscape Building Workshop of Pavia University, have developed a new project that has fully satisfied the restricting premises: a school made of tires .
Relative experiences to the construction with materials like second-hand pneumatic tires filled with earth, offered a valid practicable alternative. Linked to simplicity and rapidity of realization there is also a high heat and static performance. We make reference to a low number of practise applications and to a very limited but with great results bibliography.
Pneumatic tyre is an easily available down market material, characterized with a high elasticity and endurance thanks to tyre and iron’s elements which characterize it. Inside it presents a cable’s steel tangle which guarantee the necessary requirements as building material. Moreover the return in the life cycle of a selling off predestined material is advised as sustainable reuse alternative. Earth deeply constipated form a part of puffiness, guarantees stability and resistance to compression’s efforts assuring by the same time a high heat inertia.
Filled tires are get in staggered lines like heavy bricks and composed the walls plug and the bearing set-up structure of the building. The outside plasterwork guarantee the protection of the tyre to sunbeam, avoiding the deterioration or the release of polluters. An interesting example of the application of this constructive system is represented by the Earthship, realized in New Mexico. Earthship Biotecture headed by Michael Reynolds is specialized in the construction of buildings realized with recycled materials as pneumatic tires, cans, glasses, with particular attention to suitability and to bring prices down. The outcomes are very comfortable buildings, able to make a constant water’s recycle, powered with alternative and sustainable energy’s sources which utilize bioclimatic solutions, able to reduce uses to minimum. The adaptation of this technique leaded to a unique experimentation in which the cooperation guided to an original experience of auto-construction. The project drawn up on February was followed out by a workshop self-organized in Italy where the planning team checked the constructive techniques. Later on the realization of a “operating manual” for the construction of the school made simple the principal operation also to un-insider people – native of Jahalin village. The result of the hard work of ten young native, employed every day for fifteen days upon more than 2000 tires, leaded to the realization of a school composed by four classrooms of 50-60 square meter and a secretariat of 22 square meter, overlooked on a central common courtyard. The caulked sandwich sheet metal shingle is supported by a wood structure.
The school is not finished yet, it has to be completed with windows, outside plasterwork and schoolyard for children. The simplicity of this three realized buildings doesn’t conceals the extraordinary of the experience and the peculiarity of the suggested solution.
Prior to be a school for children, this building born as a school for the all population, which learned a new constructive technique, sustainable, quickly and cheap, with which the same quality of native’s life could change at best.
