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Article Excerpt
Abstract: Adobe has been used as a construction material for hundreds of years, and even today, a great number of people still live in adobe houses in various parts of the world. This is for reasons of local availability and because buildings constructed from adobe can create healthier environments. As a case study, this paper analyses a building complex made primarily of adobe masonry and reinforced concrete. The complex, a country club located 35km from Istanbul, consists of a 19-room hotel, a restaurant, and a horse stable. Both the hotel and restaurant were constructed in two flats of locally produced adobe and have been in service since 1998. This paper describes the construction techniques and methods used to produce the adobe. It presents experimental tests of the mechanical and physical properties of the material, comparing to local construction standards and to the properties of other common building materials. Finally, the paper evaluates the suitability of adobe masonry construction for the Istanbul area.
Keywords: Adobe, Building materials, Housing, Masonry construction, Mechanical and physical properties, Reinforced concrete
Introduction
Earth buildings can be found on every continent, some having been occupied even thousands of years (King, 1996). It has been widely used in Anatolia since prehistoric times (e.g., in catalhoyuk & Hacilar); (Naumann, 1975). There is a growing interest in the use of earth as a construction material for two reasons; the heritage factor and because it is environmentally friendly (Carmen, Jimenez, Delgado & Guerrero, 2006). A study of traditional building practices throughout the world identified some 18 different methods of using the material, each able to produce a great variety of forms (Guillaud & Houben, 2001).
As a developing country with a growing population, Turkey suffers from an acute housing shortage. It is anticipated that the housing units needed by 2010 will be 7.5 million. A major factor affecting the construction industry is the cost of fuel and building materials, most of which have to be imported. The most common building material for construction of houses in rural areas is the usual burnt clay brick (Binici, Aksogan & Shah 2005). Building with adobe offers many advantages, including:
* It enables cheap, easy, and fast production;
* It allows people to use local materials and to take charge of the production of their built environment;
* It doesn't need a special plant for production, saving money and energy in terms of production and transportation;
* It has adequate thermo-physical and hydric properties which contribute to the regulation of thermal comfort of the building, hence decreasing its life-cycle costs;
* It produces little pollution, both during manufacture and through the life of the building; and
* It plays a part in the respect for, as well as the survival and updating of, cultural, architectural, and urban environments (Guillaud & Houben, 2001).
Two important factors have to be considered when building with adobe. First is its water retention. It has to be protected from water and rain during its service life. The other factor relates to the need for care in its production and use during construction (Kafescioglu & Gurdal, 1985). Issues such as stability, compressive strength, and integration with other materials become critically important with adobe.
Stabilization of adobe refers to any treatment that gives it properties such as water permanence, strength, and dimensional stability. Although it has been practiced for a very long time, it is still not an exact science (Guillard, Jeffrey & Odul, 1995). Compression and drying both help to stabilize adobe. In addition, there are more than a hundred products in use today for stabilization. These include sand, gravel, fibers, bitumen, resins and chemical products, cement, pozzolana, lime, and gypsum. These materials increase density, strength, cementation, bonding, waterproofing, and elimination of water dispersion. For cementation, some efforts have been made with promising results (Guillard, Joffroy & Odul, 1995; Isik & Tulbentci, 2008; Millogo, Hajjaji & Ouedraogo, 2008; Pineda-Pinon, Vega-Duran, Manzano Ramirez, Perez-Robles, Balmori-Ramirez & Hernandez-Landaverde, 2007).
There is a tendency at present to stabilize systematically, but stabilization is not obligatory. As Fathy (1973) has warned about adobe production, "Expensive methods of stabilization are unnecessary. Once a sufficiently strong brick has been made, leave well alone." He continues:
"The composition and properties of soil used in adobe production varies widely from place to place. In addition, this variation is likely to be reflected in the quality of adobe, a fact that has caused architects and engineers to be reluctant to use such blocks. Because of this reason, it is essential that at any given site the soil to be used for adobe making must be carefully analyzed chemically and physically. Experiments and laboratory tests on sample bricks must be made to determine the physical properties like shrinkage, unit weight, behaviour under wetting or mechanical properties like compressive and flexural strength" (Fathy, 1973).
To explore these issues, this case study investigates the properties of adobe utilized in a country club, which has been in use since 1998. By analyzing its mechanical, thermal, and acoustic performance during its service life, the case study explores whether adobe is a suitable construction material for the conditions of the Istanbul region.
Construction Details
The Saklikoy Country...
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