Designer Simone Swan worked for Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy. She talks about applying traditional African adobe building techniques for constructing low-cost housing along the US-Mexico border.
"Hassan Fathy, 1980 recipient of the Aga Khan ArchitectureAward dreamed of serving the 800 million people of thethird World who the United Nations has said are doomedto die prematurely because of poor housing...[Simone] Swans nonprofit Adobe Alliance (www.adobealliance.org) [aims] to utilize the sweat equity of the poor the builders own labor along with dirt and straw to make mud bricks for cheap, low-maintenance housing that incorporates its own cooling and heating...she insists, modern technologys reliance on concrete and wood for building is no match forthe low-cost, minimal-maintenance housing that Egyptianand other African cultures have achieved for centuries withmud and straw."
Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan
FULL STORY: Bringing domes to adobe homes
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