The Future of Past Technologies Wilfred Saumarez Smith

THE FUTURE OF PAST TECHNOLOGIES

WILFRED SAUMAREZ SMITH

We are at a point in history where urgent action must be taken to resolve the current climate crisis we are facing. Sustainable and low impact buildings should no longer be considered a niche commodity reserved for the wealthy, but as an essential step in tackling climate change - The building industry is responsible for 39% of global Carbon Dioxide emissions; 11% of which resulted from the manufacturing of building materials, such as steel, glass, and concrete. Could looking at methods from a past, less impactful time, be a key step in solving the extinction we face today?

TELCA, WASP

The use of earth as a building material dates to around 9000 BC, when humans discovered mud could be combined with a type of ber (eg. straw) and air dried to make a brick. This ancient method of construction is prevalent throughout history, in the adobe pueblos of Central and South America, the Wattle and Daub houses of Europe and the Rondavel huts of Africa. This technology that lead to the creation of the rst brick is now being adapted to create houses of the future, and a solution to the global climate crisis.

The Architect Mario Cucinella, in collaboration with the Italian 3D-Printing rm WASP, worked to create the world’s rst 3D-Printed house. The house is comprised of two domes and is constructed from a mixture of sand and clay, using a specialized printer that needs less than 6kW of energy – about 3 cycles of a washing machine. The house has an area of around 60 square meters, comprising of a “living zone” with a kitchen, and a “night zone”. The furnishings are also partly printed from local earth and are integrated into the structure. Each dome is capped with a glass skylight to allow natural light into the space – but in di erent climates, the design could be tweaked to enable more e cient heating or cooling.

TELCA, WASP