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MODERN ARECHITECTURE THROUGH LOCAL FORMS AND MATERIALS

B. Podhalanski, B. Krzysztof

Abstract

This article is meant to provide a brief overview of the recently emerging trend in sustainable architecture - the using of locally available, often unprocessed materials to construct fully functioning, modern residential architecture. From the use of garbage as filler in concrete, to structures made of compressed earth found on-site that are not only pleasing to the eye, but also offer high quality insulation properties, architects and engineers are rediscovering seemingly primitive materials and design solutions and put them to use in some of the most modern buildings. Materials such as compressed earth, cob and cordwood are easy to obtain, are fully degradable with no negative impact on the environment, and while it is labor intensive to build structures out of them, it is also very simple, allowing the overall cost of construction to be lower than when compared with the typically used structural materials of today. Recently, these materials have started to gain popularity among proponents of zero-energy and green or natural building, who use them to great effect in terms of innovative architectural design. The use of these materials can help our society become more friendly to the environment, having an argument in its favor that has, time and again, proven that it can cause shifts in the development of civilizations comparable to the switch from bronze to iron - they are simply cheaper.

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