Appropriate Construction

Research at CAST is focused on developing appropriate and sustainable methods of construction that simultaneously open new architectural possibilities. This is done through a focus on Simplicity, Accessibility, Sustainability. While our work may be applicable to “high-end” architecture and industrial production, it is based on very simple methods that are universally accessible to both “high” and “basic” building cultures/economies using common materials.

For example, concrete, which is the most widely used building material in the world, is also a major source of greenhouse gasses and embodied energy (from cement production). Our work inventing flexible fabric formwork is aimed at reducing the materials consumed by concrete construction. It does this by providing sophisticated high efficiency structures through extremely simple construction methods and materials.

Our research in this area questions the assumption that “development”, in the sense of expansion and “newness”, is essential to improvement. The rush to “newness” creates a bias towards “advanced” technical and material solutions: new materials, new tools, and so forth. These kinds of improvements are typically gained via capi­tal-intensive refinements, reserving “newness”, and its improvements, for those rich enough to afford it. Work at CAST takes a different approach, one that focuses on finding the “lowest” possible step or “backmost” position from which to begin a work of sophistication. Here “originality” is understood to mean “from the origin”, so that origin-al solutions may be found at a foundational level, rather than at a “highly developed” one.

This approach provides the following fundamental rules that govern this research:

1. Use only common and inexpensive materials.
2. Use only common and basic tools and techniques – the more “primitive” the better.
3. Rely on fundamental natural law for technical guidance.

This approach leads to solutions that are available and appropriate to larger numbers of people in a wider range of building economies, without limiting their possible elaboration in more “refined” methods appropriate to advanced building economies.

 

Resources:

• Holcim Awards Booklet. pdf
• Holcim Awards Posters. pdf
• CAST brochure
• Tunahaki Theatre Walls
• Thai-tie system