In an area where most of today’s buildings are made of concrete and cooled by conventional air units, Issoufou’s work shows that traditional techniques and materials found on site are not only better for the environment, but also a high-performance way for the people who will live in them.
Light-Touch living in New Zealand
“The Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, live by a series of basic values and behaviors,” said Stephen McDougall, founding director of Studio Pacific Architecture in Wellington, the country’s capital. “Care is one of these principles.”
Embracing this global responsibility, McDougall designed Kāpiti House, his off-grid residence set in 16 hectares of restored wetlands on the Kāpiti coast, just north of Wellington. The home is designed to leave a small footprint on the environment and is carbon positive, removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it contributes.
Two vernacular buildings—a 1,750-square-foot barn for the main house and a separate two-story guest tower—make up the compound, which is constructed of laminated timber, hardboard, local recycled rimu wood, New Zealand wool insulation and ash concrete. All of these resources have a much lower carbon footprint than their conventional counterparts. Thanks to solar panels, rainwater collection, on-site wastewater treatment, and a permaculture garden and orchard, the project is self-sustaining. Passive design techniques, including deep aves for concealment, ventilation, and a highly efficient envelope, mean it does not require heating or cooling.
“This approach represents a shift from designing isolated buildings to designing systems that support the world over time,” McDougall said. It also sets an excellent example of low impact rural life.
Earthquake Safe Wattle and Daub in Chile
In extremely seismically active Chile, an 8,000-year-old residential construction method has proven the best defense. The Quincha, or wattle-and-daub structure, covers a woven wooden frame (wattle) with a mixture of mud and grass (daub), waterproofed with a thin layer of lime plaster. The lattice-like structure of the wood and the heavy thermal mass make it naturally stable, allowing it to move without damage.
The old method—sustainable and hyperlocal because the elements can often be found on site—is now being revived by forward-thinking designers for safe, cool housing projects across the country. Outside the capital city of Santiago, architect Marcelo Cortés recently designed the two-story, 1,075-square-foot Casa Peñalolén using quincha metálica, a modern version of the technique that covers a steel frame and steel wire with tecno-barro, or mud reinforced with lime walls, to re-introduce information.
Architects Bárbara Barreda and Felipe Sepulveda, founders of Chilean firm Base Studio, also explored the historic style of architecture in a fresh, organic way, adding local clay to the material mix by covering the house with 10,000 glazed tiles. While the project is still in the works, the duo built a 1:1 scale replica this fall.
Bamboo, Bricks, and Recycled Plastic in Malaysia
Image: Ibrahim Rayintakath
Architect Eleena Jamil built her eponymous firm in the Malaysian state of Selangor on contextual architecture, “from the modern ideal of the air-conditioned glass box common in many tropical developing countries,” she explains. “In Malaysia, it’s a normal way to build [contemporary] The houses are based on timber and reinforced concrete frames, with brick-clad walls. The roof is often raised by metal girders and covered with interlocking tiles.” His practice aims to introduce a low-carbon, locally sourced alternative.
