Dee Williams decided to downsize from a 1,500 square foot home to a 84 square foot home after a trip to Guatemala. She built her current home, “The Little House,” herself for about $10,000. With a propane tank for heat and electricity coming from solar panels, Williams cost of living runs extremely low.
Dan Louche built this tiny retirement house for his mother who was in need of a home.
Need a new knocker for the front door? Select a design and push the print button. How about that fork that got damaged in the garbage disposal? Scan one of the remaining ones and print a replacement. Printing 3d objects at home is now possible although the choices of material are somewhat limited.
Soon, very soon, new picture frames, eating utensils, a replacement piano leg for the one the dog chewed up, that weird looking fastener that was missing from the new bookshelf kit, bookends, crown molding, coat hangers, phone chargers, earrings, Toynbee convectors, and flux capacitors will be had by giving a voice command to a StarTrek like replicator.
A new era of Consumer Sovereignty will come to light as additive layer manufacturing technology allows us to bypass those inconvenient economies of scale. Instead of having to purchase a pound of drywall screws, we can just buy one.
Big companies have already bought in to the technology. They envision a future where Home Depot and Kinkos-style shops fill local needs while online markets focus on larger projects and more intense customization. Amazon is planning to install commercial printers in all of its U.S. factories and Staples is rolling out 3D equipment in its European stores.
Thanks, in part, to a variety of open source projects, the Home Depot and Staples models aren’t likely to be as popular as home printing in the long run. Why? Because the mother-may-I product chain is just too bloated and unpleasant. Even today, an item priced at less than four dollars doesn’t justify supermarket shelf space. A service bureau experience marked by overpricing, long lines, outmoded software, outdated hardware, poorly trained staff, and sluggish execution times is seen by most as something to be avoided.
Consider the Source
Wouter Kalis and Corinne de Korver are two Dutch designers who have long been aware of the overall importance of sustainable accommodations throughout the world. Based in Amsterdam, the duo are dedicated to socially-conscious designs that incorporate simple and often recyclable elements, such as their most recent piece, “Social Unit.” Devised as a solution for aid organizations in Holland, the cupboard bed space is part sleeping compartment, part storage space that fits the basic sustainability criteria: they are compact, inexpensive, durable and easy to maintain. The Social Units are produced entirely from consumer plastic waste such as bottle caps and beer crates, manufactured using woodworking techniques no more complicated than sawing, drilling or cutting.
The design was a response to the conditions of homeless shelters in Amsterdam. Although shelters offer people a single room in the Netherlands, the rooms often are full of broken, chaotic interiors with not enough storage space for all the personal belongings people carry around. The designers decided to help people find their way back into society, and concluded an interior should also be inviting and with positive signals.
They talked to the staff of Salvation Army and were told furniture should be easy to clean and ‘gorilla proof’, really strong. They found this recycled consumer waste plastic, made of bottle caps and beer crates, and that triggered it. They made a design that was functional, durable and green. It’s a modern version of the historical Dutch ‘cupboard bed’, that was traditionally built into a wall to preserve warmth and have some privacy in large families. And, it has a built in psychological side effect: it makes people feel secure and comfortable by giving them their own private space.
Consider the Source
The material has been dubbed “ultralight metallic microlattice,” and according to a news release sent out by UC Irvine, it consists of 99.99% air thanks to its “microlattice” cellular architecture.
It is so lightweight that the research team consisting of scientists at UC Irvine, HRL Laboratories and Caltech say in the peer-reviewed Nov. 18 issue of Science that it is the lightest material on Earth. As yet, no one has asked them to run a correction.
“The trick is to fabricate a lattice of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair,” lead author Tobias Shandler of HRL said in the release.
To understand the structure of the material, think of the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge — which are both light and weight efficient — but on a nano-scale.
The material in the picture above is made out of 90% nickel, but Bill Carter, manager of the architected materials group at HRL, said it can be made out of other materials as well — the nickel version was just the easiest to make.
As for the uses of such a material? That’s still to be determined. Lorenzo Valdevit, UCI’s principal investigator on the project, brought up impact protection, uses in the aerospace industry, acoustic dampening and maybe some battery applications.
Aevia — Consider the Source
Mold – What is it? Where is it found? Why the Concern? |
Molds are microscopic fungi that live on organic matter. Most molds produce spores, which can be air-borne, water-borne, or insect-borne and are highly adapted to grow and rapidly reproduce under the right conditions. Mold spores are found in virtually every environment indoors and outdoors, and as a result, we all encounter mold spores daily. These spores may enter homes and buildings through air infiltration such as windows, doors, heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, or by attaching themselves to people, clothing, and pets thus bringing mold spores indoors. You could also get redirected here for help with getting your air conditioner fixed. Mold spores are ready to spring to life as a growing colony if they are provided with three primary conditions:
Two of these three supporting conditions for mold growth (temperature and nutrients) are a part of most buildings. Regarding temperature, our buildings are kept at temperatures that can encourage mold reproduction. Regarding nutrients, our buildings are built with and furnished with suitable organic nutrients that encourage mold to grow. An example of suitable organic materials which could provide nutrients for mold growth include: carpet, fabric, upholstery, paper and paper products, |
cardboard, ceiling tiles, drywall, wood, and wood products, dust, paints, and wallpaper. The missing ingredient in most buildings for mold growth is moisture/water.Given humid or wet conditions, molds will naturally grow in an indoor environment. In Canadian homes over 270 species of mold have been identified.1 It’s not that all molds are bad, they can be useful to people, for example, Penicillin is obtained from a mold. Nor does mold exposure always present a health problem indoors. According to a Questions & Answers Fact Sheet from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on Stachybotrys chartarum and other molds, they reported, “There are very few case reports that toxic molds (those containing certain mycotoxins) inside homes can cause unique or rare, health conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss. These case reports are rare, and a causal link between the presence of the toxic mold and these conditions has not been proven.” 2 With this in mind it is important to understand there are potential health effects from mold in homes and buildings that might pose health problems to people sensitive to molds. Because two of the three conditions for mold growth exist in our homes, mold growth can occur where there is excessive moisture, such as where leakage may have occurred in walls, roofs, potted plants, or where there has been flooding. |
The Truth about Mold Growth on Insulation |
Highly publicized cases of mold growth in homes and buildings have led to confusion. For example, consider the nationally televised case in Dripping Springs, Texas where Stachybotrys mold growth resulted in a home being destroyed. In this case mold was growing on building materials such as drywall, the floor substrate and the fiberglass insulation, but the problem was not the building materials but the water, which led to the growth of the mold. Regarding this case, Dr. Straus appearing on 48 Hours said, “mold most commonly grows as a result of water damage.” One TV segment, showed workers in space suits removing mold contaminated fiberglass insulation batts with the voiceovers referring to mold growing on cellulose. While the term “cellulose” probably meant the kraft-faced backing on the fiberglass batts, or the dust in the fiberglass some took it to mean cellulose insulation even though there was none shown, only fiberglass!Here’s where the confusion comes, cellulose is a favorite nourishment for mold growth, while cellulose insulation does not promote mold growth. Cellulose is the primary cellular makeup of any wood product and can be found in: cardboard, ceiling tiles, drywall, dust, the kraft-facing on fiberglass insulation, etc.. The dictionary definition of cellulose is:
Another recent cause for confusion was fostered by CertainTeed Corporation who was recently sued for misrepresentation about the St. Charles East High School near Chicago. The school was closed due to mold problems. The information distributed by CertainTeed was fabricated to make people believe the mold was the result of cellulose insulation wall-spray when, in fact, there was no cellulose insulation in the building–and the mold was on fiberglass!4 Under extreme conditions mold can grow on cellulose insulation, however if that were to occur mold would likely be growing on everything else in sight. |
Jeffrey C. May author of “My House is Killing Me!” is a home inspector and is well known for his investigations into homes with poor indoor air quality. He wrote, “The DUST in all fiberglass insulation is an excellent source of mold nutrients… I find that approximately 70% of all unfaced basement ceiling and crawl space fiberglass is severely contaminated with growing mold…“ In a discussion about mold Jeffrey was asked, “What does your book say about cellulose insulation? How about wet spray cellulose insulation that is sprayed into wall cavities?” Jeffrey replied, “I have not looked at samples of wet sprayed material but I have looked at quite a few samples of blown-in ceiling and wall insulation.…I have yet to see a moldy cellulose insulation sample. …in general, blown-in cellulose insulation, surprisingly, is not found moldy.” 5 Both fiberglass and rockwool insulation (inorganic materials) have been tested. In the rockwool insulation tests showed enough nutrients to keep mold spores alive, probably from dust in the mineral fibers. In the fiberglass insulation mold growth was found but it could not be determined if it was growing on the binder or on the dirt collected within the insulation.6 To date the serious reported cases of mold growth in insulation have all involved fiberglass. The Insulation Contractors Report January/ February 2002 issue, in an article entitled, “Mold: The Enemy Within”, reported that, “Ninety-eight percent of the moisture that enters a building cavity and condenses is from an air leakage mechanism…. An airtight building will prevent moisture from entering the assembly…” 7 If this is true, then the cellulose-insulated building will provide a major inhibitor to mold growth because it significantly reduces air leakage and results in a more airtight building thus preventing moisture, which is needed for mold growth, from entering the assembly! According the University of Colorado study Fiberglass vs. Cellulose Installed Performance “Cellulose cuts air infiltration 38% better than fiberglass!” |
Cellulose Wall-Spray |
| Cellulose Wall-Spray when installed should not be wet! Sometimes cellulose insulation wall-spray has been referred to as “wet-spray” (as in the quote below), but Cellulose Insulation Wall-Spray should not and does not need to be installed wet. When properly installed an accurate term to describe the product would be moist or damp.One important study of wall-spray clearly demonstrated that the moisture added during the installation of cellulose wall-spray does dry and does not cause moisture problems. Building Envelope Engineering in Calgary, Alberta has completed a full year detailed study of the “drying of wet-cellulose and the moisture content of wall framing and sheathing.” The construction of the home in the research consisted of 2×6 studs 16″ o.c. and the cellulose insulation was installed at 2.9 lb/ft3 density and 53% moisture content (wet weight)*. | The research results as reviewed in Energy Design Update stated, “A whole-house monitoring project of wet-spray cellulose has shown that when properly applied, the insulation can dry properly with or without a polyethylene vapor retarder and should not cause moisture problems in walls.”The review concluded with praise and a qualification- “the results of this study are certainly good news, showing that wet-sprayed walls will dry adequately even with a polyethylene vapor retarder installed…. These studies underscore the need for proper moisture loading during installation and perhaps extra consideration when wet-spray cellulose is used in humid climates, where the drying potential is limited.”8 *53% moisture is excessively high for Applegate trained professionals. |
Mold Prevention & Control |
| Mold prevention strategies focus on moisture control. The presence of mold is a sign that there is too much moisture or water. Mold needs moisture to grow. Controlling the moisture and keeping the living area dry prevents the growth of mold. If we keep things dry, molds do not grow. It’s helpful to keep humidity levels indoors below 40%, at this level mold growth can be slowed and generally prevented unless there is a water leakage problem.9 According to the information available from the CDC “Questions and Answers Fact Sheet:” “What should people do if they determine they have Stachybotrys chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) in their buildings or homes? Mold growing in homes and buildings, whether it is Stachybotrys chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) or other molds, indicates that there is a problem with water or moisture. This is the first problem that needs to be addressed.” 10Regarding mold prevention and keeping our buildings dry it’s helpful to keep in the mind the sources that most commonly bring in or keep moisture in our homes and buildings. | These sources for moisture need to be understood, discovered and controlled they include:
Keeping outdoor moisture and high humidity outside of our indoor living environment and exhausting interior high humidity to the outdoors will contribute to avoiding mold growth in our homes and buildings. |
Summary |
| To date the serious reported cases of mold growth in insulation have all involved fiberglass, but no insulation or building materials are in themselves the cause for mold growth.The key to stopping mold growth in our buildings is halting moisture; mold and fungus problems aren’t inherent in a building that is relatively dry. From Dan Lea, “The key point of all this is that mold is everywhere in the environment. Given |
heat, moisture and organic material it will grow. Fiberglass and other inorganic materials quickly become coated with organic materials. Fiberglass contains no fungicidal additives, so it soon becomes a very hospitable environment for fungal growth because of air infiltration which may lead to moisture migration. All the misinformation spread by the fiberglass people and “experts” can’t change the basic fact that cellulose insulation does not cause problems with mold. |
| Sources 1. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, About Your House. “The Condominium Owner’s Guide to Mold” 2. National Center for Environmental Health. “Stachybotrys Chartarum and Other Molds” www.cde.gov/nceh. 3. Webster; Merrion. “Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary” 1985. p. 220 4. Plache. CertainTeed Corporation, Valley Forge, PA “NOTICE” July 12, 2001 |
5. May. Indoor Air Quality, www.yahoogroups.com Dec. 7, 2001 6. Lea, Cellulose Manufacturers Association. “The Mold Saga” Jan. 3, 2002 7. Nicklas, Insulation Contractors Report. “Mold: The Enemy Within” Jan. 2002 p. 4 8. Nisson, Energy Design Update. “Moisture Control for Homes” 1997, p. 41 9. National Center for Environmental Health. “Molds in the Environment” www.cde.gov/nceh |
10. National Center for Environmental Health. “Stachybotrys Chartarum www.cde.gov/nceh 11. Healthhouse. “Basement Moisture” www.healthhouse.org/tipsheets 12. National Center for Environmental Health. “Stachybotrys Chartarum and Other Molds” www.cde.gov/nceh p. 3 13. Lea, Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association. Personal Correspondence. Jan 2002 |
Ming Tang’s beautiful origami-inspired Folded Bamboo Houses are intended for use as temporary shelters in the aftermath of a disaster. These shelters are constructed from a variety of renewable materials and can be folded into structurally sound shapes.
A system of bamboo poles are pre-assembled to form a rigid geometry thus allowing a range of lightweight modular structures to be quickly assembled in factories and transported to their destination. Once unfolded at the construction site, the frames are then covered by using available fabric or paper.
Aevia — Consider the Source
To rapidly create shelter from materials in the local supply chain consider the hexayurt. The simplest hexayurt will last for years in most climates and cost less than $100. Make a wall by putting six sheets of plywood on their sides in a hexagon. Cut six more sheets in half diagonally, and screw them together into a shallow cone. Lift the roof on to the wall with a group of people, then fasten it down with more screws. Seal and paint it for durability. Your basic hexayurt is complete.
The 
World Cultures and Geography class at the Bonnie Branch Middle School in Ellicott City, Maryland built this hexayurt in response to a class discussion on designing and building low cost emergency shelters for the earthquake survivors in Haiti. The school is planning to recycle the construction into Hexayurt scale model kits that will be sold as a fundraiser for emergency housing in Haiti.
To see the hexayurt under construction, visit the project website.
Hexayurts are sturdy and space-economical structures meant to temporarily house those in need. In less than two hours, a cardboard Hexayurt can be built and ready to move into. If you have a bit more time and money, Hexayurts can be built from nearly any building material available.
Aevia — Consider the Source
As a practical matter, if you’re engaged in construction with wood, the adhesive you use only needs to be as strong as the lignin that holds the wood fibers together. Just about all of the commercially available glues exceed the strength of natural resins when properly used. Here is an overview of the most popular formulations:
Resorcinol: The marine standard. If you can get 70 degrees F or higher for an overnight cure and consistent and high clamping pressure with no gaps, you won’t go wrong using it. Cover it overnight with an electric blanket to make sure. Likes wood at 10-15% EMC, according to Navy tests. Long open time. Repairable with epoxy. Ugly red glue line.
3M 5200: A rubbery, polyurethane sealant in various colors with adhesive properties sometimes used as a glue. Fails as a glue under water saturation without high clamping pressure, and without the proper strength testing. It’s not recommended as a stand-alone marine glue. Repairable with epoxy.
Urea Formaldehyde Plastic Resin Glue: The old interior furniture standard, and in older marine applications that required well-blended glue lines. Still preferred by many, as it is a no-creep glue easily repaired using epoxy. Long open time, it needs tight fits and 65 degrees F or higher for an overnight cure…it doesn’t fill gaps. Best glue line among them all and moderate water resistance still make it useful for protected marine brightwork applications. A relatively brittle glue and UV sensitive, it requires protection….but its brittleness is an aid to repairability, as joints can be broken apart for repair. An inexpensive powder with a short, one-year shelf life.
The Titebond Family of Aliphatics: Convenient. No mixing, just squeeze. Short open times, fast tack, and short clamping times. Flexible in temperature and to a lesser extent in moisture content, but the bottled glue can freeze in unheated shops. A flexible glue, it has been reported to creep under load, sometimes several years after the joint was made. The latest “Titebond III” appears to be a stronger glue than its two predecessors. Difficult glues to repair, as they won’t stick to themselves and no other glues will except cyanoacrylates, which are too brittle for general use. Epoxy and fabric aren’t bonding to aliphatic glue lines in marine strip construction, compounding repair difficulties. While not definitive, the new PL Premium appears to bond well to Titebond III residue and is worth pursuing by those repairing old white and yellow aliphatic joints.
Aevia — Consider the Source
Shaun Halbert ’s deployments to disasters led him to become concerned about the types of emergency shelters that were being provided. Realizing the importance of ventilation, shade and the capacity for the shelters to be used in transitional as well as emergency phases, he concentrated on these areas in a new design.
While attending the Shoots – Build it with Bamboo Workshop in London in October 2007, hosted by Architects for Aid, Shaun was exposed to the concept of the reciprocal frame for construction. Over the next two years, he designed and built a prototype shelter with a reciprocal roof. It has a huge weight bearing capacity, enabling the structure to be clad and also providing a much needed cooling effect for the recipients.
Having experienced the limitations in traditional tent structures after the Haiti earthquake, he modified the prototype design even further to produce what he calls the ReciproBoo Shelter Kit.
See just how quickly Shaun can frame out an emergency shelter!
Aevia — More at the ReciproBoo WebSite