Adobe

Take notes about adobe in your journal. Make sketches about the process of making adobe bricks. Take a virtual tour and explore some examples. Make sketches of actual adobe houses. Play with mud, without getting your hands dirty!

adobe: a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and a fibrous organic material (ie. sticks, straw)
super adobe: a form of construction where bags are filled with adobe material and layered on top of each other
kiln: an insulated chamber that contains a controlled temperature
mold: a hollow container used to give shape to a liquid as it dries
shell structure: a thin structure like an egg shell that is very strong and self-supporting

Building with earth or earthen shelters is one of the most ancient of building crafts. Examples exist from 8000 years ago. The Great Wall of China is an example of an earthen structure. It is estimated that over half of the world’s population lives, or works, in earthen structures. If soil, gravel, sand, silt and clay exist in an area that has high temperatures and strong sunshine, you can be sure someone is building with adobe. Soil also is composed of air and water. According to the percentage of the four solid components (gravel, sand, silt and clay), the soil will is classified as either gravely, sandy, silty or clayey soil. It is important to study the granularity, plasticity, compressibility and cohesion of the soil for making adobe. Make a chart that shows the four components and how each should be tested.

materials needed
cardboard base
modeling clay
suger cubes
scale figure(s)

Now that you have researched how adobe is made, look at how it is built. Do you see the patterns of the blocks that alternate to make the bricks stronger? Using modeling clay for superadobe construction, or sugar cubes for adobe brick construction, create a scaled building that can be used to provide shelter or attempt a full scale rendition of objects. Full scale or scaled explore adobe ideas and uses. Make sure to incorporate your own personal design in the structure! Make a figure, or figures ½" tall to place inside and outside of your adobe model or take a picture with your full scale adobe masterpiece!

Adobe material can be used to form objects like benches and walls and buildings in multiple ways. The two most common construction methods are the superadobe and abode bricks. First draw and dimension a typical adobe brick. Then draw and dimension a superadobe brick. Create two drawings for a building using each type: one superadobe and one adobe brick construction. Draw the plan for a one room, one story adobe structure. (You can add a typical bed, table and chairs, and a kitchen area as well in plan and section). Add dimensions of your adobe house based on how many adobe bricks wide, long and tall it will be. Consider painting the outside of the houses you have designed. What colors will you choose. Will you add decorations? Label your drawings!

You are an adobe designer!

Visit Emergency Shelter Village and study the structure of adobe buildings. Take notes on the structure and use of adobe. Think about how these buildings can be quickly designed and created. A roof above your head is a basic, universal human need. In today’s world, more than 100 million people do not have a roof above their head. Poverty, war, and natural disasters have made homes almost impossible for those 100 million. An expedient solution for the homeless is the use of adobe construction for shelter. Take this knowledge and use it to design an emergency village to shelter homeless populations in times of migration, emergency, or natural disaster displacement.

• Adobe becomes strongest when it is _____.
  • put in water
  • fired
  • pressed together by hand
  • broken
• Adobe construction is both ______ and ______.
  • A. strong and durable
  • B. cheap and efficient
  • C. weak and unimportant
  • D. both A and B
• What countries use adobe construction?
  • 3rd world countries
  • developing countries
  • all countries
  • no countries
• Adobe bricks are formed in all ways except....?
  • By pouring the mixture into molds and leaving it to dry
  • by allowing the mixture to dry, then piecing it together
  • by pouring the mixture into a bag and leaving it to dry
  • by stacking molds on top of each other before letting the material dry
• Adobe material is made out of ______?
  • 1. sand
  • 2. water
  • 3. straw
  • 4. all of the above