MUBIDARC-DESIGN: INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN THESIS

MUBIDARC-DESIGN: INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN THESIS: Danbushiya village, Igabi Local Government, Kaduna State, Nigeria This design thesis is about the state of the basic and sec...

EXPLORATION 3: EARTH-TYPE CONSTRUCTIONS

The third prototype is focused on pure earth construction which could be used for both bricks and plastering depending on the ratio of the adobe mixes. In plastering, the potential rendering of patterns to represent the Islamic region of the site was explored. Following up from the findings of the last explorations, the raw clay used in these prototypes went through some form of processing in order to make finer finishes and reduce cracks.

EXPLORATIONS 1 & 2 UPDATE

There were a few observations and considerations that emerged after making the prototypes for the wall and structure. In the case of the plastic bottle wall, cracks were spotted as a potential shortcoming of the earth construction and the next explorations or prototypes would try to solve that. Secondly, it could potentially be washed out by rain.

Update from plastic bottle wall prototype.

In the second prototype, processed clay was used and cracks were not present. This began to suggest that the raw clay sourced from the site would need to go through some kind of processing on site before being used for construction. Also, the sketch by the side is an update of the section of the wall, the initial idea for the footing of the wall was a gabion wall, however due to fire considerations, it was thought that this may not be the best method as  fire could melt out the mesh holding the stones in place and that could eventually lead to the collapse of the wall. 

The new idea for the footing of the wall is for it to be mounted on earth bricks which are finished with stones for reinforcement. This would be thicker than the plastic wall themselves and would add thermal mass to the building and also be more resistant to fire than the gabion walls.

Sketch update from prototype 2

CALENDAR ANALYSIS

This design thesis proposes a new education typology in a different geographical context to that of the UK, therefore, it was necessary to do a study of present seasonal, school and farming calendar in order to begin to articulate how the farming calendar could be integrated with the schooling calendar, in other words, how vocational activities could be integrated with educational activities in one calendar year.

The study also involved the process of maize farming and processing in stages and how those stage begin to suggest a daily, weekly and seasonal routine. The table below shows both the existing and proposed calendar including the vocational processes. It also gives the different climatic conditions of the site, their effects on the site and potential environmental strategies.

Table Calendars, process and Environmental studies

Graphical representation of existing calendar of climatic conditions, farming and schooling

Graphical representation of proposed integrated calendar for the project.

SITE-SPECIFIC ANALYSIS

By looking at the site from different satellite  maps which had different copyright years, I was able to study the site from different perspectives and the physical changes that have taken place on the site over time. The maps were from bing, google maps and google earth respectively and in a chronological order and the studies were on the somewhat historical changes on the connectivity, the fields, vegetation and buildings in and around the site.

What was discovered was that paths became actual roads that defined the site overtime, the site'e field boundaries became more fragmented and this could be interpreted as individual selling portions of their land, the vegetation decreased and the buildings increased and spread in some areas more than others, additionally, there are some buildings which have not been inhabited or completed up till date, these are the abandoned ones.

Routes and Grains analysis

Building and vegetation analysis

Overlay of analysis to understand areas of the fields that have been untouched, potential roads, and the trace of buildings' and vegetation on site

KEY SPACE

The initial idea of a key space in the project is a central area such as a courtyard for not just the students of the school but for the village community as well. One of the driving forces behind this project is the use of appropriate technology to achieve a low cost construction, this could also be interpreted in one way as the use of less spaces for more functions.

Due to the presence of the north eastern winds and the need to cool down most of the spaces, especially in the afternoons, the sketch below illustrates how classrooms can be arranged around a courtyard in a disintegrated manner in order to allow the breeze through and also these same class rooms become transitional spaces that can operate as both indoor and indoor/outdoor space that could potentially become a back sit for the courtyard in the event of any kind of gathering or performance.

Courtyard as school and community space