The methods we use to construct everything from toasters to space shuttles depend on the tools we have to hand and the materials we use. This means that predicting the course of engineering design is a near on impossible task. Who knows what new materials will be developed and what tools we need to manipulate them. In the same breath, as we move towards a more sustainable way of living, engineering design may well look to the past when it comes to introducing new techniques.
The housing industry is one such sector where engineering design may be set to turn full circle. Small sustainable housing developments are often designed and engineered by a single person who is qualified in many engineering disciplines from electrical engineering to structural engineering. In the past this has required a comprehensive knowledge of the properties of many materials and the way that interact to produce a building that is energy efficient.
Recently there has been a renewed interest in using sustainable materials for construction purposes. Materials such as compact mud, straw bales and even old car tyres have become popular with designers of eco villages. Of all these options, compact mud housing offers an aesthetically pleasing finish as well as excellent energy efficiency. Mud has an added benefit of being locally available everywhere and in large quantities.
This method of construction dates back many thousands of years, and as such it is possible to build a house with only rudimentary tools. Around 2000 people currently live in compact mud houses, many of those in areas where heavy plant machinery does not exist; although there are many homes in Europe and the UK that have used modern engineering design techniques to produce homes that look like any others on the market.
Not only does this type of housing reduce carbon dioxide emissions by using non intensive construction methods, it also reduces emissions through the high thermal mass of the material. Compact mud readily absorbs the sun's heat and releases this slowly over the course of the night, reducing and even eliminating the need to use heating or air conditioning.
To construct walls and archways, a simple framework is set up, which is then filled with sub soil and compacted using a simple pneumatic tool or ramming rods. There is no setting time, so building up the walls is a quick and easy operation. Once the soil has been compacted, the supports can be removed and the next section started. With such simple techniques to hand that can solve sustainable housing needs, engineering design is destined to take a path none of us can predict.
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