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concrete canvas – humanitarian technology

Category: ⚐ EN+humanitarian architecture+technologies

i am very interested in construction technologies applied in humanitarian architecture and I want to use the blog for, on the one hand, telling you about some of the technologies currently being developed and, on the other hand, finding out what else is being done out there (send me an email – alejandra@ecosistemaurbano.com)

i want to start by presenting my friends’ project, CONCRETE CANVAS. these young British engineers have developed CONCRETE CLOTH, a concrete-based construction material. CC consists of a 3-dimensional fibre matrix containing a specially formulated dry concrete mix. a PVC backing on one surface of the cloth ensures the material is completely waterproof; while hydrophilic fibres on the opposite surface aid hydration by drawing the water into the cement. you shape the cloth, add water…. and it’s ready! the concrete hardens leaving a set structure.

this cloth has many useful applications (water tanks, flat roofs, building cladding…) but the idea originated from the construction of dome-shaped emergency shelters.

CONCRETE CANVAS SHELTERS can be deployed by 2 people without any training in under 40 mins and are ready to use in 12 hours – only water and air are needed. the shelters are distributed in a packed format, water is added, they self-inflate to adopt the optimum final shape and in a few hours the concrete sets. they are easily distributed, they are semi-permanent, can be covered with other materials or can be part buried to improve the thermal properties and make them more resistant against impact… they meet certain needs (especially where there is an armed conflict going on or in extreme climates) that a more traditional tent (despite them being great for other needs!) can’t meet.

here are some pictures and a pdf with more info for you to see the great job CONCRETE CANVAS are doing.

Comments: (7)

concrete canvas – tecnología humanitaria

Category: ⚐ ES+arquitectura+eventos

estoy muy interesada en la tecnología constructiva aplicada a la arquitectura de cooperación y quiero aprovechar el blog para, por un lado, dar a conocer algunos sistemas que se están desarrollando por “ahí” y, por otro, enterarme de más cosas que estén pasando en este campo (escribidme un email a alejandra@ecosistemaurbano.com).

voy a empezar presentando CONCRETE CANVAS, el proyecto de unos buenos amigos. estos jóvenes ingleses han desarrollado CONCRETE CLOTH (tela de hormigón), un material de construcción en base hormigón. se trata de una matriz tridimensional de fibras que contiene una mezcla seca de hormigón, sobre una lámina de PVC que lo impermeabiliza en una de las caras. Se coloca en la forma que ser quiere, se añade agua…. y ya está! el hormigón endurece y la estructura está hecha.

con esta “tela” se pueden conseguir muchas cosas útiles (depósitos de agua, cubiertas planas, paneles de acabado para fachadas…), pero la idea nació pensando en construcciones abovedadas para refugios de emergencia.

los refugios de emergencia de CONCRETE CANVAS se pueden montar entre dos personas en 40 min y en 12 horas están listos para su uso – sólo hace falta agua y aire. Los refugios se distribuyen como un saco seco, se les añade agua, se hinchan solos para adoptar su forma final óptima, y en pocas horas endurecen. son refugios fáciles de distribuir, son semi permanentes, admiten ser recubiertos o semienterrados para mejorar sus propiedades térmicas y conseguir una mayor resistencia frente al impacto de proyectiles, son duraderas… consiguen cubrir una serie de necesidades (zonas de conflicto armado o de condiciones climatológicas extremas) que las tiendas de campaña tradicionales, si bien son una solución muy buena para otros casos, no cubren.

os dejo con un par de imágenes y un pdf con más información para que veáis la buena pinta que tiene lo que os estoy contando.

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Carlos Romo Melgar – eu:abierto

Category: ⚐ EN+eu:abierto

As we have said before, this blog is aimed to be a meeting point for creative people with a capacity for critical análisis. We like these people to have the chance to publish their ideas and thoughts, and obviously their work too. For this purpose we have created eu:abierto.
As part of this section, we want to introduce Carlos Romo Melgar. He has written a short introduction about himself which I am translating for you, and he is presenting some of his work, which you can download below. We want to remind you that everyone interested in doing the same should get in touch with Domenico – send an email to domenico@ecosistemaurbano.com

I am Carlos, an architecture student at the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM).
I was born in Salamanca but for now I live in the capital.

continue reading

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ecosistema urbano and lara almarcegui at fundación arquitectura – COAM

Category: ⚐ EN+city+events

Today at 19.00, ecosistema urbano will be giving a talk together with lara almarcegui at the fundación arquitectura of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM). This is part of the urbanaccion event and we will present the latest urban actions we have carried out.

We invite you to visit the urbanaccion exhibition that is taking place in the gallery at COAM, where you will be able to see some of the most interesting groups working on interventions in the city.

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New Blog Paisaje Transversal (Transverse Landscape)

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture+eu:abierto+internet

We are a group of students from the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM) who have just created a blog about Landscape. The aim of this post is to publicise the blog and invite you to visit it and take part in it. You will find it at www.paisajetransversal.blogspot.com

The blog is aimed for promoting a workshop part of the program for Eurau 08 (www.eurau08.com) that will take place at ETSAM in January.

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Jaime Lerner entrevistado por El Pais en [ecosistema urbano]

Category: ⚐ ES+arquitectura+sostenibilidad

El día 19 de octubre Jaime Lerner daba una conferencia en la Casa Encendida, inaugurando los talleres urbanaccion de los que ya os hemos hablado en este post.El caso es que por la mañana Jaime Lerner ha sido entrevistado por Daniel Verdú para El Pais, en nuestro estudio y despues ha visitado el ecobulevar de Vallecas.

Aquí abajo os podéis bajar el pdf con la entrevista

Comments: (25)

OSSA WORKSHOP IN SILESIA (POLAND)

Category: ⚐ EN+architecture+ecosistema urbano+events

We attach a picture of the workshops that are taking place in Gliwice (Silesia), organised by the association of architecture students in Poland. ecosistema urbano is taking part as the tutor of one of the work groups.
Silesia is a region located in the southwest of Poland where a number of cities have sprung around the numerous coal mines, with a total population of approximately 2 million people. Currently, most of the mines and heavy industry associated with them have been dismantled and abandoned.
These workshops are an opportunity for thinking about the future of the region, the development possibilities given by the huge industrial heritage and the options for organising the urban centres in the area to function as a single regional megalopolis in Silesia.

If you took part in the workshops, we want to hear your comments!!

ossa workshop

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Expo2008 – Zaragoza – Galicia pavilion

Category: ⚐ EN+ecosistema urbano

ecosistema urbano has won, together with EXPOCIENCIA the competition for designing the pavilion for Galicia (a Spanish autonomy) at the Expo to take place in Zaragoza in 2008. The competition was called by Jubileo de Galicia (linked with Saint James of Compostele Pilgrim Way).
The idea of the project is the following: In Galicia there are many different forms of water – the sea, the ocean, rivers, springs, rain, dew… We don’t need to convince anyone about their quality nor their abundant presence. Water is present in all the elements that make the landscape of Galicia. Water is its sustenance and its wealth. It is its soul and its reason for being. The pavilion is a fair way for Galicia to pay homage to water.

To show this wealth and present the different waters in Galicia, we will bring them all to the pavilion, with their specifications, colours and qualities. There are 315 municipalities in Galicia, each one having a very close relation with the water that runs across its territory. These waters tell stories about families, villages, cultures, industries… We propose collecting 24 samples of water (see, river, tap, spring, fountain…) from each municipality. We will bottle them in air-tight recycled PET containers and label them to show where they come from and some information about their chemical composition. All the containers will make up a wall of bottled water. A full range of samples of the waters in Galicia. A bottled territory.

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webcams of the world

Category: ⚐ EN+findings+internet+technologies

I have come accross this website, www.fisgonia.com, from which you can look for webcams installed around the world. It is specially interesting because the webcams are “geo-referenced” (we know this term thanks to Domenico), that is, they are located in a world map in googlemaps.
Another site for looking for webcams throughout the world is www.earthcam.com. The design of this site is less attractive but the search engine is pretty efficient.

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Fast/slow

Category: ⚐ EN

The municipality of Madrid has awarded the project by [ecosistema urbano] with the only mention in the open competition for ideas for drafting a project for the rehabilitation of the streets in the area of Pez-Luna in the historic centre of Madrid. We have had an interest on this area since we initiated the ephemeral project for a beach in Madrid, summer 2006.
You can download the file showing the proposal: continue reading