DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ECO-MATERIALS

FOR SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECTS IN COLOMBIA

Sebastin Tovar Garcia
ABSTRACT
Worldwide people are aware about the effects of the climate change and some
phenomena related with this, e.g. the global warming. For this reason, they are
trying to mitigate the devastating consequences, changing their minds and indeed,
people are practicing ecological tips, and one of these tips is building houses with
eco-materials.
Many of these materials are common in our environment, besides it gives a very
good panorama with the natural space. Moreover we have all the necessary
resources at our disposal, and it makes us a potential place to develop these new
technologies and build ecological structures.
Studies made by Scientifics show us that sustainable development with these
materials is not far away to reality. Nowadays the problem is based on some
political and economic interests. As a result, many governments do not approve
resources for such researches and projects.
Nevertheless there are many projects that achieve very good results in the way of
finding eco-materials for the field of construction. These materials have similar
structural features and provides the enough resistance in future buildings.
Although many governments do not support these projects, many others are using
some of these materials to building social housing. For example, in Spain, there
are many houses made by the government institutions, which are ecological, social
and sustainable.
OBECTIVES

Encourage the use of ecological materials.

Study and know the different characteristics of these materials.

INTRODUCTION
Due to the pollution of the
environment caused by the human
activity, Scientifics have to search for
solutions to reduce this phenomenon.
Many of those researches are
focused in designing and developing
materials more ecological than that
traditional ones. We may see it in all
fields of science, but the use of these
materials are clearly visible in the
spread of cities, e.g. many buildings.
Some materials are created to be
used in specific projects, but many
others are used in several projects
worldwide and show us that they
provides the same structural features
than traditional materials.
However, states and governments
around the world are not giving
economical resources to fund these
projects, for this reason, many of
these resources are produced by the
private
sector.
Countries
like
Colombia, have a little development
and because of this, is harder to
encourage these researches.
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
A Green building refers to a structure,
using
process
which
are
environmentally
responsible
and
resource-efficient
throughout
a
building's life-cycle: from siting to
design,
construction,
operation,
maintenance,
renovation,
and
demolition. This requires close
cooperation of the design team, the

architects, the engineers, and the

client at all project stages. The Green
Building practice expands and
complements the classical building
design concerns of economy, utility,
durability, and comfort.
Although new technologies are
constantly being
developed
to
complement current practices in
creating greener structures, the
common objective is that green
buildings are designed to reduce the
overall impact of the built environment
on human health and the natural
environment by:

Efficiently using energy, water,

and other resources

Protecting occupant health and

improving employee productivity

Reducing
waste,
pollution
and environmental degradation.

A similar concept is natural building,

which is usually on a smaller scale
and tends to focus on the use
of natural materials that are available
locally.
Other
related
topics
include sustainable design and green
architecture. Sustainability may be
defined as meeting the needs of
present
generations
without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs.
Although
some
green
building
programs don't address the issue of
the retrofitting existing homes, others

do. Green construction principles can

easily be applied to retrofit work as
well as new construction.
A green
home is
a
type
of house designed
to
be environmentally
friendly and sustainable, while also
focusing on the efficient use of
energy, water, and building materials.
The parts that make up a green home
are not universally agreed upon.
There do not exist national standards
on what constitutes a green remodel,
beyond non-profit certification. In
general, a green home is a type of
house that is built or remodeled in
order to conserve "energy or water;
improve indoor air quality; use
sustainable,
recycled
or
used
materials; and produce less waste in
the process." This may include buying
more energy-efficient appliances or
utilizing specific building materials
that are more efficient in keeping both
cool and heated air inside the
structure.
A vast number of these homes are
made of renewable resources that
provides durability and sustainability.
A renewable resource is a natural
resource which can replenish with the
passage of time, either through
biological reproduction or other
naturally
recurring
processes.
Renewable resources are a part of
Earth's natural environment and the
largest components of its ecosphere.

Renewable resources may be the

source
of power for renewable
energy. However, if the rate at which
the renewable resource is consumed
exceeds its renewal rate, renewal and
sustainability will not be ensured. The
term
renewable
resource
also
describes systems like sustainable
agriculture and water
resources. Sustainable harvesting of
renewable resources can reduce air
pollution, soil contamination, habitat
destruction and land degradation.
METHODS
The method described here is simple,
rapid and provides a good result.
Searching the correct information
about the researches made by other
is very important at the beginning.
After there, the most relevant studies
were selected and compared with
others results. Comparing these
results, it is easier to describe
efficiently what kind of resources are
used frequently in those buildings.
Colombia is a special country,
because we have a lot of raw
materials in the environment and the
majority of these could be used for
building of ecohouses. The problem is
the law given by the state. In
constrast with other countries, where
the state gives to corporations the
legislation needed to complete such
projects.
In order to explain how to build
ecohouses, we use some literary
sources, in these we include serious

studies made by companies and state

institutions arround the world. For
countries like Colombia, this is a very
good example for developing the
subject. Developed countries like
EEUU
gives
some
useful
technologies and know- ledges to
design buildings with ecomaterials.
In the comparative stage, we find
information about the classification of
some materials according to the
hazard caused by handling:

build larger buildings that fit the

philosophy of the social housing in
our country.
For this reason, developers have to
create or modify the conventional
materials used in small houses to
provide social housing buildings the
enough strength to be functional and
livable.
The following paragraphs will detail
some materials that are used in the
construction of ecological houses and
that they could eventually be used for
our purpose.
Straw: Straw is usually sold in rolls or
bales, and their value may be affected
by how clean and pure it is
considered, which yields a higher or
lower quality.

The other parts of the methods is

related with focused aspects in
construction, which will be explained
in the results.
FURTHER WORK RESULTS
Worldwide there are many projects of
green houses, however, most of them
are made by the private sector and
some of these technologies are not
applicable to social housing. This is
because most ecological homes have
little height which influences the
strength of the materials used to build
the structure. In other words, is not
exactly the same materials used to

Building homes with straw bales is a

simple system that can be learned in
a few days and in which everyone can
participate. It requires less skilled
labor and less construction time than
traditional methods, such as concrete.
When using straw bales, probably
greener than can be used in housing
construction,
the
amount
of
agricultural waste burned is reduced,
minimizing air pollution and global
warming.

exploitation
of
physiological
imbalances and susceptibility to
rollovers guadual of volunteers and
beams reinforced with other materials
depending on the number of bars
coupled young guaduas caused by
storms, high winds, gales and storms.

Bamboo: Pillars, roofs, ceilings, walls

or coatings are applied. If the
structure is used for its high strength
(the darker the bamboo is softer) and
elasticity is needed. In Latin America
and Asia cane knots intertwined with
structures used. For coatings can be
presented in the form of panels. The
Colombian version of bamboo is
guadua, this is widely used since
ancient times due to its natural
resistance. In some places, guadua is
used as a structural element for
bridges, houses and small buildings,
such as the Cathedral of Pereira.
For the best use of wood of this plant,
it is necessary to have a widely tech
culture in which growth stems made
periodically analyze and adequate
pest control is taken.
Tapping the stems should be directed
to mature, but in this phase should be
selected more advanced features like
analyzing thickness, height, hardness,
etc..
Knowing the number of mature
guaduas per hectare, you can remove
a percentage of this type of bamboos.
The utilization rate is generally 35% of
mature guaduas. Involve greater

Figure 1: Sample resistances bamboo

beams reinforced with other materials
depending on the number of bars
coupled
Ecological Bricks: Due to its
flexibility and strength, in case of an
earthquake,
demonstrates
an
excellent response, unlike other
materials, plus labor costs allows
savings of up to 40%. For all these
features is very well used in industrial
plants, supermarkets and homes.
These materials are currently used in
many ecological constructions, and
proved to be robust and easy to

handle and produce, which

expected in the future these
will be used widely
construction
of
social
projects.

could be
materials
for the
housing

Many designers, architects and

engineers argue that builders must be
very careful in the implementation of
these ecological materials in this type
of construction, and that can mean a
large structural risk, because they are
very contemporary materials and
some have not been used for this
purpose. But with the right tests and
studies, they may develop significant
improvements in certain materials that
provide them with the necessary
features to build large structures.
Taking into account that 14'600 .000
of habitants in Colombia are poor, that
is, 30.6% (official data Dane in 2013),
plus an overwhelming 38% of people
have no home, we may think that
social housing projects for these
populations
is
an
important
mechanism
to
cushion
the
devastating effects of a low quality of
life.
Colombia has a big challenge, and its
ecological potential could be used for
this purpose, which is to use the
natural environment to design green
and sustainable cities, with beautiful
panoramic views and clean air for the
entire population.

CONCLUSION

Construction projects of social

housing in the world are a fact. We
could list several projects that use
ecological
and
traditional
components. However, it would be a
breakthrough for the art to design a
model of ecological materials that can
be used in any project and that these
do not require traditional materials
which mostly are not friendly with the
environment.
Due to global warming, shortage of
resources and pollution in cities, it is
necessary to promote sustainable
cities, which inevitably must be
designed with environmentally friendly
materials. Many governments around
the world are committed them to
these ideas, that although they are
very difficult to carry out, but it will be
the reality in a few years.
As noted in the results achieved,
there are some eco-friendly materials
that provide very similar structural
safety than some traditional materials.
Because of this, people could use
these materials to replace traditional,
but there are some precautions that
have to be taken in pilot models. For
example, you could replace the
conventional bricks for the ones made
from recyclable materials.
Even with all these considerations,
there is still much in research; many
studies will be needed to establish the
viability of these materials, however
we must remember that this is the
only opportunity for the man to
vindicate his villain with nature, if not,

our species would be faced with the

irreversible extinction.
REFERENCES
Francis E. Brink and Paul J. Rush,
Bamboo reinforced concrete
construction, February 1966
http://www.romanconcrete.com/docs/
bamboo1966/BambooReinforcedCon
creteFeb1966.htm
Green Building definition
http://www.legrand.com/EN/greenbuilding-description_12850.html

Pavel Leber, Ecological materials

http://www.vustah.cz/en/ecomaterials.
htm
United Kingdom Government, Eco
Haus, Design and Building
http://www.ecohaus.org.uk/
Top ten green buildings
http://www.mnn.com/money/greenworkplace/photos/top-10-greenbuildings/manassas-park-elementaryschool-pre-k-manassas-p