making bricks
TRANSCRIPT
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centre of alternative technolo
sasha nash
ata:
making bricks
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friday 03.02.12
existing site
initial aims
cinva ram: key parts
cinva ram: basic process
saturday 04.02.12
sourcing material
defrosting clay
gathering earth
unsieved earth bricks
sieved earth bricks
clay bricks
earth + clay bricks
adding aggregates
the perfect brick mix
using frogs and insertsremoving frogs
frogs, wedges + inserts
forms used
frogged bricks
sunday 05.02.12
production line
the perfect process
strength test
inconsistent dimensions
design + buildnal design
placement on site
on site
alight at night
the end of the day
monday 06.02.12
photographs
photographs
post wales
history of earth blocks
compressed earth blocks in the modern age
centre for earth architecture, mali
contemporary buildings
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contents
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friday 03.0
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1. willow and moss c
2. dry slate wall wi
opening
3. larch pole viewin
platform
The site was still lled with the previous g
work. They had been there only two weeks previous
everything on site was still pretty much exact
they had left it.
It was interesting to see what they had acheiev
short two day period and an inspiring starting
for all of us.
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existing site
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initia
None of our group had ever made an earth brick, let
alon seen a cinva ram. Our aim for the weekend was
quite simple: to create a perfect compressed earth
brick!
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cinva ram: key parts
handle
cover
upper saddle
lever latch
toggle linkage
base
mold box
piston
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1 2
3 4
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The basic function of the cinva ram is
a soil/aggregate mixture into brick sh
process is quite simple:
1. An aggregate mixture is loaded i
box.
2. The cover is rotated round to close
box.
3. The lever latch is tted into upper
4. The lever is pulled rmly down
clicks. during this process the toggl
pushes the piston upwards, compres
soil/aggregate mixture from below
brick.
5. The lever is pulled back, the lever
lifted out of the upper saddle and t
rotated to open the mold box.
6. The lever is now pushed rmly dow
opposite direction, this pushes th
upwards and the brick is pushed up
of the mold box.
cinva ram: basic p
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saturday 04.0
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sourcing material
We knew we would need different types of soil and
different aggregates in order to work out the formula
for a perfect brick - and we would have to use what was
available. After looking around the site and immediate
area we were able to nd various different soil types,
however the cold weather had frozen the ground solid
making digging impossible.
clayWe managed to source clay from a previous groups
project that had used a series of small clay balls to
build a domed oven. The structure had collapsed in on
itself so we didnt feel to bad about taking it apart.
However these clay balls were frozen absolutely solid,
we had to build a re and stack the clay balls near by
in order to thaw them out.
earthWe managed to nd an area of earth that was inside a
shelter and had been protected from the rain - making
it bone dry and therefore not frozen!
aggregatesWe wanted to experiment by using different types of
aggregates and to see what impact this would have on
the quality of brick. We managed to nd slate shingle,
straw and small pieces of cork.
breaking up the clay ball
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dry rewood was in scarce
supply...
...but we prevailed and began
defrosting!
the clay balls not only
but also dried out
defrostin
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The area of dry earth was dug and sieved to create
a ne powder which is what we wanted for making the
bricks. The left over lumps were given to the rammed
earth group as this was the perfect type of earth
for their purpose. This allowed both groups to work
together and gather materials quickly.
nely sifted earth for brick making
lumpy earth for the rammed earth wall group
gathering earth
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unsieved earth
Our rst brick attempt was out of unsieved ea
pieces of earth were too large and the cinva
incapable of compressing it into a usable bri
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sieved earth bricks
We tried a brick using just nely sieved earth and
we also compacted it in layers by pounding it with
a heavy red brick. This created very hard and rm
bricks, but also quite brittle, especially around the
edges and corners.
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clay
Breaking the clay balls up into small pieces
able to load the molding box of the cinva
produce a brick made entirely from clay. Th
came out with crisp edges, but they were sof
touch and the clay was still malleable.
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clay and sieved earth mix bricks
By mixing nely sieved earth and clay together we were
aimed to get the right quantities of both to give us
a crisp form and a hard surface. Getting the ratio of
clay to nely sieved earth just right was a challenge,
but by the end of the day we managed to do it. (See
page 15 for the perfect brick mix!)
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adding aggr
We experimented with adding aggregates to t
mixture but these bricks were mostly unsucces
failed. We think this is possibly due to the ag
not being ne enough to mix sufciently with
and earth mix.
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the perfect brick mix
3 buckets of nely sieved, dry earth
10 defrosted clay balls
We tried many different combinations of earth and
to get the perfect mixture. After lots of tria
error we established that the best mixture was 10
balls and 3 small buckets of nely sieved dry ea
We found that with too much clay the bricks wourm, but very malleable and soft to touch. Whe
much nely sieved dry earth was added the bricks
generally be very hard but became quite brittle.
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frogs and i
molding box base
frog
brick formedwith negative
of frog
We made some experiments using frogs and d
types of inserts to change the form of the b
were producing. As well as creating interestin
it meant we reduced the amount of raw materia
per brick.
The frog or insert would be placed at the bott
molding box, then covered with earth mix and
The formed brick would then be produced with t
tive of the frog.
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frog removal
After pressing the brick in the cinva ram we had to
make sure the frog would be removable. To do this we
tted the frogs with string that formed a handle,
enabling us to pull the frogs out easily.
1. Brick is pressed with frog at bottom of molding box
2. Brick is rotated 180 degrees to expose frog
3. Handle allows easy removal of frog
1 2 3
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frogs +
split log
attened aluminium pipe
plywood reinforced wedg
chamfered 2x2
wedge
larger wedge
double plywood
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forms used
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frogged
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sunday 05.0
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production line
brick store
sieved earth
pile
mixing board
cinva ram
wheel barrow used
to transport sieved
earth to mixing
area
Today was all about producing as many brick
possible. To achieve this we set up a production
to maximise our efciency. This consisted of:
3 people mixing clay and earth
3 people operating the cinva ram2 people seiving
1 person tending the re and thawing the clay ba
When operating at fulls speed we were able to pr
a brick approximately every ve minutes.
re thawing
frozen clay
balls
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The best process for making bricks that we us
2 was the following:
1. Sprinkle molding box base with dry sieved
2. Place frog on molding box base and also with dry sieved earth
3. Using hands press earth and clay mix into
using hands. This ensures nice crisp corne
4. Fill molding box with earth and clay mix
5. Use cinva ram to press brick
6. Place piece of plywood on brick surface
length of timber to pound brick
7. Brick should approximately half in size
8. Rell molding box with more earth and clay
9. Use cinva ram to press brick a second time
the perfect p
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strength test
We tested the compressive strength of our bricks and
they performed well! We also observed how the bricks
would react when subjected to heat. Placing a brick in
the re for a few hours it survived well with just a
little bit of crumbling at the corners.
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inconsistent dime
Cinva ram compresses
from below
cons
tant
cons
tant
v
a
r
i
a
b
l
;
e
Despite our best efforts to be consistent
amount of mixture and method used, the bricks ul
came out slightly different in size from one
Luckily this variablity in size is only
dimension. We were still able to stack ou
unconvientianally - basically on their side,
frogs facing outwards. We liked this way of anyway as it showed the beautiful indentatio
frog and created an interesting shadow patter
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We were unsure how many bricks we would be able to
produce over the two days, so we had started out
without a particular design in mind. However over the
course of the two days we decided a glowing chimney/
lamp/heated tower with an internal re would become
the fruit of our labour.
During production we started experimenting with
different stacking techniques that would allow us to
build as tall as possible.
design and build
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We were unsure how many bricks we would be
produce over the two days, so we had sta
without a particular design in mind. However
course of the two days we decided a glowing
lamp/heated tower with an internal re woul
the fruit of our labour.
During production we started experimenti
different stacking techniques that would all
build as tall as possible.
fnal
Corner detail
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placement on site
View
Recycled timber viewing frame
Earth block chimney/lamp/heat
Rammed earth benchWillow beacon
Reclaimed brick
bench and BBQ
Canterlevered
larch pole
viewing
platform
Slate wall with two seats
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o
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alight at night
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the end of t
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monday 06.0
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photographs
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photo
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post
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history of earth blocks
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Humans have been building with earth for at least
10,000 years. It has been used in a variety of ways,
from hand formed cob walls, wattle and daub structureswhere earth is moulded around a frame and hand formed
into unbaked bricks.
In 1789 a French architect called Francois Contreaux
built the rst mechanical press capable of compressing
earth into blocks. The main advantage over mechanically
compressed earth blocks is that they are ready to be
used immeadiately after pressing, while hand formed clay
bricks need hydration during the molding process and
then require a few days of hot weather to dry in before
they are usable and taking up a lot of space.
Using wooden forms to create mud bricks.
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compressed earth blocks in the mode
Compressed earth blocks arent just a vernac
of earth for developing countries - above is
brick produced by major UK brick seller IBSTO
The photo on the left shows a build on site i
USA in 2006. The earth was collected and th
manufactured on site using a cinva ram. Th
locally sourced materials and the high therma
earth bricks will greatly reduce the carbon f
of this dwelling.
t f th hit t li
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centre for earth architecture, mali
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t b i
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contemporary bui
A compressed earth block vaulted roof in C
Mexico on the left and a Japanese resident
above.