Inhabitants Scale

Construction Benefits

Global Scale

The Benefits of StrawBale Construction:

Regional Scale

Lower CO2Emissions

Reduce Load ofAgricultral Waste

Support RegionalFarmers

Reduce Pressure onDepleted Forests

Reduced Pollution

High Insulation Value

Customizable withindwelling

Functional ElementsIntegrated into Design

Fire Resistant

Cheap Materials

Easily/ComprensiveConstruction - Modular

Easily designed to SuitDiverse Family Needs

Natural andCompostable

Renewable/Rapid Regeneration

Refugee housing challenge of Uganda:

Utilizing High PrevelanceAgricultural By-Products as aSource for Construction MaterialsNicole C. LittleArc 404: Spring 2017Professor: Korydon Smith

Interior Rendering - Hallway

Interior Rendering

Solid Rear Wall

Woven Facade

Woven FacadeWoven Facade

Plug-inwalls

The economy of Uganda is primarily comprised of agriculture. A whop-ping 82% of the nation’s people work in the industry, and it accounts for ap-proximately 90% of the country’s GDP. Seemingly paradoxical, there is anoverwhelming issue of trash in the nation. The country is currently lookingfor new landfills, and city trash systems can only handle about 40% of thewaste produced. When further investigated, it seems to be that 80% of thewaste is organics, 70% of which is vegetable matter. In an effort to divertthis waste and support the farming industry, one could imagine using agri-cultural byproducts as a method of material sourcing. Vegetable matter is ahighly researched topic in the engineering material science journals. Usedas a reinforcement agent in aggregates, woven to make textiles, or gluedtogether to make oriented strand boards, there are many purposes forplants in construction.

Given the nature of the challenge at hand, the amount of time, moneyand resources may not be available to construct the more rigorous materialinnovations. However, one can work with materials that farmers are alreadyaccustomed to making. Being that most agricultural byproducts are stems,grasses and leaves, there is a high potential for bales of these byproductsto be a feasible solution for modular construction. One bale of hay runs ascheap as two shillings, or two cents USD. Modular construction is easilycomprehensible and modified for family needs. Bales are also large enoughto be used as functional elements utilizing the architectural concepts of ad-dition or subtraction.

By creating a guide of wall elements, a home could be built as a kit ofparts, and spatial needs for each individual family can be met quickly. Othermaterials needed for this construction would be adobe for floors. Clay andchicken wire can be used to cover the exterior surfaces of the clay. Bamboocan be used as reinforcement for the walls, and also cut in half and over-lapped to create a waterproof roof. OSB made of wood or other plant fiberssuch as corn husks may be used for linters above door and windows, as wellas on surfaces meant to be shelves or seats. Finally woven grasses can beused to create a perforated façade bringing in natural light. This wovenfaçade is easily customizable by families and reflects the art of basket weav-ing so widespread in both Ugandan and South Sudanese cultures.

Wall Systems Catalog

Sample Plan

Sample Longitudinal Section

Sample Cross Section

Exterior Render