Living in coastal Louisiana is no easy task. Hurricanes have drowned and destroyed houses in areas like Venice and Empire, creating a desire for hurricane-proof housing.
A multidisciplinary study from the University’s Coastal Sustainability Studio looks to find out whether that’s possible with “earth block,” or adobe style houses.
Associate professor of civil and environmental engineering Michele Barbato said the researchers plan to use soil from around Louisiana as construction material to make the ecological footprint as small as possible.
For example, he said, cooling and heating in adobe houses has the potential to be 15 percent more energy efficient than standard houses.
Assistant professor of architecture Robert Holton said the study’s main challenge is to see if it’s feasible and sustainable to make adobe suitable for Louisiana.
“In Louisiana there’s a hot, wet climate,” Holton said, “earth blocks have traditionally been used in arid climates like the west [Southwest U.S.].”
Ph.D student Mirsardar Esmaeili said the earth blocks can be fortified with concrete to combat the humidity and improve wind and flood resistance. Adding lots of concrete isn’t optimal, though, as it makes the building costs more expensive.
“The less concrete needed, the better,” Esmaeili said.
The study has three focal points for the houses: aesthetic, structural integrity and economic feasibility. The focal points correspond to the three departments working together on the study: architecture, engineering and agribusiness.
Working with other disciplines is nothing new to Holton. He said architects are always working with other specialties by the nature of their job.
“Architects often work with people in engineering, acoustics, environmental systems and lighting,” Holton said. “More people offer different perspectives on the work.”
Barbato agreed saying big issues like global warming and coastal sustainability require many perspectives.
“No single approach can tackle these issues,” Barbato said.
Multidisciplinary studies bring more than just different perspectives, Barbato said. Funding agencies are putting more money into multi-departmental studies.
Despite the benefits of multidisciplinary research, Barbato said it brings some unique challenges.
For example, he said, the word “design” means completely different things to engineers versus architects. Design for engineers means safety coefficients, stresses and dimensions of the structure. For an architect, it’s about how the space is organized for aesthetic purposes in addition to structural concerns.
Barbato said the study is still in its early stages, with data collection as the primary aim. Esmaeili and fellow Ph.D student Nitin Kumar have mapped out and tested various soils around Baton Rouge to find the right balance of sand, silt and clay.
“If there is too much expandable clay, cracks propagate in the blocks,” Esmaeili said.
So far, they’ve found soil in the sweet spot of sand, silt and clay around riverbanks.