Almost one year passed away since the beginning of my PhD research. Time is running so fast but also my pockets were no longer empty. I create this blog today (16.02.2013) to share my ideas, get feedbacks and to record my achievements so far. I am working on the traditional mud houses in the capital of my country, Khartoum in Sudan (North Africa). I work on the mud mixture that is used to build the walls of these houses and what is called in the local tongue (Jalous). This is the name of the building technique.

Why mud houses and why walls in specific?

Good question indeed.

 Nowadays, the global warming phenomena and the CO2 emissions catch the world attention. The focus to reduce these emissions of greenhouse gasses took place. Massive emissions worldwide come from the construction industry in general. Building materials have the largest share, where cement and its products have the big share so far. As a result, we need alternative building materials to supersede cements and many other building materials that harm the environment in so many different ways. From my own point of view, I see that sustainability is no longer an optional choice it is an obligatory one. When in 1987 the world commission on environment and development released its report '' Our Common Future'', they refer to too many forgotten aspects. I think their definition was fair enough to highlight all the needed points and filling the gaps to make it not an option anymore:

',,,, development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.

In my research I concentrate on the houses of the urban poor of Greater Khartoum. They are poor, they considered the majority of the population, they face many problems of living conditions, but one of their main concerns is their housing problems. The main and only building material available and affordable for this group is mud. They use mud for building the walls and sometimes they use it for roofing.  The traditional technique they use is lack durability, is time consuming, maintenance is costly in the long run (they need to maintain it before every rainy season).

I believe in respecting cultures and backgrounds of people is so important in all aspect of the life. I also believe in that never impose new building technique that is not part of people culture, life and background, since it will be rejected. Adaptation is a long process and sometimes is a dream that will never comes true. However, study the people way of living and building with all respect to their culture, is always a way out with great solutions that fully supported by people themselves.

In Sudan and in general, local building material market is limited. However walls material could be listed in a very confined list: red brick, mud, cement blocks, stone blocks, corrugated iron sheets and cement. The problem is that, despite the limitation of the local materials, those poor can’t afford buying these materials.

OK ,,,, Why this research.....

I believe as an Architect that Architecture is all about serving the needs of a community. My master studies were about the sustainable building technologies and I think it was my motivation to search for serving my people. I think all man kinds despite their differences in abilities, origins, backgrounds, environments, beliefs and desires; they deserve the minimum standards of living in this planet. The definition of 'minimum' sometimes differs from place to place, but at least all humans agreed on that the shelter is a right for all and is considered the minimum right in all parts of the world. I think by empowering the old fashionable techniques and building materials, we will serve both the humans and the planet as well.

So, what exactly I want to do?

I want to upgrade the mixture of these walls in a way more durable, affordable and more sustainable.

How ,,,,,?

I want to mimic the nature in a way to solve my problem (biomimicry)…….. I will not say how to do that now, but in general I want to test some new additives to the old mixture for better mechanical properties. The main idea is to use the waste from agriculture and industry (not toxic one) to do that.

More details are coming soon,,,,,,,,,