In TERRAVERSA we manufacture sustainable construction products using earth. Our first step has been to create a business producing Compressed Earth Blocks due to their ease of adapting to common building practices. We are working to expand and innovate with other earth-based products and methodology such as poured earth concrete to be delivered to the market in the coming years . Our business is centered on the use of earth, which is the most abundant resource we have on this planet.
There is a growing concern for environmental issues within our society, a concern that the construction industry has been very slow to accept. A more conscious and sustainable construction industry focused on health, energy and the proper use of natural resources is now inevitable as governments around the world push for private practice to move towards a global goal of sustainability.
The construction sector is responsible for approximately 40% of the world's carbon footprint and as such will play a major role in the change needed to reverse our impact on the planet. As part of this movement, TERRAVERSA proposes a positive impact through the production of products using earth. In TERRAVERSA we specialize in the production of Compressed Stabilized Earth Block. CSEB is an ecological alternative for application in all types of masonry.
Building with earth/soil has a long and enduring history throughout the world, a history in which, for a long time, human development progressed in harmony with nature, respecting and using its various resources. This balance has been lost. The careless exploitation of resources and the rise of excessively polluting manufacturing processes have resulted in a world on the verge of collapse. Global warming and climate change are a reality, and the vast majority of people around the world agree that humanity must change to ensure the sustainability of the planet. We would like to add our grain of sand to the cause, little by little and brick by brick to build a better future.
Our goal in a 5-year projection is to increase the variety of block modules and branch out to other earth-based construction products/methodology, such as earth-based mortars, plasters, rammed earth, and poured earth concrete. Historically, there are 12 techniques for using earth as a building material, we would like to experiment with each of these techniques, innovating with new technologies to resurrect them in the context of the modern construction industry.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
TERRAVERSA's main objective is to respond to the growing concerns about the environment and the negative impact caused by the construction industry by promoting a paradigm shift in the way the industry operates, looking to the future in an ecological way and focused on the safety and comfort of society and the communities of which it is comprised. Our approach centered on earth as a construction material has been historically proven and meets both the growing needs of today and those that will arise tomorrow. Our mission is to provide the market with viable, long-term solutions for sustainability in the construction industry, solutions that are in harmony with nature, the environment, and our planet.
Our project complies with the following Sustainable Development Goals;
Number 3; Health and Wellbeing, Number 9; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Number 11; Sustainable Cities and Communities, Number 12; Responsible Production and Consumption, and Number 13; Climate Action.
We have been working with various excavation companies during the last year and experimenting with the use of recycled soil to make blocks. There is a huge potential to harness this waste material not only from standard construction project but also large scale infrastructure works. We have tested these blocks in the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and have produced a quality matching and surpassing the mechanical resistant of a standard clay/ceramic brick as required by both British and Spanish standards. Based on this investigation we have continued producing blocks using recycled soil and are beginning to approach companies that manage large scale civil infrastructure projects to discuss the potential synergies of using their waste soil to produce a viable construction product.
The use of brick in construction is only equalled by concrete. Together they account for a massive market share. Our challenge is to produce viable sustainable alternative to both of these industries.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
The great American author Wendell Berry once wrote;
“Soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it, we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.”
Infact, the Hebrew word for soil is adamah, as such it could be derived that the story of Genesis and the first human being (Adam) was intended for us to understand that human life derives from soil, needs soil, and is dependent upon it. Likewise soil also depends on us in certain respects to care of it, the fact that many ancient cultures believed themselves to be 'custodians' of the land reinforces this relationship, humankind (adam) and the earth (adamah) are essentially inseperable.
Our project takes as its launching point this belief, that the earth and those who live upon it are inextricably linked. With this explanation the aesthetics and quality that we are attempting to deliver is evident.
A well considered building that delivers harmony between design, structure, technique and the use of materials while also considering location, environment and socio-cultural context defines a certain sustainable and aesthetic value or quality that cannot withhold community participation, because these things are only achievable when we work together. Through our combined work with TERRAVERSA (material development), ICS (dissemination of knowledge) and Construye Diferente (project delivery) this is the value with endevour to add.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
The seed of our current enterprise was germinated in India, where we met while working for the NGO Fundación Vicente Ferrer.
There we tried to create a new approach in participatory design and ecological construction, trying to build a bridge between tradition and modernity. There, in addition to many other things, we set up a Compressed Earth Blocks (CSEB) factory for use in buildings built by the Fundación, thus incorporating sustainable technologies and providing safer, healthier and more comfortable environments for the most vulnerable people. Another key factor was the development of new skills within the local communities, thus increasing job opportunities in the district.
We were so inspired by this work that after 5 years of work in India we decided to bring our knowledge, passion and ambition to Spain, and specifically to Valencia, where we opened TERRAVERSA in October 2020.
We are Daniel and Iván, we are an Architect and an Engineer who are dedicated to Bio-construction. Our goal as an organization is to promote the construction and/or rehabilitation of buildings where the least possible amount of energy is consumed during use. We are faithful defenders of good bio-climatic design and the use of passive techniques to achieve the greatest comfort for users within the space.
Due to our background in development we have a firm belief in the responsibility that falls upon all companies to invest time and energy in social causes. For this reason, we created our own NGO, Instituto de Construcción Sostenible (ICS), a reference center for the promotion and free dissemination of knowledge related to Sustainable Construction with the objective to achieve more sustainable habitats. ICS was born with the aim of empowering technicians, promoters, clients and anyone who wants to build in a different way. We wish to create an interdisplinary dialogue that traverses culture, gender and age.
ICS works with TERRAVERSA to achieve this end.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary
I believe the concept of sustainability has an inherent quality and aesthetic that reinforces an attitude of inclusivity and a deep sense of community. It was the cornerstone of our work in India and it is something that I have begun to see through our work at TERRAVERSA in collaboration with our project delivery mechanism Construye Diferente and also through the work of our NGO Instituto de Construcción Sostenible. Our partners in ICS in Medellin, Colombia have also made a huge impact on their local community having already been in operation for 2 years.
By helping to build a sense of place through concious co-design and material research we have helped to build a sense of community. Our clients, collaborators, students, volunteers and workers now form part of a wider circle of friends and in many instances their roles are constantly changing as collaborators turn into clients or students become collaborators and vice versa.
There is a great desire for change in society and as we come into contact with more people, this belief has become more evident. People from all walks of life wish to contribute and form part of this sustainable growth and by opening up our business and creating ICS we have been able to harness this energy and support, which has provided great inspiration and motivation for us.
The current block modules that we are working with were developed based on years of experience in particpatory design and co-creation, through ideas and potential improvements that were expressed to us by builders, sub-contractors and end users/occupiers. We wanted to create something that made construction easy, even for those will little to no previous knowledge. The design of our brick also has other advantages as we discovered, the tongue and groove joints allowed us to explore new building techniques and with this product walls can be built with little to no mortar, and shelters can be dismounted and reconstructed anew in other locations.
We have been in operation for less than a year so it is still early days in terms of results but we are beginning to see some impact. We have won a small number of local awards, with our work being recognised by local authorities in Valencia and Nules and also the innovative nature of our project by Lafarge Holcim. We have also been invited to speak and participate in various local conferences on the topics of Health and Wellbeing and Innovation in the Construction Sector.
We firmly believe that our project and the products it delivers transmits a sense of place and a spirit of sustainable community. We are 100% vested in the interest of delivering places not spaces, places for people on EARTH made of earth. We have been involved in 5 small scale projects and are currently fabricating blocks for another 2, one of which is a public project funded by the city of Castellon
The difficulty we have encountered is visibility. Sustainable building options are largely unknown to both the industry and the public, and often these options are viewed as tradtional and sub-standard. Infact, our block has often been confused with adobe, the tradtional material upon which it is developed, however our product is not handmade, we employ technology to deliver outcomes that meet with the requirements and regulations of the modern construction industry.
My passion for sustainability stems from his childhood in Australia, a country which prides itself on having a wealth of natural resources. The "great outdoors", as it is known in Australia, places the entire nation and its people within the context of these natural resources and its citizens have a true sense of being "custodians" of the earth which is an ancient aboriginal belief that today forms an essential part of our modern culture. My 20 years of professional experience in architecture has always had a sense of connectivity with nature and has been driven by a desire to connect communities with their context.
Please also explain the benefits that derived from their involvement.
Only through community participation and involvement will the construction industry reach its goal of sustainability. By its nature, as a private enterprise it seeks profits and as such follows the demands of its clients, its clients are essentially the general public. When the public harness the knowledge and understand the available options true change will finally occur. It is our aim to give all sustainable building options more visibility through our NGO by educating the public through online initiatves and also presencial workshops.
Our project at TERRAVERSA also relies on the collaboration of many people within the building biology sector. The community and the businesses of which it is comprised are small and must work together to survive and deliver postivite change to the construction industry. It is at the forefront of sustainable design where tradition and innovation are interwined.
Many projects on which we work are are initated by self-builders, people who wish to particpate in the construction of their own homes, or in many cases, wish to construct the entire project themselves. We participate in the process by implementing informative and practical workshop on the actual site of construction and employ volunteers from the community who wish to learn sustainable building techniques to help build the project. People from all walks of life come to these classes, professionals and public alike.
The global challenge is clear, the construction sector is responsible for approximately 40% of the world's carbon footprint and as such will play a major role in the change needed to reverse our impact on the planet.
The 20th century has marked a radical change in construction practices throughout the world, characterized by an overexploitation of natural and energy resources. The skills of builders who used local materials to build have been lost in the name of 'modernism' and a preference for steel, concrete, ceramic brick, and plastics has arisen. We have forgetten about local materials and the heritage that constitutes our vernacular architecture. In traditional vernacular architecture we find many buildings that are energetically self-sufficient and adapted to each place. A growing concern for environmental issues is bringing us back to these traditions and providing new opportunities to innovate and it is here that TERRAVERSA and the use of earth as a construction material present a viable solution.
Earth is so abundant that the construction processes that make use of it are universally known and almost all ancient cultures used earth as a building material. These ancient methods of working with earth are categorised into 12 techniques. Our logo at TERRAVERSA is based on the 'wheel' which represents this knowledge because our mission is to innovate with each of these techniques and revive them into the modern construction industry. It is interesting to note that approximately 30% of the worlds population still live in houses made of earth.
The use of brick in construction dates back to 7000BC, making it one of the oldest known building products in history. Today, brick remains an important building material, equalled in its use only by concrete. Given the large size of the market, providing a 100% sustainable alternative (carbon free) for both of these materials could have an enormous effect on reducing the environmental impact of the industry.
“even a brick wants to be something else. A brick wants to be much more. He has ambitions. Even a simple and ordinary brick wants to be something better than this. This is how we should all be.” Louis Khan (1901-1974)
The use of brick in construction dates back to approximately 7,000 BC, making it one of the oldest known building products in history. Today, brick remains an important building material, equaled in its use only by concrete. Given the large size of the market, providing a sustainable alternative ('carbon-free') could have a great effect in reducing the environmental impact of the construction industry.
Compressed Earth Block is a innovative solution that is created by combining earth, sand, and a small amount of water in a mechanical press. The brick is formed by a high compressive force and left to cure for approximately 4-6 weeks by which time it reaches its maximum compressive strength.
Compressed Earth Block meets all the key characteristics of a ceramic brick (strength, durability and thermal conductivity) but has many more additional benefits. It is an energy efficient product that creates sustainable developments. No environmental pollution occurs during the production process or throughout the product's life cycle. It does not produce carbon emissions as it does not imply a great use of energy or the creation of waste. The energy content of a Compressed Earth Block is approximately 11 times less than that of a ceramic brick (572 MJ/m3 compared to 6122 MJ/m3).
It is strong, durable and has excellent thermal and acoustic insulation properties. It is a 100% natural product that produces buildings that 'breathe' and can absorb atmospheric moisture, which in turn creates healthy indoor environments. Most important of all, it is a local product, made with local raw materials and by local workers, thus feeding the local economy.
Please provide clear documentation, communication of methodology and principles in this context.
Our primary method of transfering project results at TERRAVERSA is through our partner organsiation ICS (Instituto de Construccion Sostenible). We are in the process of upgrading the website to make it more accessible to the public and to create a forum within which professionals and the general public can communicate with each other. Our forum will help provide more visibility to the solutions available, and even those yet to come to the market. We have recently applied for a small grant from the Valencian government to help fund this upgrade.
ICS also seeks to assist NGO's working in developing countries. We are still in contact with Fundacion Vicente Ferrer and open to providing assistence to help their project grow and to ensure that our sustainable iniatives from previous work are still operating successfully, particularly the Compressed Block factory. We have also recently been contacted by NGO's operating in both Uganda and Cameroon who wish to build schools and do so in a sustainable many in which the local communities can be involved. There is a huge potential for earth block and other sustainable building techniques in these countries, many construction traditions still exist that can be harnessed and re-engineered to proviude safer and more comfortable dwellings. We have developed project briefs regarding the methodology and have approached a number of funding mechanisms in order to purchase machinery and assist with the cost of sending teachers and facilitators to help set up production in a similar many in which we did in India. These projects are still in development and will take time. Through our partner organisation, Construye Diferente, we offer assistence in design and documentation for such projects.
@DanielKnight, 2021
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