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High-Tech Construction With Low-Tech Ideas
In this time-lapse video, watch how workers built a visitor’s center in South Africa using ancient Roman techniques such as the arched ceiling, or vault (02:02)
Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Center
Related:
With Ancient Arches, the Old is New Again
An MIT professor shows how ancient architecture can be the basis for a more sustainable future
August 2010 |
By Logan Ward
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Comments (11)
Pardon the self-promotion. We teach Adobe 112, Arches, Domes and Vaults here at Northern New Mexico College as part of our Adobe Construction Program. Two-week intensive first two weeks May 2011. Several of our 10- or 12-foot domes on square buildings are around Northern New Mexico. We use the Nubian technique with no forms (centering).
The domes go up in the air in a near magical form.
Posted by Quentin Wilson on August 25,2010 | 01:53 PM
I agree the action was too fast. Far better to show a smaller portion of the work at a comprehensible pace.
Posted by jim banks on August 11,2010 | 07:22 PM
There is little mystery left in arch/vault construction technique. It is thousands of years old... renewable armatures and forms are another matter. Christopher Alexander explores the Sumerian technique of building w/o any forms for vaulting and demonstrates low density structural concrete materials as well. I have succesfully built a few sheds using his methods and am so impressed. Check out "A pattern Language" and "A Timeless Way of Building".
Posted by mark welles on August 6,2010 | 07:02 PM
By the comments shown here, I think there is much more interest (with the exception of a few) which might warrant a new, more in-depth article with schematics. Whether you believe in Climate change or not, the revival of a construction technique that has proven itself over thousands of years, (Pantheon), merits additional information. Unfortunately, nobody has entirely figured out how the Pantheon was built. Please provide more information in another article/video. Thanks!
Posted by Robert Wendel on July 29,2010 | 09:38 AM
I am disappointed in the quality (sharpness..) of the stop action film and the speed of the entire presentation which, when taken together makes it difficult to impossible to understand the construction technique. Perhaps just a part of the action could be slowed down to better illustrate the construction methodology. I would also love to understand what the roof material is and if it is part of the structural arch or applied afterward as a finish, and then if so, why... & why the rough texture ......does it ever rain at this site? How about re-discovering another old fashioned construction technique - a simple sectional drawing illustrating the arch, roofing and lateral anchorage at the base of the arch.
Posted by Hans Nepf on July 23,2010 | 08:05 PM
The story in the magazine was fascinating and I was expecting to view how this was accomplished.
This current video should have been only part of the presentation (the last part). What is lacking is a clear explanation of what is actually being done with close-up views.
Posted by David Newman on July 14,2010 | 10:09 PM
I'm with the others. The video was of no use for those of us who wish to use this technique. I'm not sure if the arches were supported by trusses in the main halls. Please provide access to a more educational view of the construction method so us subscribers to your magazine can have the same benefits as those in rural Africa.
Posted by Howard Blaz on July 8,2010 | 02:04 PM
This would be a wonderful way to help rebuild Haiti! Whit building that might with stand the next Quake.
Posted by Terry Baucom on July 6,2010 | 12:11 PM
Completely uninformative. Although, I have to admit, I had to pause the video briefly to go outside and watch the grass grow. I'm always being diverted by things more interesting.
Re: the written article, the most important and interesting aspect of arch structures and the whole basis of the technology are voussoirs. Guess I missed it.
The author was probably too caught up in fantasizing about junk science called carbon emissions.
Posted by Jim Finch on July 5,2010 | 03:41 PM
I sought the video expecting to see how the arches were built. I am disappointed that the action is far too swift and distant to afford such help.
Posted by Robert Hooper on July 5,2010 | 01:01 PM
Nice combination of sustainable ideas and ancient vault construction! This video demonstrates methods that will be of interest to students of architecture or art history.
Posted by Cynthia Canejo on July 3,2010 | 12:34 PM