* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Are sandbag igloos the key to solving housing problems in dry regions?
Architects Nicola Du Pisanie of Stonewood Design and Ross McDonald of Alison Brooks Architects discuss a proposed project to build sandbag, or super adobe, igloo homes in the Namibian desert at the Building Centre as part of the London Festival of Architecture.
The geometrical domes are made with sandbags and barbed wire and then plastered for protection. They are not difficult to construct and they are wind and earthquake resistant, according to Du Pisanie and McDonald.
Du Pisanie and McDonald formerly worked with FCBStudios where the "Igloos for the Namib" project was initiated.
Further information on sandbag architecture:
- A Material and Structural Analysis of Earthbag Housing, April 2010, by Nikul Vadgama
- EarthbagBuilding.com, Sharing information and promoting earthbag building
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
