Durabric: Low-tech for cutting-edge structure

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    Prototype Droneport Shell – 15th International Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy

    The Droneport’s location at the end of the Arsenale in Venice is symbolic as the gateway to a newly opened public park. The possibility of the structure remaining as a permanent legacy is now under consideration.

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    Prototype Droneport Shell – 15th International Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy

    The construction of the prototype Droneport shell has been made possible by The Norman Foster Foundation together with engineering skills from ETH Zurich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge University; contributions by students from Madrid, ETH Zurich and MIT; and the support of the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction and the LafargeHolcim Research Center in Lyon. They have produced a high strength, earth-based Durabric product specifically for the project.

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    Prototype Droneport Shell – 15th International Architecture Biennale, Venice, Italy

    The special Durabric product of stabilised earth is a reliable, affordable and environmentally friendly building material that does not require intensive use of fuel to achieve its performance.

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    18,000 Durabrics were made available for the Droneport construction in Venice. As the technology is easily transferable, the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction encouraged the use of Durabric to build the Droneport prototype at the Architecture Biennale in Venice as a symbol for future projects in Rwanda and other emerging countries.

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    Sketch by Lord Norman Foster showing the Durabric sandwich construction used to build the Droneport prototype.

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    Testing on site: Lord Norman Foster approving a construction sample of “Durabric” compressed earth bricks at his “Droneport” pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Biennale in Venice.

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    The Research Center of LafargeHolcim in Lyon developed customized bricks to meet the specific requirements of the Droneport vault.

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    Durabric fabrication: LafargeHolcim developed Durabric, a naturally cured building block made of compressed earth and cement, and launched it commercially in Cameroon, Indonesia, Malawi and Tanzania.

Stabilized earth bricks are a reliable, affordable and environmental-friendly building material. Compared to burnt clay bricks they do not require the intensive use of firewood or other fuel to achieve their performance. LafargeHolcim developed Durabric, a naturally cured building block made of compressed earth and cement, and launched it commercially in Cameroon, Indonesia, Malawi and Tanzania. As the technology is easily transferable, the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction encouraged the use of Durabric to build the Droneport prototype at the Architecture Biennale in Venice as a symbol for future projects in Rwanda and other emerging countries.

Last updated: May 23, 2016 Venice, Italy

Stabilized earth bricks are a reliable, affordable and environmental-friendly building material. Compared to burnt clay bricks they do not require the intensive use of firewood or other fuel to achieve their performance. LafargeHolcim developed Durabric, a naturally cured building block made of compressed earth and cement, and launched it commercially in Cameroon, Indonesia, Malawi and Tanzania. As the technology is easily transferable, the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction encouraged the use of Durabric to build the Droneport prototype at the Architecture Biennale in Venice as a symbol for future projects in Rwanda and other emerging countries.

Meeting new requirements

The Research Center of LafargeHolcim in Lyon developed customized bricks to meet the specific requirements of the Droneport vault. The challenge was to ensure a compressive strength of at least 10 MPa while minimizing the weight and size of each brick. The mix design was optimized in close cooperation with the Block Research Group at ETH Zurich and MecoConcept Toulouse. 18,000 Durabrics were made available for the Droneport construction in Venice. The heavy exposure to rain of the outer layer inspired LafargeHolcim to adapt the receipt of the waterproofing agent that is applied on the Droneport.