International Thin Shell Association

STEVE KORNHER IS HOSTING TWO CONCRETE VAULT WORKSHOPS

WHERE: SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE(SMA), GUANAJUATO, MEXICO

WHEN: FEBRUARY 7-13, 2010

Both workshops will focus on vaulted roofs, stair railings, terrazzo and counter tops. Also spraying and finish plaster, light weight and hard sculpture, doors and windows, stains and colors, garden benches, and anything else you specifically request. Cost is $700 with a 10% discount for couples. This Price includes:

* Instruction and materials: We will be working on vaults, movable formwork, light weight concrete, sculpture, bucket mixers, and use of fibers. PLUS- basically whatever you want–terrazo, sand casting, stairs, and rails, FC doors, poured dirt …I have tried a lot of stuff from The Owner Built Home, so most anything from this book is possible/probable.

* Transportation in SMA –we’ll need a van or a couple of taxis to visit sites and for daily rides from town to the ranch/work site.
* Wonderful lunches featuring the local cuisine.

For more information please email Steve Kornher at mxsteve@gmail.com

		Stucco & Mortar Sprayers
		If you want to learn how to stucco, or want to apply stucco or mortar to a wall or strawbales, you will like this stucco sprayer for spraying traditional plaster, lime and natural earth plaster, and stucco and mortar mixes.

The Fort Denali walls will be constructed of Insulated Concrete Forms. They are the formwork for the concrete and rebar, they insulate the house, they make it air tight, and they provide sound insulation, too. Some of the best products serve multiple purposes, and ICF’s are no exception. These are the Logix brand.

Greg and Leila Clark, of Wasilla, AK proudly announce the birth of the newest member of the dome family, Fort Denali. Ground was broken August 3, 2009. Fort is 90′ long and weighs 200,000#.

Joking aside, Fort Denali represents the birth of a new variant of thin shell construction–ICF walls with a dome roof. This gives the Clarks the benefits of vertical ICF walls (which are all the rage in AK and throughout the US) while adding the security and energy efficiency of the Monolithic™ dome roof. The combination is called The Hybrid™ and was selected by the Clarks because it gives them access to contractors familiar with a mainstream building technology like ICF’s while adding a roof that can face up to Alaska’s worst weather. Makes you almost feel sorry for the neighbors who are stuck with a wood-frame roof on their ICF walls.

Ground was broken this week (and beautiful ground it is!), materials are starting to accumulate, and the foundation will be poured shortly.

Credits

Design: Jim Kaslik, Cloud Hidden Designs, LLC

Engineering: Chris Zweifel, PE, ZZ Consulting

Air form: MDI

ICF forms: Logix

The Hybrid™ is a trademark of Cloud Hidden Designs, LLC

Thin shell buildings have been decorated in many ways, but usually that’s an afterthought that’s cut as the budget tightens. The decorative effects I’ve seen have run the gamut from simple shapes to a carved horse’s head, usually covered with synthetic stucco but sometimes carved directly out of concrete before it hardens. An alternative to sculpting an object or decoration is to use a base object created in a factory and molded from a high density polyurethane foam. These attach easily to the building and are also easily coated with the finish materials used on t he rest of the house.

Nesco Manufacturing, in Tempe, AZ, makes a full line of products that can add sparkle to our buildings and take them from plain to dramatic. I’ve toured their manufacturing facility, and their quality control is superb. Their corbels, columns, scuppers, and other objects all have a place in a well designed and built house or other structure. I’m partial to this corbel <G>,  but you can check out their full catalog to find others to suit a more traditional taste. They have a fantastic, well crafted product line.

Su-z and David are making great progress with their beautiful Las Vegas house. The footers have been poured, the air form has been inflated, foam’s been sprayed, rebar’s been tied, and the shotcrete has been sprayed. They are now applying the finish coat to the interior…by hand, no less!

This project has had two major challenges: dealing with the über-strict code requirements of Clark County (arguable the toughest in the country), and building the dome over an existing basement. But these challenges were met, and the house is rising from its ashes like a Phoenix…or a Fenix…you have to read the whole story.

Credits

Design: Jim Kaslik, Cloud Hidden Designs, LLC

Construction: Ray Ansel, Lifeline Domes

Engineering: Chris Zweifel, PE, ZZ Consulting

The gadget site Gizmodo held an informal contest challenging people to Photoshop dream houses without regard to whether or not they could be built. While some certainly took the “without regard to whether or not they could be built” provision to heart, many of the houses will look practically normal to those of us partial to rounded and sculpted architecture. When I looked at several of the pictures, my first thought was, “We could do that…no big deal.”

The lasting thought, though, is how many other people see as a “dream house” buildings whose shapes we practically take for granted. Maybe the hesitancy we face amongst the public in embracing our buildings is not resistance because they don’t like them, but rather that they simply can’t imagine themselves being priviledged enough to ever live in one.

photo © Gizmodo, 2009

Clayton Homes, recently acquired by Berkshire-Hathaway, has introduced a new model to their family of modular homes and called it the “i-house.” They’re promoting two benefits: its 30% reduction in energy usage compared to traditional houses, and its cost of $100-$130 per square foot compared to a typical frame house cost of $200-$300 per square foot. This has been reported in USA Today and many other periodicals. The picture of the house is from the Clayton Homes web site.

30% reduction in energy usage for heating and cooling and $100-$130 per square foot. That’s what it takes to generate excitement in the framed-house world.

Meanwhile, insulated concrete homes show a 60% reduction in energy usage for heating and cooling, and are currently averaging $120-$135 per square foot. Beyond that, they offer the world’s most serious protection from severe weather and a wide variety of other benefits. With even a modest 60 mph wind–the type you can experience anywhere in the world–in which house would you rather be riding out a storm?

photo © Clayton Homes, 2009

by Chris Zweifel

Recently I imposed on the good folks at MDI to build me a small air form. My intent was to put the Idaho winter to good use, and also provide some fun for my kids. The results speak for themselves!

photos © Chris Zweifel, 2008

Blogging software didn’t exist, or at least not as a popular form, when Cloud Hidden was being built, so there’s no formal journal of its construction. But that isn’t stopping the original owners from reconstructing the house through old pictures and a retrospective blog. It will probably be a little more idealized and sanitized than if it was happening in real time, but we’ll do the best we can to capture the spirit of the time.

Credits

Design: Jim Kaslik & David Collins

Construction: Jim Kaslik & George Paul

Engineering: Dr. Arnold Wilson