Buffelsdrift Catenary Vaults
Since I saw the first brick vault in Swakopmund built by Frenus Rohrich a local architect and some Nubian vaults built by an NGO in Otjiwarongo Namibia vaulted and all other shell type structures became an obsessive interest to me. The work from late Hassan Fathy, Felix Candela, Guastavino the inventor of timbrel vaulting and contemporary of Antoni Gaudí, the work from the Auroville Earth Institute and several examples of Catalan vaults from Spain became presidents and closely followed sources for my interest.The Damaraland clay project lead to the first vaulted buildings I designed and built. Clay vaults built with mud mortar and a flat tile is in no need for sacrificial support work. Highly skilled Catalan builders have developed the skill of vault and dome building with very sticky lime or gypsum based mortars and high-quality flat surfaced vault bricks to be able to build these structures without formwork. In South Africa where no craftsman exist to build vaulted and domed structures, another tactic is needed. As part of the Buffelsdrift project, a few new buildings were planned. A new house and a room for pumping equipment. I convinced Greg Truen to take a chance on investing in an experimental building method to build a building with a series of small flat vaults without form work. It turned out to be very successful. The 2 x vaults as can be seen in the drawings and photographs was built one row at a time with a catenary shaped template supported by a steel rail system later to be removed. The sideways kick of the brick vault is kept in balance by steel rods in tension. The poured earth end walls of this building is 1,2m thick and partly resist the sideways force. Steel beams with vertical flanges allow light to enter from above and give the roof a certain floating feeling.
Since I saw the first brick vault in Swakopmund built by Frenus Rohrich a local architect and some Nubian vaults built by an NGO in Otjiwarongo Namibia vaulted and all other shell type structures became an obsessive interest to me. The work from late Hassan Fathy, Felix Candela, Guastavino the inventor of timbrel vaulting and contemporary of Antoni Gaudí, the work from the Auroville Earth Institute and several examples of Catalan vaults from Spain became presidents and closely followed sources for my interest.The Damaraland clay project lead to the first vaulted buildings I designed and built. Clay vaults built with mud mortar and a flat tile is in no need for sacrificial support work. Highly skilled Catalan builders have developed the skill of vault and dome building with very sticky lime or gypsum based mortars and high-quality flat surfaced vault bricks to be able to build these structures without formwork. In South Africa where no craftsman exist to build vaulted and domed structures, another tactic is needed. As part of the Buffelsdrift project, a few new buildings were planned. A new house and a room for pumping equipment. I convinced Greg Truen to take a chance on investing in an experimental building method to build a building with a series of small flat vaults without form work. It turned out to be very successful. The 2 x vaults as can be seen in the drawings and photographs was built one row at a time with a catenary shaped template supported by a steel rail system later to be removed. The sideways kick of the brick vault is kept in balance by steel rods in tension. The poured earth end walls of this building is 1,2m thick and partly resist the sideways force. Steel beams with vertical flanges allow light to enter from above and give the roof a certain floating feeling.
Photo credit: Adam Letch
Photo credit: Adam Letch
