The "bioconstruction" boom: those who choose

cheaper, greener and more community homes

Translated by ContentEngine LLC . CE Noticias Financieras , English ed.; Miami [Miami]. 23 Nov 2019.

Enlace de documentos de ProQuest

TEXTO COMPLETO
-Force boys, force boys!
Rio's cry, a five-year-old boy, sanded out of a group of people taking part in a minga, a word of Quechua origin that
evokes a gathering of friends and neighbors to do community work.
The boy watched his parents make a human chain to build his house. They weren't alone: they were helped by
other people. They were carrying tons of dirt and breads passing through to the roof. In bioconstruction it is called
quincha, a kind of lattice of cane and grass covered with mud.
"In the mingas each contributes a little and in the balance is a lot, because between all is built the house. And the
children also participate, they are images that are never forgotten. The power of the minga is social, in the
recreation of human ties," says Victor Hugo Nego Dávila, builder and transmitter of bioconstruction in the Gran La
Plata.
This is a "minga" in the house of The Nego Dávila, with community participation (Picasa/)
What seems like a novelty is, in fact, a return to the origins. Those constructions with adobe bricks and thatched or
veneer roof, which are a postcard from any town in northern Argentina, are known today as signs of the boom of
bioconstruction, ecological houses and sustainable architecture.
It's not something of these times. The father of bioconstruction is German, his name is Gernot Minke and 30 years
ago he wrote books to return to natural materials and low energy consumption. There was a prevailing reason. The
heavy use of portland cement in the reconstruction of European cities, after World War II, ruled out the use of land
as building material. From the 1970s, with the global energy crisis, a movement was created to return to the
culture of yesteryear, made of mud and straw.
The Nego Dávila was born in Corrientes, is 43 years old, electromechanical technician by profession and an
architectural enthusiast. In recent years, however, it became a benchmark for bioconstruction. I never would have
imagined it until one day he saw a video of Jorge Belanko, mason and master in the subject, called "The mud, the
hands, the house". Then he started going to workshops and buying books. And he built his house with eucalyptus
poles, wood, bagged stones and adobe bricks. He did it in 2009 in Arana, on the outskirts of La Plata, and it took
about four years.
The father of bioconstruction is German, his name is Gernot Minke and 30 years ago he wrote books to return to
natural materials and low energy consumption (Picasa/)
"I like it because it is a profession that gets a little out of the system, of fighting capitalism, of escaping pre-made
materials. Bioconstruction is a more artisanal world, it dispenses with cement," he says, explaining that in his work
he combines old technologies with current technologies to seek a favorable environmental impact and reduce
consumption. It lives as a kind of philosophy, he says, and lists the rocket stove-made of mud and wood
combustion-, passive solar energy-generated with the observation of the place and the terrain to take advantage of
the sun and energy of thetrees- the roof "living" -with grass and different types of raincoats-, the placement of
ponds. "The idea is that the house does not ask for energy. Today the city demands a lot of energy, that air pump,
stove, air conditioning. We have to take advantage of what nature gives us."
Before moving into his house in Arana, he lived for rent. When he moved in, he opened a packet of cookies and left

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it out for a few days. They never got wet. "A microclimate is made with mud that stabilizes moisture. And in La
Plata, which is very wet, it's a phenomenal thing," he explains.
The house of Anne Bavio, in the Tiger
He says there is a "current" of people, in recent years, that has increased the phenomenon of bioconstruction. "It's
a growing boom, circulating from word of mouth. There are two main causes: economic and ecological. People
who want to live in a friendlier and healthier place with the environment. And everything comes out more expensive
with the economic crisis, the building materials became impossible. A natural construction comes out a third of
what would be a cement. The labor comes out more or less the same. And there's a lot of demand, luckily I'm
working a lot and more over turned to this."
Although it proliferates in spaces outside the city, bioconstruction also slowly appears in the large city, for
example, with the placement of living ceilings or quinchas. But most are not encouraged to build with adobe
because in the city it is forbidden. And that more than fifty percent of the world's population lives in dirt houses,
and in history cement construction is much newer than that of mud. "Moving away from the hull, that legislation is
softer. There are a lot of moves to advance in the law. The antecedente is Beltrán, a municipality of Río Negro that
allowed the construction of adobe no more than ten years ago", explains Dávila.
A "minga" in La Plata (Picasa/)
There are international events such as the so-called "Bioconstruyendo", which every year changes the country's
headquarters in Latin America. And in Argentina it has several epicentros: in the Bolsón there are bioconstruction
neighborhoods, in La Quebrada de Humahuaca there are housing plans with construction in mud, in Cordoba eco-
barrios such as Villa Sol, in Salsipuedes, in el Tigre land houses appear as it does one hundred years, and in the
Gran La Plata the phenomenon erupts in neighborhoods such as Arana, Arturo Seguí, Villa Elisa and City Bell.
There are not so many specialized builders, and that's why autoconstructors proliferate: people who learn the trade
by going to the mingas and out of curiosity and self-didactism. The Nego Dávila says that he is forming people as
the buildings come out. There are not many who are devoted full time to bioconstruction: there is still prejudice
and misinformation in the environment. In the imaginary is still installed the idea that a mud house attracts
vinchucas and that it is not resistant to the winds. But specialists rule it out: if the construction is solid, the bug
does not lodge, because it inhabits walls that have no revoking or that have cracks. Meanwhile, if a construction is
not well made, a wall of material has the same chance as a mud wall of hosting the vinchuca.
src"https://www.infobae.com/new-resizer/YaSu-KHQ7o9zrBDkNZWsXyFyXlA/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-
infobae.s3.amazonaws.com/public/22BGDNNCVRAXVJQDYD7NGTO67I.jpeg" width"1024"/>A house on the
outskirts of La Plata, a hexagon with two ex-ions, Reciprocal living ceiling and floating phenolic floor
When considering his training as an architect, Jerome Galosi Villagra says that he was not involved in
bioconstruction by a particular work but by a thorough revision of the profession. "To live how physically
demanding urban construction is, as we speak of reinforced concrete, brick structure and cement plaster, I
suffered it in my own flesh. A cement bag weighs 50 kilos, how abrasive materials are like lime. And apart is the
access to the house, which is almost impossible. If you don't have that much money, you can't build anything for
yourself. The city is not so because it is, but because we generate it and make it so," he says
As a professional, he began to feel contradictions and that led him to natural construction, to work with natural
poles and mud enclosures. "Who am I going to work for? For the 8 percent of the population who can afford the
service as a reinforced concrete builder? In the faculty they teach you four years of armed concrete structure.
What surprised me is that all the people who are involved in bioconstruction are generous with knowledge," says
the young architect, who lives in La Plata. Nevertheless, there is an advance of bioconstruction in the academic
and professional sphere: the discipline is taught at the National University of Córdoba, and at the University of
Buenos Aires (UBA) there is a postgraduate course at the Faculty of Architecture.
In this construction, there is a constructive mix. Concrete bases, wooden columns, sheet metal roof and mud walls
It was by the minga that Jerome got more fully into bioconstruction. There he saw people approaching a
construction site, without prior knowledge: they put together the mud, they make human chains. It's a lot of hands,

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a lot of feet in action. The day is organized by the builders: they take care of straw, mud, prepare the land. The work
is plural and encompasses all ages. Each time, says the architect, they appear more interested. "It is believed to be
something alternative, but these constructions are not only made all over the world, but the history of humanity is
made in mud. So alternatively it doesn't have much," he says. Now he says he's building a house in Arturo Seguí's
neighborhood with wooden structure and mud walls.
A day of minga is made with food to the basket, with matt thermos, between dances and songs. A date is set and
starts early, to take advantage of the day. It is divided by working groups, which are divided between the mounds
of earth to the pool where the mud is generated. Then there are those who step on straw, earth and water. And
those who move the mud to the space where the bricks are made. You work with handrails, with shovels, with
forklifts. Groups are usually rotating.
"You run into people you don't know who they are, and suddenly people fall that you crossed into other sides.
Going to help build the house of someone you don't even know has a special aura. There's a sense of collaboration
and generosity that motivates you. And there is a spirit of collaboration and participation ranging from a five-year-
old to a 60-year-old, all crammed with mud," he says, enthusiastically,Galosi Villagra.
Anne is one of many women who is dedicated to bioconstruction
The trend, in recent times, is that natural construction is accompanied by sustainable architecture. "The idea is
that it is not dependent on service networks, such as sewers, electricity, drinking water," the architect emphasizes.
There is more ecological awareness, not so much about construction professionals, but of the community. Since
mud cannot be industrialized, they do not treat it as self-susandalising and consider it outof the law. That's why all
houses are often the same, like what happened with Procreate, not so much because people wanted it but because
there is a disability for other knowledge. And that's why the industry doesn't inform you or shape you. If you want
to learn about bioconstruction, do it on your own."
Ana Bavio, 42, lives in the delta, within the Tiger Islands. He is a plastic artist and says that he came to
bioconstruction also by the hand of the video of Jorge Belanko. He says bioconstruction allows for a less square
design aesthetic: materials are more flexible to find curves and more organic shapes.
"I needed to build a house and in a place where mud abounds, because the island is basically wet clay. A group of
neighbors then set up a workspace, and we made like 20 houses, the space was called Habitat the land. At first we
were two girls and all boys, but then many more women joined. It's a job that while it's heavy, it's possible to do on
your own," says Ana. The materials, in the Tiger, were at hand: the straw of the discards of the reed, the grass of
the abandoned houses. Then they bought bales to fill the walls.
Ana trained with the aesthetics of mud and trained in workshops. She is an advisor and skilled labor in
bioconstruction. He says he doesn't use cement, just fibrocrement plaque in bathrooms and kitchens. Now he's
exploring the wet quincha. "Here were houses from 100 years ago that were made of mud and willow and now they
resumed. It sounds weird to locals, because they think the mud is annoying and useless, but this land is ideal. The
island is wet and the houses of material are very cold, so the mud option is thermal." He adds: "Here, because they
are made of mud, wood and veneer, the houses, once abandoned, are converted to land as before."
Lucas Arcuschin, 38, and Aldana Percivati, 33, decided to build their house for "a political vision." This is explained
by Lucas, for whom it is not only the creation of a new space to live but how it affects the environment, the
environment where it is built. They were participating in mingas a while ago until, with the advice of The Nego
Dávila, they were encouraged to assemble theirs. "We are interested in integration, cooperation, reciprocal aid.
Because bioconstruction is a way of building while respecting life, that of people, that of the environment and that
of the planet. It's about making homes healthy and eco-friendly," says Lucas.
Its house is made of wood and mud, and has material only on the subfloor and in the folder. With a live ceiling, they
estimate it's going to take a year. "The rhythm of the play is super healthy, it's a celebration. The opposite of the
pre-set idea of the classic project, where one is burdened with stress and pulleys. For us, it's a long-seeded
roadtime, we were looking for a piece of land for three years and found an opportunity in Villa Elisa." He stresses:
"The minga is not an optional thing but a spinal issue. The reciprocal is fundamental to opening the way of a

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sustainable architecture. This world no longer goes with quarries, cement and waste of water and energy. We need
to know how healthy a mud house is, the acoustics, concentrating much less moisture. I'm a musician and my
partner is a dancer, so we're thrilled with the sound. It's pure poetry, the work of the bakers in nature."
The other variant that arises in bioconstruction is that of friends who, after their houses are built, create a small
undertaking. This is the case of "Hornero Tenaz Construcciones", composed of Martín De Marziani, Gabriel Kohury
and Salvador Martínez Sbrancia, all under 30 years old who have known as boy scouts since childhood. There they
made construction with ropes and woods. His projects are in Villa Elisa, City Bell and Arturo Seguí, in Gran La
Plata. "We started with small projects, like car garages, and then we continue with reciprocal roofs. Now we're with
three houses. We work with complementary techniques, with clay coating, wood, ash branches, quinchas and
recycled pallets", says Martín De Marziani, who is the master of works.
Lucas and Aldana are the builders of their home and calculate to finish it in a year
He says they don't use adobe: he often prefers ecobricks. "We are not architects or specialists, but we realized that
you can self-build and at the same time advise with a little knowledge and a lot of practice. We like to combine
everything from glass bottles to woven wire. And everything is faster. For example, what has the quincha
technique good is that you can lift the wall on the same day, that helps to speed up the construction".
So far, the people most interested in bioconstruction are the ones looking to get away from the noise of the city.
"Construction companies buy the land in the urban area and it is impossible to build," martin explains. It is more
accessible to get a terrain the more distanced from La Plata. There is an interest in raising consciousness with the
environment, in being in harmony with nature. Having 50 percent of the moisture in a mud house is not only
pleasant for cold or heat but healthy for the body."
The Achilles heel of bioconstruction is usually the outer plasters: that's why the new techniques seek to create
something more weather-resistant. For now, eaves and pircas are built to minimize exposure to inclement weather.
Resolute structural walls with compacted sand tires, decorative partitions of glass bottles, as well as enclosure
partitions made with cans are also new variants that add to the adobe and quinchas, and that make this system
can be available to all and all, both for its economy, achieved thanks to its simplicity in the technique, and by its
implementation, carried out thanks to the exchange of knowledge between the participants. "Ideally, expand all
social classes and academic, professional and political fields. And legislate and allow natural construction within
cities. Humble people, for example, still find it difficult to understand bioconstruction because they are
accustomed to wood. But the goodness and benefits are far greater than their adversity," concludes AnaBavio.
I kept reading
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CREDIT: CE Noticias Financieras English - CENFENG

DETALLES

Materia: Construction; Houses; Cement; Energy consumption; Cities; Architecture

Término de indexación de Asunto: Architecture

negocios:

Lugar: Argentina

Título: The "bioconstruction" boom: those who choose cheaper, greener and more
community homes

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 Autor: Translated by ContentEngine LLC

Título de publicación: CE Noticias Financieras, English ed.; Miami

Año de publicación: 2019

Fecha de publicación: Nov 23, 2019

Editorial: ContentEngine LLC, a Florida limited liability company

Lugar de publicación: Miami

País de publicación: US Minor Outlying Islands, Miami

Materia de publicación: Business And Economics

Tipo de fuente: Wire Feed

Idioma de la publicación: English

Tipo de documento: News

ID del documento de 2317527926

ProQuest:

URL del documento: https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/bioconstruction-boom-those-who-choose-

cheaper/docview/2317527926/se-2?accountid=37408

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