Pai Lin Li Travel Award

Recipients
Contents
About Pai Lin Li 4

Foreword 4

2007
Andrew Lawrence MA (Cantab) PGCDMM CEng MICE MIStructE
Modern timber bridges – An international perspective 5

Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)

Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK and Europe 14

2008
Roma Agrawal BA MSc CEng MIStructE MIET
Stress ribbon bridges 26

Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE

Engineered transparency – current international trends in the use of glass in buildings 35

2009
Ewan Smith MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MIED
Interlocking stabilised soil blocks: appropriate technology that doesn’t cost the earth 47

Joshua Macabuag MEng CEng MICE

Seismic reinforcement of adobe in rural Peru 57

2010
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
65

2011
Christopher Morris MEng
Developments in fibre-reinforced polymer bridges in Europe and North America 88

Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE

Engineered bamboo houses for low-income communities in Latin America 100

2012
John Orr PhD MEng (Hons)
Form: an adventure in concrete and brick 112

Katie Symons MEng MA (Cantab) CEng MICE MIStructE

International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber:
lessons to be learned from Australasia 130

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award 3
 Pai Lin Li
The Pai Lin Li Travel Award is funded by extremely generous
donations from the family of the late Pai Lin Li, a Fellow of the
Institution of Structural Engineers.

Pai Lin Li was born in Canton, China, in 1930, studied at St John’s

University in Shanghai and graduated from Hong Kong University
with a BSc in Civil Engineering. He started his professional training
in civil and structural engineering in Glasgow with Babtie,
Shaw & Morton. Such was his affinity with Scotland that he
continued to attend Burns Suppers throughout his life.
and spoke fondly of his time in Scotland.
He then moved back to Hong Kong and joined the Public Works
Department as Assistant Structural Engineer with the
Architectural Office, then as Structural Engineer with the Buildings
Ordinance Office.

Further graduate studies saw him and wife Anita, and their two young children, Alison and Bernard, travel to
Australia where he completed a Master of Building Science degree from The University of Sydney.

Pai Lin Li moved to Canada with his family in 1967, settling first in Toronto and then Calgary in 1970 where he
served as Chief Building Inspector and Head of Building Regulations Division for the City of Calgary during that
city’s boom years. In 1981 he formed his own building & structural engineering consulting practice.

He was a Past President of the Alberta Building Officials Association and the Canadian Building Officials Associations.
He served on the Associate Committee of the National Fire Code, and a Joint National Building Code/National Fire
Code Task Force on Fire Safety in High Buildings for the National Research Council, Canada. He was chairman of
the Canadian Prairies Group of Chartered Engineers, a multi-disciplinary group of members of British Engineering
Institutions who live and/or work in Alberta, Saskatchewan or the Northwest Territories.

Elected to corporate membership of IStructE in 1961, he became a Fellow in 1972, and was the Institution’s
representative in Alberta. He was always a staunch supporter of the Institution until his death on August 11 2005.
Pai Lin Li was recognised for his long and loyal service to the Institution with a Service Award in 2003.

Foreword
The Pai Lin Li Travel Award was first awarded in 2007. Grants of between £1,000 and £3,000 are awarded to
Institution members who wish to spend four to six weeks outside their own country studying current practice or
trends related to the use of any construction material in the field of structural engineering. Study of innovative
materials and construction techniques is particularly encouraged.

The award provides an unrivalled opportunity to sample the technical, economic, social and political conditions in
another country and to examine how these various factors affect the practices of structural engineering.

I am delighted to have been asked to write this foreword to a compilation of all the reports that have been
written by recipients of the Pai Lin Li Travel Award.

Bob McKittrick BSc, CEng, FIStructE, FICE

Chairman of the Institution of Structural Engineers
Educational Trust

4 The Institution of Structural Engineers Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Modern timber bridges – An international perspective

Andrew Lawrence MA (Cantab) PGCDMM CEng MICE MIStructE

Modern timber bridges – An international
perspective
Abstract
This paper reviews the design of timber bridges
in Norway, Germany and the United States, with
particular emphasis on durability aspects, as well
as structural form. Recommendations are made for
protection details and design life; the guidance is
useful not only for bridges but in fact for any external
timber structure.
Biography
2007
Introduction
Timber bridges can have many advantages. A high
strength to weight ratio enables relatively lightweight
structures to be built, minimising the loads on any
new or existing foundations and maximising the
potential for off-site fabrication of large components
or even entire bridges. Timber is also our only
renewable construction material and can also offer
a structure in complete sympathy with the natural
surroundings.

Andrew Lawrence is an However, there are key issues which need to be

Associate Director working
within Arup’s Advanced
Technology & Research Group
in London. He specialises in
timber and the assessment
of existing structures. He is a
member of the UK’s Timber
Design Code Committee and
a judge for the UK timber
awards.
Travel experience
addressed – most importantly for a structure directly
exposed to the weather, ensuring an adequate design
life without premature decay due to fungal attack.
Protected structures normally dry down to 12-16%,
well below the 20% or so threshold for fungal spores
to germinate. Bridge structures, in contrast, will
routinely experience surface wetting, and a protection
strategy, either in a physical form, or as an applied
preservative, is essential. Other issues are the risk of
arson, and for road bridges resisting the high point
loads on the parapets and damage to finishes due to
differential live load deflections.

Andrew traveled to Norway, Sweden, Germany and
the United States to study their different approaches
to timber bridge design, concentrating particularly on
durability aspects.
This paper is based on material collected during study
tours of southern Norway, Germany, New York State,
Oregon, Iowa and Wisconsin undertaken during
2007 and 2008 and supported by the Pai Lin Li
Travel Award, awarded by The Institution of Structural
Engineers’ Educational Trust. The paper discusses
the recent revival of timber bridges in Europe and the
United States. It aims to help designers understand
the possibilities for timber in bridges in terms of
materials and structural form, and to demonstrate
how some of the issues discussed in the previous
paragraph have been addressed.

The United States

Until the Industrial Revolution brought cheap wrought
iron as well as heavier vehicles, timber was the
main material for minor road bridges. Almost all the
surviving timber bridges in both North America and
Central Europe are covered (trusses or occasionally
arches) typically dating from the 19th Century
(Figure 1). The purpose of the roof and walls was
simply to keep the main structural members dry to
stop them rotting. When the cladding failed it was
relatively cheap and easy to replace; roof leaks were
visible and anyway were unlikely to be an immediate
problem because the insides of the bridges were well
ventilated allowing the main structural members to
dry before decay could take hold. Unfortunately, of
the 800 surviving covered bridges in the USA, about

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 5
Andrew Lawrence MA (Cantab) PGCDMM CEng MICE MIStructE
2007
Figure 1. Roseman Bridge (1883) - one of the
famous bridges of Madison County and an example
of a Town Lattice truss
three are lost each year through arson, the thin timber
cladding being particularly easy to ignite. Many of the
bridges now have security cameras or sprinklers.
Advances in timber preservatives in the early 1900s
offered effective chemical protection against fungal
attack, thereby enabling simple joist and plank
bridges without the expense of a roof. These were
originally limited by the size of the sawn material to
about 6m spans, but the development of waterproof
glues in the 1940s allowed the fabrication of
laminated members and today the US has over
40,000 timber bridges with typical spans from 6 to
12m or so. Timber bridges remain a popular choice
for low volume roads because they can be installed
and maintained by the local counties’ in-house
teams without buying in expensive lifting equipment
or specialist labour. Since the late 1980s the USDA
Forest Products Laboratory has done much to
improve the economics, spans and durability of these
designs.
There are three requirements for effective preservative
treatment:- (a) the preservative needs to be applied
under pressure in a vacuum tank (b) the timber needs
to be sufficiently dry and (c) a sufficiently permeable
species needs to be used (typically Southern pine in
the US or Scots pine in Europe). If these requirements
are met, more or less complete penetration of the
sapwood can be achieved, if the treatment time is
long enough. However, the heartwood (this being
the material towards the centre of the trunk) is
relatively resistant to the uptake of preservative and
therefore remains at risk of decay, albeit protected
by a small degree of natural durability. If treating a
finished glulam, some sapwood in the centre of the
member will also remain untreated, since both the
gluelines and the heartwood block penetration of the
preservative.
The heavy oil-borne preservatives (traditionally
creosote, but now in the US more commonly
pentachlorophenol and copper naphthenate) tend
to be the most effective. This is because the oil acts
as a moisture barrier, keeping the timber drier and
reducing the risk of fissuring due to rapid surface
6  The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust   Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 2. Typical American design comprising
transverse glulam deck panels on glulam beams
(Laminated Concepts Inc, NY)
drying which might allow water to reach the untreated
heartwood. The use of such preservatives over
many years certainly suggests they can meet the 50
year design life required on minor roads in the US.
Obviously the oily surface of the timber cannot be
glued, so that treatment must be carried out after
fabrication of the glulam and ideally after all cutting
and drilling to ensure that the timber exposed at
the surface is fully treated. The disadvantage with
oil-borne treatments is that the oil is not chemically
fixed to the timber and can therefore stain clothes or
leach out (particularly in hot weather); it also carries a
noticeable odour. There are also potential health and
environmental risks, although given the tiny amounts
of oil which do leach out, the latter are probably more
perceived than actual. Recent efforts have therefore
concentrated on reducing retention levels and
improving post-treatment cleaning.
The alternative, particularly for members in human
contact (such as handrails and decking), is to use
waterborne preservatives (traditionally CCA - copper
chrome arsenic – but now restricted and being
replaced by copper organic fungicides). Although the
waterborne preservatives are still toxic (it is of course
this toxicity which prevents the fungal growth), they
have the advantage of being chemically fixed to the
timber. It is most common to treat the completed
glulam member (chiefly because the treated laminates
are relatively difficult to glue). However, post-
treatment drying shrinkage of a large glulam member
after the wet treatment process will tend to generate
fissures exposing the untreated heartwood as well as
any untreated sapwood in the centre of the member.
The alternative is to treat the laminates before gluing,
although without the moisture barrier provided by
the oil-borne treatments, there still remains the risk
of subsequent fissuring of the completed glulam in
hot weather, exposing the untreated heartwood.
While there is little long term field data available on
the efficacy of the modern waterborne formulations,
the combination of the fissuring (discussed above)
and reduced fixity and toxicity levels of the modern
formulations (following increasing restrictions on the
use of chromium and arsenic respectively) suggests
that they are likely to offer a shorter life than the

Figure 3. The curved stress laminated 500mm
thick glulam deck for the 19m span bridge at Umea,
Sweden was first assembled in Martinsons’ factory to
allow predrilling of the holes for the tie rods (copyright
– Martinsons)
traditional oil-borne treatments. For example, in the
UK, the BWPDA currently indicates only a 30 year
design life for members exposed to wetting.
Longitudinal glulam deck bridges are sometimes
used where structural depths need to be minimised,
but are obviously inefficient in terms of materials.
The most economic design up to about 20m span
tends to comprise transverse glulam deck panels
(typically 130mm thick) carried on longitudinal glulam
beams at about 1.7m centres (Figure 2). A toothed
cast aluminium bracket fixed to a pre-routed slot
in the side of the beams is used to hold down the
deck panels, thereby avoiding fixings into the top
of the beams which could let in water. Parapets
are difficult to justify against code impact loads but
several designs incorporating steel rods to carry
the loads from the posts back into the body of the
deck have been successfully justified by testing. The
main problems in service have been associated with
differential movements of the deck panels under
wheel loading, as well as gaps opening between the
panels due to drying shrinkage. Gaps or differential
movements of just 1-2mm can cause cracking of the
asphalt surfacing, which was also helping to provide
protection to the deck. Stiffer panels, transverse
stiffeners and lower initial moisture contents (<16%)
are now helping to alleviate the problem. The other
issue is that the oil used to carry the preservative can
dissolve the bitumen membrane or lead to softening
of the asphalt. This has been solved by removing
excess oil on the deck with a sand blotter and laying
the membrane on a 50mm layer of asphalt.
A particularly interesting development is the stress
laminated deck (Figure 3), in which staggered boards
laid on their edge are stressed together with steel
rods, creating a robust and stiff two way plate (with
the ability to spread point wheel loads). The bending
strength in the weak direction is related to the stress
in the rods. The concept originated in Canada in the
1970s as a means of refurbishing old nail-laminated
decks. Tests have shown that a stress of only about
0.2N/mm2 is required to mobilise friction between
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award
Modern timber bridges – An international perspective
2007
Figure 4. The arched stress laminated bridge
developed by UK Forestry Civil Engineering and
the Centre for Timber Engineering. This 17m span
bridge near Callander has a thickness of just 250mm
(copyright – Geoff Freedman).
the boards and on this basis initial stresses are set
about 1 N/mm2 allowing for some loss of stress due
to creep and drying shrinkage. The rods are spaced
at about 600mm centres and need to be stressed
sequentially several times, otherwise some rods will
lose their stress as the adjacent ones are tightened.
A large washer and hardwood pack are usually
placed under the nut to limit local crushing of the
timber. Glulam beams can also be used rather than
sawn boards - the omission of butt joints and greater
depths allow increased spans and span:depth ratios
(up to about 22 for vehicles, although this could
probably be increased to 30 or so for pedestrian
loading). The low initial moisture content also avoids
the initial loss of stress due to shrinkage, potentially
removing the need for early restressing. It is obviously
important to keep the deck dry with a membrane
otherwise the timber will weaken and crush under the
bolts leading to further loss of prestress. Interesting
variations are in Sweden (Figure 3) where the curved
glulams have been used to achieve curved pedestrian
decks or in the UK (Figure 4) where stress lamination
has been combined with arching action.
Norway
Inspired by the renaissance in timber bridges that was
underway in the United States, the long span roofs
that had been built for the 1994 Winter Olympics
in Lillehammer, and the potential to use a locally
sourced renewable material, the Norwegian Public
Roads Administration decided to actively investigate
the potential for timber in road bridges. Recent
bridges up to 70m span (Figure 5) are the longest in
the world carrying full highway loading.
While the American bridges are on minor roads and
only require a 50 year life, all Norwegian highway
structures must have a 100 year design life. The
solution was a double treatment process for the
glulam members (again pine which is chosen for
its permeability, although this time the European
grown Scots pine) – the laminates are pressure
impregnated with a copper waterborne preservative
7
Andrew Lawrence MA (Cantab) PGCDMM CEng MICE MIStructE
2007
Figure 5. 70m span bridge at Tynset, Norway
(Moelven, 2001)
Figure 7. Tynset – steel cross beams support both
the deck and the steel parapet posts
before gluing and the completed glulam is then
pressure impregnated with creosote. By treating the
laminates before gluing, through-thickness treatment
of the sapwood can be achieved, partially eliminating
the vulnerable core of the American designs, where
treatment is generally applied to the finished glulam.
Treatment of the laminates before gluing is particularly
useful where several glulams are block glued together
since the vertical glue lines prevent penetration of
the creosote. The outer shell of creosote which
is applied after any drilling and cutting makes an
effective water repellent, as well as adding further
decay resistance. Finally the upper surfaces of the
main members are capped with 1mm copper (Figure
6), to prevent the risk of water entering any vertical
fissures. The expensive capping detail tends to be
left off secondary members, such as plan bracing
between arches, which can be easily replaced if
required. Since the copper cap is impervious to water
(unlike a timber cap) the risk of condensation under
the cap is considered small and it is therefore fixed
directly to the top of the timber without an air gap –
this gives a firm base for the cap reducing the risk
of damage and effectively eliminates the very air in
which condensation might occur.
The Norwegian bridges are generally arches (Figure
8), an economic form in timber since it minimises
8  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 6. Tynset – detail of the protective copper
capping
Figure 8. In the Norwegian designs, steel U frames
typically provide lateral restraint to the arches
the need for any expensive and inefficient tension
connections. The limited size of the creosote
treatment tanks explains why trussed rather than
solid arches were used at Tynset (Figure 5). In the
smaller bridges, the arches are stabilised by steel
U frames (Figure 8) which also support the deck
(Figure 7) and resist lateral loads on the parapets. The
arches at Tynset are sufficiently high to allow bracing
to be introduced over the roadway (Figure 5), with
the lateral loads being carried down to deck level in
cantilever action of the thickened base of the arches.
The connections are the same ones developed for the
Olympic halls, comprising multiple 8mm flitch plates
optimally spaced at 75mm centres to maximise the
capacity of the 12mm dowels (Figure 9). Dowels are
used rather than bolts to provide a stiffer connection,
the holes in the steel plates being oversized by just
0.5mm. By this means tension connections up to
7500kN have been achieved for internal structures
(notably the Olympic Hall at Hamar). The plates are
galvanised and powder coated, while the dowels are
stainless steel. By placing the plates inside the timber
under the protective copper cap, avoids the risk of
water becoming trapped between the plates and the
timber; the slots are also made full depth and slightly
over length to ensure that any water which does enter
can easily escape.

Figure 9. The Norwegian bridges use the same
connection detail developed by Moelven for the
1994 Olympic Halls, comprising multiple flitch plates
secured with dowels
Figure 11. Detail of Essing showing the protective
cladding that has recently been added to the sides of
the ribbon beams
Figure 13. Metal caps and larch cladding are used
to protect the main spruce glulam members of this
bridge near Aachen (Schmees & Lühn)
A 225mm thick stress laminated deck is used (Figure
7) although minor asphalt cracking over the steel
cross beam supports suggests that the span:depth
ratio of 22 may be slightly too generous. The deck
is kept dry with a membrane and it is hoped that
after initial restressing to take up drying shrinkage,
retensioning will only be required every 15-20
years although there is no long term data on creep
perpendicular to the grain (thus in Sweden the
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award
Modern timber bridges – An international perspective
2007
Figure 10. The famous ribbon bridge at Essing by
Richard Dietrich (Architect) and Heinz Brüninghoff
(Engineer) relies on in-situ finger joints to form the
continuous glulam beams
Figure 12. The bridge at Wernau (Schaffitzel, 1990)
was the first to incorporate a doubly curved block
glued member, in this case protected from wetting by
the overhanging precast deck
stress is checked every 6 years). This compares with
the US where the membrane is often omitted and
retensioning tends to be required about every two
years. The deck acts as a diaphragm to carry lateral
loads on the parapets back to the abutments, a
connection being made to both the U frames and the
abutments on the centreline of the deck (Figure 7).
A concrete deck (possibly working compositely
with timber beams) may well offer the best way to
spread point loads, limit deck flexibility and vibration
and therefore avoid damage to both membrane and
finishes; parapets can also be fixed directly to the
concrete deck. The main drawbacks are the weight
of the concrete, the expense of the metal shear
connections and the complexity of the calculations.
Design needs to allow for the differential creep and
shrinkage of both the concrete and the timber both
of which vary with time, temperature and humidity, as
well as the slip and flexibility of the shear connections.
9
Andrew Lawrence MA (Cantab) PGCDMM CEng MICE MIStructE
2007

Figure14. The bridge at Hochstetten (2003) improves on the details at Wernau – as shown in the right hand
image, the top of the timber is laid to falls and a sufficiently large ventilation cavity is provided above to allow
future inspection (Engineering – Frank Miebach, Fabrication - Schaffitzel)

Figure 15. Bolt-laminated Ekki bridge at Finowfurt. The enlarged detail shows how the butted laminates are
joined with a flitched-in plate (Schmees & Lühn)

Germany From the start emphasis was placed on protecting

It is interesting to note that the bridges in Norway
and the US which rely on oil based preservatives
are generally in fairly remote locations. The inherent
toxicity of preservatives inevitably means they will
be subject to increasing restrictions. It is therefore
useful to look at the German approach to timber
bridge design, a more populous country and one
where there has been a long resistance to the use of
chemical preservatives.
In principle, the German approach is very simple.
Inspired by the traditional covered bridges, it aims
to prevent decay of the spruce (the main European
forestry timber, but a species with no inherent
durability against decay and one that is resistant to
preservative treatment) by keeping the timber dry,
but with a local cover rather than an expensive roof.
An early and probably the most famous example is
the ribbon bridge at Essing (Figure 10) completed
just over twenty years ago. It represents the peak of
timber engineering at the time and also shows how
the methods of protection have developed based on
subsequent experience.
the main structural members. These comprise full
length glulam beams (finger jointed in-situ) supported
on timber legs – both beams and legs are more or
less impossible to replace. The top of the beams are
protected from the rain by a metal roof, concealed
below the timber deck, while the sides of the
members are painted, which slows both the uptake
of water and the loss of water (which can lead to
fissuring due to rapid surface drying and shrinkage),
as well as screening the surface of the timber from UV
light (which can degrade the surface of the timber and
debond the paint). However, even with more reflective
white paint it is difficult to prevent rapid surface
drying of the timber faces exposed to the sun,
creating fissures some of which will slope downwards
into the timber, providing a trap for rainwater, and
leading to local decay. Thus, as with domestic timber
windows unless the paint is reapplied as soon as
any cracks occur, there is a risk of water ingress and
decay. While windows can be locally filled, structural
members are rather harder to repair.
Visitors to the bridge today will see that a
sympathetically detailed side cap (Figure 11) has
now been added, with a ventilation gap behind,
to provide complete protection from the rain. This
prevents decay to the sides of the main members

10  The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust   Pai Lin Li Travel Award

Figure 16. Block glued Accoya members for the new
bridge at Sneek, Holland, currently being fabricated
by Schaffitzel. Note the thin glulams required to
achieve the double curvature of the finished member.
and prevents water becoming trapped under the
nail plates that were fixed to the vertical faces of the
beams. Surprisingly no protection has been added to
the legs, although arguably these are less vulnerable
since any fissures which do develop will tend to slope
downwards (parallel to the grain) and therefore be
fairly free draining. More recent German designs have
followed a similar approach, now embodied in the
new DIN standard for timber bridges, in which the
timber is fully protected top and sides either by an
overhanging deck (Figure 12), or with side cladding
(Figure 13). The aim is to guarantee a long life, with
similar maintenance costs to steel and concrete
bridges (typically 1% pa).
The cover is usually provided by the deck. However,
rather like a flat roof it is difficult to ensure a
completely watertight seal. Remembering that the
timber is in a perishable species (spruce) and that
by definition the upper surface immediately below
the deck will be poorly ventilated, the detail is very
vulnerable and the author came across at least one
bridge where the ‘roof’ was leaking and fungal attack
had started to occur. It is for this reason that more
robust details are now being developed, although
these have yet to achieve codified status. These
details accept that the waterproofing will never be
perfect and therefore seek to provide a second layer
of protection by providing falls to the upper surface
of the timber as well as a ventilation cavity (Figure
14). Most importantly, since any decay of the timber
will occur in poorly ventilated and therefore invisible
areas, it is vital that the secondary protection system
is configured to ensure that any leaks in the primary
barrier will be visible by, e.g. providing sumps and
vertical drainage pipes in the upper surface of the
timber, as well as leaving inspection holes to allow for
future inspection.
Design life in Germany has yet to be fully codified,
however current proposals are for a figure of 80
years where the main structural timbers are fully
protected from wetting and a lower figure of 40 years
for unprotected or partially protected members which
rely mainly on pressure impregnation with a suitable
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award
Modern timber bridges – An international perspective
2007
preservative or an inherently durable timber. 80
years is credible for fully protected structures – if the
timber is kept dry it should last indefinitely. However,
40 years for unprotected structures is probably
optimistic unless they rely on oil based preservatives
(as used in Norway or the United States), through-
thickness treatment of the individual laminates with
waterborne preservatives before gluing, or the use
of a very durable tropical hardwood such as ekki
(difficult to glue and therefore used either as large
sawn sections or bolt laminated (Figure 15) or iroko
(which can be glued). For the tropical hardwoods,
care will obviously have to be taken to ensure they
have been sustainably sourced. Durable species
such as European oak (particularly cost effective if
used green) or moderately durable species such as
larch can also be used, but to try and achieve a 40
year life would require very careful detailing to avoid
water traps and to protect horizontal surfaces and
end grain. However, the Achilles heel remains the
risk of water becoming trapped in surface fissures –
either drying fissures of the green oak or (particularly
in larch glulam) due to the large differential shrinkage
and swelling of the laminates with varying moisture
content. Thus the naturally durable timbers are
possibly more useful materials for the fully exposed
parapets and decking, rather than for the main
structural members.
However, designers cannot sensibly discuss
design life without providing guidance on the
required levels of inspection and maintenance.
Ideally, the maintenance will consist of cheap
routine measures (e.g. replacement of cladding,
maintenance of rainwater goods etc) to ensure that
the main structure, which is at best expensive to
replace, remains undamaged. Inspection during wet
weather will help show the effectiveness of drainage
measures, drip details etc so that they can be
improved before problems occur.
11
Andrew Lawrence MA (Cantab) PGCDMM CEng MICE MIStructE
Other recent developments
2007
Block gluing
Recent German developments of waterproof gap
filling adhesives that can tolerate lower pressures
during curing have enabled massive glulam sections
to be constructed by block gluing several thinner
glulam beams together (Figs.12 and 16). The resulting
section can carry both vertical and horizontal
loads, as well as torsion; being so massive it is less
susceptible to arson, can resist high point loads and
can easily be used to create doubly curved profiles.
Unlike NDT testing of steel welds, there is as yet
no way to check the strength of a glued timber
joint without destructive testing. Thus very careful
workmanship is required to ensure the surfaces to be
connected are adequately flat, that the glue is evenly
spread and that uniform pressure is applied during
gluing.
Acetylated wood
Only recently commercialised in Holland, acetylated
wood is a process of chemical modification in
which the hydroxyl groups (derived from water)
within the timber’s cell walls are replaced by acetyl
groups (derived from acetic acid). By using a
permeable timber such as radiata pine, through
thickness modification can be achieved. Thanks
to the substitution of the water within the cell
walls, the modified timber is very stable and more
decay resistant than the best tropical hardwoods,
a combination of properties which make it ideal for
glulam in external structures such as bridges. The
main drawback is probably the cost of the treatment
process. To date, the material has mainly been used
for high value joinery applications, but a 30m span
road bridge (Figure 16) is currently under construction
in Holland – a key architectural driver was the
potential to fully expose the timber without protective
cladding. With the increasing restrictions on the use
of preservatives, acetylated timber may provide a
suitable alternative to the combination of untreated
timber and expensive physical protection, that is now
favoured in Germany.
Worldwide
While this paper mainly discusses recent
developments in Norway, Germany and the US,
this is not to denigrate the important advances
in timber bridges which have been made in
many other countries including Australia, Austria,
Canada, Finland, France, Japan, New Zealand and
Switzerland.
12  The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust   Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Conclusions
Timber will be most appropriate for pedestrian
bridges or short span, low volume road bridges.
For longer span road bridges, it is unlikely to be
competitive particularly given the shorter life of
finishes and waterproofing that will result from the
flexibility of the supporting structure leading to, for
example, the cracking of asphalt discussed earlier.
For any timber bridge, the most important design
issue is obviously to ensure an adequate design
life. Although all materials are vulnerable to wetting,
timber will decay more quickly than steel or concrete.
Inherently durable timbers can be used either partially
or fully exposed to the weather, however, the only
way to guarantee a life in excess of 30-50 years
is to completely protect the timber from wetting.
The large number of surviving covered bridges
from the 19th Century demonstrates the value of a
‘belt and braces’ approach to the protection from
wetting. Critical structural members, which would
be difficult to replace and whose loss could lead to
safety issues, should be adequately protected from
wetting, be that by a proper roof or local cladding
combined with secondary protective measures such
as adequate ventilation to allow any water ingress
which does occur between periodic inspections
to quickly evaporate. It is important that the likely
design life as well as inspection and maintenance
measures are discussed at the start of the project.
For a relatively cheap and renewable material such as
timber, it may well be appropriate to accept a shorter
life than for other materials, but ultimately this will be
a client decision. However, for shorter spans in rural
locations, few materials can compete with timber’s
inherent natural beauty.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the following
organisations for their assistance with this project:-
Achterbosch Architectuur, APA – The Engineered
Wood Association, Arup, Büro für Ingenieur-
Architektur Richard Dietrich, Federal Highway
Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research
Centre, Forestry Civil Engineering, Harrer Ingenieure,
Ingenieurbüro Miebach, Iowa State University
Bridge Engineering Centre, Laminated Concepts,
Martinsons, Moelven, Munich Technical University,
Schaffitzel, Schmees & Lühn, The Centre for Timber
Engineering – Napier University, The Norwegian Public
Roads Administration, The USDA Forest Products
Laboratory, TRADA and Western Wood Structures.
 Modern timber bridges – An international perspective

Further reading

2007
1. EN 1995-2:2004 - Eurocode 5. Design of Timber
Structures Bridges

2. DIN 1074:2006 - Wooden Bridges

3. AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications

(2007)

4. Musterzeichnungen für Holzbrücken -

www.infoholz.de

5. BRE Digest 481 - Timber bridges (2004)

6. STEP 2, Chapter E17 - Timber bridges (Centrum

Hout, Almere, 1995)

7. Timber Bridges - Michael A. Ritter (USDA Forest

Service, 1992)

8. USDA Forest Products Laboratory - Standard

Plans for Timber Bridge Superstructures (2001)

9. USDA Forest Products Laboratory - Plans for

Crash-Tested Bridge Railings for Longitudinal
Wood Decks (1995)

10. Timber Preservation Treatments for Highway

Applications – Iowa State University Bridge
Engineering Centre (2007)

11. Covered Bridge Manual (USDA Federal Highway

Administration, 2005)

12. IABSE Conference Proceedings, Lahti, 2001 -

Innovative Wooden Structures & Bridges

13. IABSE, Budapest, 2006 - Economic Viability of

Modern Timber Bridges (Gerold)

14. Holzbrücken am Weg - Matthias Gerold (2007)

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 13
Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)
Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)
2007
Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK
and Europe
Abstract
The Educational Trust’s Pai Lin Li Travel Award,
donated by the family of the late Pai Lin Li, was
granted to me in 2007 to spend four weeks abroad
studying current practice or trends related to the use
of prefabricated earth construction products in the
field of structural engineering. The study consisted in
visiting a number of buildings, attending a state-of-
the-art conference on the subject of earthen buildings
and in taking part in a on-week course on the subject
at the University of Kassel in Germany, meaning that
the study took place in Germany, India and Scotland.
The object of the study was to qualitatively assess
the feasibility of using earthen construction materials
within structural design, particularly prefabricated
low-processed earth products, given the caveats
of the recent revival of techniques such as rammed
earth. While the 2007 study and subsequent 2008
publication were unable to answer many gaps in the
knowledge of the mechanical behaviour of earthen
materials, the Pai Lin Li Travel award opened me to
the world of earthen building, and I found out the
answers to many questions that had been left open
much later, while working on the NIKER project
financed by the European Commission
(www.niker.eu).
Biography
After completing an MEng
degree in Structural
Engineering with Architecture
at the University of Edinburgh
in 2006, sponsored by the
Happold Trust during her final
year, Chiara Perrone worked
for Buro Happold Ltd in
Glasgow and Buro Happold
ApS in Copenhagen to work
on projects such as the New
Museum of Liverpool and the
Children´s Discovery Center in Damascus. In 2007,
thanks to The Institution of Structural Engineers’
Educational Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award, she started
studying earthen buildings. She specialised in this
field between 2009 and 2012 by joining Berlin-
based Ziegert Seiler Ingenieure and leading their
contribution, as earth building specialists, to the
NIKER project on the protection of cultural heritage
from the impact of earthquakes. After completing a
Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Secondary
Mathematics at the University of Exeter, she is about
to embark on her first year of teaching at Hockerill, an
outstanding International State School in England.
14  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Travel experience
It was not until rather late in my years as an
undergraduate student that I started to put together
the pieces of knowledge I had gained at University
and to be critical towards my learning: I had not
learned about designing with materials other than
concrete and steel. At the time of this realisation, it
seemed to me that the Pai Lin Li Travel Award would
allow me to extend my academic knowledge, and
it was with an impractical student’s mind that I set
out to look for answers to very specific questions.
It is with a little more experience in the industry that
I can now say that the award gave me much more
than: it linked me to people, it allowed me to visit real
buildings with other engineering professionals and left
me with questions that needed answering.
Synopsis
The study on the use of prefabricated earth
construction products in the field of structural
engineering consisted of visiting a number of
buildings, and attending a conference and a course
on the subject. These activities took place in
Germany, India and Scotland, and were aimed at
assessing the feasibility of constructing with earth
construction materials, more particularly prefabricated
low processed earth products, in Northern Europe.
Definitions
As from previous work on the subject matter [Little
and Morton, 2001], earth is taken to mean naturally
occurring sub soils. While the use of the term ‘clay’
in conjunction with ‘walls’,‘bricks’ or ‘plaster’ is
also often encountered within the field of earthen
construction, this has been considered to be
imprecise [Minke, 2006] as clay is only one of the
constituents of the building material earth. The term
‘loam’ (closer to the German ‘Lehm’) is therefore
preferred by some (mostly German) authors [Minke,
2006] to refer to earth as a building material, as it
consists of silt, and sometimes other aggregates as
well as clay, which is merely the binder. Earth or loam
can then be mixed with natural fibres, for example
straw, to produce a wide variety of construction
materials.
Common techniques of earth construction are:
–– Mudwall (or cob): vernacular technique of
monolithic walling based on the use of an earth-
straw mix.

–– Rammed earth (or pisé de terre): vernacular
technique whereby earth is compacted between
temporary shuttering to create dense monolithic
walls.
–– Earth brick masonry (or adobe): use of un-fired
bricks of various composition.
–– Compressed earth block masonry: use of a
modern material similar to earth brick, but with
higher load bearing capacity.
–– Earth infill in timber frame construction (Fachwerk
in Germany, or ‘wattle and daub’): use of light
earth (expanded with kaolin) or blocks of various
densities as a non-structural infill.
–– Earth plastering.
Some stages of the above construction techniques,
traditionally performed in situ, have now undergone
prefabrication. In Germany, it is possible to purchase
ready-made earth bricks – blocks of varying
density, fabric and clay boards and plasters. In
Austria, rammed earth walls have successfully been
prefabricated by Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst GmbH.
In the UK, prefabricated earth products were until
recently only available through import. Clay bricks and
clay plaster mix are currently being manufactured on
a small scale in the UK.
Background
It is estimated that at least 40% of the world’s
population lives in earth dwellings, and while there
is currently a revival of earth construction in the UK
and in continental Europe, mostly due to increased
environmental awareness, earth is not a common
engineering material in the construction industry. In
the UK in particular, the use of earth in construction
is marginal. Although its profits as an industry have
not been quantified, it can undoubtedly be said that,
economically, it plays a negligible role.
However, in view of current national targets with
respect to carbon emissions, the advantages earth
offers as a construction material seem to challenge
its low profile. Earth is a hygroscopic material which
balances air humidity and has been shown both by
Minke (2006) and Morton (2008) to regulate internal
air relative humidity to between 40 and 60%, which
is the optimal range for occupant health in terms of
bacterial and fungal growth reduction and health of
the mucous membrane. A study by Minke (2006) on
the weight of moisture absorbed by different materials
after an increase in relative humidity from 50 to 80%
has shown that clayey loam can absorb up to 10
times more air moisture than fired brick in 48h. This
is beneficial not only to the health of occupants, but
also in buildings where archives or other moisture
sensitive objects are stored. Earth construction can
also take advantage of earth’s thermal capacity, of
low embodied energy, straightforward recyclability
and, in some cases, reclaimability. Morton (2008)
also underlines the low levels of waste that can be
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award
Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK and Europe
2007
achieved: during manufacture, non-stabilised earth
materials can be fully recycled by re-wetting and
re-mixing. While it can be said that earth-based
construction products and processes have low
embodied energy, savings are difficult to quantify. For
earth masonry, an attempt to establish comparative
life-cycle analysis was made by Morton (2008). Its
results are cited elsewhere in this report.
As a result of these advantages, in some developed
countries, the use of earth has seen a renaissance,
and behavioural knowledge has improved as a result.
While traditional earth architecture can be found in
a number of countries, with impressive examples in
Spain, Morocco, Mali and Yemen, recent examples
are relatively few.
In Europe, it is Germany that holds the most
successful market in Europe for earth construction
products, with an annual turnover of £60M and a
sustained growth of 20% p/a at a time when the rest
of the construction industry experienced no growth
[Schroeder, 2000]. Part of the innovative approach to
earth architecture one finds in Germany is due to the
presence of building standards for earth construction
(the Lehmbau Regeln by Dachverband Lehm e.V.,
issued in 1999, the revised edition of which is due in
2008). These standards are now part of the Building
Regulations in 13 of the 16 German Federal States.
However, these exist partly due to Germany’s long
tradition of earth building. In mediaeval Germany,
earth was mostly used as an infill to timber frames.
Some rammed earth German houses from this period
are still standing, with examples in Meldorf and
Weilburg dating back to 1795.
It should be noted, however, that Germany had a
building code for earth as early as 1944, and that the
pressure to shelter the homeless from the Second
World War one year before the end of the war and
subsequently, combined with the economy of post-
war Germany (especially for the GDR), played a
leading role in research on the subject and in the
issuing of these standards. This process did not
occur in the UK. Despite the strong link between the
current German Regulations for Building with Earth
and those from the 1950s, the current regulations
reflect the existing levels of earth building in Germany
by allowing its use in combination with timber, brick
and concrete. The structure of the Lehmbau Regeln
is based on the different stages through which earth
is processed: soil classification, preparation of earth
materials, manufacture of earth-based materials,
use and maintenance of earth buildings and their
demolition, disposal and recycling.
In the UK, unlike Germany, the construction industry
is often characterised by much confusion and lack
of precise understanding of earth construction
techniques, which encompass only rammed earth,
adobe and cob but are, in fact, numerous. Lack
of information with regard to earth construction
techniques applies not only to the construction
industry, but also to education. Very few higher
15
Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)
2007
Figure 1. Chapel of Reconciliation, Berlin. Note that
there are only two openings
education courses about earth in construction in
the UK are available to students of architecture
and engineering. In Germany there is a market for
earth-based construction products and there is a
dedicated industry; in the UK earth construction is a
small movement carried forward by a few dedicated
individuals.
It therefore seemed relevant to understand why earth
architecture, a very common form of construction
in many countries and also a common form of
construction in the UK and Europe in the past,
ceased to be used in certain areas, and how it could
currently be applied to construction, given that both
living and construction standards are now higher
than those in most of the countries where earth
architecture is currently used.
The study analysed innovative practices in earth
construction with particular attention to the factors
which minimise the disadvantages preventing earth
from being a feasible and durable construction
material in the colder climates of Europe, North
America, China and Japan.
The study
The study took place in three main locations:
Germany, India and the UK. The starting point was a
background course, both practical and theoretical, in
earth construction at the Building Research Institute
(Forschungslabor für Experimentelles Bauen) in
Kassel, Germany.
Overall, the study covered theory on historical
buildings and on material properties of loam, visits
to buildings, both modern and ancient, attending
the International Symposium on Earthen Structures
(Bangalore, August 2007) and visiting a prefabricated
clay brick factory in Scotland.
16  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 2. Arch cracking in historic building, Agdz,
Morocco
Limitations of earth construction
Construction needs in developing countries
are entirely different to those of Europe. At the
Symposium on Earthen Structures it clearly emerged
that while the driver for the use of earth construction
in developing countries is, foremost, the need to
reduce construction costs, in Europe the main
driver is the somewhat vague concept, introduced
by the western world, of sustainability, and its
implementation through the use of low-embodied
energy and reclaimable materials. This concept
did not appear, in the Symposium, to be the main
justification for the use of earth construction in
developing countries.
This factor lies at the root of a common divergence
over the expression ‘Earthen structures’, which was
hotly debated: the European representatives at the
conference used the expression to indicate ‘pure’, or
‘raw’ earth buildings without the addition of stabilisers
(i.e. concrete), whereas most representatives
from India, Brazil and Australia consider stabilised
products, subjected to the addition of a percentage
of cement (5% minimum), as ‘earthen’. However,
while the concept of low embodied energy does
apply to the use of the material, its recyclability is not
as straightforward, and hygroscopicity is significantly
reduced.
The reasons behind stabilisation were attributed by
some attendees to building regulations, which for
India only apply to earth stabilised with 5% cement.
There have been structural failures of earth structures
in India due to poor understanding of earth’s
structural properties and to poor workmanship.
Stabilisation was introduced as a means to aid the
predictability of the material’s behaviour. Since the
reasons for building in earth-based materials in
India are economic and unrelated to environmental
awareness, adding 5% cement was a way of keeping
the construction costs low, while having some form of
structural predictability.

In Germany, on the other hand, regulations only apply
to un-stabilised products. The debate on stabilised
materials continued at the opening meeting of EBUK
(Earth Building UK), which took place in London in
October 2007, a few months after the Symposium.
It was already clear before conducting the study that
not many earth construction techniques are viable
in continental climates. Mud or cob walls are labour
intensive and therefore not economical in countries
where labour costs are relatively high. Rammed
earth construction is difficult in damp weather as it
should be performed under cover, thus increasing
construction costs, and is also labour-intensive.
Earth brick fabrication also depends on weather
conditions: bricks can take a long time to dry and
require protection from frost damage. In addition,
despite common misconceptions that earth is a good
insulator, increasing earth’s poor thermal insulation is
essential in colder climates.
Other limitations, or challenges, of earth construction
are the lack of sound engineering design
methodologies, poor seismic resistance, limited data
availability on performance, uncertified products, lack
of education and insufficient regulations. With the
exception of poor seismic resistance, these limitations
are strongly relevant to our climate and practice
and provide sufficient reasons for the construction
industry not to rely on the use of earth construction
products.
Low loadbearing capacity
The compressive strength of earth, when used for
construction purposes, depends on a number of
factors such as the construction technique used.
The average compressive strength for natural soil
has been evaluated at 3.88N/mm2, with a moisture
content at test of 3.3% [Maniatidis et al., 2007].
Modern unfired clay bricks available in the UK are
specified by manufacturers as having a compressive
strength of 3.8N/mm2. Gernot Minke [2006] cites
Figure 3. Rammed earth wall, Eden Project,
Cornwall
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK and Europe
2007
that the tallest loadbearing rammed earth house in
Europe, a six-storey residential building in Weilburg
(1828), has walls withstanding a compressive force
of 7.5kN/mm2 at the bottom, where they are 750mm
thick, but modern examples of rammed earth walls
are closer to 3.8N/mm2: The Chapel of Reconciliation
(see Figure 1), built in 2000, has rammed earth walls
with a clay content of only 4% which, thanks to heavy
compaction, can withstand up to 3.2N/mm2. Given
the role of moisture content, these figures are only
indicative, and the relatively low compressive strength
has meant that earth products in Europe are currently
specified as non-loadbearing materials, despite
examples of multi-storey dwellings built in loadbearing
earth (up to six storey in both Weilburg and Meldorf,
Germany, and Shibam, Yemen).
Lack of sound engineering design
methodologies
Professor Torrealba of the Pontificia Universidad
Catolica del Peru, while at the Symposium on
Earthen Structures, stated that the problem with
earth is that ‘it is not an engineering material’, which
could perhaps be rephrased as ‘it is not a structural
engineering material’ in that it is a difficult material to
describe in structural engineering terms.
In Germany, tests described for the purposes of
earth construction relate to those usually conducted
in geotechnical engineering (sieving, water content,
cohesion, liquid and plastic limits) and some are
simply observational tests and relate to odour, tactile
qualities and visual properties. These tests, however,
seem to aim at classifying the soil to understand
what proportions of silt/clay/water to use and which
construction method is more appropriate, more than
to structural performance or behaviour.
This approach at first sight might seem inappropriate
as it does not necessarily lead to a straightforward
design methodology such as those that structural
engineers are used to with BS codes for reinforced
Figure 4. Comparison between durability for
unstabilised earth masonry (left) and masonry
stabilised with 5% cement (right), of approximately
the same age (20 years) in Southern India. Note that
the wall to the right is not protected by an overhang
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 17
Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)
2007
concrete, steel and timber. However, it is well justified
if one understands that earth, even when used in
construction, can and should be looked as a soil,
as previously indicated by Jaquin for rammed earth
walls [Jaquin, P., 2008], which behave as highly
unsaturated soils. Jaquin’s post doctoral work,
undertaken at Durham University, looked at rammed
earth as a soil, applying geotechnical engineering
principles to the structural material, and showing
the role suction plays in the strength of rammed
earth. However, for earth masonry, it is usually
suggested that structural design should follow
masonry codes [Morton, 2008]. The complexity
of this issue is currently being avoided in the case
of earth masonry as testing procedures currently
proposed in the UK for earth masonry products, are
based on BS masonry codes with differences due to
earth’s particular characteristics [Morton, 2008]. The
main difference is that when the moisture content
reaches the plastic limit, and under this aspect the
behaviour compared to fired earth bricks is more
complex to describe, collapse occurs. Recently,
much research has investigated ways to apply
physical and engineering principles to aid behavioural
understanding. One example is the attempt to
optimise soil grading for reduced moisture ingress
and increased evaporative drying of earth materials
[Hall, 2007]. The compressive strength of stabilised
compressed earth materials such as stabilised
rammed earth walls and compressed stabilised earth
bricks can be reduced by moisture ingress caused
by capillary absorption, pressure driven absorption
and evaporative moisture loss, which are phenomena
typical of the UK climate. It has been shown [Hall,
2007] that by changing solid grading characteristics
through the methodology proposed by the author,
capillary moisture absorption can be reduced.
The role of water in capillary forces and ionic
correlation forces has also been assessed in a study
by Gélard et al. [2007], which concludes that the
amount of water needed to reach optimal cohesion
and energy dissipation in earth construction cannot
be quantified in absolute terms, as it is characteristic
of each earth material, thus confirming that
behavioural understanding is not straightforward.
Cracking
As with most materials which rely on compression
and can only resist feeble tension, cracking is often
observed in earth construction. Figure 2 shows some
cracking due to hinge formation.
Cracking, thoroughly analysed by Jaquin (2008)
for rammed earth construction, is also a problem
in recent construction projects. Cracking in earth
masonry in current architecture is usually a response
to shrinkage of either the masonry itself or of adjacent
timber in the case of earth-infill timber frames.
Durability
An easily noticeable aspect of earth architecture is
often damage to the external façades of buildings,
18  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
and the difference between façades treated with
forms of plaster or other protective coatings, and
untreated façades. This does not occur in arid
climates.
Figure 3 shows damage to a rammed earth wall at the
Eden Project in Cornwall (2001). While the erosion is
not necessarily due to climatic conditions, as it looks
like the wall has been picked at, the wall is of recent
construction and erosion due to rain is likely to cause
further damage if the overhang does not provide
sufficient protection.
The effects of climatic conditions such as rainfall on
unprotected earth can be seen in Figure 4, which
shows the effect of rainfall on two houses in the
same region (Bangalore, Karnataka) in approximately
the same time lag (20 years) but built of different
materials.
While the climate of Karnataka is clearly different
from that of Northern Europe, as the rainfall is
concentrated in the monsoon seasons, erosion
on external façades is, likewise, a considerable
drawback to the use of earth architecture in Northen
Europe. Maintenance costs in the UK are relatively
high, and while in some countries such as Australia
it is sufficient to provide long enough overhangs,
Northern Europe is characterised by driving rain
which, through capillary action, might affect
compressive strength.
Stabilisation
Erosion, as shown in Figure 4, can be limited thanks
to ‘stabilisation’, provided by the addition of 5%
volume of cement. Buildings made of stabilised mud
blocks (SMB), perhaps more precisely defined when
referred to as ‘soil-cement’ blocks, such as those
shown in Figure 4 (to the right), are very common in
Bangalore City: it is estimated that there are more
than 4000, the majority of which are 2-3 storey high
load bearing masonry houses.
Through the Pai Lin Li Travel Award, it was possible to
see the production of SMBs on site (Figure 5).
Buildings of higher quality than those shown in Figure
5 were observed in Auroville, home to the UNESCO
Chair of Earthen Architecture.The Auroville Building
Centre’s Earth Unit researches, develops, promotes
and transfers earth-based technologies.
Despite being the home to the Chair of Earthen
Architecture, what emerges upon visiting Auroville is
that the good aesthetic quality of the local work is
achieved through stabilisation, and that unstabilised
earth buildings are hardly present.
Using stabilisation as a means to improve durability
might be widely accepted in India, but often conflicts
with the ideas of low embodied energy and reusability
that determine the use of earth construction in the
first place.

Figure 5. On-site production of Stabilised Mud
Blocks (left) and masonry work (right), Bangalore
Figure 7. (left) Youth Centre in Spandau, Germany.
(right) Exterior, 32.5m rammed earth walls. Note the
lack of openings
While studies have shown that unprotected rammed
earth walls are relatively durable in Southern Europe
[Bui and Morel, 2007], and rammed earth walls have
also been constructed unprotected in the UK (Figure
3), there is a tendency to protect earth masonry
materials in externally exposed situations in UK
climatic conditions [Morton, 2008], and plastering is
often used as a form of protection.
Thermal performance
While solid earth walls are well suited to hot arid
climates in which the high thermal mass of the walls
dampens the effects of heat during the day and vice
versa, in cooler and damper climates such as in the
UK, reliance on thermal mass alone may not prove
sufficient during cold periods, as common earth
masonry products are relatively dense (1900kg/m3)
and therefore have high thermal conductivity (1W/m K
for a low moisture content; Morton, 2008).
The effects of using low density additives such
as pumice, recycled glass, polyfoam waste and
kenaf fibres have been investigated [Maniatidis et
al, 2007]. Results show that while the addition of
lightweight additives is successful in reducing density
and therefore increasing thermal insulation, this
compromises the aesthetic qualities and possibly
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK and Europe
2007
Figure 6. Unfired loam brick dome,
Building Research Institute, Kassel
Figure 8. Interior of an earthen dwelling
in village of 9ne Gunte, 40km from
Bangalore, India
the fire resistance of the material. Thus the preferred
solution to the necessity of insulating rammed
earth walls is the incorporation of separate thermal
insulating layers. Since build up of excessive moisture
in rammed earth walls can lead to catastrophic failure,
vapour permeability needs to be maintained, and
not all materials are suitable for insulation unless a
vented air gap between the wall and the insulation
is provided. Incorporating insulation within rammed
earth walls is, however, not straightforward, due to
the effects of compaction on the insulating layer.
While the role of thermal insulation, even for
temperature ranges as limited as 0-30°C, has been
shown to be just as important when earth masonry
is used [Heathcote, 2007], incorporating insulation
to earth masonry is more feasible via layered
construction. Morton (2008) suggests that the earth
masonry should form the inner skin of the wall, while
insulation should be applied externally. This approach
has been implemented at Kirk Park, Dalguise,
Perthshire [Morton, 2008].
Openings
When earth is used as a structural material, a
characteristic of most buildings is the limited number
and size of openings. In historical structures,
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 19
Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)
2007
Figure 9. The Vikas Community, an example of
Stabilised Earth Masonry, Auroville
Figure 11. Top left: Light earth (expanded kaolin),
provides the advantage of improving thermal
insulation in comparison to denser earth blocks,
and is less prone to result in cracking. bottom left:
Unfired, non-stabilised dense loam bricks used
with clay mortar. Right: Light earth and unfired brick
masonry infills to timber frame. For light earth, the
procedure requires the use of shuttering on both
sides
openings have been observed, but often these are
achieved through the use of arches such as those
shown in Figure 2, and it is unclear to the author
how else openings could be achieved, unless arches
or timber or concrete lintels are used. While in
the case of load-bearing domes this issue can be
circumvented by the use of skylights, as shown in
Figure 6, even recent and innovative examples of
earth architecture tend to show little openings (see
Figure 7 and Figure 1).
While this characteristic does not represent an issue
for architecture in Southern India (see Figure 8), at
latitudes where most activities take place outdoors
and there is a necessity to keep the sun out, in
Northern Europe there is a strong tendency, especially
in more recent architecture, to have a higher surface
area of windows.
Few buildings visited during the study had spacious
rooms with high levels of light. One example was
20  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 10. Combination of RC frame and earth
blocks (Agdz, Morocco)
Figure 12. Some
CLAYTEC products:
loam for plaster (top),
fibre loam board (bottom
left) and earth blocks
of different densities
(bottom right)
a house on the outskirts of Kassel where this was
achieved by combining the use of unfired clay blocks
to that of some elements of reinforced concrete:
beams supporting vaults.
The Vikas community building (Figure 9), which
comprises 13 apartments on three floors, also
shows the use of reinforced concrete elements in
combination with that of (stabilised) earth blocks.
Interestingly, there are a number of examples of
buildings that, despite being described as ‘Cob’, or
‘earth’, from a structural perspective are supported
by materials other than earth, most often timber. An
example is the Cob Visitor Facility at the Eden Project
[Abey and Smallcombe, 2007]. Structural features
of the building are blockwork plinths with strip
foundations for the groundworks, and timber rafters
to resist wind loading.
While in historic structures one can notice that
openings are achieved through the use of timber
lintels, concrete has also been used to allow for large
window openings [Rauch, 2007]. The combination
of reinforced concrete and earth blocks, which is
common in developing countries (see Figure 10),
does seem to provide a compromise between
structure and services.

Figure 13. Different stages of the production of unfired clay bricks.
Note the extrusion at the middle, one of the stages with highest
energy consumption. These stages are the same as for fired clay
bricks, with the difference that while fired bricks are fired in the kiln,
unfired bricks are oven-dried, thus resulting in energy savings, as
shown in Figure 14
The same principle, that of using earth blocks as an
infill to the structural frame, is in fact an established
vernacular form of construction. Referred to as
‘Fachwerk’ in Germany and ‘wattle and daub’ in the
UK, it is a traditional form of construction in most
Western European countries. It is also found in
Turkey, Syria and the Balkans. Figure 11 shows some
examples of infill to timber frame under construction.
Lack of standards
The lack of British Standards is often seen as a strong
impediment to the use of earth construction, and the
innovative approach towards earth architecture than
can be found in Germany is often attributed to the
presence of the Lehmbau Regeln.
However, as Morton (2008) explains, compliance in
the UK can be demonstrated through self-certification
or compliance with European documents such as the
Lehmbau Regeln. The study has not investigated this
particular aspect further.
The Chapel of Reconciliation (Figure 1), one of
the most striking examples of contemporary earth
architecture, despite being built in Germany, is an
example of a building which underwent a particular
approval process, as it was the first time that the
municipal authorities and structural engineers in Berlin
had encountered the proposed technique.
The Chapel (Kapelle der Versöhnung, Bernauer
Straße, Berlin), a monument to mark 10 years since
the fall of the Berlin Wall, stands on the location of a
Neo-Gothic church which was demolished in 1985
in order to keep the firing lines open on the no man’s
land strip lying between the two walls.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK and Europe
2007
Figure 14. Unfired clay
bricks after oven-drying
The leaflet describing the project to visitors of
the chapel explains that the municipal authorities
‘imposed structural safety standards seven times
higher than for conventional buildings’. This statement
is, in terms of structural engineering, imprecise,
but it does show that though Germany does have
standards for loam construction and though it is
considered to be open to loam construction, in
practice engineers are still sometimes required to
prove structural soundness to a higher degree.
In the case of the Chapel, it seems that this was
carried out by Technische Universität Berlin, which
provided on-site supervision and scientific support.
390t of soil was collected from around the city, and
processed in 3 months. The wall contains fragments
of broken brick from the former church and gravel.
The advantage of this coarse grain mixture with a clay
content of only 4% and a minimal moisture content
of 8.1%, is that shrinkage was limited to 0.15%. The
compressive strength of 3.2kN/m2 was achieved
thanks to intensive compaction. Although the wall
is 60cm thick, it is not thick enough for the required
U-value to be achieved (Minke states that for the
correct U-value to be achieved in Germany, most
rammed earth walls would need to be 1.60m thick if
no insulation is provided). A worker on site confirmed
that the building is not heated and that in the winter
it is very cold. The building would not be suitable
as a dwelling. Moreover, the cost of the chapel was
relatively high, at €4350/m2.
Prefabrication
CLAYTEC is a leading manufacturer of earth
construction products in Germany, producing and
selling its products throughout Germany and Europe:
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 21
Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)
2007
–– Earth plasters in a variety of different colours
and components (some plasters are high-finish
plasters with fine grains, some are coarser and
contain fibres). These can be purchased ready
mixed, or in powdered form (Figure 12, left) to mix
with water.
–– Lehmbauplatten. These are boards which, in
section, resemble some forms of vernacular
construction, and consist of woven fibres of
various types and diameters and clay (Figure 12,
centre). The boards are produced in different
thicknesses and are a quick and effective means
of finishing walls whilst balancing indoor humidity.
–– Earth bricks and blocks in different sizes and
densities (Figure 12, right).
As made clear by Herr Schultz, who owns an outlet
of CLAYTEC products in Berlin, these products are
relatively expensive compared to their ‘standard’
equivalents. The fibre clay boards, for instance,
cost €15-22 per metre square. Although Germany
is seen as the country in Europe with the highest
turnover in this industry, Herr Schultz explained that
there are only few architects that are able to use the
products properly (20 – 30 in Berlin) and it is mostly
for ‘environmentally aware clients’ who are prepared
to pay the extra costs.
Herr Schultz also pointed out that although the earth
bricks are sold in different densities (700, 1200 and
1500 kg/m3) none of them are of low enough density
to be used independently from other insulating
materials such as rock wool or similar.
The author obtained samples of a wide range of
its products (Figure 12). However, it seems that
CLAYTEC’s selling point is that it has developed
building systems, not just products, which makes
the company very successful in the German building
market, despite the relatively high costs of its
products. One tangible advantage is a manual (in
German), which can be ordered online directly from
the CLAYTEC website, explaining diagrammatically
how each product is used. Nothing of the kind is
currently published in the UK by manufacturers of
similar products.
In view of the limitations of earth construction, it
would appear that the use of earth blocks and light
earth infill in timber frame construction (Figure 11)
might be a way of re-introducing earth construction
to the UK. Prefabrication provides the advantages
of lower and more predictable construction times
and higher quality control. It also seems to limit the
possible disadvantages of using earth, and using
infill to timber frames which is easily adaptable to
the timber frame industry in areas where it is already
established (i.e. Scotland).
At the time that the proposal for the study was
written, there were no established producers of earth
construction materials in the UK. Materials were
sometimes produced on site, which complicates
22  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
quality control and can cause delays in construction
times. Pre-fabricated blocks and panels, the
alternative solution, were either made offsite by
specialist manufacturers (the panels still are) or
imported from abroad. Specialist manufacturers are
relatively expensive and importing from Germany and
Austria, not always a justifiable option, is inefficient
and disproportionately expensive.
Currently, mass produced masonry products from the
UK are the Eco-Brick by the Errol Brick Company,
the production of which was witnessed by the author
during this study, Ecoterre by Ibstock, Naterra by
Akristos and Sumatec by Lime Technology. The latter
three only entered the market very recently. This
seems to indicate that mass production, which results
in cheaper materials with lower embodied energy
and therefore lower environmental impact, has been
deemed as feasible and is currently implemented to a
larger scale than it was at the time the proposal to the
current Pai Lin Li study was made.
As explained by Peter Walker who represented Tom
Morton at the Symposium for Earthen Structures, the
development of contemporary earth construction in
the UK might find an answer in earth masonry, which
has the potential to break out of the niche of eco-
building to make significant savings in CO2 emissions
and waste production. The fact that the fire brick
industry in the UK is declining is another strong factor
in the development of unfired earth bricks, as existing
fired brick factories can easily be converted into
unfired brick factories.
The Errol Brick Company Ltd is one manufacturer
which has implemented the addition of un-fired
brick production (Figure 13) to that of fired brick
manufacturing process, and is one of the few
producers of unfired earth bricks (Figure 14) in the
UK. Its Eco bricks are designed to be fully reusable
and can be bought as part of a brick and earth mortar
system, the only system of the kind manufactured in
commercial form in the UK at the time of writing. The
size of the brick is a nominal 225 x 110 x 68 (mm)
and is designed to fit between timber wall studding
as a non load-bearing component, thus offering
the builder the ability to construct a breathable
wall system which balances humidity, through
hygroscopicity, if the walls are finished with a clay
plaster.
The brick is composed of post glacial alluvial clay,
sand and sawdust from local sources. The mortar
supplied by Errol Brick consists of ground dry clay
and organic binder produced in the UK. These
materials are mixed with water in the following
proportions: mix ratio 3ltr sand, 1ltr clay, 0.025ltr
binder, water to suit. Binder must be added before
the water.
It is claimed that the embodied energy of a tonne
of unfired earth bricks is 123.5kWh and 22kg CO2
at the factory gate. Although accurate comparable
figures are difficult to obtain, this amounts to 14%
of the embodied energy and carbon production of

fired bricks (Morton, 2007), a significant saving if
one considers increasing energy costs and taxation
due to these costs and due to the production of
CO2. Other advantages over fired bricks used for
the same purposes are their excellent sustainability
credentials of low energy input, low waste production
and reusability. Their use also provides thermal mass
and acoustic insulation, and they are hygroscopic
and thus inhibit condensation by regulating the
relative humidity of the atmosphere. As a finish,
unfired clay brickwork can be finished with a variety of
‘breathable’ materials including clay and lime plasters,
clay boards, some paints and limewashes. If paint is
used, it should only be high vapour permeable paint.
The price of bricks from Errol bricks is currently the
same for fired and unfired bricks. The reason is that
while the Errol Brick Company had to purchase no
new equipment for the production of the bricks, it did
invest in equipment for the manufacture of the mortar
and in testing for the development and certification of
the bricks.
Ibstock Bricks, located in England, make a product
similar to Errol’s Eco Brick called ‘Ecoterre’, an earth
brick which is also intended for most internal non
load-bearing applications, but it does not produce
clay mortar. The earth bricks are manufactured in two
sizes: 220 x 105 x 67mm (weighing 3kg) and 220 x
105 x 133mm (weighing 6kg) and have the following
characteristics:
Code EC 3590
Configuration Vertically perforated
Compressive strength 3.8 N/mm2
Density 1940kg/m3
Ibstock specifies two types of mortar to be used
in conjunction with the bricks: clay mortar by
Construction Resources and Lime Mortar (also known
as Limetec) by Lime Technology Ltd which should
be moderately hydraulic lime mortar. Interestingly, for
undercoats, CLAYTEC products, which are produced
in and imported from Germany, are specified.
The importance of mortar has been explained by
Heath et al. (2007): in order for the energy savings
that unfired clay bricks can implement, these would
need to be used in mainstream markets, where thin
wall thicknesses (typically 100–150mm) are preferred.
A significant increase in the bond strength of unfired
earth masonry is thus required. The authors identified
two promising mortars: Lignosulphate and Activ 7, for
use with unfired earth bricks.
Discussion
The study aimed at answering one key question:
whether earth is an economically viable and durable
construction material in countries where workmanship
is relatively expensive and the climate can be wet and
cold. The analysis of the advantages of the use of the
material in terms of energy savings, health (thanks
to its effect on relative humidity) and more generally
building services goes beyond the scope of this
report.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK and Europe
2007
While there is a trend towards the vernacular in
Europe, this is not the case in developing countries.
The only reason earth is used in these countries is
that it is cheaper to do so: it was observed that in
India any reasonably wealthy family would refuse to
live in earth dwellings. In one village seen during the
study, the richest family in town, which produced silk,
was the only family to own a concrete house.
Some aspects of earth construction which are
usually seen as disadvantages, such as difficulties
in obtaining a ‘clean’ finish and the inability to hang
objects off walls, are minor issues which can easily
be resolved, and the same can be said for erosion.
However, a number of issues related to earth
construction remain, and these are to do with the
fact that earth is not a ‘typical’ engineering material,
as its properties vary greatly, especially with variation
in moisture content, and are difficult to quantify,
especially if few tests are taken. In addition, earth
cannot withstand tensile forces.
In colder climates such as that of the UK, there
are even further limitations to its use: insulation is
required, and despite some indication in the literature
that ‘light’ earth with density as low as 1500kg/
m3 can be used instead, studies have shown that
insulation is indeed required [Heathcote, 2007],
and some earth construction techniques have been
proven particularly difficult to combine with insulation
[Maniatidis et al., 2007]. It has been shown that
openings for windows are difficult to achieve in a
straightforward manner and the use of reinforced
concrete or timber frames are recommended in
conjunction with earth whenever walls are load
bearing [Rauch, 2007].
Hygroscopicity, a word often used by building
services engineers and supporters of earth
construction in the UK and abroad, is not necessarily
always effective enough to justify the use of earth
construction: the Youth Centre in Spandau (Figure
7), has a 32m rammed earth wall which is claimed
to ‘subdivide the building and serves to conserve
thermal energy and balance air humidity’ [Minke,
2006]. However, despite being a strong feature,
the building is mostly light-weight, and the ability of
the wall to ‘conserve thermal energy and balance
air humidity’ is arguable, given the small wall
surface volume ratio. This raises a point about earth
architecture: while its use is often justified as a means
of balancing indoor humidity, this can only be applied
to spaces where wall surface volume ratios are
relatively high.
Both the scarcity of skilled workmanship and its
relatively high cost are other significant issues.
Although the revival of earth architecture in the
UK has seen the use of in situ rammed earth as
the leading contender, the existence of published
guidelines [Walker, 2005] has also highlighted its
limitations which are considerable: insulation cannot
be easily applied; compressive strength, even
after compaction, is rarely higher than 3.8N/mm2;
construction times are long and rely on weather
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 23
Chiara Perrone MEng (Hons)
2007
conditions and its compressive strength can be
reduced due to capillary action, pressure driven
capillary action and evaporative moisture loss [Gelard
et al., 2007]. In more general terms, rammed earth
requires specialist processes and specialist testing,
as does cob.
Most of these disadvantages can be overcome
through the prefabrication of both rammed earth
walls and bricks. While the former are not currently
available for sale in the UK, the latter have now been
available on the market for about a year, and their
use in conjunction with timber-framed buildings,
which are also seeing a revival in Northern Europe,
seems feasible. Their cost is no higher than that of
fired bricks, the skills required to construct unfired-
masonry walls are not considerably different from
those required for fired masonry. For the moment,
these need not be used as load-bearing members,
thus minimising construction risks. Unfired bricks are
currently available in Scotland from the Errol Brick
Company and in England from Ibstock Brick, and can
be used either with earth mortar or with lime mortar.
The indigenous manufacture of these products has
therefore been proven feasible, but is yet not mass
production. A publication giving detailed practical
guidance on contemporary construction using this
material and providing numerous technical details in
the form of illustrations has recently been published
by IHS BRE Press (Morton 2008).
Currently, as an engineering material, it is an issue to
specify earth as a construction material if intended as
a structural material. Although regulations are said to
be the main reason why earth construction in the UK
is not ‘mainstream’, and despite the turnover of earth
construction in Germany (£60M/ year), the projects
visited in Germany during the study do not seem to
indicate particular differences in terms of structure:
in Germany, as the Chapel of Reconciliation shows,
authorities are also uncomfortable with the use of
earth as a construction material, and although there
are indeed a number of high-finish buildings all over
Europe, whether in the UK or outside, they are small
in number. Each is a unique project often carried out
over a long period, especially in the case of rammed
earth, and often with a strong sculptural value.
Most of these issues emerged at the opening
meeting (London, 2007) for the formation of an Earth
Building organisation in the UK (EBUK), organised
by Pete Walker of the University of Bath and BRE,
and Tom Morton of Arc Architects. The meeting
helped in understanding who within the construction
industry felt the need to introduce a UK earth
building institution. While a number of academics,
artists, conservation architects and manufacturers
were present, there were no engineers working for
consultancy firms, apart from the author.
24  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
It was agreed at the meeting that the association
should be interested in all aspects of earth
construction, with the potential for collaboration
across sectors, and it was suggested that it would be
informative to be able to quantify the value of earth
construction as an industry, so that growth could be
recorded.
It was also noted that the translation of the German
Lehmbau Regeln (Earth construction standards) could
be a worthwhile step towards development of a UK
standard.
Conclusions
Most of the disadvantages of earth construction
can be overcome by prefabricating both rammed
earth walls and unfired bricks. While the former are
not currently available for sale in the UK, the latter
are now available on the market, and their use in
conjunction with timber- or concrete-frame buildings,
seems feasible. Their cost is no higher than that of
fired bricks, the skills required to construct unfired
masonry walls are not considerably different from
those required for fired masonry, and insulation can
be applied without significant practical complications.
Other frame-infill materials that could be used in the
UK are light-earth (expanded kaolin) and earth blocks
or bricks with lower density than those currently
produced in the UK.
The highest positive impact of the use of earth
in construction is on humidity regulation, internal
comfort and environmental issues, and not on
structural efficiency. The use of earth which at present
appears more viable in the UK market (unfired earth
bricks or rammed earth infill to timber or reinforced
concrete frame) is currently not structural. A widening
in the extent of the use of earth as a structural
material does not currently seem likely, unless
structural engineers start to understand the material
through other disciplines, such as geotechnical
engineering, and stop slavishly relying on building
standards. Nevertheless, currently, the structural
engineer can play an important role in the holistic
design of a building by understanding this material,
its behaviour and perhaps, more importantly, its
limitations.
 Prefabricated earth constructions in the UK and Europe

Further reading

2007
–– Abey, J., Smallcombe, J. (2007): ‘Cob in
Contemporary Architecture’, Proc. Inter.
Symp. Earthen Structures, Interline Publishing,
Bangalore, India

–– Gelard, D., Fontaine L., Maximilien, S., Olagnon,

C., Laurent, J. P., Houben, H., Van Damme, H.
(2007): ‘When physics revisit earth construction:
Recent advances in the understanding of the
cohesion mechanisms of earthen materials’, ibid.

–– Hall, M. (2007): A methodology for the

optimization of soil grading for reduced moisture
ingress & increased evaporative drying in rammed
earth materials, ibid.

–– Heath, A., Walker, P., Burt, J. (2007): Improving

the bond strength of unfired clay masonry, ibid.

–– Jaquin, P. (2008), Study of historic rammed earth

structures in Spain and India, The Structural
Engineer, 22 Jan, 86/2, p26-32

–– Little, B. and Morton, T. (2001): Building with Earth

in Scotland, Scottish Executive Central Research
Unit

–– Maniatidis, V., Walker, P., Heath, A. and

Hayward, S. (2007): ‘Mechanical and Thermal
Characteristics of Rammed Earth’, Proc. Inter.
Symp. Earthen Structures, Interline Publishing,
Bangalore, India

–– Minke, G. (2006): Building with Earth – Design

and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture,
Birkhäuser, Basel/Berlin

–– Morton, T. (2007): ‘Towards the Development of

Contemporary Earth Construction in the U.K’,
Proc. Inter. Symp. Earthen Structures, Interline
Publishing, Bangalore, India

–– Morton, T. (2008): Earth masonry: Design and

construction guidelines, IHS BRE Press

–– Bui, Q. and Morel, J. C. (2007): ‘Durability of

rammed earth walls exposed to 20 years of
natural weathering’, Proc. Inter. Symp. Earthen
Structures, Interline Publishing, Bangalore, India

–– Rauch, M. (2007) Earth House with European

Standard, ibid.

–– Schroeder H. (2000): Lehm 2000 Conf. Proc.

–– Walker, P. (2005): Rammed earth: design and

construction guidelines, IHS BRE Press

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 25
Roma Agrawal BA MSc CEng MIStructE MIET
Roma Agrawal BA MSc CEng MIStructE MIET
2008
Stress ribbon bridges
Abstract
Stress-ribbon bridges are a common form of
construction for pedestrian bridges in various
countries around the world. The basic and most
commonly found form consists of concrete precast
panels stressed with tendons which in turn are
anchored into the ground. In the past, such bridges
were built in the UK, however following problems
during their lifetimes; they have lost popularity. The
most recent and notable example here is the Kent
Millennium Bridge in Maidstone.
Biography
Roma studied Physics at
the University of Oxford and
Structural Engineering at
Imperial College London. She
is an Associate Structural
Engineer at WSP and over the
last 7 years has worked on
complex and iconic projects
with high profile architectural
practices. Her projects range
from tall towers to sculptures,
in a variety of materials and
includes the Shard at London Bridge, the tallest tower
in Western Europe.
She was awarded ‘Young Structural Engineer of the
Year 2011’ by The Institution of Structural Engineers
and was a finalist for the ‘Young Woman Engineer
of the Year 2012’ Award run by the Institution of
Engineering and Technology. Roma was featured on
Channel 4’s documentary ‘The Tallest Tower’ which
was about the design and build of The Shard, and
she is passionate about promoting engineering as a
career to students and graduates.
Travel experience
This paper explains the design and construction
methodology used for building stress ribbon
structures as found during the author’s travels to
Germany, the Czech Republic and Japan. The
required ground conditions, stages involved in static
and dynamic design and finally the most efficient and
safe erection techniques were investigated. This is
achieved by studying the design and construction
methods used in these existing structures worldwide
and proposes best construction practices and details
in order to promote its use in the United Kingdom.
26  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Introduction
Stress ribbon bridges are an elegant form of
construction found in various countries around the
world. They use the theory of a catenary transmitting
loads via tension in the deck to abutments which
are anchored to the ground. The basic and most
commonly found form consists of a precast concrete
deck with steel tendons. This concept was first
introduced by German engineer Ulrich Finsterwalder
(1897-1988).
Stress ribbon bridges are quick and convenient to
construct given appropriate conditions. They can be
built with minimal impact to the surroundings and
their slender form ensures a visually pleasing end
result. A wide range of structures exist in Europe,
USA and Japan, including multispan bridges, three
way spans and long spans up to 150m built in urban,
rural and mountainous areas.
The Institution of Structural Engineers’ Educational
Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award 2008 was awarded to
spend up to 6 weeks abroad researching worldwide
practices in the design and construction of stress
ribbon bridges. Meetings were arranged with design
engineers and researchers involved in this field in
Germany, Czech Republic and Japan over a four
week period. This article summarises the results of
this research and discusses reasons why this form is
not currently popular in the UK.
Superstructure
A typical stress ribbon bridge deck consists of
precast concrete planks with bearing tendons to
support them during construction, and separate
prestressing tendons which are tensioned to create
the final designed geometric form (Figure 1). The
joints between the planks are most often sealed with
in situ concrete before stressing the deck. Stressing
the planks provides the deck with additional stiffness
and minimises cracking in the cast in place concrete.
The prestressing tendons transfer horizontal forces
into the abutments and then to the ground most often
using ground anchors. The tendons are encased in
ducts which are generally grouted after tensioning
in order to lock in the stress and protect them from
corrosion. The largest bending in the deck and cables
occurs at the abutments; accordingly the ends are
detailed carefully to deal with this. Since the bending
in the deck is low everywhere else, the thickness is
often dictated by the minimum cover requirements
for the cables. Minimising the depth of deck reduces
the dead load and hence the horizontal forces at the
abutments. Even the longest stress ribbon bridge
with a span of 147.5m has a depth of only 250mm
(Yumetsuri-Bashi bridge, Japan, Figure 2).

Figure 1. Form of a stress ribbon bridge
Figure 2. Yumetsuri-bashi bridge, Japan
(Image courtesy of Sumitomo Mitsui Construction)
Dynamic design is particularly important in these
structures due to the lightweight nature of the deck.
It has been found in analysis and dynamic tests that
modes often occur at low frequencies below 2.5Hz
and close together; 2Hz is best avoided as a resonant
mode which occurs from walking. Although many
of these bridges have low natural frequencies and
slight vibrations can be felt, the acceleration and
displacement are carefully checked to ensure they are
below the limit for pedestrian discomfort as specified
in the relevant codes of practice, and there have not
been any reports of major post-construction remedial
work being carried out.
Substructure and ground conditions
The abutments are designed to transfer the horizontal
force from the deck cables into the ground via ground
anchors. Pedestrian, wind and temperature loads
can cause large changes in the bending moments
in the deck close to the abutments and accordingly
crack widths and fatigue in reinforcement must be
considered.
The ideal ground condition for resisting large
horizontal forces from the ribbon is a rock base. This
occurs rarely but suitable foundations can be devised
even if competent soils are only found at some depth
below the abutments.
The ground anchors are normally tensioned in two
stages, the first set is tensioned before the deck is
erected and the rest, after the deck is complete. If
stressed in one stage only, there will be a large out of
balance force to be resisted by the abutments in the
temporary case. The soil pressure, overturning and
sliding have to be checked for the construction as
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Stress ribbon bridges
2008
well as permanent condition.
In some cases where soil conditions do not permit
the use of anchors, piles can be used. Horizontal
deformations can be significant and are considered
in design. It is also possible to use a combination
of anchors and drilled shafts. Battered micropiling
is another alternative which can resist the load from
the ribbon because of its compression and tension
capacity.
Construction techniques
The abutments are built first with the first set of
anchors tensioned to provide temporary stability. The
bearing cables are then hung between the abutments,
and precast planks can be slid along the cables or
craned into their final position. The bearing tendons
generally support the structure during construction,
and only rarely is additional falsework used.
The prestressing cables are installed and the cables
are tensioned in stages. Concrete is poured in the
joints between the planks and allowed to harden
before the final tensioning is carried out. Retarding
admixtures may be used in the concrete mix to
allow all the concrete to be placed before hardening
occurs. Once the final tension has been jacked into
the tendons and the deflected shape is verified, the
ducts containing the tendons are grouted.
The tension in deck cables and abutment anchors are
checked against the design values, any adjustments
required are completed. The bridge is then ready for
dynamic testing and for public use.
In summary, some of the important aspects of stress
ribbon bridges which must be considered include:
–– Design for all load cases both static and dynamic
in construction and final stages
–– Determination of a suitable sag for stiffness,
vibration modes and tension at abutments
–– Checking of deck displacement and acceleration
for moving loads
–– Calculation of tendon stresses and sequencing
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 27
Roma Agrawal BA MSc CEng MIStructE MIET
2008
Figure 3. Kent Millennium Messenger Bridge, UK
Figure 5. Brno-Komin Bridge, Czech Figure 6. Arch supported bridge at Olomouc
Republic
–– Detailed construction planning, and analysis of all
temporary cases
–– Important details for efficient and long-term
functioning of the bridge: haunches at ends,
protection of cables from environment
–– Shrinkage, creep and horizontal movement of
abutments due to tension in cables in determining
sag, especially for long span structures
Codes and standards
There are currently no specific codes for designing
stress ribbon bridges in the UK. When designed in
the UK, the bridge code BS5400 can be used to
determine the static and dynamic load cases. The
design of the tendons and precast planks should
conform to BS5400-4 for post-tensioned structures
(clauses 6.7 and 7.2 respectively). Special care
must be taken in ensuring details are designed for
environmental degradation such as corrosion from
moisture.
28  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 4. Crank with strut tie system (Millennium
Messenger Bridge)
Engineers designing stress ribbon bridges worldwide
use their country’s bridge codes, including
Eurocodes, where applicable. Research notes and
papers published (see further reading, codes) are
also referred to in their design. Generally, analysis is
done using computer modelling with dynamic tests
sometimes done on scaled prototypes or the built
bridge.
Stress ribbon bridges in the UK
Historically, stress ribbon bridges have not been
popular in the UK. Some possible reasons for this are:
–– Expensive foundations in the absence of ideal
ground conditions
–– Problems experienced with post-tensioned
structures in the past- particularly the corrosion of
tendons
–– Sag in the deck being restricted by DDA
compliance standards (maximum slope = 1:22)
which leads to high tensile forces and expensive
substructure
–– Lack of experience in the field
–– Public perception of bridges with a relatively large
sag and possible awareness of vibrations
 Stress ribbon bridges

2008
Figure 7. Load test on River Svartka Bridge, Czech Republic Figure 8. Construction- installation and
(Photo courtesy of Brno Technical University) anchoring half preformed concrete arch.
(Photo courtesy of Brno Technical
University)

Figure 9. Ecoduct tunnel under construction, Czech

Republic

In fact, there is only one notable example of a

Stress Ribbon Bridge in the UK; the Kent Millennium
Messenger Bridge (Figures 3, 4), which was designed
by Architects Studio Bednarski and Engineers Strasky
Husty and Partners. It is the first of its kind with a
cranked alignment on plan, consisting of two spans
with a total length of 101.5m. The out-of-balance
forces arising due to the kink in the deck are dealt
with using a strut and tie system, the compression
taken by concrete stairs and the tension by an
inclined steel column.

The bridge was modelled as a non-linear structure in

3D with flexible supports. The tension from the ribbon
is transferred into the Weald clay found locally via
a combination of vertical shafts and raking tension
micro-piles. The bridge was constructed rapidly and
with minimal impact on the surroundings resulting
in a stunning bridge which complements its natural
surroundings.
Stress ribbon bridges in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has a number of stress ribbon
bridges of different forms around the country built
over the last forty years. Not only are engineers
designing innovative structures, for example a
stress ribbon tunnel, but research being carried
out on analysis, design techniques and software
development is making a significant contribution to
the future applications of these bridges.
The DS-L Bridges are a group of seven structures
built between 1978 and 1985 which consist of
precast segments post-tensioned in one, two and
three spans. The Brno-Komin Bridge is an example of
a simple stress ribbon bridge which spans 78m over
Figure 10. Stress Ribbon Tunnel: plan elevation and
section (Courtesy of Strasky Husty and Partners)
the River Svartka (Figure 5) and is widely used by
pedestrians and cyclists in an urban setting.
A development of the concept of the simple catenary
is the arch-supported ribbon deck which is a self
anchored structure. The tensioned deck, arch and
compression struts form a closed force triangle thus
eliminating horizontal forces at the abutments, which
in turn reduces the cost of the foundations. Two
examples of such bridges in the Czech Republic are
the Bridge at Olomouc over a motorway (Figure 6)
and another bridge over the River Svartka (Figure
7). The supporting arch over the river was brought
to site as two precast concrete sections which were

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 29
Roma Agrawal BA MSc CEng MIStructE MIET
2008
Figure 11. Model stress ribbon bridge in Berlin
Figure 13. Pier of Figure 14. Rosenstein II Bridge, Germany
bridge at Rostock
showing flexible
steel plates
(Figure courtesy
of Schlaich
Bergermann und
Partners)
Figure 16. Stuttgart trade fair roof
Figure 17. Diagram showing structural form of the
trade fair roof (Image courtesy of Mayr Ludescher
Partner)
suspended from cables until the permanent joint was
completed. This method was necessary due to the
steep banks and lack of space for construction plant
(Figure 8). Once complete, the bridge was load tested
30  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 12. Carbon fibre ribbons strapped at
‘abutment’
Figure 15. Unterer Grund bridge with
saddles at abutments, Germany
by a number of trucks and the design thus verified.
This example demonstrates the versatility of stress
ribbon bridges for construction in tight sites.
An interesting application of the stress ribbon
principle is the ‘ecoduct’ or tunnel (Figures 9,10)
which was built as part of a large network of
motorways outside Brno. The theory is the same as
a self-anchored arch but the geometry is much more
complex. It is 50m wide and spans 70m and a finite
element programme was used in its design. In this
case, the arches were cast in-situ using formwork
since the space was available. The geometry of the
tunnel was dictated by the dead load of soil above
it, which was reinstated once the structure was
complete.
Stress ribbon bridges in Germany
Stress ribbon structures date back to the 1950s in
Germany. The original roof of the Berlin Congress
Hall built in 1957 had a suspended roof formed

Figure 18. Construction of the roof showing ballast
bags, Stuttgart (Photo courtesy of Mayr Ludescher
Partner)
Figure 20. Construction sequence of Seiun Bridge
(Image courtesy of Sumitomo Mitsui Construction)
from inclined arches. The stability of these arches
depended on tension members formed by stress
ribbons anchored to a central ring. Since then, there
have been a number of bridges and a trade fair roof
constructed in Germany and research is being carried
out on new materials and damping methods.
A 13m span model stress ribbon bridge has been
constructed at the Technical University of Berlin using
multi-layered carbon fibre straps to support precast
concrete planks (Figures 11,12). The advantages
of these fibres are that their tensile capacity is
ten times larger than steel, they are resistant to
moisture and not affected by fatigue. The practicality
of constructing abutments to anchor the fibres is
still being considered since fraying or notching on
the surface reduces their capacity. Furthermore,
the model is being used to investigate the use of
‘intelligent’ damping systems. The balustrade posts
are connected at the top with fibre tubes that contain
air, which compresses and expands non-linearly as
the bridge moves. One of the aims of the research
is to take full advantage of the lightweight nature of
carbon ribbons and produce a deck with minimal
weight and let the damping system control dynamics.
A multispan bridge has been built at Rostock that
uses an innovative method of controlling bending
moments at the piers. The deck is supported on
S690 steel ribbons with flexible pier heads in S355
steel which consist of layered steel plates connected
at the centre (Figure 13). The Rosenstein II bridge is
a pretensioned space truss (Figure 14): the deck is
supported by two sagging cables which are stabilised
by a cable of opposite curvature and the dead load
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Stress ribbon bridges
2008
Figure 19. Seiun Bridge, Japan (Image courtesy of
Sumitomo Mitsui Construction)
Figure 21. Shiosai Bridge with abutment in
foreground, Japan
of the deck panels. This bridge does have perceptible
vibrations but its users have come to accept this and
have nicknamed it ‘the swinging bridge’.
Another form of ribbon has been used on the Unterer
Grund Footbridge (Figure 15) and the Pforzheim
Bridge. The decks are supported on wide steel
plates which have studs in the case of the former,
and bolted connections in the latter. The Pforzheim
Bridge has rubber strips between the precast deck
panels and between the steel ribbon and concrete
panels, and mesh handrails which all contribute to the
damping of the deck.
An interesting application of the stress ribbon
principle is the Stuttgart Trade Fair Hall roof (Figures
16,17). The suspended, asymmetric roof comprises
a regular repetition of stressed trusses with individual
I-beam ribbons of S460 steel between them. The
trusses function as strut and tie A-frames based on
concrete strip foundations and are tied back to the
ground with anchors. The stress in the ribbons and
weight of its ‘green roof’ were used to resist wind
uplift. During fabrication, each ribbon was formed
to obtain the stress-free geometry according to its
design. The ribbons were loaded with ballast on
site to replicate their final loading conditions, to limit
shear between the ribbons and roof deck and to
eliminate uplift in the temporary case (Figure 18). A
light and iconic structure resulted which contributes
to Stuttgart’s economy.
Stress ribbon bridges in Japan
Japan has a mountainous terrain so its transport
infrastructure incorporates a large number of bridges
and tunnels. There are a variety of pioneering stress
ribbon bridges in Japan, ranging from the longest
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 31
Roma Agrawal BA MSc CEng MIStructE MIET
2008
Figure 22. Kikkou Bridge: 3 span bridge, Japan
(Image courtesy of Sumitomo Mitsui Construction)
single span bridge (147.5m clear span, Yumetsuri-
Bashi Bridge, Figure 1) to the world’s first three-
directional stress ribbon bridge.
The Seishun and Seiun Bridges are described as
self-anchored composite truss bridges. A suspension
system using the principles of a stress ribbon was
used to carry construction loading, since no formwork
could be used, and later released into the decks in
the final arrangement. There are only vertical reactions
at the abutments in the final case. The Seiun bridge
spans nearly 100m over a deep valley and consists
of tensioned concrete upper and lower decks with
steel diagonal members between them (Figures
19, 20). The steel diagonals were stabilised with
wire anchors during construction and the structural
conversion from a suspended to self-anchored bridge
was done carefully in twelve stages. This created a
stiff structure, the first of its kind in terms of scale and
vehicle carrying capacity.
A similar example is the Shiosai bridge (Figure 21)
which has a four span deck supported on columns
based on a continuous suspension chord. The
suspension chord is a stress ribbon assembled from
precast segments of varying depth tensioned with
steel tendons. The supporting columns are also
precast. This system is partially anchored and does
transfer some horizontal forces into the ground.
The Kikkou Bridge built in 1991 is a three-directional
bridge; an exceptional example of innovation in bridge
engineering (Figure 22). There are three spans, with
an angle of 120 degrees between them, which meet
in the centre over a lake without any vertical support.
The vibration modes were complex because of the
numerous modes with similar frequencies. Vibration
tests were carried out to check that the amplitude
and acceleration of the deck were below permissible
values in the Japanese codes. An automatic
monitoring system was used throughout construction
to ensure that the central piece had the correct
position and sag and therefore correct balance at all
times.
Future of stress ribbon bridges
One of the interesting concepts proposed by Prof
Strasky of Strasky Husty and Partners is the design
of a stress ribbon bridge curved on plan. The deck
32  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
would be suspended from bearing tendons situated
above the deck and tensioned by a tendon at deck
level. The balance would be achieved by designing
the forces in the bearing tendons so that the vertical
component of the force is equal to the self weight of
the ribbon and the horizontal component balances
the torsion moment.
Engineers are also keen to use this form for bridges
carrying vehicles. The larger load creates increased
sagging in the deck and solutions to this are being
sought. The use of new materials, better damping
methods, efficient ground anchoring systems and
more sophisticated analysis techniques will lead to
longer spans and more slender decks. The stress
ribbon theory will continue to be used in novel ways;
in temporary applications during construction and in
structures other than bridges. It is an exciting field
with a huge potential for technical advancement
which can lead to a new generation of structures
worldwide.
Conclusion
Stress ribbon structures have been built in numerous
forms and a variety of sites around the world.
Each country visited has outstanding examples of
innovative bridges, roofs and tunnels and research
is also being carried out to find more structurally
efficient and cost effective forms.
Stress ribbon bridges are a versatile form of bridge:
the adaptable form of structure is applicable to
a variety of requirements. The slender decks are
visually pleasing and have a low visual impact on
surroundings giving a light aesthetic impression.
Post-tensioned concrete minimises cracking and
ensures durability, and bearings and expansion joints
are rarely required, minimising maintenance and
inspections.
There are also advantages in construction methods,
since erection using precast segments does not
depend on particular site conditions and permits
labour saving erection and a short time to delivery.
Using bearing tendons can eliminate the need for site
formwork and large plant which contribute to fast
construction programmes and preservation of the
environment. They are sustainable structures since
not much material is used in the deck, making them
relatively easy to deconstruct and remove after their
design life.
There are some obstacles to overcome in order to
popularise their use in the UK. Using the bridge at
suitable sites and designing suitable forms will reduce
the cost of the foundations and hence the overall
cost of these bridges. The slope at the ends of the
bridge may need to be reduced compared to that
found in Europe to comply with DDA requirements
in the UK. The slight vibrations that can sometimes
be felt and the visual sag may give users in the UK
the impression of not being stable hence awareness
of this form will need to be increased and the lack of
experience in its design and construction addressed.

Stress ribbon bridges can make a significant
contribution to engineering in the U.K. A new form
of bridge can add to the passion and innovation of
engineering in the country and help further advance
the infrastructure in a sustainable way. There is a wide
range of different topographies and soil conditions
found and a number of areas which require aesthetic
yet cost effective pedestrian bridges to be built:
Stress ribbon bridges could provide elegant solutions
to these challenges in the UK.
Acknowledgments
WSP Cantor Seinuk (UK): Stuart Alexander, John
Parker, Graham Pocock
Cass Hayward (UK): Neil Sadler
Strasky Husty & Partners (Czech Republic): Jiri
Strasky, Tomas Dvorak, Libor Hrdina, Richard Novak
Technical University Brno(Czech Republic):
Radim Necas, Jan Kolacek, Michala Hrncirov
Mayr Ludescher Partner (Germany): Guido
Ludescher, Frank Braun
Berlin Technical University (Germany): Annette
Boegle, Achim Bleicher
Schlaich Bergermann & Partners (Germany): Mike
Schlaich, Uwe Burkhardt
Sumitomo Mitsui Construction (Japan): Naoki
Nagamoto, Kenichi Saito
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Stress ribbon bridges
Bibliography
2008
1. ‘Stress Ribbon and cable-supported pedestrian
bridges’, J Strasky, Thomas Telford 2005
2. ‘Seventh report of the Committee for the two
years ending July 1987’, Standing committee on
Structural Safety
3. ‘Bridges using high strength concrete’, J Strasky, I
Terzijski, R Necas
4. ‘Active vibration control with artificial pneumatic
muscles for carbon fibre stress ribbon bridge’, M
Schlaich, A Bleicher
5. ‘Carbon fibre stress ribbon bridge’, M Schlaich, A
Bleicher
6. ‘Stress-Ribbon roof structures of the new
Stuttgart Trade Fair Exhibition Halls’, G Ludescher,
F Braun, U Bachmann
7. ‘Beneath sweeping canopies- The new Stuttgart
Trade Fair Centre’ F Jaegar, avedition 2007
8. ‘Prestressed concrete’, Sumitomo Mitsui
Construction co. ltd.
9. ‘Design and construction of composite truss
bridge under suspension structure’, A Kasuga, T
Noritsune, K Yamazaki, M Kuwano
10. ‘Development of composite truss bridges using
suspension structure’, A Kasuga
11. ‘Design and construction of double suspension
structure’, A Kasuga, H Sakao, Y Taira, M Kuwano
12. ‘Design and construction of a three directional
Stress Ribbon Bridge’, H Nishiki, T Kumaoka, E
Itai
13. ‘Construction of the World’s longest pedestrian
Stress Ribbon Bridge’, Y Shiogata, S Ito, K Hata,
Y Izumi
14. ‘Stress Ribbon Bridges: Worldwide practices and
advantages they can bring to the UK’, R Agrawal
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 33
Roma Agrawal BA MSc CEng MIStructE MIET

Design codes
2008
Czech Republic
CSN 73 0035: Actions on structures (1986)

CSN 73 6203: Actions on bridges (1986)

CSN 73 6201: Standard Specifications for Bridges

(2008)

CSN 73 6205: Design of Steel Bridges (1999)

CSN 73 6206: Design of Concrete and Reinforced

Concrete Bridges (1972)

CSN 73 6207: Design of Prestressed Concrete

Bridges (1993)

Germany
DIN 18000: Structural Steel

DIN 1045: Reinforced Concrete

DIN-Fachbericht 101: Einwirkungen auf Brücken

(Actions on Bridges)
DIN-Fachbericht 102: Betonbrücken (Concrete
Bridges)
DIN-Fachbericht 103: Stahlbrücken (Steel Bridges)
DIN-Fachbericht 104: Verbundbrücken (Steel/
Concrete Composite Bridges)

Japan
Japan Prestressed Concrete Engineering Association
documents

Specifications for Highway Bridge Part I to V

(Japanese and English)

Specifications for Small Suspension Bridges

(Japanese)

Design Manual for Aerodynamics of Highway Bridge

(Japanese)

Design & Construction Standard for prestressed

concrete Stress Ribbon Bridges (Japanese)

34  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE
Engineered transparency – current international
trends in the use of glass in buildings
Abstract
The use of glass in buildings is evolving rapidly in
response to end-user requirements of lightness,
robustness and energy efficiency. This paper seeks to
identify the current engineering challenges in this field
and describes how recent technological innovations
in glass design, manufacture and construction
are creating opportunities for using glass in novel
ways. The findings in this paper are largely based
on a series of visits to centres of excellence in glass
research design and manufacture across Europe.
Each visit consisted of a tour round the facilities,
and a structured interview with at least one person
from the host institution/company. The visits often
included additional site visits close to the host
institution/company. The paper therefore provides a
macroscopic account, rather than a narrow detailed
view, of the current trends and possible future
developments in this exciting field.
Biography
Mauro is a lecturer in Building
Engineering Design at the
Department of Engineering,
University of Cambridge and he
is a Fellow of Christ’s College.
He is a chartered engineer with
several years of consulting
engineering experience in the
fields of structural engineering
and façade engineering.
He currently leads the
Glass & Façade Technology
Research Group (www.gft.eu.com) at the University
of Cambridge which undertakes research on the
structural and environmental performance of glass
and building envelope systems. Mauro serves on
several national and international committees related
to glass and façade engineering. In recognition of
his research on glass he was he was awarded the
2011 Guthrie-Brown medal by The Institution of
Structural Engineers and the 2013 IABSE Prize by
the International Association of Bridge and Structural
Engineers.
Travel experience
The findings in this paper are based on a series of
visits to centres of excellence in glass research design
and manufacture across Europe. Each visit consisted
of a tour round the facilities, and a structured
interview with at least one person from each host
institution/company. The visits often included
additional site visits around the premises of the host
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Engineered transparency – current international trends in the use of glass in buildings
2008
institution/company. In visiting these individuals
and undertaking the face-to-face interviews it was
possible to capture a level of information that would
not have been possible by phone or web interviews.
In addition to the report produced from these
interviews, the meetings were very useful for
establishing (or strengthening) contacts. Most of the
initial discussions with these contacts have developed
into research collaborations between the companies
and the University of Cambridge. This ranges from
ad-hoc supply of materials for testing to longer term
financial and in-kind support for PhD students.
I am therefore grateful to The Institution of Structural
Engineers’ Educational Trust for supporting this work
through the Pai Lin Li Travel Award.
Introduction
Glass has fascinated people ever since its discovery
more than 4000 years ago. Since then it has become
a ubiquitous material in buildings and its use has
evolved rapidly over the last 30 years. There has been
a noticeable shift from traditional small window infill
panels, to large area structural glass and solar energy
products. These novel applications are the result of a
quick succession of technological innovations in heat
treatment processes, bending techniques, laminating
materials and high strength connections that are
underpinned by an improved understanding of the
fundamental mechanical and physical properties of
glass.
Glass also has a significant economic and
environmental impact on the built environment.
Glazed building envelopes constitute up to 30%
of capital building costs and the performance of
glazing has a major influence on the space heating,
cooling and lighting in buildings that in turn account
for approximately 33% of end-user CO2 emissions.
The total commercial glazing market in the UK is
£2.9 billion annually and 450 million square meters
of glazing are used for building envelopes in Western
Europe. Worldwide production of glass has for the
last few years increased at 5% annually, while glass
for renewable solar energy applications is increasing
at 15% per annum. In addition glass has a major
impact on the comfort and well-being of building
occupants, mainly through the transmission of natural
light and the reduction of glare. The safety of building
occupants and pedestrians is also significantly
affected by glass. For example, up to 80% of human
injuries from city centre blast events are glass related.
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 35
Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE
2008
The recent innovations in glass manufacture and
engineering create unprecedented opportunities to
design and construct robust, efficient and delightful
structures, but in doing so engineers are faced with
equally onerous challenges. The major barrier to
progress is the fragmentation of knowledge which
is exacerbated by the notoriously secretive glass
industry. Structural engineering-led research on
glass is increasing but still well below the research
levels in other mainstream construction materials.
Furthermore, few university curricula include anything
more than a basic introduction to glass. In practice,
the lack of detailed standards and guidelines affords
a substantial freedom for developing exciting new
products and structures, but it inevitably results in
challenging engineering problems that must often be Figure 1. Stained glass windows at Sainte Chapelle,
resolved on a project-by-project basis and leads to Paris constructed in 1246.
significant national and regional differences in dealing
with the same problems.

This paper maps out the current trends in glass

engineering and is based on a series of visits to and
interviews with leading manufacturers, designers
and researchers conducted by the author and the
subsequent exchange of information. During the initial
discussions with the interviewees, the following five
themes emerged as the principal areas for innovation,
challenges and opportunities:

1. Dematerialisation - The quest for the all-glass

structure which has changed the use of glass
from a cladding material to load bearing elements.

2. Robustness - The need for robust glass elements

and structures and the ways in which glass can Figure 2. Typical glazing in timber
sustain heightened threats and extreme events. frame in 17th Century building.

3. Blob architecture –The ability (or inability) of glass
to cope with geometrical complexity and ‘free-
form’ surfaces.
4. Energy efficiency - The role of glass in improving
the energy efficiency of buildings.
5. Guidelines and standards – The use of national
and international standards and guidelines in glass
engineering.
This paper identifies the relevance, the recent
innovations, the barriers to further progress and the
future opportunities in each of the above listed areas.
Dematerialisation and the quest for maximum
transparency
The unique optical qualities of glass were apparent
since Roman times and the desirability of large areas
of glass was already evident in the awe inspiring
gothic cathedrals (Figure 1). By the 17th century
larger areas of high quality transparent glass could
be produced, but this required labour intensive
and expensive techniques such as casting of glass
followed by manual grinding and polishing. As a result
good quality flat glass could only be produced at high
cost which limited its use to the prestigious buildings
of the day (Figure 2) and even then panels were
limited to relatively small sizes by today’s standards.
The invention of the float process by the Pilkington
brothers in the 1950’s had a dramatic impact on the
use of glass as for the first time high quality glass
could be produced in large sizes at a relatively low
cost. Subsequent innovations aimed at reducing the
solid elements in façades include structural silicone
glazing, where glass panels are bonded onto a
backing metallic frame by structural silicone thereby
eliminating the external capping piece, and the more
recent development of mechanical fixings where the
glass is supported at discrete points by articulated or
flexible stainless steel fittings (Figure 3).
The transparency, durability, uniformity and ease of
maintenance make glass a desirable material, but
there has been a recent divergence in approach
between the glass used in building envelopes and
the glass used in installations that do not have any
environmental performance requirement to fulfill (e.g.
staircases, internal walls and floors etc.).
In the case of glass intended for building envelopes,
the trend for maximum transparency seemed to
reach a climax in the all glass façades of the 1990’s.
Dematerialised façades are still very desirable due to:

36  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Figure 3. Four point articulated bolted fitting at the
Parc De La Villette, Paris constructed in 1984
Figure 5a and 5b. Enhanced mechanical fixing with triple laminated glass (courtesy of RFR)
Figure 6. Glass bridge constructed from cold bent glass plates laminated with
Sentry Glass Plus interlayer (courtesy of Seele).
–– The aspirational qualities of glass clad buildings.
–– Daylight penetration and the resulting sense of
well being for building occupants.
–– The high durability and low maintenance of glass.
–– The uniformity and quality of finish.
–– The improved letability of large percentage glazing
buildings probably due to the fact that buildings
are often let when vacant i.e. when full height
glazing looks best.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Engineered transparency – current international trends in the use of glass in buildings
2008
Figure 4. Glass wall used as rain/wind screen in
Central Station Berlin (courtesy of Steel Construction
Institute, RWTH Aachen)
These benefits must however be balanced with
the building physics requirements of improving the
energy efficiency of buildings such as reducing the
amount of unwanted heat gains and losses through
the building envelope and improving comfort for
building occupants by for example reducing glare.
From an environmental performance perspective,
there is very little use for the all glass façade. The
notable exceptions are nested thermal spaces, semi-
protected/transition spaces and screens from wind
and rain in temperate marine climates where thermal
mass and insulation are less important (Figure 4). As a
result there have been some noticeable retreats forms
the fully transparent façade.
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 37
Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE
2008
In glass installations that are not constrained by
environmental performance requirements the quest
for full transparency, lightness and the all-glass
structure persists. The industry has been edging
closer to this with the recent advances in:
–– The characterisation of the mechanical properties
of glass, in particular the ability to predict the
strength and variability of glass.
–– The improved quality of laminated glass that
leads to less delamination and better long term
performance and appearance.
Figure 7. Glass staircase (courtesy of Eckersley
 Figure 8. Connection detail of glass staircase
O’Callaghan)
–– The development of high performance mechanical
connections that seek to reduce the stress
concentrations while improving the post-fracture
performance of glass (Figure 5).
38  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
–– The development of stiff adhesives and interlayers
such as the Sentry Glass Plus interlayer by
DuPont, that enables glass plates to be laminated
and lapped together in a similar way to Glulam
timber (Figure 6).
–– The construction of large autoclaves that enable
glass to be laminated in large sizes of 3.5m by
15m in Europe and up to 8m by 20m elsewhere.
–– The development of glass-to-metal bonded fixings
that eliminate the need for drilling holes in glass
and reduce the stress concentrations around the
joint (Figures 7 and 8).
These innovations have enabled glass to be used as
load bearing elements where the glass contributes to
the load bearing capacity of the structure, but despite
these advances there are several challenges and
barriers to further developments, namely:
–– The reduction or elimination of metallic elements
from glass is a novel development and often
requires expensive prototype testing on a project-
by-project basis (Figure 9).
showing steel insert bonded to laminated glass
(courtesy of Eckersley O’Callaghan)
–– The large glass panels that are now possible
are often limited by transportation, access and
replacement considerations.
–– Most design guidelines do not distinguish
between key load bearing glass elements and
secondary glass elements.

Figure 9. Testing of Figure 10. Testing of glass-to-metal adhesive joints as part of European
novel bolted connection
research project led by RWTH Aachen. Showing (a) single lap shear test and (b)
(courtesy of Ramboll)
  modified T-peel test (courtesy of Glass and Façade Technology Research Group,
Cambridge)
  Figure 11. Laminated glass composed of two sheets
  Figure 12. Laminated glass composed of two sheets
of fully toughened glass illustrating the low post-
breakage capacity (courtesy of Ramboll)
–– The large sizes and prominence of the glass
elements means that quality of fabrication and
low tolerances come to the fore. Although the
quality of lamination has improved there are only
a handful of manufacturers and installers who
can laminate and install glass to the low tolerance
levels and high quality often required in glass
structures.
–– Bonding bits of metal to glass reduces the need
and expense of bolting through glass but the fixing
is still visible and causes stress concentrations in
glass such that it often governs design (e.g. glass
thickness, number of plies, interlayer type etc.).
The transparent structure is still the vision, at least
in non-façade applications of glass, and developing
innovative methods of joining glass together would
seem to address most of the current challenges in
this area. In this respect the further improvements of
stiff/strong interlayers and on-going investigations
into the long term performance non-silicon based
adhesives present exciting opportunities for devising
all-glass structures (Figure 10).
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Engineered transparency – current international trends in the use of glass in buildings
2008
of annealed glass illustrating the superior post-
breakage capacity (courtesy of Ramboll)
The robustness of glass structures
Glass is inherently brittle, and annealed (float) glass
has a relatively low tensile strength and breaks into
large sharp shards that constitute a major risk of
injury. Annealed glass can be treated or combined
with other materials to produce a ‘safety glass’
product that has some ability to reduce the likelihood
of injuries. Heat treating the glass to produce fully
tempered (toughened) glass increases the tensile
strength of glass and modifies the fracture patterns to
small rounded dice.
This is undoubtedly an improvement, but it is often
not considered safe enough, as the mass of falling
glass (albeit in rounded dice) is substantial and may
cause injury. The prevalent form of safety glass is
laminated glass, which generally consists of two
or more layers of glass (annealed, heat treated
or chemically strengthened) with a visco-elastic
polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer. When laminated
glass is broken, the interlayer tends to hold the glass
fragments in place thus reducing the likelihood of
injury from falling or propelled shards. However,
the use of PVB laminated glass does not in itself
guarantee an adequate post-breakage performance
of the glass element and there have been several
reports of laminated glass sagging like a ‘wet towel’
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 39
Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE
2008
Figure 13. Glass panel failure at the Parc De La
Villette in Paris showing adequate provision of
alternative load paths
and tearing away from the supports, particularly
when fully toughened glass plates are used in the
laminated unit (Figures 11 and 12). On a system level,
it is essential that redundancy through alternative
  resistance than that of fully toughened glass
load paths is available to ensure that the failure of
one glass element does not cause disproportionate
collapse of the remaining parts of the structure.
In general it is inappropriate to classify a glass
product as ‘safety glass’ because the degree of
safety is specific to the boundary conditions, the
anticipated actions on the structure and the critical
nature of the element in question. As a result a glass
structure may be deemed safe if it ensures adequate
strength and stability for normal actions and in
addition it provides safe failure or adequate residual
post-fracture capacity thereby minimising the risk of
human injury.
The relatively high level of threats of extreme loading
on glass structures ranging from malicious attacks
(bomb blast and impact) to natural events (high
wind pressures and flying debris) and fire means
that it is essential to consider the performance
of glass under extreme loads and in particular its
post-fracture performance. The glazing industry has
responded to the post-fracture limitations of glass
and the increasing severity of normal and exceptional
loading conditions by developing a wide range of new
products. The principal innovations in this area are:
–– The stronger and stiffer interlayers such as
DuPont’s Sentry Glass Plus interlayer which often
provides an enhanced post-breakage resistance.
However, its lower plastic deformation relative to
conventional PVB means that it is less appropriate
for absorbing high energy loads such as blast
loading.
–– The improved knowledge of interlayer behaviour
under short and long term conditions.
–– The development of heat strengthened glass and
chemically strengthened glass. Heat strengthened
glass has a design tensile strength of
approximately 59MPa (compared to the short term
40  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 14. Routine soft body impact test to assess
post-breakage performance of glass
design strength of annealed glass of 18.5MPa
and the design tensile strength of fully toughened
glass of approximately 100MPa), and fails in large
pieces thereby providing a superior post-fracture
(Figure 12). Chemically strengthened glass has a
design tensile strength of up to 250MPa and fails
in large fragments thereby providing good post
fracture resistance, but at a high cost.
–– The development of edge retention and enhanced
connections that provide a fail-safe system (Figure
5).
–– The adoption of design approaches that ensure
that there are alternative load paths in the glass
structure (Figure 13).
There are several challenges in ensuring adequate
post breakage resistance of glass structures, namely:
–– Determining security requirements and risks
for a glass structure and the associated task of
quantifying the magnitude and characteristics
of the extreme loads are non-trivial tasks. A
particular difficulty in this regard is simulating and
validating the characteristics of a blast load as it
travels through the street canyons of a city centre.
–– Despite the improved understanding of the
strength of glass and the properties of the
interlayer, the causes of failure and resulting
fracture patterns which governs post-breakage
behaviour are still elusive. Prototype testing
is therefore specified as a matter of course to
validate calculations of novel structures (Figure
14). This requires use of existing test standards,
but often requires adapting tests to suit the
application such as adjusting pass/fail criteria or
changing impact forces.
–– There is no formal method for applying the
fundamental ‘fail-safe’ concepts in glass design.
This may lead to overly conservative structures or
result in unsafe glass structures.
 Engineered transparency – current international trends in the use of glass in buildings

2008
 
 
Figure 15. Four point bending test on laminated glass to assess post-breakage performance
as part of feasibility research project supported by the IStructE and Pilkington showing (a) Hinge
mechanism (b) Arch mechanism (courtesy of Glass and Façade Technology Research Group,
Cambridge)
 

Figure 16. Wireframe CAD model of Centre de

Communication Citroen, Paris (courtesy of Steel
Construction Institute, RWTH Aachen).
  tensile stresses around bolt hole in a glass plate
There are several on-going research activities in this
field such as:
–– Experimental and analytical work aimed at
predicting the post-fracture performance of glass
analytically and numerically (Figure 15).
–– Work leading to an integrated design approach
that operates at the component level and the
system level. In this area there is the opportunity
to adapt the ‘fusible link approach’ used in
aerospace engineering where safety coefficients
are calculated and damage tolerance and fail
safe concepts are rigorously checked rather than
simply taken on board in an informal manner.
–– Investigations into reinforced glass elements that
enhance their post-fracture performance.
Safety and robustness considerations are essential
in glass design and although there have been several
improvements in this area there is a general inability to
predict the post fracture performance of glass leading
to expensive project specific prototype testing.
Accurate methods for assessing post-breakage
performance and novel enhanced glass elements and
connections will lead to rapid development in this
area.
Figure 17. Finite element analysis showing principal
Producing geometrically complex glass
structures
We are currently in a late style of architecture which
seems to be characterised by several emerging styles
competing for international dominance. One of these
is Blob Architecture in which buildings and particularly
their envelopes have an organic free form shape. Blob
architecture relies heavily on the recent developments
in digital technology, namely:
–– The recent developments in CAD technology,
in particular the adoption of nonuniform
rational B-spline (NURBS) in CAD software for
representing free from surfaces (Figure 16).
–– The use of computer aided manufacturing in
the construction industry specifically the use
of programming tools for converting three
dimensional CAD models into CNC code for
driving machine tools in the workshop.
–– The development of powerful finite element
analysis software that can analyse free from
continua and the development of powerful
graphical pre- and post-processors in engineering
analysis software (Figure 17).

The Institution of Structural EngineersEducational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 41
Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE
2008
Figure 18. Triangulated shell structure at BMW
world, Munich
Figure 20. Single curvature sag bending of glass
  Station, Paris (courtesy of RFR)
Figure 22. Cold bent glass at Peek & Figure 23. Cold bent glass at TGV Station, Strasbourg, France
Cloppenburg store, Cologne, Germany (courtesy of RFR)
(courtesy of Interpane)
Glass is produced in flat sheets on the float line and
it does not naturally lend itself to the curved surfaces
of Blob Architecture. This is one area of application
where more flexible and easily formed materials such
as ETFE seem to have an advantage. Despite this
shortcoming there have been several developments
which have made the use of glass on free form
buildings possible, albeit at a significant capital cost.
Curved geometries pose two major problems for
glass. One of which is the curvature of the glass
which may be overcome by discretising the free from
42  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 19. Front view and connection detail of
Centre de Communication Citroen, Paris (courtesy of
Steel Construction Institute, RWTH Aachen)
Figure 21. Lentille, entrance to Saint Lazare Metro
surface into a mesh of planar triangular elements
(Figures 18 and 19). The other difficulty is the variation
in panel sizes that are often required to build up a
curved surface. This may be mitigated by panelising
the curved surface to generate the least possible
number of different sized panels.
A triangular mesh is not always aesthetically
acceptable. In such cases it is necessary to adopt the
more expensive option of producing curved sheets
of glass. The traditional technique is by sag bending
whereby the flat glass is placed over a mould and
heated to approximately 600°C, allowing the glass

Figure 24. Representation of double curvature
surface with strips of single curvature strips (courtesy
of RFR and Evolute)
  them in an autoclave. When the glass is laminated the
  associated with double curvature glass elements. A
Figure 26. Coating machine incorporating multiple
  technique currently being researched aims to redress
(more than twenty) targets (courtesy of Interpane)
to soften sufficiently to take the shape of the mould.
The glass is then cooled slowly to avoid any residual
stress (Figures 20 and 21).
Sag bending is a reasonably cost effective process
for producing curved vehicle windscreens as the
mould can be reused several times, but it becomes
prohibitively expensive for bending a single piece of
glass for a building. There are also other problems
associated with the sag bending process, namely:
–– The high temperatures required for sag bending
damages the soft coatings on glass.
–– Sag bent glass that is subsequently laminated
may cause problems of misaligned holes and
uneven interlayer thickness.
–– Double curvature glass cannot be heat treated.
A recent major innovation in this area has been the
development of cold bent glass where the glass is
bent at ambient temperature thereby inducing flexural
stresses in the glass. There are two variations to cold
bent glass. The first is by forcing monolithic glass
into a shape and securing it into the bent position
by mechanical fixings (Figure 22). The second is to
force two or more layered glass panels into a curved
shape and hold them in position while laminating
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Engineered transparency – current international trends in the use of glass in buildings
2008
Figure 25. Double skin façade with screen printed
pattern to reduce heat gain (courtesy of Interpane)
curvature is retained by virtue of the longitudinal shear
stiffness of the interlayer. Cold bent glass is cheaper
to produce than sag bent glass but the maximum
curvature of cold bent glass is limited by the tensile
strength of the glass. Insulated glazing units (IGU’s)
the curvature is often limited by the maximum shear
strain along the edge seal. Cold bent glass also has
the advantage of providing a curved surface with very
few optical distortions (Figures 6 and 23), but caution
should be exercised when using hot and cold bent
glass next to each other as the finished appearance
may vary.
There are several limitations and high costs
some of these difficulties by discretising a double
curvature surfaces into a series of single curvature
strips (Figure 24).
It is likely that the demand for curved glass panels
will increase in the future. The extent of which
depends on whether Blob Architecture will develop
into fully fledged architectural style that is adopted
internationally. The main challenge for producing
curved glass elements is to understand the
permutations and combinations of the manufacturing
and installation processes and the consequent
constraints on what is possible. This understanding is
not limited to glass but also extends to the interfaces
between glass and the other elements of the building
which become more complex with freeform shapes.
Cold bent glass is a very recent and exciting
development, but it is unclear whether there is a full
understanding of the long term performance as the
interlayer creeps under long term longitudinal shear
strain. This technique is however very promising
and has yet to be fully exploited in practice. Another
opportunity in this area is to use the glass surface as
a load bearing shell, rather than an inefficient cladding
material, thereby reducing (and possibly eliminating)
the need for a supporting subframe.
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 43
Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE
Reducing energy demand in glass clad
2008
buildings
Public awareness of anthropogenic CO2 emissions
and the effects on climate change has increased
dramatically in the last 10 years. There is also a
growing recognition that buildings are responsible for
a large proportion of CO2 emissions - approximately
40% of end user CO2 emissions, where heating,
cooling, ventilating and lighting of buildings account
for a third of all global CO2 emissions. In an attempt
to reduce energy demand in buildings there have
been a raft of national and international targets and
regulations for energy efficient buildings.
Glazing has traditionally been regarded as a weak
element in the environmental performance of
buildings, but the benefits of glazing such as the
introduction of natural light into a building and the
resulting sense of wellbeing for building occupants
should not be underestimated. In addition there have
been rapid technological advances in glass leading to
substantial improvements in the thermal transmittance
(U-value) and the solar heat gain coefficient (G-value)
of glazing units. The improvements are such that the
frame is often the major source of thermal bridging in
a contemporary glazed façade.
There are evident regional differences in this area.
In colder climates (e.g. Northern Europe) there
are conflicting requirements of maximising light
transmittance and minimising heat loss. The latter is
often strictly regulated. The preferred solution in these
climatic regions is to use large area glazing but with
high performance glass sometimes in conjunction
with passive energy efficient systems such as natural
ventilation, double skin façades or shading devices
(Figure 25). In warmer climates (e.g. Middle East
region) it is impossible to have a full glass façade
and achieve performance without relying heavily on
mechanical air conditioning systems.
There have been several developments in high
performance glass coatings generally applied by
the magnetron sputtering technique whereby a solid
target material is bombarded by energetic ions which
cause atoms from the target to be deposited on the
surface of the glass substrate. The process takes
place in a long vacuum chamber through which the
glass substrate is passed on rollers (figure 26). The
targets are often placed in series to enable the build
up of multiple layers of silver and metal oxides such
as zinc oxide, tin oxide, silicon dioxide or titanium
dioxide that constitute a high performance coating.
Having several targets in series also enables multiple
complex coatings to be applied in one run. The
coatings are generally low emissivity coatings that
reduce the radiant heat loss/heat gain from/to the
glass surface or selective transmission coatings
on glass that have the ability to transmit a larger
proportion of the visible electromagnetic spectrum
while reducing the transmission of the unwanted
near-infrared radiation. Glass with high performance
coatings are often assembled into double or triple
glazed IGU’s to protect the coatings and produce
44  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
U-values as low as 1.0 W/m2K and 0.5 W/m2K
respectively. Metallic and ceramic coatings may also
be used in patterns to partially opacify and shade the
glass (Figure 25).
High performance films such as the XiR film that
is laminated between two layers of glass are also
available. This film has a G-value of 0.41 with clear
glass and a light transmission of 72%. Another
recent innovation is vacuum insulated glazing such
as Spacia produced by Pilkington/Nippon Sheet
Glass. This consists of two sheets of glass separated
by a 0.2mm vacuum and held apart by glass micro
spacers. A 6mm thick vacuum insulated unit may
provide the same thermal performance as a 24mm
thick conventional double glazed unit, but vacuum
insulated glazing is still relatively expensive.
During the last ten years there has been substantial
research and development activity in chromogenic
glass. This involves glass sheets that sandwich
polymer films or solutions that have the capacity to
change colour and light transmittance in response to
an external stimulus such as a temperature change
or a potential difference. Some products based
on eletrchromic or suspended particle devices are
starting to appear on the market, but the cost is
prohibitive for most applications and their long term
performance, although improving, is still limited.
This area presents three interrelated challenges,
namely:
–– Deploying and integrating these fast developing
technologies to the best effect.
–– Determining the optimal level of glazing to balance
the divergent requirements of energy efficiency,
client aspirations and occupant well-being.
–– Using high performance glazing in existing and
underperforming buildings that represent the
largest contributors to CO2 emissions.
High performance glazing is available and it appears
that the technologies currently under development
will improve the performance of static glass products
even further. There appears to be a growing research
and development activity in actively controlled
façades where the occupant or the building
management system can control the transfer of
energy through the building envelope as the need
arises. With such efficient building envelopes and
by integrating renewable energy technologies into
façades, it is conceivable that the glazed building
envelope will be transformed form energy sink
to energy source whilst maintaining its desirable
properties of full or partial transparency. In order
to meet the required reduction in CO2 emissions
it is however insufficient to deploy this technology
in state-of-the-art low impact buildings, but it is
essential that this technology is made simple enough
and sufficiently cost effective to be used in existing
underperforming buildings.

National and international standards for the
use of glass in buildings
A standard is essentially a best practise guideline
which may feasibly be written when the subject
area has reached a certain level of maturity
within the engineering community often through
a combination of normative research and design/
construction experience. Standards therefore tend
to lag behind the latest research activities and the
novel construction projects. With this in mind it is not
surprising that there is a paucity of standards and
guidelines for the structural use of glass in buildings.
Civil engineering-led research in this field is increasing
but is still well below the levels seen in other
mainstream construction materials. Design guidelines
and standards such as the Institution’s manual
on structural glass1 and the more recent IABSE’s
structural engineering document on glass2 are few
and far between and require regular updating to keep
up with the rapid pace of developments. Likewise
national and international standard on the structural
use of glass are still in their infancy. This reduced level
of regulation affords a substantial degree of freedom
in which architects and manufacturers can develop
exciting new products and structures, but this
inevitably results in a substantial amount of national
and regional diversity in glass engineering solutions.
In most developed countries there is a basic standard
for glass design that tends to cater for standard
cases such as two- and four- edge supported glass
plates. The standards vary in detail and complexity
ranging from design charts in some countries to
more detailed manual calculations in others. None
of the current standards however provides the basic
parameters for glass design that are essential for
designing novel glass structures. As a result the
design of novel glass structures requires project-
specific verification based on analysis, prototype
testing and previous experience (Figures 9, 11,
12 and 14). This is not necessarily a problem
for those practices that have a track record of
structural glass design and established internal
methodologies for design assisted by testing but it
is more challenging for designers who have little or
no experience of glass design. The lack of complete
and harmonised standards also creates some
difficulties for experienced glass designers who
often have to design very similar glass structures in
different locations, but have to prove each design
through local unsophisticated codes. In addition,
there is a lack of comprehensive standards for glass
manufacture and offline processes such as laminating
and heat strengthening which leads to considerable
variations in quality control. The lack of internationally
agreed standards may cause trade barriers and
reduced international activity. The absence of
officially agreed values, of for example the design
strength of glass, places unnecessary indemnity
risks on designers and manufactures as their designs
and products are not backed up by national or
international standards.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Engineered transparency – current international trends in the use of glass in buildings
2008
In contrast there are tough European regulations
for the thermal performance of glass driven by the
European Energy Performance Directive3 and the
national standards that evolved from this directive.
For example the performance of all coatings must be
measured. Regulations are less onerous outside the
European Union although they are increasing rapidly
in North America.
Increasing regulation on energy efficiency in buildings
such as the Part L Building Regulations4 in the
UK has resulted in the reduction of clear glazing
in building envelopes, but its effect was less than
expected largely due to technological advances in
high performance glazing.
There is a general consensus that there is a need
to develop a unified international standard on glass.
It is however vital that any such standard does not
become too restrictive, but it should rather provide
harmonised fundamental properties and design
methodologies while supporting the alternative route
of design assisted by prototype testing. There has
been ongoing activity in this area for the last ten
years that has culminated in a draft standard for glass
design5, but this standard has encountered several
difficulties particularly in meeting the expectations
of individual stakeholders. More recently there has
been a proposal to the European commission for the
development of a comprehensive Eurocode on glass6.
The European Commission is yet to approve this
proposal and is currently seeking industry feedback.
A negative decision would undoubtedly be a major
setback to the glass engineering community.
Conclusion
Recent developments in societal needs and
technology are creating unprecedented challenges
and opportunities in the use of glass in buildings
ranging from complex geometry to occupant safety
and lightness/transparency to energy efficient in
buildings.
This paper identified five main themes which are
attracting much attention in the glass engineering
community and maps out the recent innovations
and the future opportunities in each of these areas.
In doing so the paper provides a macroscopic view
of the current trends rather than a narrow detailed
account of a single engineering problem. The five
themes identified in this paper are quite diverse,
but two overarching observations may be drawn.
The first is that there are a considerable amount
of recent innovations in each of the themes and
current activities in each of these areas suggests
that are many other novel products, processes
and applications are in the pipeline. The second
observation is that these innovations often require
a truly multi-disciplinary effort spanning across
structural engineering, architecture, building physics,
materials science, manufacturing and installation.
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 45
Dr. Mauro Overend BE&A MSc PhD CEng MICE MIStructE

2008
There is little doubt that the recent and future
innovations in glass engineering will improve the
performance and will continue to extend the domain
of what is possible. The challenge for design
engineers and architects is to select and adopt
these technologies not as fashionable add-ons, but
at an early design stage when decisions have the
largest impact on the final design thereby leading to
optimised performance-based buildings.
References
1. IStructE.: Structural use of glass in buildings,
The Institution of Structural Engineers,London,
December 1999.
Acknowledgements
Throughout the various stages of writing this report
it became increasingly evident that face-to-face
meetings and personal visits to manufacturers and
construction sites were indispensable. I am therefore
grateful to the Institution of Structural Engineers
Educational Trust for supporting this work through the
Pai Lin Li Travel Award.
The paper is largely based on the invaluable insight
of leading experts in the glass design and glass
manufacturing community. In particular I would like
to thank the following people who generously agreed
to be interviewed for this paper and who provided
material for this report:

2. Haldimann, M., Luible, A., and Overend M.:
Structural use of glass, Structural Engineering
document no. 10, International Association of
Bridge and Structural Engineers, 2008.
3. European Directive 2002/91/EC - Energy
performance of buildings. Official Journal of the
European Communities, Dec 2002.
4. Building Regulations Part L – Conservation of Fuel
and Power Office of the Deputy Prime Minister,
2006.
Henry Bardsley and Nicolo Baldassini, RFR
Markus Feldmann and Mascha Baitinger, Steel
construction Institute, RWTH Aachen Tim
MacFarlane, Dewhusrt Macfarlane and Partners
Tim Morgan and Phil Savage, Pilkington NSG
James O’Callaghan, Eckersley O’Callaghan Structural
Engineers Hanno Sastre, Seele Sedak
Will Stevens, Ramboll Henk Wassink, Interpane

5. prEN 13474-1: Glass in building – Design of glass

panes – Part 1: General basis of design, CEN,
2007.

6. Zarnic R et al.: Purpose and justification for new

design standards regarding the use of glass
products in civil engineering works. JRC Scientific
and Technical Reports, 2007.

46  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Ewan Smith MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MIED
Interlocking stabilised soil blocks: appropriate
technology that doesn’t cost the earth
Abstract
This paper looks at the use of Interlocking Stabilised
Soil Block (ISSB) technology in the field of structural
engineering in the less economically developed world,
particularly focusing on current work in Uganda. The
study looked at the history behind ISSB technology
and how advancements in equipment as well as an
increased NGO presence in recent years have allowed
the technology to be much more widely used in local
communities. Central to the study was a critical look
at the advantages of ISSBs over fired bricks.
Biography
Ewan is a senior structural engineer with Ove Arup &
Partners and currently works in the UK in their Cardiff
office. Ewan joined Arup in
2004 after obtaining a first
class honors degree in Civil
Engineering from the University
of Wales Swansea. Ewan is a
Chartered Structural Engineer
and is a member of both
The Institution of Structural
Engineers and The Institution
of Engineering Designers.
Ewan works in the building structures group and
is responsible for delivering high profile multi-
million pound projects all over the UK and Middle
East region. Ewan has worked in sectors which
include hotel & leisure, healthcare and sporting
developments. He has also delivered designs for
completely bespoke housing projects where superior
quality was the foremost priority in the design. Ewan’s
overriding objective in his work is to deliver quality,
and to help improve the local communities in which
he works.
Ewan has a keen interest in working in less
economically developed countries and has
provided structural engineering design and project
management on several projects in Uganda. Ewan
has also written a paper for The Institution of
Structural Engineers on Interlocking Stabilised Soil
blocks and has presented at Cardiff and Newport
Universities as part of the undergraduate civil
engineering course with regards to working in the
developing world.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Interlocking stabilised soil blocks: appropriate technology that doesn’t cost the earth
2009
Travel experience
Uganda is a fascinating country with a wealth of
diversity both economically and geographically. The
Educational Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award enabled
me to experience this diversity first hand while also
investigating a construction method that is ready
to evolve into a more mainstream market in the
developing world. I was able to work for a time
with local Ugandan helpers who devote hours of
their own time to helping me and others working on
construction projects across Uganda. The experience
I obtained and lessons I learnt during my travels
would not have been possible sitting at a desk in the
UK, for that I thank the Pai Lin Li Travel Award very
much indeed. In summary, it was a fascinating trip
that broadened my knowledge and allowed me to
publish the report highlighting the issues surrounding
ISSB technology to a much wider audience.
Introduction
UN-HABITAT estimate almost 1 billion people,
mostly concentrated in South Asia, Eastern Asia
and Sub-Saharan Africa lack basic quality housing,
1.4 billion lack access to safe water and 2.7 billion
lack access to basic sanitation. In order to meet the
needs of these people, across the world we need
to build 35 million affordable homes each year for
the next 25 years, plus schools, hospitals, clinics,
latrines, watertanks and infrastructure. Uganda
needs 1.6 million new homes, at least 140,000
a year are required to try to meet this demand
(Source: www.unhabitat.org, MDG material). This
will evoke a demand for construction materials at
an unprecedented rate and will require continuous
sustained investment. Construction on this scale
will potentially drain existing resources if the current
house building trend continues as it is. To help realise
the UN-HABITAT’s goal of 35 million affordable
homes, appropriate technology which lowers the
construction cost and reduces its impact on the
environment needs to be sourced prior to this mass
period of construction.
The Republic of Uganda is located on the East
African plateau, averaging about 1100m above sea
level. The country is landlocked, bordered on the
east by Kenya, the north by Sudan, the west by the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the southwest by
Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern
part of the country includes a substantial portion of
Lake Victoria, which shares borders with Kenya and
Tanzania. Uganda has a population approaching 32
million, with a life expectancy of 53 years and an
infant mortality rate of approximately 6.5%. Uganda’s
Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 47
Ewan Smith MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MIED
2009
Figure 1. A Kampala suburb
GDP per capita is just US$467, compared to a GDP
in the UK of US$35,560 and in the USA US$44,710
per capita (Statistics from The World Bank Group,
world development indicators:
www.worldbankgroup.org).
Uganda is primarily comprised of rural communities
who rely on subsistence farming to sustain
their hand-to-mouth existence. Numerous local
communities have suffered greatly in recent years,
from activities of civil war and more recently due to
protracted periods of drought. Access to the majority
of these rural communities in Uganda is poor. Outside
Kampala and Entebbe the road quality quickly
degrades, trunk roads are predominantly constructed
from marram, many of which are not passable
through all weather conditions even with a 4 wheel
drive vehicle.
The country’s primary construction materials are
imported from Japan and South Africa, with primary
trade routes passing through Kenya. Although
cement is produced locally high yield reinforcing bars
are also imported through Kenya. Together with the
country’s political troubles and the recent unrest in
Kenya the cost of these materials has risen sharply.
One of the worst affected has been the price of
steel, which has risen by approximately 125% in the
last year. Materials like these were already out of
the reach of many Ugandans, but now the continual
price increases are beginning to make construction in
the country not economically viable without financial
input from foreign aid organisations, multi national
companies or volunteer action groups.
The road access and construction material costs
are just the beginning of the difficulties for the local
communities when trying to procure a new structure,
compounding the strain on these communities is
a low school completion rate of 54% for primary
and just 13% for secondary (World Bank Group,
2005 Data Profile Report). A considerable building
challenge to overcome in rural communities is the
availability of skilled masons and carpenters. This in
no way discredits the resolve and determination of
the Ugandan people to overcome these challenges
and improve their quality of life through the built
environment but is yet another stumbling block for
them to strive to overcome.
48  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 2. The clay bricks stacked, the ‘kiln’ is ready
for firing
Environmental impacts
Deforestation of virgin canopy forest is occurring at
a substantial rate in central Uganda as the timber
is used for construction and for fuel for cooking
and heating. Timber as a fuel for kilns is also used
on a massive scale by local communities who have
turned to brick manufacture for a source of income
and to provide a perceived higher social status of
housing. It’s a gold mine industry for the locals; the
clay is close to hand and timber supplies although
reducing are still available, the process is simple and
requires very little financial start up investment which
is why it appeals to so many communities. The clay,
which is usually dug from the locality is pressed into
handmade moulds and dried in the sun for up to 2
months before being stacked and ‘burnt’ in large
piles. These stacks of bricks are heated by a timber
fuelled fire for up to 48 hours. The resulting product
is a relatively cheap, low quality fired brick. However
a great deal of wastage is experienced; the bricks
on the inside become too hot and crack, while those
on the outside don’t get hot enough so crumble. Up
to 20% can be wasted. This process accelerates
deforestation, which increases the risk of flooding and
loss of crops. The environmental impact of these local
communities and their way of life can be devastating
on the local environment.
Only through a process of education can this cycle be
broken, but education in Uganda is expensive for the
local communities and it is hard for them to see the
long term environmental impacts on the wider scale
when close to home the hardship of daily life is often
overwhelming. Groups such as Soft Power Education
(www.softpowereducation.com) have an education
centre in Jinja where they aim to improve quality of
life through education and adventure, so helping to
break this cycle. They teach primary school children
about health and environmental issues, but this is a
localised scheme and access to vocational training in
bricklaying and carpentry, for example, is extremely
limited.
 Interlocking stabilised soil blocks: appropriate technology that doesn’t cost the earth

Costs – economic and environmental

ISSB technology is one such appropriate technology
which can help to break the cycle of deforestation
while meeting the needs of the UN-HABITAT house
building goals. The Good Earth Trust is a UK based
charity with a local office in Kampala, Uganda.
Through collaborations with NGO based groups,
government bodies and private sector companies
they promote the use of ISSB technology in east
Africa and have worked on many construction
projects, helping to raise the standards of social
housing.
Developing technology
ISSB technology in simple terms in based on
extracting local soil from the ground and mixing it
with a stabilizer, such as cement or lime. This dry
mixture is then moistened and turned into blocks
through the use of a mechanical ram. These blocks
are left to cure for seven days before being used in
construction. Crucially, the process eliminates any
firing of the brick and produces a very stable, well
compacted, regular shaped brick.
The chemistry behind the ISSB process is not new,
soil stabilised blocks have been used for hundreds
of years. However it has only started to become
more widely taken up since Raul Ramirez, a Chilean
engineer who worked with the Inter-Americian
housing centre (CINVA) in Bogota, Columbia in the
late 1950’s developed what is widely credited as the
first stabilised soil block press, the CINVA-RAM. This
is the simplest of rams, which uses compression to
bind the soil and stabilising agent into a basic block.
Since the development of this ram, the technology
has developed significantly into motor and manual
driven rams on both a domestic and industrial
scale. Despite the success of the CINVA-RAM there
remained the disadvantages that the blocks had to
be laid by skilled masons and considerable mortar
was used in the construction process. To overcome
this, since the early 1990’s Dr. Moses Musaazi from
Makerere University, Kampala has been developing a
type of double interlocking block in conjunction with
Makiga Engineering Services based in Nairobi, Kenya.
This double interlocking block drastically reduces the
quantity of mortar which is required to lay the block
and also eliminates some of the skill required in laying
the blocks. This opens the technology up to more
rural communities who are not used to or skilled in
masonry construction.
2009
The costs associated with ISSB technology can be
split into two, those associated with monetary value
and those associated with the environment.
ISSBs are produced on site. Although the cement has
to be delivered to site for the block construction, the
soil can usually be sourced on site, or within a 5 mile
radius. Depending on soil quality, sand or crushed
stone dust may also be required in the mix, this is
also usually found from within a 5 mile radius of the
site. This holds significant carbon savings over the
fired bricks which are sometimes transported over
many miles and are particularly carbon intensive in
their production process. It has been estimated that
each ISSB can save approximately 1.5kg of carbon
compared with a similar sized fired brick (Source; An
estimated figure produced by the Good Earth Trust,
which is to be confirmed following further studies
which are planned for 2010).
With regards to cement usage, although ISSB’s
use cement in their production, they use less bags
overall per square metre of wall when compared to
their clay brick alternative. This is primarily due to the
reduction in mortar bed size and frequency. Large
mortar beds are needed to compensate for the fired
brick geometric irregularity (sometimes up to 35mm
thick mortar beds). Richard Odongo, head mason on
the Soroti medical centre estimated that he used a
one bag of cement mix of mortar per 100 clay bricks
layed, compared to 400 ISSB’s layed. This could also
then be reduced further by only using mortar courses
every other row in the ISSB walls. Conservatively
assuming 400 ISSBs are laid with a 1 bag of cement
mortar mix, this equates to a 36% saving of cement
per m2 of wall when comparing an ISSB wall to a fired
brick wall (this increases to 44% for 800 blocks per 1
bag of cement mortar mix). This is highlighted in Table
1 below:
Cement usage: Per Per Per
400 800 400
ISSB ISSB Clay
brick
Bags of cement used in 2.7 5.4 0.0
production
Bags of cement used in 1.0 1.0 4.0
mortar:
Total number of bags: 3.7 6.4 4.0

Total area (m2) of wall for 11.4 22.8 8.0

block number noted:

Area (m2) of wall per bag 3.1 3.6 2.0

of cement:

Bags of cement used per 0.32 0.28 0.5

m2 of wall:

% Saving over clay 36% 44% N/A

bricks:

Table 1. Cement usage per m2 of wall

Figure 3. The narrow and wide straight double interlocking blocks

developed by Dr Moses Musaazi at Makerere University, Kampala.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 49
Ewan Smith MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MIED
2009
ISSB block cost: Per Per Cost
100 400 per
ISSB ISSB ISSB

Blocks:

Marram (6 wheelbarrows) 8,400 84

Cement (1 Bag) 28,000 280

3 x Helpers labour 15,000 38

Sub total: 382

Mortar:
Figure 4. Robert showing how to use a jig to regulate the quantity
Coarse sand 6,300 16 of mortar used when laying ISSB’s at the CASSO Orphanage
(3 wheelbarrows) project, Soroti.
Fine sand (2 wheelbarrows) 6,000 15

Cement (1 bag) 28,000 70 They show a 10,500 Ugandan Shilling (UGX) or £3.50
Sub total: 101
per m2 saving when comparing a 1m2 area of ISSB
wall with a 1m2 area of fired clay brick wall. This is
Laying: equivalent to a saving of 36%. (Note that there are
1 x Mason per day 10,000 25 close to 3000 Ugandan shillings to a British pound).
0.5 x Helper per day 2,500 6

Sub total: 31 The block making and the testing process

Grand Total Ugandan Shillings / m (35 ISSB’s):
2
18,673
Manual compaction machines are the most commonly
Table 2. Cost per m of ISSB wall
2
used block making machines. Mechanically operated
machines are available, but as a result of the rural
settings these machines are often used in, the manual
Fired brick cost: Per Per 400 Cost
100 Clay per
machine offers the most flexibility and it is the most
Clay brick Clay cost effective solution. Manual machines in Uganda
brick brick can be sourced from a manufacturer in Kenya and
involve an upfront cost which ranges from about 1.8 to
Blocks:
2.3 million Ugandan shillings (£600 to £750) depending
Purchase cost: 15,000 150 on the type of machine required. There are several
Mortar: types of machine available, all of which generate a
slightly different shaped interlocking block. All the
Coarse sand 6,300 63 manual machines weigh approximately 150kg and
(3 wheelbarrows)
provide a compressive force of circa 10N/mm2 over
Fine sand (2 wheelbarrows) 6,000 60 the block face during the compaction process. This
Cement (1 bag) 28,000 280
provides a dense, highly compacted, geometrically
stable block. Typical blocks weigh in the region of
Sub total: 403 8kg and can be expected to achieve a compressive
Laying: strength of 2.5N/mm2 following a minimum seven day
curing process.
1 x Mason per day 10,000 25

0.5 x Helper per day 2500 6 Block types include:

Sub total: 31
Grand Total Ugandan Shillings / m2 (50 Clay bricks): 29,213
Table 3. Cost per m2 of Fired Brick wall
With regards to the financial cost of the blocks, this
varies depending on the quality of material on site, the
raw material transportation costs and the mortar bed
frequency (mortar every course, every other course
or every third course for example). As the public
confidence level of ISSB walls with mortar only every
two or three courses is still relatively low, the financial
calculations are based on mortar every course (a one
bag of cement mortar mix per 400 blocks, as noted
above). The costs are summarised in Tables 2 and 3.
–– Straight double interlock – most common for
single story domestic houses
–– Curved double interlock – used for making circular
water tanks and septic tanks
–– Wide format double interlock – a wider flatter
block, good for use in larger buildings
–– Straight single interlock – a larger face is
presented on the block due to the lack of
interlock, therefore less blocks are required per m2
of wall
–– Straight parallel block – no interlocks, like that
which was produced in the CINVA-RAM

–– Grooved interlocking block – all of the above

are available with two parallel grooved faces to
increase adhesion of render or plaster.

50  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Figure 5. Image showing (top, from left) the curved
double interlocking block, curved single interlocking
block, (middle) straight double interlocking block,
(bottom, from left) wide double interlocking block,
grooved straight double interlocking block.
The press does not have such a large impact on the
quality of the block compared to the preparation of
the raw materials which are used, the consistency
of the mixing process and the moisture content
of the materials used to make the block. The best
base material for good ISSB’s is a soil with a high
sand content (60-70%). Soils high in organic matter
should be discarded as this will create weaker spots
in the blocks. Soils with a high clay content (over
40%) should be mixed with sand and stone dust to
increase the granular content. Soils high in gravels,
sands and silts are comprised of a broad range of
particle sizes with similar characteristics, which allow
them to retain their size and shape when dried. Clay
based soils are formed from high quantities of fines
which behave differently to the gravels and sands so
require greater amounts of stabilisation before they
can be used in ISSB production.
Before any ISSB’s are produced from a site, a series
of tests have to be carried out to determine the soil
build up and its shrinkage percentage. This directly
affects what quantity of stabiliser is required in the
ISSB. A simple bottle test is a practical site based
approach to investigating the percentage of sand and
silts in a particular soil. Mixing equal amounts of water
and soil in a bottle, shaking it and allowing it to settle
gives a quick indication as to the soil granular build
up. Another good test is a linear shrinkage test, this
test is carried out by saturating the soil with water
and placing it in a mould with internal dimensions
of 600mm x 40mm x 40mm. The sample is then left
to dry for seven days. An approximate quantity of
stabiliser is calculated and introduced to the mix as
shown in Table 4 based on the shrinkage observed.
Shrinkage Cement Soil quantity
amount quantity (optimum
30% silts
70% sands)
<5mm 1 bucket 20 buckets
6 - 12mm 1 bucket 18 buckets
12 – 24mm 1 bucket 16 buckets
25 – 39mm 1 bucket 14 buckets
40 – 50mm 1 bucket 12 buckets
Table 4. Linear shrinkage test results
Interlocking stabilised soil blocks: appropriate technology that doesn’t cost the earth
2009
Figure 6. Workers in Pajule gradually grading the soil
with different sized sieves.
Soil preparation can have a large impact on the block
quality, for example, time spent properly preparing the
soil can pay dividends in block strength. Sites which
have a good soil sieving process in place and grade
the soil before mixing specific quantities of each
grade will always create a far better quality block,
with regards to strength and in aesthetic appearance.
Some of the best blocks observed were at Pajule
School, near Pader in Northern Uganda. Here the
site had a large dedicated block making team who
gradually graded the soils and mixed it carefully with
prescribed quantities of additional sand before mixing
thoroughly and completing the process.
Following the sieving process the soil can be mixed
with the correct quantity of sand and cement. It is
recommended that the soils are turned at least three
times to allow sufficient mixing of the components.
Water is then added gradually until the soil is moist
but when a sample is squeezed in the hands no water
comes out. The ISSB mixture is then ready for
processing into blocks. The press is loaded with ISSB
mixture. The material in the corners needs to be
sufficiently packed down by hand prior to the
machine top being put in place. The leaver which
operates the manual ram is then lowered and the
block is compacted. Following compaction the press
top can then be removed and the ram lever doubles
up as an ejection mechanism allowing easy removal
of the block. The whole process can take just 20 to
30 seconds to produce one block. On a good day, a
team of three skilled block makers can mix and press
in the region of 600 blocks, which are then stacked
and cured for a minimum of seven days prior to use.
Approximate
number of
blocks from
1 bag of
cement
150
130
90
80 Figure 7. Workers in Pajule gradually grading the soil
with different sized sieves.
70
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai  Lin Li  Travel Award 51
Ewan Smith MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MIED
2009
The final critical process associated with the block
making is the curing process. Curing needs to be
carefully controlled, especially in the hot dry climates
experienced in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to acquire
maximum strength the ISSB’s must be allowed to
gradually cure in humid conditions. The most effective
way of carrying this out is to water the blocks daily
and cover with black polythene. This ensures a warm
moist environment for the blocks to cure in slowely.
After seven days the blocks can be stacked in the
open and ideally left for a further seven days before
used in construction.
Following curing there are a couple of basic site tests
which can be carried out to give an idea of the block’s
compressive strength. A good test is to drop the
block from a height of 1.5m and observe the result.
A good block should stay intact with only minimal
damage to the outer edges observed, a poor block
will crumble. A second test is to carry out a 3 point
load bending test by resting a block on top of two
other blocks, such that it is supported only on the
outer two edges. The block should be able to take
the weight of a person standing on the block without
breaking.
Build quality
Provided production process is monitored for quality
and curing is allowed fully, the resulting ISSB will
outperform any locally produced fired bricks with
regards to strength and because of the density
of the block, it will also offer a much lower water
permeability rate. Due to the production process
involved with fired clay bricks in Uganda, they are
often irregular and miss-shaped. Stabilised soil blocks
offer a more consistent geometric block which can be
used in construction to a higher degree of tolerance.
Reducing the mortar bed thickness not only offers a
saving on mortar but also allows for more accurate
placing of the blocks, giving an overall stronger and
more aesthetically pleasing wall. This allows level
courses and verticality can be accomplished with
relative ease in load bearing walls. ISSB’s can be
rendered externally, but provided a few simple design
details are followed they can be left predominantly
un-rendered, leaving a good clean regular finish which
is not available in conventional brickwork. A varnish
can also be applied to the bricks to leave them
looking particularly appealing. On the various sites
visited the masons were initially unfamiliar with the
ISSB blocks, however within a day they had adjusted
their methods to those which suited the ISSB’s and
they commented on the ease of laying them.
Innovative advantages of using ISSB
Ugandan building standards favour a ring beam
at roof level to tie together the walls. Although not
strictly necessary in a single story building, it clearly
helps with the buildings robustness so there seems
little advantage in justifying its removal. However,
reinforcement and cement are expensive in Uganda
so minimising the use of reinforced concrete in a
structure is key to an economically viable project. The
labour associated with mixing and pouring reinforced
52  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
concrete increases drastically as the structure
increases in height. In addition to this the primary
material for shuttering is solid timber planks which
need to be jointed. Not only is this environmentally
destructive (very little, if any of Uganda’s timber
comes from managed forests) but the timber’s life
as shuttering is limited and often leads to a poor
quality finish on the concrete face. In addition there
are complications with fixing the shuttering to the
ISSB wall, which inevitably (through laziness) leads
to labourers nailing the shutter directly to the ISSB’s,
resulting in them shattering.
In Pajule School, near Pader, Northern Uganda the
structural engineers from the Arup Dublin office who
are leading the design have come up with a
modification to the wide double interlocking block
which eliminates the need for timber shuttering and at
the same time conceals the concrete ring beam. They
inserted a 75mm x 50mm timber block into the press
to increase the depth of the interlock from 12mm to
62mm. Inverting one of these blocks and placing
another on the top gives a 150mm x 75mm void
which is used to conceal a small but effective
concrete tie beam. Figure 8 shows the standard and
modified wide blocks which were used.
Figure 8. Left: Standard press with timber block
modification in place, Top Right: Standard wide
block, Bottom Right: Modified wide block
Another innovative design feature is at the Technology
for Tomorrow test site where Dr Moses Musaazi is
developing a two storey ISSB house, which has an
intermediate precast concrete floor. The ISSB’s form
the wall panels onto which precast beams are run and
small precast planks are layed. Over the top of this, a
thin structural topping is poured so as to tie the units
together. This construction method allows for robust
two storey structures to be constructed by hand.
The ISSB’s provide an appropriate alternative to
fired bricks, the concrete beams and planks are
cast at ground level with ease and lifted into place
safely by hand. The thin structural topping minimises
the amount of insitu concrete required, helping to
reduce labour time on a project. This method of
framing has the added benefit of not using timber
as a construction material, which helps to prevent
deforestation, but also prevents termite attack.
 Interlocking stabilised soil blocks: appropriate technology that doesn’t cost the earth

Wall finishes

2009
ISSB’s can also be produced with different quantities
Different block types generate different wall finishes; of base soil to sand therefore producing slightly
for example the wide flat block is particularly suitable different shades of block (photo 6). These blocks can
for dry stacking which produces an especially clean then be integrated into a wall to provide a feature or
wall with very little effort (Figures 9a and b). In cost pattern.
terms this reduces the quantity of mortar significantly,
however this cost is off set by the additional material
a b
required for the wider blocks (the wider blocks have
approximately 30% more volume than the narrow
blocks). These blocks also generate an inherently
stable wall with little requirement for intermediate
piers. The narrow double interlocking ISSB (Figures
9b, c, e-h) is also suitable for dry stacking over two
or three courses, although there are few examples
of this in the field at present. Due to the intensity c
of Uganda’s rain, it is common practice to render
the lower part of the wall to prevent splashing from
the rain causing accelerated erosion at the base of
the wall, a common misconception is that the wall
needs to be rendered to full height, this is not true.
Although the blocks will become soft if immersed
in water for prolonged periods, splashing from rain d e
will not cause significant damage. The wall can also
be protected further through good detailing at the
eaves; an overhang of just 300mm can protect the
wall from a significant amount of weathering. Figures
9g and 9h opposite show two walls, the first is a six
year old wall which has had no protection from the
weather, the second is also a wall which has had
no protection for the majority of its life (although a
varnish has recently been applied) but is circa 10
years old. Photo 7 highlights the damage which can
be caused by weather, but also that the damage is
not inevitable, as photo 8 shows how the surface can
still be in excellent condition, even after 10 years. On
closer inspection the ISSB’s in Figure 9h shows signs
of poorly graded material and lack of quality control in f g
the production process as there are large stones on
the face of the blocks. Adjacent to these stones are
very small holes, or pores, which allow water to track
through the face of the ISSB accelerating the erosion
process. This highlights the requirement to maintain
mix quality and grading of material through the ISSB
production process.
h
At Makerere University they are trailing a varnish
finish to the ISSB’s (see photo 8) which will not only
enhance their weather resistance and hence life
span of the blocks, but also helping to create an
interesting aesthetic. This varnish will help to maintain
the surface quality of the block even if the mix is not
perfect. Walls such as those in photo 7, if treated with Figure 9.
the varnish immediately following construction could a. Pajule School, wide straight block, double
escape the worst of the attack from the weather. This interlock, no finish
b. Biogas centre, Makerere, straight double
will help to make up for any early mistakes made in interlock, with varnish
the production process and thus save on abortive c. Lira teachers housing, straight double interlocking
work, or wasting materials. block no finish
d. Pajule Schoo.
e. Lira teachers housing
f. Garden wall at private dwelling, double interlock,
no varnish
g. Lord Meads School, Jinja, circa 6 year old wall in
poor condition showing signs of poor grading..
h. Technology & Development Centre, Makerere
University,circa 10 year old single interlock with
varnish finish and painted mortar.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 53
Ewan Smith MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MIED

Water tanks
2009
Water on tap is a luxury commodity in Uganda. Many
rural villagers spend up to 50% of their day collecting
water. For this reason, water tanks are the target of
many thieves. The robustness of an ISSB water tank
makes it particularly attractive for rural communities
due to the difficulties associated with breaking into it.
Depending on the size, either a single or double skin
ISSB wall is constructed, which is then reinforced with
wire mesh and rendered with waterproof render. This
provides a sturdy wall which is difficult to penetrate
when compared to a plastic tank which can easily
be drilled through to steal the water. The tank roof
is usually formed with tin roofing material supported
by timber or steel supports. Plastic tanks are also
prone to collapsing in the heat due to their flexibility
which further strengthens the case for ISSB tanks.
The following table highlights an estimate of the costs
associated with ISSB tanks as estimated by the Good
Earth Trust. The costs exclude transport, fittings and
a base slab for both options as these are required
to some degree regardless of the tank chosen. The
costs for the ISSB tanks also exclude machine press
rental as it is assumed this will be already in the local
community’s ownership.
NGO Groups are promoting ISSB structures such as
water tanks as helping the local community not only
through providing a structure, but also using the new
structure as a catalyst for educating the community
and supporting local businesses. EFOD have sourced
all the materials for the medical centre in Soroti from
within a five mile radius of the site (except the roof
sheeting which was bought direct from Kampala).
Locals from the community were employed to
produce the blocks and construct the building. At the
end of the project EFOD then donated the block
press to the local community so that they could
continue to make blocks for their own homes or other
community projects. GET base their promotional
activities for ISSB technology on the fact that it can
reduce the overall build cost, it cuts carbon usage
and protects forests.

Tank ISSB tank Plastic tank Savings

capacity in cost (UGX) cost (UGX) (UGX)
litres

2000 440,000 565,000 125,000

4000 -- 1,155,000 --
Figure 9. Construction of a 10000 litre tank at Bituli
5000 750,000 1,288,000 538,000 Primary School. Total cost 1.3M UGX
6000 -- 1,652,000 --

8000 -- 2,065,000 --

10000 1,175,000 2,714,000 1,539,000

12000 1,250,000 -- --

16000 1,600,000 4,366,000 2,766,000

25000 2,300,000 6,280,000 3,980,00

Table 5. Approximate costs (Source: The Good Earth Trust,

September 2008)

An example of a well implemented water tank is that

which was donated by the Hailybury Youth Trust
(HYT) to Bituli Primary School, a rural school based
in Jinja District. The school had no water on site Figure 10. A completed 10000 litre tank at Magwa
and the children had to walk several kilometres bare Primary School. Total cost 1.6M UGX
foot to collect water everyday, during school hours
when they should have been learning. The school
supplied food and accommodation for the workers in
exchange for their labour. HYT were also able to help
a local boy earn money for his school fees by working
with HYT on site. On a larger scale, EFOD have
constructed two 50,000 litre water storage tanks at
the Soroti Medical centre. These tanks are partially
buried in the ground to reduce their visual impact
above ground. Water is pumped daily by hand into a
high level header tank which then feeds the medical
centre’s flushing toilets and wash hand basins.

Figure 11. Two 50000 litre tanks nearing completion

at The Soroti Medical Centre

54  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Conclusions
This paper has shown how an appropriate alternative
to fired bricks is available and can actively help
to reduce the environmental impact of the UN-
HABITAT’s goal of 35 million new affordable homes
over the next 25 years. Stabilised soil block
technology is not new; it has been proven in other
countries, such as Malawi and Kenya where it has
been used for many years. The golden brick project
in Malawi is a groundbreaking effort to upgrade the
housing and school stock in Malawi over the last 5
years. They have proved how significant advances
can be achieved in a relatively short space of time.
The CINVA-RAM, the first credited modern day
stabilised soil block ram paved the way for the
technology as it stands today. Dr Moses Musaazi is
pioneering the double interlocking block technology
which reduces the non-renewable material contents
of the blocks and opens up the technology to a new
level of operative who do not need to be highly skilled
masons.
The following highlight the different advantages of
ISSB’s and fired brick technology:-
ISSB advantages:
–– Environmentally sustainable as they eliminate the
firing process in production
–– Cheap to start up provided the block press can
be either borrowed or rented initially
–– Use less mortar and have regular geometry
–– Provide smooth faced good quality blocks
–– Provide a diverse business opportunity for local
communities
–– Materials for production are sourced locally
–– Employs local labour force throughout the
production process
–– Locals learn a new skill which can be exported to
other communities
Fired brick advantages:
–– Cheaper on face value
–– Currently given a higher social standing than soil
blocks by locals
–– Cheap to start up business, little start up
investment is required provided the raw materials
are close by
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Interlocking stabilised soil blocks: appropriate technology that doesn’t cost the earth
2009
Fired bricks are cheap but un-knowing to the local
communities who produce them, their production and
transportation processes degrades the environment
significantly. Unless they are produced with skill
and care, they are also commonly of relatively low
quality. Fired bricks encourage deforestation which
in turn accelerates the process of desertification
and degradation of the environment. ISSB’s have
a lower carbon foot print and can help to slow the
environmental damage which is caused by the
construction process. ISSBs can be stabilised using
lime, which is less intensive to produce than cement
and absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere as it cures,
instead of releasing it. These blocks are less well
developed than the cement stabilised block and
there are few examples of them in the field, but the
technology is available and will in time be proven
and socially accepted. ISSB’s provide a good quality
socially and environmentally appropriate alternative
to fired bricks. Groups such as GET, HYT, EFOD
and Softpower all help to promote the technology
through greater involvement of the local community
in the construction process and educating them in
new construction techniques and on environmentally
sensitive issues.
Given the UN-HABITAT’s goal of 35 million new
affordable homes in less economically developed
countries over the next 25 years, construction
processes and controls have got to change to help
protect the environment as well as advance the
socio-economic well being of the population. ISSB
technology is just one such appropriate technology
which can help to do this; but there need to be
many more. ISSB’s show that an environmentally
sustainable, cheap, durable alternative to the fired
brick is available and provided NGO’s maintain
their education programmes, advances in housing
standards will be achieved with minimal cost to the
environment.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 55
Ewan Smith MEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MIED

Acknowledgements Further reading

2009
The author wishes to thank the following Interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks: Draft Construction
organisations for their assistance with this project: Manual, The Good Earth Trust (April 2009)
firstly, the family of Pai Lin Li for donating the funds for
the Travel Award, this was an invaluable opportunity Interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks: Appropriate Earth
to investigate this technology and would not have Technologies, UN Habitat (2008)
been possible without the generosity of the family.
Lisa Baumgartner and Dan Anadabati from The Good Building on Collaborations, Canfora, Smith and Srour,
Earth Trust Ugandan office (www.goodearthtrust. ACSA precedings, 98th Annual conference (2010)
org.uk) for setting me up with all their contacts and
allowing me space in their Kampala office, Engineers
for Overseas Development (EFOD) (www.efod.org.
uk) for initially getting me into working in Uganda,
The Arup Cause, in particular Jo da-Silva and Chris
Jofeh for their continued financial support and
expertise, Helen Goddard from the Haileybury Youth
Trust who is an excellent tour guide and is doing
some great work at schools in the Jinja area (www.
haileyburyyouthtrust.com), Dirk Leyson from Soft
Power Education, an established trust who are really
making a positive difference to the local Ugandan
communities (www.softpowereducation.com), and
finally, all the local Ugandan helpers who devote hours
of their own time to helping those mentioned above,
together we all help to make a difference, in particular
Joseph Eletu and Robert Egaru, without you guys I
would still be lost in the Ugandan countryside! Thank
you, I owe you all!

56  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Seismic reinforcement of adobe in rural Peru

Joshua Macabuag MEng CEng MICE

Seismic reinforcement of adobe in rural Peru
Abstract
Several seismic regions throughout the world
demonstrate a high proportion of earthquake-
vulnerable adobe (mud-brick) construction amongst
poorer communities. Several adobe earthquake-
retrofitting techniques have been developed, but
dissemination of these techniques to the many
communities at risk is a very significant challenge.
This study looked at some of the technical,
financial and social aspects of development and
implementation of retrofitting techniques in Peru.
2009
adobe’s high mass, brittleness and low strength (wall
compressive strengths can be in the region of
0.8-1.2N/mm2 and shear strength 0.03-0.05N/mm2
as compared with 5-15N/mm2 and 0.5-0.7N/mm2
respectively for burnt clay bricks in cement mortar in
the UK). In the case of non-engineered housing,
vulnerability is also due to lack of proper design and
maintenance. Figure 1 shows common failure modes
for non-engineered masonry houses.

Biography
Since graduating from Oxford
University Joshua has worked
on a number of prestigious
projects including Wimbledon
Court 3, refurbishments
and restorations of heritage
buildings, and several large
and complex developments
in the Middle East. Joshua
has also continued to pursue
his passion for international
work, having worked in South Africa and the UAE,
Figure 1. Examples of typical failure modes for
and having carried out independent projects in non-engineered masonry dwellings [Blondet].
Nepal and Peru. Joshua has recently left his role as
Senior Engineer at AECOM to begin an Engineering
Doctorate (EngD) identifying and developing suitable
strategies for the mitigation of losses to urban
environments due to tsunami.

Travel experience
This was an excellent opportunity to examine how
real structural solutions have been employed following
earthquakes, in locations where financial resources
and local man-power and expertise are limited.
The study was a unique learning experience for me
and provided lessons which are relevant to disaster
mitigation and reconstruction around the world.
Introduction
The vast majority of earthquake fatalities in the last
century have resulted from building failures with a
growing disparity between vulnerability of those in
developing and developed countries. The greatest
risk is by far presented to inhabitants of non-
engineered adobe (Figure 2) as demonstrated in
the 2003 Bam (Iran) earthquake, where many of the
thousands of deaths were attributable to vulnerable
adobe (sun-dried mud brick) structures.
Non-engineered adobe structures are classified by
the European Macroseismic scale as being the most
vulnerable category of housing. This is due, in part to
Figure 2. Non-engineered adobe in Condesuyos,
Peru. Vertical crack typical of poorly bonded
orthogonal walls. Walls are adobe blocks laid
in mud mortar. Roof consists of timber planks
covered with corrugated sheeting.
Objectives
Research question: What are the key technical,
social and economical considerations for the
development of adobe seismic reinforcing techniques
and their dissemination to remote rural communities?
A field investigation, funded by the Pai Lin Li Travel
Award, was carried out in Peru during late 2009. A
particular retrofitting technique was investigated, sites
of previous dissemination programmes were visited
and interviews were conducted with members of

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 57
Joshua Macabuag MEng CEng MICE
2009
the affected communities and representatives of the
organizations originally involved. This was carried out
with the following objectives:

–– Identify key features of an example adobe

reinforcing technique and important stages of its
development.

–– Highlight the main successes and failures of

previous programs for the dissemination of this
and other adobe strengthening techniques in rural
Peru.

–– Outline key considerations for projects to

disseminate seismic adobe construction and
retrofitting techniques to rural communities.
Housing in Peru
b. Non-engineered hybrid structure in Lunahuaná
displaying slender adobe walls with long clear
spans supporting a heavy concrete ring beam with
no vertical tie members.

In Peru, 35% of the population still resides in earthen
dwellings despite poor performances of these
structures in major earthquakes in 2001 (south Peru,
Mw=8.4) and 2007 (central Peru, Mw=8).
As a rural example, consider the Provinces of
Castilla and Condesuyos, areas of the Peruvian
High Andes that were heavily affected by the 2001
Peru earthquake. 72% of homes are adobe with
40% being less than 40m2 on plan and of only 1 or
2 rooms. Walls are 300-800mm thick, supporting
a light-weight, flexible timber roof. Strip footings of
stone rubble in cement or mud-mortar are generally
used. Half of the houses are constructed solely by
members of the family, with structural defects (Figure
2) and poor site selection common (Figure 9a) [Perez-
Palma]. Most families survive on agriculture with 50%
of households earning less than $115 per month (pm)
including 20% on less than $60pm per household.
Adobe is the favoured technique as it is cheap and
doesn’t require additional energy resources, often
using soil from the home owner’s yard.
More modern construction methods are beyond
the means of a large proportion of the population
in remote rural areas. However, adobe is often
associated with poverty meaning that those with
limited means are opting for non-engineered
masonry or confined masonry leading to poor
quality construction (Figure 3a) or vulnerable hybrid
structures, combining materials inappropriately
(Figure 3b).
Figure 3. Non-engineered structures using
modern construction methods resulting from the
negative perception of adobe but limited means of
the homeowner.
Adobe retrofit - steel wire mesh reinforcement
Steel wire mesh reinforcement utilizes a mesh often
used for fencing in parts of South America, which
comprises 1mm diameter wire at 19mm (3/4”)
spacing. The system was designed as a retrofit
for existing adobe homes as the mesh is readily
available in even remote parts of Peru. The technique
was developed by the Structures Laboratory of
the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP)
[Quiun] and utilizes a number of strips of wire mesh
(approximately 500mm wide), nailed to both sides of
the internal and external adobe walls. Vertical strips
are nailed to the wall at the intersection of orthogonal
walls, at the centre of long walls and at free ends.
A horizontal strip runs across the top of the walls,
connecting all of the vertical strips. The mesh is then
rendered over to fully connect the mesh to the wall
and to protect the mesh from corrosion.

a. Partially reinforced wall in La Tinguiña.

Performed well in the 2001 earthquake.

a. Non-engineered confined masonry dwellings

in Chincha that performed badly in the 2007 Peru
earthquake.

58  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Seismic reinforcement of adobe in rural Peru

2009
Test Unreinforced Mesh- Mesh &
Phase module reinforced collar beam-
module reinforced
module

1 D0 D0 D0

2 D0 D0 D0

3 D3 D0 D1

4 D4 D1 D1

5 D5 D3 D2

6 D4 D4
b. 2-storey reinforced house in Andahuaylillas,
Cuzco.
D0: No structural damage. D1: Light structural damage
– Hairline cracks in very few
walls.

D2: Moderate structural D3: Heavy structural damage

damage – Small cracks in – Large cracks in masonry
masonry walls, falling of walls. Failure in connection
plaster. Structural capacity is between two walls.
partially reduced.

D4: Partial collapse – Serious D5: Collapse.

failure of walls. Partial failure
of roof.

Table 2: Shake-table test: Level of damage at

each test phase [Zegarra].

c. Reinforced house in Moquegua without

damage after 2001 earthquake and neighbouring
unreinforced house with severe damage [Quiun].

Figure 4. Existing adobe houses retrofitted with

steel mesh reinforcement.

Shake table testing

Figure 5 shows shake-table tests conducted in the
structural lab of PUCP. Three 10m2 adobe modules
were tested: one without reinforcement, one with
mesh reinforcement, and another reinforced with
the mesh and a concrete ring beam. The models
were subjected to unidirectional earthquake motion
based on the L-Wave (surface “side-to-side” wave)
component of the 1970 Peru earthquake as recorded
in Lima, with a 30 second duration. Given that
multi-directional movement could not be simulated
on the available table and all frequencies of the
L-Wave could not be reproduced, the results are to
be considered qualitative rather than quantitative.
Each model was tested in six phases increasing the
motion amplitude to correspond with earthquakes of
increasing intensity (Table 1).

Test Max table Max table Approximate corresponding earthquake intensity (Modified Mercalli Intensity scale
phase acceleration displacement (MMI))

1 0.15g 15mm MMI III: Felt by people indoors. Vibration similar to passing truck.

2 0.35g 30mm MMI VI: Felt by all. Books fall off shelves. Furniture may move or overturn.

3 0.65g 60mm MMI VII. Difficult to stand. Noticed by people driving motorcars. Some chimneys
broken.

4 0.80g 80mm MMI VIII: Fall of factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture moved.

5 1.00g 100mm MMI IX: General panic. Damage considerable in specially designed structures.
Buildings shifted off foundations.

6 1.20g 120mm MMI X: Disastrous. Most masonry and frame structures destroyed with foundations.
Rails bent.

Table 1. Shake-table test: Definition of test phases [Zegarra].

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 59
Joshua Macabuag MEng CEng MICE
Figure 5. Shake-table test: Modules at failure
2009
[Zegarra].
a. Unreinforced module at phase 5 (MMI IX). they show qualitatively that the simple retrofit system
b. Mesh-reinforced module at phase 6 (MMI X).
c. Mesh & collar beam-reinforced module at phase
6 (MMI X).
The non-reinforced modules showed sudden and
brittle failure from MM VII (0.65g) to complete collapse
at MM IX (1.0g) whereas the reinforced modules
showed progressive damage from an earthquake
intensity of MM VIII (0.8g) to near collapse at MM X
(1.2g).
60  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
The tests show qualitatively that as well as adding
strength, the mesh also adds ductility to an otherwise
stiff and brittle structure. By allowing cracking whilst
maintaining structural integrity energy dissipation
systems are introduced allowing the structure to resist
strong, high frequency excitations. For example, with
the mesh reinforced structure, the peak stresses
experienced at the junction of the horizontal and
vertical mesh strips resisting in-plane forces caused
the mesh to yield (see the vertical crack in Figure 5b)
without breaking allowing energy absorption through
successive cycles, while maintaining structural
integrity.
While the tests suggest some improvements that
could be made (e.g. connection to the foundations
to prevent rocking and sliding failures at the base),
proposed fulfils the basic goal of preventing brittle
collapse, reducing the loss of debris and, in large
earthquakes, delaying collapse to allow occupants
the opportunity to escape.
Pilot implementation projects (1990s)
20 existing houses in six towns across Peru were
retrofitted with the steel mesh as pilot projects, with
five of these being two-storey accommodations.
Six retrofitted houses were affected by a major
earthquake in 2001 (South Peru, Mw=8.4) and five
retrofitted houses by an earthquake in 2007 (central
Peru, Mw=8). These houses demonstrated no visible
damage, while neighbouring houses of traditional
adobe without reinforcement showed heavy damage
or complete collapse (Figure 4).
Community dissemination programmes
in peru
Post-earthquake reconstruction programme,
Arequipa (2001-2002)
The success of wire mesh reinforced houses
during the 2001 Peru earthquake motivated several
reconstruction programs for new adobe houses in
remote Andean towns within the Region of Arequipa
incorporating this wire mesh system.
Phase 1: Post-earthquake reconstruction
360 reinforced adobe houses (Figure 6) were built
in the Arequipa region as a collaboration between
several organizations. The project was funded by
the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ),
the design of the adobe houses was carried out by
the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) and
the Peruvian National Service for Capacity Building
and Research in Construction (SENCICO), and
implementation was carried out in collaboration with
the Special Project of the Regional Government of
Arequipa (COPASA). The project aimed to reduce the
future vulnerability of the participating communities
by engaging them in the construction process,
so increasing their capacity to build and reinforce
earthquake-resistant houses in adobe, the primary
construction material in the region.
 Seismic reinforcement of adobe in rural Peru

2009
Figure 6. House design for reconstruction programme. Incorporates steel wire mesh at
intersection of orthogonal walls, RC ring-beam and raft foundation [San Bartolome].

Members of PUCP conducted a five-day training

course in construction of the reinforced adobe
houses for 20 SENCICO technicians plus 42 selected
rural persons (maestros) from high-risk communities.
The members of the community then built their own
houses under the supervision of the trained maestros.
Each maestro was assigned two assistants and
supervised the construction of up to three houses at
any one time. COPASA-GTZ technicians supervised
the rural construction three days per week and
each zone had one permanent SENCICO technical
supervisor. The programme was in collaboration with
the local government. a. Example house reinforced with the plastic mesh,
used during the initial training of masons, engineers
360 houses of 36m2 plan area were constructed and NGO personnel [Rubiños].
within 17 months with construction costs of
approximately $1700 per house (approximately $50/
m2) (Table 3). GTZ-COPASA provided 67% of the
cost of the house with the beneficiaries providing
33% mainly through the supply of local unskilled
labour and local materials.

Phase 2: “Protection from natural disasters with a

focus on food security”

Phase 2 sought sustainability of the intervention

by motivating the communities to strengthen their
homes. Several public workshops showed videos of
phase 1 and instructional material was distributed on
anti-seismic adobe construction and the manufacture b. Fabrication of adobe blocks in Cañete, carried
of adobe blocks. The public was then engaged in out by hired masons [Rubiños].
the construction of public buildings such as school
classrooms and small health centres. 30 trained
masons from phase 1 were employed to facilitate.

Reconstruction programme following the 2007

Pisco earthquake (2008)
Other adobe reinforcing techniques have been
used in Peru such as a program for reconstruction
and mass dissemination of seismic construction
techniques in adobe utilizing a reinforcing technique
that uses a polypropylene mesh (commonly used for
fencing) to provide confinement of walls [Rubiños]. c. Completed house in Chincha Baja, constructed
by the public under supervision (after theoretical
workshops and practical exercises). 9 houses were
completed throughout Cañete, Chincha and Pisco.
Figure 7. Various stages of the post-2007
reconstruction and capacitation programme.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 61
Joshua Macabuag MEng CEng MICE
2009
Key stages of the project are shown in (Figure 7). The Total cost Cost/m2 Relative cost
community capacitation programme incorporated Traditional $850 $24 100%
literature and videos and taught 883 in theoretical adobe
workshops and 276 in practical exercises and live Steel mesh $1,774 $50 217%
construction. The construction of each 4-roomed, reinforced
50m2 house cost $3,155 ($65/m2). adobe

Confined $3,400 $95 408%

Discussion on dissemination masonry

Is Adobe an appropriate material? Table 3. Comparing construction costs for

different building methods [Haider].

Given the dangers of non-engineered adobe, in

areas with ready access to materials techniques
such as confined masonry are more appropriate than
adobe. This is illustrated by the Pisco reconstruction
programme where many of the wealthier families were
reconstructing their homes of masonry or confined
masonry, as materials are readily available in nearby
urban centres. However, many of these confined
masonry houses showed dangerous defects (Figure
3) showing that training in confined masonry would
have been more appropriate in this case.
The need for long-term interventions
All of the houses built during the programmes
described were performing well but several non-
reinforced adobe structures built by communities after
the programmes showed errors (Figure 9), showing
that many lessons had been lost because of no
further training input after the initial programmes.

However, newer construction techniques are

inappropriate for remote impoverished communities,
due to material transportation costs and lack of the
necessary construction skills. These communities
are currently dwelling in and building with vulnerable,
non-engineered adobe and so adobe strengthening
techniques must be disseminated in these locations.

The cost of retrofitting

a. Rear wall being used as retaining wall to a public
Outside of NGO-led reconstruction programmes, road.
communities have not used the adobe reinforcing
techniques for subsequent adobe constructions
or retrofits for reasons of cost and low importance
attached to home security compared to other basic
needs. However, consider the case of the Arequipa
programme where the difference in price between
reinforced and traditional adobe houses was nearly
$1000 but the cost of the reinforcement was only
$112 (Table 3). The difference comes in additional
features such as a ground slab, concrete ring beam
and more expensive roof construction.

Therefore, the basic mesh retrofit to an existing

house could cost less than Table 3 would suggest,
and fulfil the basic goal of preventing or prolonging
collapse provided other structural repairs are not
needed. However, this basic cost may still be
beyond the means of many families. This suggests
that government incentive programmes need to
be established to financially assist and encourage
communities to reinforce existing adobe structures,
reducing future vulnerability.

b. Holes cut into wall for electrical and mechanical

services, undermining the wall connection and
forming a hole in the reinforcing mesh [photo:
Chuquimia].
Figure 9. 2001 reconstruction project in Arequipa:
Errors in construction or subsequent modifications.

62  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Seismic reinforcement of adobe in rural Peru

NGOs and cooperation agencies led and bore the
brunt of the costs in the programmes presented
but operational costs are a significant proportion of
overall expenditure for technical agencies, inhibiting
long-term interventions. Local municipalities do have
long-term presence in even remote communities
but lack the funding and capacity to provide long-
term assistance and although local authorities
were involved in the projects of this report, local
government expenditure was generally limited (e.g.
3% of the project costs in a similar project in Ruruca,
Arequipa [COSUDE]).
The role of the engineer
As well as developing and providing training in
the techniques to be used, engineering input is
also needed to assess buildings for retrofitting
(e.g. assessing the condition of roof timbers and
connections and the size/locations of wall openings
etc) and advising where additional structural repairs
are required.
2009
of adobe structures that would allow accurate,
engineered designs.
Key considerations for community dissemination
programmes
The respective roles for community dissemination
programmes are summarized in Figure 10 and the
necessary features of the programmes are given
below:
Preparation phase:
–– Regions must be identified whereby adobe is the
predominant material and it is inappropriate to
promote other materials (due to local poverty and
inaccessibility of the region).
–– National or regional government buy-in is required
to feasibly conduct a sustainable, larger-scale
dissemination programme. Local municipalities
must be empowered and engaged to support the
programme.

A stepping stone to increased engineering input in
adobe design is the development of adobe standards
and design codes in seismic regions. Some countries,
including Peru, do have empirical guidance on adobe
construction and detailing but not on detailed analysis
–– Widespread awareness and training programmes
must be conducted to promote the lesson that
adobe houses must be reinforced.

National or Regional
Government
Grant or apply for funding
for mass-dissemination
programmes
Multilateral Financial
Institutions
Private Sector, Government Technical
Grant funding and advise
Departments, Universities
on programme
Transfer the necessary technical and
Funding Administrator procedural knowledge
Administer the funding to the
enacting organizations and obtain
materials etc

NGOs, Cooperation Agencies

Implement the proposed
programme
Masons, Target Communities
Learn the retrofitting technology
and provide hand labor in
construction/retrofitting
Regional and Local
Government
Support the implementation of
the programme, carry out legal
Long-term support processes of land allocation,
planning permission etc,
provide long-term support for
continued retrofitting within
community
Retrofitting Homes
Figure 10. Interrelation of organizations for programmes of mass-
dissemination of seismic retrofitting techniques [adapted from Rubiños].

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 63
Joshua Macabuag MEng CEng MICE
2009
Capacitation phase:
–– Training for the NGOs and technical agencies,
masons and general population must consider the
level of experience and education of the persons
being trained (e.g. consider potential illiteracy
within the community).
Implementation phase:
–– Create a realistic programme of activity,
considering potential delays and source materials
early (e.g. a constant supply of water is required
for adobe block fabrication).
–– Participation of the beneficiaries is key. Careful
selection of beneficiaries and monitoring of
progress is required to prevent mistakes being
made and repeated.
–– Technical assistance is required in site selection,
selection of soil for adobe and pouring of ring
beams if required.
Post-completion phase:
–– Given the high operational costs of NGOs and
cooperation agencies acting in remote locations
and the dangers of unsupervised self-construction
in adobe, long-term intervention by local
municipalities is required to promote and support
safe adobe construction/reinforcement and
reduce unsafe practices.
Conclusions
–– The buildings most at-risk are built without
engineering input, so techniques must be
simple to apply and programmes must target
communities directly. The “cascade” model
(training technicians to teach a larger number who
then supervise self-construction) is an effective
way of reaching large numbers of the community
whilst minimizing cost.
–– Remote communities cannot afford well-
constructed houses using modern methods of
construction. However, these communities are
not using reinforced adobe at their own cost due
to other basic needs and the poor perception
of adobe. This shows that financial incentives
are required and that public adobe buildings
are needed to raise confidence in adobe as a
construction material.
–– Lessons taught to communities are lost over time.
Therefore, long-term interventions are essential.
–– Operational costs are a significant proportion of
the total project costs for NGOs and technical
agencies making long-term interventions difficult.
Local municipalities have long-term presence but
lack capacity and funding. Therefore, capacitation
of local municipalities is a necessary feature for
the sustainability of any community project.
64  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Educational Trust
of The Institution of Structural Engineers through
the Pai Lin Li Travel Award 2009. Many thanks to
the following for their invaluable assistance and
guidance throughout the field investigation in Peru:
Arch. Patricia Cardenas of SENCICO and Arch.
Edward Chuquimia for their guidance in Arequipa;
Urbano Tejada, Alvaro Rubiños and Stefano Bossio
for their assistance around Pisco; Erik Trigoso and
the Rodriguez family for their support in Trujillo; Prof
Julio Rojas Bravo for his help in Cusco and the staff
of PUCP for hosting the investigation. And a very
special thank you to Prof. Daniel Quiun of PUCP for
hosting the visit, organizing the itinerary and showing
consistent kindness throughout my stay.
References
Blondet, Marcial and Garcia, Gladys V. (2006), World
Housing Report: Adobe Construction, World Housing
Encyclopedia (electronic report on the Internet).
COSUDE, “Sistematizacion del proyecto piloto de
vivienda rural en rururca – region Arequipa”, March
2008.
Haider J., Chuquimia E., Huerta J., (2005) “Retos en
la Adopción de Tecnología Sismo-Resistente para
Viviendas de Adobe en la Sierra Peruana”, proc.
SismoAdobe, Peru.
Rubiños A. (2009) Propuesta de Reconstruccion
Post-Terremoto de Viviendas de Adobe Reforzado,
Civil Engineering Thesis (Masters), Catholic University
of Peru.
Perez-Palma, P. (2004) Estudio socioeconomico
de las familias participantes del Proyecto Cuencas
Andinas y Proyecto de Gestion de Riesgo de
Desastres Naturales con Enfoque de Seguridad
Aimentaria de la Zona Castilla y Condesuyos –
Arequipa, COPASA-GTZ, Arequipa, Peru.
Quiun D. (2009) World Housing Report: Reinforced
Adobe, Report Num 107, World Housing
Encyclopedia (electronic report on the Internet).
San Bartolome Á., Quiun D., Zegarra L. (2008)
“Performance of Reinforced Adobe Houses in Pisco
Peru Earthquake”, proc. 14WCEE, Beijing.
Zegarra L., Quiun D., (2003) “Pruebas de Simulacion
Sismica en Modelos de Vivienda de adobe Reforzado
del Proyecto COPASA-GTZ”, PUCP report to
COPASA.

Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
Modern methods of construction and future
opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells
Abstract
Decades after the empirical hands on approaches
adopted by Felix Candela and Heinz Isler, the
construction industry finds itself equipped with the
tools, materials and know-how needed to bring
concrete shells to a new level. The report covers
the latest developments in construction techniques,
such as inflatable formworks and prefabrication,
and material sciences (e.g. Ductal®) adopted by the
modern shell builders.
Biography
Andrea Menardo is Senior
Structural Engineer at Buro
Happold. After graduating in
Civil & Structural Engineering
from the Polytechnic
University of Milan, he worked
internationally in Italy, UK
and Germany on cutting
projects with some of the
most renowned architects.
He is particularly interested
in the efficiency of structures, both at analysis and
construction level.
Travel experience
The Educational Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award
provided the opportunity to visit a large number of
case studies, spanning from the experimental design
flair of Felix Candela’s work in Mexico, to the use
of inflatable formworks and sprayed concrete in
the USA, to the use of high strength fibre concrete
combined with prefabrication in Canada.
This was an invaluable knowledge and career
enhancing experience: the support and publicity
provided by The Institution of Structural Engineers
allowed the research to generate overwhelming
interest in the engineering and architecture
community, already leading to several new
collaborations and publications.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells
2010
Introduction
A historical study of Mexico’s economical situation in
the second half of the 1960s and of Felix Candela’s
biography [2] [3] reveal why the construction of concrete
shells abruptly stopped, in particular in Mexico, from
about 1968 onwards. Firstly the promulgation of a
law by President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz in 1964 which
increased the minimum wages, making Cubierta Alas
(Candela’s construction company) less competitive
on the market. Secondly Candela himself leaving the
country.
Today engineering and architecture historians
celebrate him as a creative and daring genius,
but when he was still actively practising in Mexico
he felt a lack of proper recognition in his country.
Furthermore abroad he was often criticised and
marginalised by the engineering ‘establishment’ for
his empirical approach to the analysis of structures.
So when he was offered to teach at the University of
Illinois, Chicago, he saw in this the final, deserved,
acknowledgment of his rare talent and of the
outstanding building portfolio delivered over the
years. When offered the post in such a high profile
institution he jumped at the idea and never looked
back (1971).
The above might not seem the expected introduction
to the next theme - inflatable formworks - but it is
actually an appropriate one. This is because it was
often speculated that the construction of shells with
traditional timber shuttering and intensive labour
halted because of changes in the economical
climate, with the cost of wood and labour becoming
increasingly higher and un-competitive compared
to standard post-and-beam construction. The desk
study research conducted does not fully confirm this
thesis, which is still argued in current engineering
practice when a concrete shell option is mentioned
and rapidly discounted on the assumed grounds of
‘high cost/labour intensiveness’.
Although this might be partially true, but different from
country to country, one of the reasons for the decline
of traditional shell construction was the progressive
disappearance of the figure of the ‘Master Builder’ –
with it meaning the incarnation of architect, engineer
and contractor in the same person.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 65
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
The first half of the 19th century was characterized
by figures like Torroja, Freyssinet, Nervi and Candela
himself. All of them were often the architects,
always the engineers and most of the time also the
contractors of their own works. This meant that,
when they were proposing a daring scheme or an
innovation,
–– they had material resources and facilities to test it
first;
–– they knew exactly how much was going to cost
and how long it would take to build;
–– and, most importantly, they took ownership of
every risk themselves – the technical one, the
economical one and the guarantee of a timely
delivery.
By the 1960s we see instead a net split of the roles,
with the appearance of the ‘star architects’, the
engineering ‘consultant’ and the contracting company
(a well known example of the inefficiency of this
system is perhaps the case of the Sydney Opera
House).
When Candela left Mexico in 1969 he was in fact
at the apogee of his all-around career but found
himself in the role of ‘consultant’ in the US, where the
professions where in fact already split.
The recent diffusion of Design&Build forms of
procurement seem to confirm that it is becoming
widely accepted again that efficiency and technical
possibilities are increased by limiting the number of
parties involved or at least limiting the spread of risk
ownership.
The following chapter shows how it was again up
to the entrepreneurial role and inventive spirit of the
Master Builders to revive the construction of shells in
a practical, cost effective and timely manner.
Inflatable formwork technologies
As part of the Pai Lin Li Travel Award the author
visited several case studies of domes built using
different types of inflatable formwork techniques. For
‘historical’ continuity the systems are described in
their chronological appearance in the construction
industry.
Binishells – Inflatable On site Construction
Automation
The construction system invented by Italian architect
Dante Bini in 1964, named Binishells, is something
extraordinary and not very well known anymore.
The ‘eureka’ moment apparently came when Mr
Bini was playing inside one of those inflated indoor
tennis courts [1]. The match lasted hours and only
when he left the building he realised it had snowed
conspicuously and a thick layer of snow had covered
the inflated roof, effortlessly kept in place by a
nominal air pressure inside the balloon. Immediately
he realised that the entire weight of a concrete dome
66  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
(like the one he designed for his dissertation at
university) could be supported by a similar amount
of air pressure. More than that, the weight of the wet
concrete and of the steel reinforcement could actually
be ‘lifted’ from the ground into its final position. This
the idea behind Binishells.
Soon Mr Bini proceeded with several tests at his own
building yard (he was also a contractor at the time,
hence a Master Builder according to the definition
used before).
The first tests were rather rough and experimental
but nonetheless formed habitable domes that stand
till today, near Bologna, Italy. The actual patented
system, instead, was highly successful and lead to
the construction of around 1500 domes in several
countries around the world.
Description
Foundation
A reinforced concrete ring beam is built on the ground
to act as a strip foundation (in the permanent case)
and as a counterweight during the lifting procedure.
A nylon reinforced neoprene membrane, cut in a
spherical shape and concentrically folded on the
ground, is fixed to the ring beam by mean of a cast-in
eight-shaped inflatable tube.
Figure 1. Detail of the membrane anchorage into the
foundation ring
Reinforcement
The most time consuming part of the process: the
laying of the reinforcement bars. The main issue Mr
Bini and his team faced was how to arrange
traditional rebar on a flat plane which would then
accommodate the spherical shape of the inflated
balloon. Many different refinements were attempted
(all actually working) until an ideal solution was
identified in the form of a concentric arrangement of
steel springs, fixed to the ring beam in diametrically
opposed points.
Traditional steel bars are inserted inside the springs,
the bars fixed only to one side of the ring beam and
allowed to slide in proximity of the pole, where they
are overlapped with the diametrically opposite bar.
 Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells

2010
Concreting

The whole concrete volume needed for the shell is

poured flat on the ground, over the folded membrane
and the steel rebar. Generally a thicker layer is
deposited in the centre of the circle, progressively
thinner towards the ring beam: this compensates for
the gravity effect which drags the wet concrete down
during the lifting procedure.

Indicatively for a 30m diameter dome, 7m high, about

70 m3 of concrete is deposited, requiring about 10
trucks over a two hour period, for a total concrete
weight of ca. 1700 tonnes.
Figure 2. Steel reinforcement arrangement

Figure 3. Detail of the springs fixing into the

foundation

The springs have other beneficial effects: Retardants are added to the mix to keep the concrete
fluid for a few hours and also plasticizers to give a
–– they ‘contain’ the inflating balloon by exercising sound consistency during the lifting.
forces equal and opposite to the air pressure
inside. This is very important to allow a controlled
inflating sequence.

–– With their spiralling profile and uniform distribution

the springs help gripping the fluid concrete in
position during the lifting, especially along the
steepest portions of the balloon (which was one of
the key problems in the early tests)

–– they actually work as prestressing tendons in a

precast beam, but in three dimensions. The air
pressure is the prestressing force balanced by
the springs extension; then when the concrete
is cured and the pressure removed the springs
release their tension onto the concrete, effectively Figure 4. Concreting operations
generating a uniform state of compression which
is beneficial in particular for a spherical dome
(funicular to hydrostatic pressure only), which can
therefore sustain asymmetrical loading conditions
without generating internal tensions.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 67
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
Lifting procedure

For the very first experiments the above described

steps were all that was needed before the lifting took
place. One of the issues which soon arose was that
the concrete was graining and cracking due to gravity
which required manual making good and vibration.
The optimised system instead uses a second,
external, neoprene membrane to be put on top of the
fresh concrete. This serves few purposes:

–– it contains the fluid concrete during the lifting

procedure

–– it forms a slippery surface over which to run plate Figure 6. Original images of North Narrabeen School
vibrators to compact the concrete

–– it forms an external waterproofing layer in the

permanent scenario, if desired

The lifting takes about 2 hours for an average dome

of 30m diameter by 7m high.

Figure 7. Aerial view of a typical multi-purpose

centre

Figure 5. Lifting Sequence
These dimensions were actually achieved by Dante
Bini and his team already at the fourth attempt
(in 1965). It compared with the Parthenon (43m
diameter), Brunelleschi’s Dome (35m) and St. Peter’s
in Rome (42m), but the construction time was simply
revolutionary even by today’s standards (ca. four
hours for the dome itself plus couple of days for the
ring beam and steel positioning).
was also architect on the project, consisting of two
intersecting domes, 18m diameter each, housing a
library and ancillary facilities.
Original pictures illustrate the possibility of
architectural openings and the variety of shapes that
can be achieved by simply saw cutting the domes,
since shells are fairly redundant structures which find
infinite alternative load paths if the most direct one is
interrupted by an anomaly.

This attracted the interest of world-renowned

Professor Mario Salvadori, from Columbia University,
who invited Mr Bini for a physical demonstration (15m
diameter by 5m high) at the university campus which
attracted hundreds of enthusiastic spectators and
generated such a significant publicity on the media
that several business opportunities sprung from this
day (1967).

From this point onwards Binishells became an

internationally registered patent and a limited
company and Mr Bini remained involved solely as
consultant and technical advisor. In this role he was
invited in 1971 in Australia by the Minister for Public
Works of New South Wales (NSW), which was then Figure 8. Opening doors and windows by saw-
looking for a rapid and economical system for the cutting
construction of several schools and libraries, publicly
advertised in the recent political campaign. The school is still fully operating today and a visual
inspection of the external shells revealed a perfect
The first outcome of this new venture was Narrabeen state of conservation, with only visual staining due
North Public School (1974), few miles north of Sidney, to weathering and easily removable by water jet
which the author visited in January 2010. Dante Bini spraying.

68  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Figure 9. North Narrabeen School as it stands
today
Figure 10. Plan, section and elevation of a typical
school layout
On the basis of the success at North Narrabeen, the
Government of NSW signed an actual framework
agreement for the construction of numerous other
‘Multi-Purpose Centres’ across the state. All of
them were about 36m in diameter by 11m high.
The following list, inclusive of dates of completion
shows how only the Binishells system could have
made possible such an intense and forward looking
programme: Peackhurst 1976, Ingleburn, Randwick,
Ashbury and Killarney Heights 1977, Pittwater 1978,
Hurstville and Broadmeadow 1979.
Interestingly, during the author’s visit to North
Narrabeen a construction company was actually
carrying out refurbishment works: not at the 36 years
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells
2010
Figure 11. The Edinburgh Sports Dome in Malvern,
UK
Figure 12. Agricultural silos in Pakistan
old shells though but at fairly recently built extensions
of steel construction. This demonstrates to the
numerous stakeholders involved in programmes
such as Building School for the Future (BSF) in the
UK and to the advocates of concrete as the most
unsustainable material, that one of the most effective
and ethical approaches to (school) design should be
‘built to last’, in which case concrete would probably
surpass any other material if properly executed
(generally attention to the steel cover should suffice).
Also, BSF often involves the construction of new,
expensive, buildings on the school property grounds
and the demolition of the old blocks once the new
ones are operational. Comments on the sustainability
of demolition aside, it can be observed how a
fast track construction system like Binishells (or
DomeTech described next) would make it possible to
build the new blocks almost over the summer closure
period, limiting the usual disruption of an active
building site next to an operating school.
Only one Binishell was ever built in the UK: the
Edinburgh Sports Dome built in Malvern in 1977 and
since 2009 a Grade II listed building, described by
English Heritage as ‘…elegant, successful, functional
…and remarkably intact’.
Another exemplary success was the construction of
300 domes in just two years in Karachi, Pakistan, for
use as agricultural silos. A record of one dome every
two days.
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Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
Technical data for a 36m diameter by 7m high
Binishell

–– Ring beam foundation 900mm wide by 750mm

deep, 113m long

–– Flooring inside the ring beam 100mm thick

–– Neoprene membrane 1550 sqm, 1.5 tonnes

–– 3 electrical fans, each with a power of about

15/20 kW

–– Shell’s average thickness 70mm (by gravity thicker

at bottom and thinner at top, as needed)

–– Curing time before depropping ca. 3days

Dante Bini went on inventing several other patented

systems, all characterised by the so called on site
construction automation. One of these, called
Minishell, is worth describing since it is a direct
evolution of Binishell. The main difference is that the
building footprint is square instead of circular, with
a much simpler arrangement of steel. Only a few
examples were built in Australia as holiday resort
bungalows but their potential should be rediscovered
today because they move away from the dome-like
aesthetic which is understandably an architectural
limitation and might prevent the appeal of these
structures to the modern public.

In Los Angeles the author got in contact with Dante

Bini’s son, architect Nicolo’ Bini, currently CEO of a
revamped Binishells company. The idea behind the
revival is the identification of a specific market for
sustainable and affordable housing. The company
is in fact now focusing its attention, and also the
marketing campaign, on the environmental benefits
of Binishells, which as such where not on the agenda
40 years ago. Through partnerships with key players
in the field of environmental technologies they are
currently developing several prototypes that use,
for example, fly ash to reduce the cement content
and the already limited carbon footprint of an
incredibly efficient and nominal structure, which also
benefits from thermal mass. Mr Bini is in talks with
accreditation institutions such as LEED (in the US and
worldwide) and GREEN STAR (in Australia), which
already foresee the highest scoring for Binishells.

Details of the current developments are strictly

confidential but the computer generated images
provided clearly demonstrate an architectural flair and
potential beyond the original schemes.

The new company is in talks with the Clinton

foundation and the Obama administration regarding Figure 13. Minishells: sequence of rebar layout,
the construction of Binishells in developing countries concreting, lifting and final result
or in regions affected by natural disasters. Plans are
set up for 500 houses in Pakistan and even more in
Guatemala, due to be built soon.

70  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells

2010
Dome technology – inflatable formworks for
concrete domes

A significant part of the research involved touring the

South West of the USA to visit numerous case studies
of concrete domes built using inflatable formwork
technologies.

Leader in the market is Dome Technology, a

Design&Build contractor specialised in the technique
since the 1980s with an impressive track record
across the United States and also with large projects
overseas. The author visited their headquarters and
production facilities in Idaho and also several case
studies across Arizona and California. These were
chosen specifically to cover the full spectrum of
sectors in which DomeTech is working, spanning
from industrial bulk storage silos to gymnasiums and
schools, churches and housing, including a visit to a
live school building project in Phoenix.

In 1977 brothers David and Barry South started their

company in Idaho, developing a cost competitive
Figure 14. CGI images of the new Binishell systems technique for the construction of large enclosures.

The system they patented in 1980 consists of the

following phases:

–– Construction of a ring beam foundation and

flooring, similar to the Binishells system previously
described

–– A PVC membrane with a sawn-in fabric cord is

anchored to the ring beam by special fixings as
shown in the images

–– Air is inflated inside the balloon to lift it into the

final dome configuration

Figure 15. Rope anchoring detail; air motor with Figure 16. Marking of rebar spacing; ‘sticker’ detail
pressurised door; air form inflated

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Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
- The process continues from the inside, where
a first layer of insulating polyurethane foam is
sprayed over the internal surface of the balloon
- While the first layer of foam is progressively
hardening a team of about 3 people starts
marking the desired position for the steel bars
and places so called ‘stickers’ (wire anchors) at
the intersections between horizontal and vertical
spacing
- To lock the ‘stickers’ in position a second layer of
foam is sprayed, up to the thickness required by
the environmental performance of the building
- Steel reinforcement bars are fixed to the ‘stickers’,
from the bottom to the top
Figure 17. Laying of the steel reinforcement
- Shotcrete is sprayed all over the internal face of
the dome, with increasing thickness from the
bottom to the top
Figure 18. Shotcrete spraying operations
72  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
- After curing to the basic strength, the air pressure
is removed and the structural portion of the
project is effectively completed, in just a matter of
days
Figure 19. Schematic of the layers forming a Dome
Technology dome
Originally the external membrane used to be removed
and re-used for other same-size domes but in time
this became not economically worthwhile, so it is
now left in place, acting as the waterproofing layer.
This means that structure, insulation, waterproofing
and cladding are achieved all together in one single
process, which requires only a few days, a very small
team and limited equipment.
The extreme simplicity and speed to which large
enclosures can be built with this system can be
appreciated.
DomeTech was originally bidding only in the
competitive market of bulk storage silos (> 500
tonnes). Examples have been visited by the author.
The Mitsubishi Cement Plant in California is
particularly interesting because it used the ‘bullet’
shape for the first time, where the actual spherical
balloon rests on walls also made with shotcrete on
membrane.
Figure 20. Mitsubishi Cement Plant silos exterior

The site is located on the San Andreas fault line. The
design met the approval of the Californian building
authorities and the silos have already sustained
frequent earthquakes.
In addition it can be seen that heavy superstructures
can be built on top of the domes (or hung inside) by
thickening the shell with a grid of beams to spread
the loads away from the flattest portion.
In Baghdad, the U.S. Air Force bombed one of
Saddam’s palaces housed in a DomeTech dome: the
laser guided bomb perforated the shell, detonated
inside and blew all the architectural finishes inside but
the concrete shell itself remained intact. This raises
the point of the inherent robustness of these types of
concrete shells, which in places like Oklahoma are
designated as public gathering shelters during
tornados, as it was the case in New Orleans during
Hurricane Katrina.
Figure 21. Bombed dome in Baghdad
Construction site visit
The DomeTech portfolio has expanded over the
years to include every other building type involving
large enclosures. A particularly successful sector is
that of schools (like it was for Binishells). The author
visited two built examples and one live building site in
Phoenix.
Robert L. Duffy High School in Phoenix, AZ, is a
project consisting of four domes, three of large
dimensions and a smaller one containing a small
nursery (12.8m diameter by 7.6m high). The three
large ones contain respectively:
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells
2010
–– Seven classrooms and one small auditorium (25m
diameter by 8m high)
–– Seven classrooms and one IT lab (25m diameter
by 8m high)
–– The highest dome contains a sportshall with
basketball court, racing track, stands and toilets/
changing rooms (25m diameter by 8.5m high)
The above description and the plans shown below
illustrate the variety of configurations achievable
within the domes.
Figure 22. Internal floor layout of the Duffy High
School in Phoenix
In March 2010 the different domes were at various
stages of construction. What was observed of the
larger domes was the wall construction: most times
the domes only form the roof of the buildings, and
they sit on cylindrical walls up to a height of about
3m. This has several benefits
–– It allows the use of the entire circular footprint
of the building, which would be otherwise
compromised in terms of clear height if the domes
were to touch the ground
–– It makes it possible to open doors and, most
importantly, large windows in a simple and cost
effective way in the cylindrical walls instead of saw
cutting the shells (although this is often done too)
This integration of walls and raised domes is a new
key feature provided by DomeTech which was instead
missing in the Binishells system. The domes can in
fact be built on top of walls only with the first system
(ie. Inflated balloon and spraying) by simply offsetting
the ring beam (normally built in the foundation) on top
of the walls instead. The way Binishells were built (ie.
with steel and concrete laying first flat on the ground)
does not necessarily exclude a similar implementation
but it would require significant temporary propping
and shuttering for the casting of the concrete at high
level, effectively like casting a flat slab. It is very likely
that the cost would not make it worthwhile.
The domes generate some lateral thrust at the top
of the walls but their cylindrical arrangement is
structurally ideal to contain it with hoop forces and
only limited vertical bending.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 73
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
The walls construction itself uses sandwich walls The construction of the nursery was already more
made of an external and internal layer of Logix advanced due to the smaller scale and the absence
Standard Styrofoam forms, which achieve the desired of the labour intensive walls. Internal clear height was
thermal insulation, with cast in-situ concrete layer in achieved here by adopting a balloon cut slightly
the middle. below the equatorial plane, generating a volume
slightly larger than half a sphere.
Generally DomeTech is appointed only as a specialist
contractor for the domes and provides a staff of three
or four fully trained and qualified for the shotcreting
operations too (which requires a special licence),
whereas the foundations and walls are dealt with by
the Main Contractor. This is the case also for
DomeTech missions abroad where for very large
domes DomeTech provides all the equipment and a
key team that can then train and supervise additional
local labour.

Figure 24. The nursery in Phoenix: floor level below

the equatorial plane

The author visited during the foam spraying

operations and the fixing of the ‘stickers’. What
emerged from the visit was a key aspect of the
construction sequence, which was not required in the
Binishells. Since the dome construction happens from
the inside and the double door access is pressurised,
all the equipment needed for the operations needs to
be placed in the centre of the floor, underneath the
membrane, before this is inflated. This includes the
cherry picker and the steel bars, which could provide
some obstructions to movement. For very large
domes like silos, a tunnel is dug under the foundation
to give access also to trucks, since the tunnel is
needed anyway by the silos operator to unload the
stored material.

The following visits to other case studies by

DomeTech highlight issues, such as acoustics and
aesthetics, which are not structural but necessary
to discuss the bigger picture of the use of shells in
today’s architectural and construction industry.

Figure 23. Details of the Logix Standard Stryrofoam Figure 25. All the equipment needs to be prepared
walls; the walls assembled with the rebar under the air form; a view from inside during
construction

74  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells

2010
Acoustics Day lighting

The largest domes visited were a gymnasium in The option to build the domes on top of vertical walls
Payson, AZ, and a church in Mesa, AZ. In order to allows plenty of scope for window opening, which
house the respective functions of basketball court are possible also within the dome itself to a certain
and convention centre, both domes are effectively extent, and are generally located at least in the zenith,
very large environments free of vertical supports, and where concrete thickness and stresses are minimal.
the acoustics was assessed firsthand. The The library visited had a decent level of daylight and
gymnasium was visited when empty and the sound it must be noted the visit was in winter when the
reverberation was very noticeable, as expected inside sun neared the horizon. Surely though significant
a dome. The building manager recalls that acoustic improvements could be made on this front.
measures were considered at the time of construction
but deemed unnecessary for this use. He also added
that in reality the acoustic works well during the
matches, when the stands are full of spectators and
the sound source spread. At Mesa Church however
an optimum acoustics was paramount and it was
achieved by spraying an additional layer of foam
called SonaSpray K-13. In addition several objects
suspended from the vault and hovering over the
auditorium seats like lighting, speakers and screens
have the positive side effect of further improving the
acoustic performance of the dome.

Figure 26. Top: David. N. Wilson sports hall in

Payson, AZ; Bottom: Living World Bible Church,
Mesa, AZ

In terms of day lighting and aesthetics the quality of

the case studies visited was diverse, although the
buildings were built at different times and there was a
noticeable improvement over the years.

Figure 27. Day lighting at Frontier Elementary

School, Payson, AZ

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Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
Procurement, architecture and aesthetics

It must be said that, until recently, DomeTech was

often invited directly by a client (e.g. a school) due
to their successful track record in a sector, and for
the economy and speed of construction. DomeTech
then used to collaborate with local architects for
the general architectural layout of the buildings. The
school in Phoenix, now completed, is an example;
pictures from other site visits show a variety of
configurations and appearances.

Figure 29. Left to right: Exterior of the Church in

Mesa; Housing at Tolani Lake, AZ; Dome Technology
headquarter at Idaho Falls

Today DomeTech provides the whole spectrum of

design, engineering, fabrication and construction
services. This is done through sister companies sitting
within the same headquarter in Idaho Falls:

–– CShells is looking at exploiting the architecturally

possibilities of the technique. They are currently
looking at several geometries for the footprint,
cladding systems other than the exposed
Figure 28. Robert L. Duffy School, Phoenix, AZ:
painting of the air forms and final result with coloured
membrane and also a variety of opening types;
patterns
–– ES2 Engineering Systems Solutions does full
structural and MEP engineering and LEED
accreditations;

–– Fabric Span LLC is the in-house state-of-the-art

manufacturing facility visited by the author. Here
they draw, cut and weld the air forms purchased
in Germany.

76  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Figure 30. Top to bottom: FE analysis of the Space
Port shell; Fabric Span LLC facilities; CGI image by
CShells
The most recent success of the collaboration, and
an indicator of where DomeTech is going, is the
construction of a large enclosure at Space Port
America, in New Mexico, right close to Norman
Foster’s terminal building. The aesthetic improvement
is noticeable and the structural solution vaguely
reminds some of Heinz Isler’s shells. Another
success storey is the ‘most energy efficient’ school
in Minnesota, at Ground Meadow, indicating the
potential of domes and shells well beyond their
structural performance.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells
2010
Figure 31. Top of the shell at Space Port America,
New Mexico; Bottom: School District at Grand
Meadow
Prefabrication and high performance
materials
Case study of use of UHPFRC for precast
concrete shell
In April 2011 the author continued his visit to Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. This is the location of the world’s
first thin shells using Ultra High Performance Fibre
Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) and here the author
visited Lafarge North America, which made the
project possible thanks to the use of their proprietary
concrete mix known as Ductal®.
The project – Shawnessy Light Rail Transit (LTR)
station - was originally designed by Stantec
Architecture Ltd as a steel structure and at the
beginning steel looked as the only option to achieve
the desired weightless appearance of the 24 modular
shell canopies.
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Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
Fairly early though the design moved towards a full The performance of the mix is mostly down to the
concrete solution, for reasons of cost, durability and finer parts, which
aesthetic finishes. The challenge was then how to
build the very thin shells out of precast concrete [5]. –– increase the compressive strength to a range
170/230 MPa

–– increase the bending strength to a range 40/50

MPa

–– reduce entrapped air and porosity, limiting the

carbonation depth to 0.5mm ca.

Project Description

The project comprises of two platform canopies, each

5m wide by 76m long and formed by 12 modular
canopies. These consist of UHPFRC precast shells,
propped on three precast struts which are supported
onto a singular precast central column.

Although the support elements (also in UHPFRC) are

an interesting topic on their own, they will not be
discussed in here and the description will focus solely
on the relevance of the super thin shells.

Figure 32. Views of the Shawnessy Light Rail Transit

(LRT) station in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Ductal®

The solution was found in Ductal®, a patented

range of Ultra-High Performance Concretes (UHPC)
combined with fibers, developed in collaboration
between Lafarge North America and Bouygues in
France. The actual innovation behind the registered
trademark is what was originally called Reactive
Powder Concrete (RPC) which combines the
materials commonly found in concrete (cement,
silica fume, sand, Superplasticizer and water) with
some materials unique to Ductal®: ground quartz,
Wollastonite (a mined siliceous mineral fiber) and
fibers (high carbon metallic fibers or poly-vinyl
alcohol (PVA) fibers). A bespoke gradation results
in a composite material that provides a unique
combination of strength, ductility, durability and
aesthetics. Figure 34. The concrete shells on their support
structure

Figure 33. General composition of the Ductal® mix

design

78  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells

2010
Precast concrete shells

The canopies were originally designed as steel

shells by the architects but for reasons of cost the
engineers, together with Lafarge, proposed the only
possible alternative in concrete which could still
perfectly match the architectural intent: 20mm thick
precast Ductal® shells. This was possible due to:

–– the high strength properties of the concrete mix,

which achieved a compressive strength of 150
MPa and a flexural strength of 18 MPa

–– the use of PVA fibres, which eliminated the need

for traditional steel reinforcement and therefore
the need for the nominal cover (which would have
brought the total thickness to at least three times
as much). PVA fibers where chosen in place of
metallic ones to avoid staining where the fibers
emerge on the surface and also for Health&Safety
reasons in the precast columns, because metallic
fibers are rather sharp and can be dangerous if
exposed (as it was in fact noticed in a splitted
corner)

Since the 20mm thickness is comparable to that of a

steel shell we can say that the saving on the weight of
the structure is proportional to the ratio between the
specific weight of the two materials, hence a saving of
about 70%. Clearly only UHPFRC is able to break the
usual weight/strength ratio comparison between the
materials. Although only a limited number of case
studies exist on the use of Ductal® (only one for
shells), experts agree that if this material will become
mainstream it will open up an entire new field of
structural engineering.

The overall size of the cylindrical shells is about 5m

by 6m and it was soon decided to fabricate and
transport them in two halves.
The main issue faced by the manufacturer, Lafarge
Canada Inc., was then how to cast the shells? A
team of experts in different fields such as sales,
engineering, production and erection was formed
to tackle the different aspects. It is important for
the sake of this research to list the main challenges
involved in the design of precast fibre reinforced
shells, alongside the solutions adopted:
a) high shear energy mixing and the need to
dissipate entrapped air  what batching and
mixing methods are required?
The energy consumption is limited while the
dry components are blended and it increases
significantly when water is added, thus requiring a
high shear mixer. Moreover the temperature of the
raw ingredients must be precisely controlled.
Figure 35. Close up views reveal the joint between
the two halves of the shell and the concrete finish
level
b) smooth internal and external surface finish 
which casting technique?
The high viscosity of the plastic mix, in addition
to the fibres content, rules out traditional hand
screeding. Therefore both upper and lower
surfaces had to be formed on rolled steel skin
positioned and welded over CNC cut diaphragms
following the 3D computer model. An epoxy base
coating was spread to avoid the negative of the
sand blasted welds to appear on the concrete
finish, which the fine particles in the mix would
otherwise reproduce.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 79
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
c) How to achieve precise tolerances with such
nominal thickness?
The shell thickness is nearly in the order of
traditional concrete tolerances, hence minimal
imperfections would seriously affect the structural
properties of the section. A 3D model of the steel
plates and diaphragms was studied to check that
the deflections under the weight of the wet mix
would be within the limits.
d) Fibre orientation  how to achieve the preferential
orientation assumed in the design? How to rapidly
pump a high viscosity material into the moulds?
Fibers naturally tend to orientate in the direction
of the pumping hose and also parallel to closely
spaced forming plates, due to friction. For these
reasons a vacuum pressure chamber was built
and injection casting adopted.
e) Shrinkage  how to allow unrestrained shrinkage
inside the moulds?
An R&D programme identified that the best
casting position was vertical, with injection
casting from the bottom. After filling the entire
void between the plates, and after a certain time,
the moulds were turned with the curvature down
and the top part removed to allow unrestrained
shrinkage of the upper shell surface. Then the
process was repeated by rotating 180 degrees
and allowing shrinkage of the lower shell surface.
The two halves of the shells, de-moulded after 12
hours, were conceived to have a grouted bolted
connection at the top, which was also used as lifting
device during transportation and assembly,
eliminating the need for additional inserts.
Figure 36. The moulds during casting, setting and
lifting
80  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Procurement, testing and codes of practice
Until this project Ductal® had never been used as
thin shells before, therefore the Client - the City
of Calgary - asked the team to produce full scale
tests on one entire canopy, comprising of shells,
struts, ties and columns, in order to confirm the FE
analysis results (done by Strudes Inc. in Montreal with
SAP2000) up to the full factored loads. The author
visited the University of Calgary, where the testing
was performed and although the mock up was not
available anymore, Prof. Nigel Shrive illustrated the
test procedure in detail.
In terms of the analysis and testing of the shells, one
of the main focuses was the geometrical discontinuity
region where the slanted cylindrical cone meets the
flatter portion at the back. This was soon identified
as a potential stress raiser and it was decided to
smoothen and thicken this portion and to introduce
two traditional steel bars (2H16) to resist hoop
tension forces.
Both snow and wind loads where simulated in a
number of patterns. Since the Client requested
factored loads, a specific loading sequence was
identified which would not produce cracking until the
end
1) unfactored snow load, 1.0 KPa
2) unfactored wind uplift, -1.6 KPa
3) factored wind uplift (cracking permitted)
4) factored snow load (cracking permitted)
The strain measures were fairly consistent with the FE
results and strains during all of the tests were linear to
the loads, demonstrating absence of cracking. In fact,
even at factored loads, the induced tensile stresses
were only a quarter of the flexural strength of the
material [6].
Figure 37. Transportation of pre-assembled shells
 Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells

2010
–– the efficient use of material, in light of the current
concerns of climate change and ‘buzzwords’ like
sustainability

The author will show first hand evidence of the

ongoing relevance of Candela’s work for the future of
shells, having visited 15 case studies across Mexico
in the Spring of 2010. One of the most effective ways
to introduce some of the themes, though, is by the
words of the master himself, through paragraphs
taken from his own letters and lectures [2].

‘I was new to Mexico (being a political refugee from

Spain) and I had to try to make a living and - why
not? - try to have fun making a living. And try having
a good time building. … To be able to build I had
to be competitive against the cheapest type of
construction…’

It was so that he founded Cubierta Alas S.A. (1949)

and started experimenting on the ‘umbrella’ type of
shells, identifying in empirical ways the ideal rise/area
ratio. The outcome were umbrellas of about 150 m2
supported on a single central column, resting on a
footing also shaped as an inverted umbrella. With
these he was able to compete all over the country for
Figures 38. Views of the finished project large enclosures. In an interview he said he was
charging the client much more than the actual cost,
For the purposes of this research it was relevant to since this was so much lower than the market rate
report on all the aspects that today surround the that he would not have sounded a trustful bidder.
design and construction of novel concrete shell
forms, with modern construction techniques and
state-of-the-art materials. Shawnessy LRT Station
represents a first and it is hoped that it will open
the field for others to follow, possibly building on
the knowledge gained, maybe simplifying the client
approval process and eventually skipping the testing
entirely.

It must be noted though that, to date, UHPFRC is not

yet supported by design codes and standards, albeit
there are preliminary documents drafted by France,
Japan, Australia and USA (see bibliography). This was
surely one of the reasons why the city of Calgary (and
its insurers) had to protect themselves and why they
asked for further reassurance by way of testing.

Back to the future

Building on Felix Candela’s legacy

A lot has been said and written about the life and
work of renowned shells builder Felix Candela. A
complete analysis of his operate would require and
deserve a place of its own, and this is outside the
scope of the present research.

What is aimed to be achieved herein is reading

Candela’s work in a modern perspective, looking at
several aspects of his work, such as:

–– the variety of dynamic forms achieved with just

simple variations of a basic geometry
Figure 39. The ‘umbrella’ type of shell: overall view,
–– the role of the master builder in the past and how reinforcement layout and a quite convincing test!
this could be transferred into today’s practice

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 81
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
When Candela moved to Mexico (1939) the country
was living ‘El Milagro Mexicano’, the economic boom
which will last until about the Olympics of 1968 and
the concurrent political turmoil. With an economic
growth of about 4% per year, a large population
leaving the countryside for the cities and investments
in agriculture and public infrastructure, Candela’s
system was the perfect solution for covering markets,
industrial buildings and metro stations – what we
would call today modular construction.
There are literally hundreds of these ‘umbrella’ shells
scattered around Mexico City, many of which the
author visited. They are commonly characterised by
–– minimal vertical structure, limited to vertical
columns which also integrate the roof gutters
–– substantial diffused daylight, thanks to the
skylights achieved by the gentle tilting of one side
of an umbrella next to another
They were indeed functional sheds, as bare as their
original function and budget required but they are still
perfectly preserved and functioning today (surviving
also the devastating earthquake of 1985, which is
quite impressive considering their cantilevered
nature).
Figure 40. Top to bottom: typical formwork; day light
in Coyoacan Market; a market in Xochimilco
82  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
It is interesting to reflect on how these early examples
of modularisation could be interpreted today, for
example in the construction of modular stations (DRL
and CrossRail only a few UK examples). It has often
been said that shells are an architectural style of the
past for both their geometry and labour intensiveness,
but it is quite surprising to see how even some of the
most high-tech projects of today still bear
resemblance to Candela’s umbrellas (e.g. Foster &
Partners’ Haramain Stations in Saudi Arabia
compared to the High Life Textile Factory,
Coyoacan,1954, with its cast-in spot lights). And this
even in countries currently living an economic boom
and renowned for the cheap labour cost, i.e. the
exact same conditions in which Candela was
operating.
Figure 41. Top and centre: Foster & Partners’
Haramain Stations in Saudi Arabia; bottom:
Candela’s High Textile factory, Coyoacan.
The profits coming from the use of a consolidated
technique and repetitive formwork allowed Candela to
invest in experimentations with hyperbolic paraboloids
(hypars), exploring infinite variations of a simple
geometry with straight line generators, hence easily
buildable with straight timber planks and steel bars.
 Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells

‘…since I was working practically alone, I could not
afford nor had time for complex calculations and did
welcome Maillart’s advice that simpler calculations
are more reliable than complex ones… Since I
was building structures of modest scale I could
control what was happening, check the results and
confirm the accuracy of my judgement or correct
my mistakes. In a way I was working with full scale
models...’
2010
Again we can assess how the aesthetic dear to the
architects of today is not far off Candela’s structural
art, albeit now achieved by mean of other materials,
very different budgets and construction programmes.
It is reported that Cubierta Alas bid for 1439 projects,
of which 896 built [2]. It amounts to an average of 34
projects per year in its 26 years of operation.

The author visited one of the most amusing variations

of the folded umbrellas, Candelaria Metro Station
(1967). Recently refurbished, it still looks strikingly
contemporary. The roof of the platforms is a
beautifully ‘draped’ roof, with highly curved hypars
radiating from slender tapered shaped columns.
Natural light fills the space and expresses the
intricacy of the geometrical pattern. One of his least
known projects and also one of the latest, showing
his mastery of concrete shells.

Figure 43. Top: the draped roof pattern of the

Candelaria metro station; Centre and bottom:
Yokohama Port Terminal by FOA

Figure 42. Interior of Candelaria Metro Station,

Ciudad de Mexico

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 83
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
2010
At the first experiment with hypars (Cosmic Rays
Pavilion, 1951) Candela is already working with
concrete thicknesses that we won’t even find in the
Calgary canopies in Ductal. For this pavilion the Client
(Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, UNAM)
required the roof to weight only 40 kg/m2 in order to
allow cosmic rays to pass through for measurement.
In concrete terms this meant 16mm thick. Candela
changed the barrel vault scheme received from the
architect and gave it stiffness by introducing double
curvature and building a saddle shaped shell with
increased thickness from 16mm at the top to 40mm
at the bottom, with maximum aggregate size of 6mm.

The building still stands intact today, contributing with

its unique ‘baroque’ shape in the middle of
masterpieces of Modernism to the Unesco World
Heritage status of the UNAM campus.

Figure 44. Top: 12m concrete cantilevered band

stand in Santa Fe; Bottom: Niall McLaughlin’s GRP
band stand at the De La Warr Pavilion

Also recently refurbished, in celebration of the 40th

anniversary of the opening of the metro line in Mexico
City, is San Lazaro station (1967). The intersecting
hypars on the roof take their colour from the new
waterproofing layer. The tall internal spaces are airy
and almost entirely free of vertical obstacles to
circulation in this busy hub.

Figure 46. Cosmic Rays Pavilion on the UNAM

Campus, Ciudad de Mexico

From then on 40mm will be the rule-of-thumb

thickness adopted in most of his shells, more for
easing the concrete placing operations than for actual
structural requirements.

Other projects visited are better known and matter-

of-factly classifiable as works of art. Candela’s
explanation for their success leaves no doubt about
the secret recipe behind:

Figure 45. Exterior and interior of San Lazaro Metro

Station in Ciudad de Mexico

84  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


‘…In countries like this (the USA) where the building
industry has been thoroughly and irreversibly
fragmented and the responsibility diluted among so
many trades, it may be shocking to think of a
contractor as an artist; but it is indeed the only way to
have in your hands the whole set of tools or
instruments to perform the forgotten art of building, to
produce ‘’works of art’’ which, by the way, was the
common expression to designate a bridge in the old
French engineering vocabulary…’
Figure 47. Top to bottom: Los Manantiales
restaurant in Xochimilco; Barrel vaults at Merced
market in CdM; Iglesia de la Medalla Milagrosa in
CdM
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells
2010
‘…the quality of a structural design is in inverse
proportion with the amount of calculations necessary
for its erection (and Frei Otto would add: and with the
amount of material needed)’
‘ …with respect to the structural consultants, they
are, in many cases, confronting the hopeless task of
making feasible extravagant architect’s dreams, with
more concern to play safe than the possible economy
of the work, a point which indeed nobody involved in
the deal cares about. In other, more prosaic cases,
although they may be a little more preoccupied by
cost, the organization of the building industry with its
endless subdivision of work and the fact that they are
working in a country (the USA) whose whole economy
is mostly based on waste makes them again to
consider more important to play safe than strictly
economic considerations’
Figure 48. Top: portrait of Felix Candela;
Bottom: Candela with Santiago Calatrava
The engineers of today, equipped with state-of-the
art materials, computer programs and astronomical
budgets should be in owe and admiration for his
daring operate and should read in his teachings
a, maybe unintended, environmental message on
structural efficiency and appropriate use of materials
that was well ahead of his time but well imprinted in
his background of master builder.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 85
Andrea Menardo CEng MIStructE Dott. Ing.
Conclusions
2010
The research demonstrates that a significant
number of thin concrete shells are still being built
around the world. Modern construction techniques,
such as inflatable air forms, have simplified and
possibly resolved one of the historical undersides
of reinforced concrete shells – the labour intensive
construction. Until recently this has detracted from
Candela’s or Isler’s geometrical freedom, limiting
the use of air forms to semi-spherical domes. It has
been shown, though, how both Binishells and Dome
Technology are currently adding architectural flair and
environmental credentials to their portfolio and it is
hoped that this will trigger a rediscovery of shells by
both architects and engineers.
And by contractors too: it emerged in fact that the
builder’s contribution is essential to the delivery of a
product in which form, design and buildability are so
intrinsically linked – one affects the other, reciprocally.
The leaders in the market have realised that and they
are either forming external partnerships or providing
the full spectrum of design services in-house.
The case of the LRT station canopies, although,
shows that separate stakeholders can still work in
synergy to achieve innovative and bespoke results.
The use of UHPFRC, combined with prefabrication,
can possibly open new horizons in terms of
geometrical exploration and extreme use of material.
An analysis of Candela’s projects indicates that it
is possible to generate an infinite variety of shells
configurations from a few basic principles. The
traditional form of construction should not therefore
be discounted, since it was demonstrated that the
architectures deriving from it can be of prime quality
and still in tune with contemporary tastes.
It is foreseeable that Computer Aided Design and
Finite Element analysis, only if combined with mastery
of construction and science of materials, will shed a
new light on the future of thin concrete shells.
86  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Acknowledgements
The author wants to thank The Institution of Structural
Engineers and the Educational Trust. First of all for
believing in a research that was to tackle the very
broad theme of the ‘past, present and future’ of
thin concrete shells; secondly for understanding its
relevance to the current construction industry and,
last but not least, for providing the funding that made
it possible.
Special thanks go to those individuals who facilitated
my work by arranging meetings, site visits and by
giving some of their precious time. In particular: Lane
Roberts, Sales Manager at Dome Technology, his
colleagues at the headquarters in Idaho Falls and
Troy Potter, Chief Engineer at the Phoenix school
site; Peter J. Seibert, Technical Director at Lafarge
North America and Prof. Nigel Shrive of the University
of Calgary for transferring their in-depth knowledge
of the LRT station canopies; Nicolo’ Bini, CEO and
President of Binishells Inc, for illustrating the current
and future developments of the Binishells system.
Another special thanks to the colleagues at Buro
Happold who kindly offered their time to peer-review
this manuscript and to Kathryn Campbell, Librarian
at Buro Happold, for providing an infinite source of
useful bibliographical references.
Further reading
[1] ‘A cavallo di un soffio d’aria – l’Architettura
Autoformante’. Author: Dante Bini. Guerini e
Associati, 2009.
[2] Felix Candela – Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist.
Authors: Garlock and Billington. Published by
Princeton University Art Museum in association
with Yale University Press, 2008.
[3] Felix Candela 1910-1997 – The Mastering of
Boundaries. Author: Enrique X. De Anda Alanis.
Taschen, 2008.
[4] 50 Anos de Architectura Mexicana 1948-1998.
UIA. Authors: G. P. Anguiano, C. R. Gonzalez.
Plazola Editores, 1999.
[5] First Use of UHPFRC in Thin Precast Concrete
Roof Shell for Canadian LRT Station. Authors:
Vincenzino E., Culham G., Perry V. H., Zakariasen
D., Chow T.S.. PCI Journal Sept-Oct 2005.
[6] Modelling, testing and construction of the first
Ductal canopy in the world. Authors: Adeeb
S.M., Scholefield B.W.J., Brown T.G., Shrive
N.G., Kroman J., Perry V.H., Tadros G.. Canadian
Journal of Civil Engineering 32: 1152-1165 (2005).
 Modern methods of construction and future opportunities in the field of thin concrete shells

Design codes and draft standards

2010
–– Ultra High Fibre-Reinforced Concretes, Interim
recommendations, by Association Francaise
de Genie Civil (AFGC) and Services d’etudes
techniques des routes et autoroutes (SETRA), Jan
2002

–– JSCE Giudelines for Concrete No.9:

Recommendations for Design and Construction
of Ultra High Strength Fibre Reinforced Concrete
Structures (DRAFT), by the Japan Society of Civil
Engineers (JSCE), Sept 2006

–– Design Guidelines for RPC Prestressed Concrete

Beams, by N. Gowripalan and R. I. Gilbert, School
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The
University of New South Wales, Jan 2000

–– Material Property Characterization of Ultra-High

Performance Concrete, by the U.S. Department of
Transportation, August 2006

–– Structural Behaviour of Ultra-High Performance

Concrete Prestressed I-Girders, U.S. Department
of Transportation, August 2006

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 87
Christopher Morris MEng

Christopher Morris MEng

2011

Developments in fibre-reinforced polymer

bridges in europe and north america
Abstract There is a clear need for bridges with greater
Development in fibre-reinforced polymers in recent durability to reduce maintenance and increase service
decades has led to their viability for a range of short life. FRPs could be part of the solution, having many
to medium span bridges. The report describes advantages, including arguably greater durability than
the materials and technologies available for the steel or reinforced concrete. In the USA and some
construction of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) European countries, FRP bridges have become more
bridges. The report considers the advantages and widespread than in the UK since the early 1990s. This
disadvantages of FRP bridges in comparison to paper aims to give an overview of the manufacture
conventional methods and examines the economics and design of FRP bridges and create an economic
of FRP bridge construction and potential for this field argument for their uptake.
of construction to expand.
FRP materials
Biography
FRP is any composite material that combines fibres
Christopher Morris graduated with a polymeric matrix. Commonly used fibres are
from Heriot-Watt University S-glass, E-glass, aramid and carbon fibre. A variety
in 2011 with a Master’s of matrix materials can be used, such as epoxy,
degree in civil engineering. thermo-plastics and thermosetting polymers. FRPs
Since graduation he has are commonly associated with high performance
worked for AECOM Ltd on aerospace and marine applications, which require
a variety of infrastructure lightweight, high strength materials. Although fibres
and water projects. He is possess high tensile properties, their resistance
currently working towards to compression, shear and torsion is negligible in
Chartered Membership with isolation from a matrix. Combining fibres with a
The Institution of Structural polymer matrix produces a lightweight material with
Engineers and The Institution of Civil Engineers. excellent structural properties.

Travel experience Fibre Specific Tensile Young’s

Gravity (g/ Strength Modulus
The Educational Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award funded cm3) (MPa) (GPa)
a study of the use of FRPs for bridge construction E-glass 2.54 2410 69
in the UK, Denmark, Spain, Canada and the USA. It
involved the examination of a number of FRP bridges, S-glass 2.49 2620 87
discussion with firms and institutions involved in the Carbon fibre 1.75 2410 241
development of FRP structures to determine the
Aramid (high 1.44 3450 124
current nature of the industry and potential for future
modulus)
development.
Structural 7.85 413 30
Steel
Introduction
Titanium 4.52 711 17
This paper will cover the use of Fibre-Reinforced
Table 1. Comparative fibre strengths
Polymers (FRPs) in bridge construction in Europe
and North America, focusing on the use of all-FRP
and hybrid structures. For the past century, steel Fibres are typically a few micrometres in diameter
and reinforced concrete have been the dominant and have a very high surface area per unit mass. This
structural materials. These materials rose to high surface area is a huge surface for resin bonding
prominence as they could be mass produced and with the matrix component, which allows the intimate
allowed new possibilities for engineers and made mixing of component materials characteristic of
possible the huge expansion of infrastructure in the FRP. Table 1 shows the tensile strength and stiffness
20th century. However, the widespread degradation properties of commonly used fibres, with aramid
of steel and reinforced concrete structures coupled possessing the highest tensile strength and carbon
with high remediation costs indicates the limitations fibre the highest stiffness.
of these materials, despite their excellent engineering
properties. Bridges draw particular focus due to Fibres are classed by whether they are continuous
the inconvenience caused by remedial work on or short and orientated or randomly placed.
infrastructure and the high costs associated. Structural applications normally require orientated

88  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


and continuous to achieve strength and stiffness
properties tailored to design requirements. Fibres
can be placed to give specific strength and stiffness
properties in different locations of the structure and
in different directions. Moreover, the combination
and relative amounts of fibre and matrix can be
adjusted to control material properties such as
thermal expansion. However, the use of directional
fibres results in FRPs being anisotropic, thus material
properties, notably strength, stiffness and expansion
coefficients vary directionally.
The strength-to-weight ratio for FRPs can be far
higher than conventional materials like steel or
reinforced concrete. Additionally, FRPs are not
susceptible to galvanic corrosion, which is a major
advantage if structures are exposed to de-icing salts.
Fabrication
Pultrusion
Pultrusion is a common method for manufacturing
FRP structural profiles, with a wide range of sections
available on the market. It allows the continuous
production of sections of uniform cross-section and
requires minimal labour.
Figure 1. Pultrusion process. Picture courtesy of Strongwell
Corporation
In pultrusion, fibres stored on creels are passed
through an air jet prior to resin impregnation in a resin
bath. The air jet serves to roughen the fibre strands,
thus improving resin impregnation. Fibres are then
passed through a preformer plate to ensure that
fibres are tensioned in the correct directions and to
remove excess resin. The impregnated fibres pass
through a heated die, which heats the resin to curing
temperature. Resin curing temperatures vary, but
160˚C is typical. The cured FRP section emerges from
the die and passes through gripping feet or ‘pullers’,
which drive the process. The process is driven by
pullers at the bottom end of the process since there
is no means of driving the unbounded fibres through
the heated die, hence the name ‘pultrusion’. After
the pullers, the sections are cut to desired length and
stored.
In addition to longitudinal fibres drawn from creels,
other fibres components are often included. Rovings
are used to improve transverse strength of sections.
The surface finish of sections is improved by the use
of cloths and fillers are placed in section webs.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Developments in fibre-reinforced polymer bridges in Europe and North America
2011
Pultrusion is a well developed process, with all the
equipment required being readily available under
license. The size of section that can be made on
a pultruder is governed by the pulling force of the
machine. The speed of production depends on a
number of factors, namely the amount of material
per unit length of section that the die is required to
heat. However, manufacturers claim that production
capacity is rarely a problem. Manufacturers of
pultruded sections generally produce a range of
standard catalogue sections, profiles similar to
structural steel sections. However, the nature of
the process means that it is feasible to commission
a new structural section for an individual client
given sufficient demand. The design, testing and
commissioning a new structural section can take as
little as three months. The cost of commissioning
a new pultrusion die is relatively low compared to
producing a new standard steel section or precast
concrete section.
Matched die moulding
Sheets of woven fibre impregnated with uncured
resin, known as prepreg sheets, placed in a mould
comprising two contour-matched halves. The mould
is closed and heat and pressure are applied to cure
the FRP component. This method is rarely used in the
construction industry due to the high cost of moulds.
It can produce intricate, highly contoured forms and is
suited to manufacturing smaller components.
Filament winding
This is a common method for manufacturing hollow
sections. Continuous filaments are wrapped around
a mandrel. The filament orientation is dictated by
the applied loads. The filaments are impregnated
with resin prior to wrapping on the mandrel.
Filament winding is often an automated process,
which reduces labour costs and improves quality
consistency.
Vacuum infusion
This is a technique used to cure sections formed from
prepreg layups and filament winding. The section to
be cured is placed inside of a large bag. The air inside
of the bag is evacuated to apply pressure to the
section. Heat can also be applied to a section via the
vacuum bag.
Design criteria
Material behaviour
The material behaviour is similar to timber in certain
respects, such as anisotropic properties and the
tendency for delamination. The intimate mixing of the
fibre and matrix fractions distinguishes FRP behaviour
from materials like reinforced concrete or shear
bonded concrete-steel composite constructions.
However, FRP hygroscopic behaviour is dimensionally
stable during changes in hygroscopic conditions,
which Phillips et al. argue is reason for the analogy of
FRP behaviour as similar to timber to be limited.
Under short term-loading, FRPs are linear elastic until
failure, but behaviour is time dependent. The short-
term stiffness of an FRP is reduced by approximately
half over 10 years. Under long-term loading the
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behaviour is considered linear-elastic below the visco-
elastic limit. Once the visco-elastic limit is exceeded
strain will increase with time until rupture failure.
The absence of plastic deformation prior to failure
means that localised plastic deformation cannot be
used to alleviate localised stress concentrations.
These included stress concentrations from maximum
bending moments over beam supports and
concentrations around openings in sections. Partial
factors to BS8188 can be used for design, however
material factors specific to the material in question are
required. Eurocomp Design Code recommends using
a combined material factor allowing for the fibre and
the manufacturing conditions:
γm =γmf ×γmm
Material partial factors for fibres are specific to fibre
types and arrangements of fibres. Laboratory tests
are used to determine the spread of fibre strength
properties so that a suitable partial factor can be
selected. Partial factors for manufacturing methods
are indicative of how consistently quality can be
achieved for a particular manufacturing process.
Fiberline Composites A/S have produced a design
manual which incorporates principles of limit
state design, with guidance from EN 13706 and
EUROCOMP design manual.
Material γmf
Carbon fibres > 2.0
Ultra-high modulus carbon > 2.5
fibres
Aramid fibres 2.0
Glass fibres 2.0
Table 2. Suggested material partial factors for different fibre types
(CIRIA C564)
Manufacture method γmm
Machine controlled system 1.1
Vacuum infusion 1.2
Wet lay-up 1.3
Table 3. Suggested material partial factors for different
manufacturing methods (CIRIA C564)
Composites have a high resistance to fatigue. The
fatigue resistance is measured by the reduction in
strength due to a given number of strain reversals at
stresses lower than failure stress. The static strength
retentions of carbon fibre, aramid and glass fibre after
107 cycles are approximately 80%, 40% and 25%
respectively.
Design for bending
Analysis of FRP sections for bending is inherently
more complex than for steel sections because section
stiffness changes with fibre orientation and material
composition. Stiffness changes due to changes in
fibre orientation are less familiar to non-specialists
and require more detailed analysis. Manufacturers
90  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
of pultruded sections provide load-span tables
for bending and reference bending capacities for
sections.
Common practice for FRP section bending analysis is
to model the section as built-up laminates. Analysing
a section as laminates is common in design of timber
structures, when using engineered timber materials
like glulam.
Design for shear
The shear properties of FRPs are largely governed
by the fibre orientation and the interface properties
between the fibre and matrix fractions. The level
of adhesion achieved at the fibre-matrix interface
determines how effectively stresses will be transferred
between the fibre and the matrix, which is crucial to
achieve composite properties.
Interlaminar shear transfer is a design criterion
because the bonds between laminations act as
planes of weakness. Overstress of the interlaminar
bonds can cause delamination failure. Delamination
failure is liable to occur due to bending moments
which result in high interlaminar stresses at the
extreme fibres of a section under bending. The
Interlaminar Shear Strength (ILSS) is an indicator of
the resistance to failure between laminations. The
ILSS is increased by the use of women cloth fibres
and through-laminar stitching.
Deflection based design
The lower stiffness of FRPs compared to conventional
construction materials results in design being largely
governed by serviceability requirements. The strains
that would be present in the materials close to failure
stress would lead to deflections unacceptable in
most design situations. The stresses under design
load may be as low as 20% of the material ultimate
stress so that deflections are acceptably small.
The reduction in material self-weight compared to
alternative materials does not help significantly to
limit deflections with FRP structures. While the self-
weight of FRP is approximately 20% that of steel, the
modulus of elasticity is 10% that of steel, leading to
high deflections under self-weight.
Deflection based design results in FRP structures
having a very high level of strength redundancy.
Deflection based design differs from the limit state
design currently prescribed by Eurocode.
Dynamic behaviour design
Dynamic loads are often critical in design of FRP
bridges due to the high ratio of live load to dead load.
Aerodynamic flutter, footfall and dynamic traffic loads
are the main sources of vibration.
Dynamic response tests were conducted on the
West Mill bridge and the Aberfeldy footbridge. Tests
examining lateral, vertical and torsional vibration
modes were conducted on the Aberfeldy bridge
in 1995 and 2000 . Dynamic response had been
allowed for in design by filling the deck cells in the
central section with concrete. Damping ratios for the
various vibrations modes ranged from 0.4 to 5.5. The
 Developments in fibre-reinforced polymer bridges in Europe and North America

2011
maximum acceleration of the bridge during testing,
caused by intentional pedestrian agitation of the
structure, was 0.22g. This was above the maximum
acceleration permitted in BD37/88, which was not
a requirement since it was not a highway structure
covered by the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges
(DMRB).

Structural connections
Bolted connections can be used for FRP structural
connections and have been used extensively in for
connection of pultruded sections. Bolted connections
offer great flexibility for in-situ connections,
where environmental conditions are variable and
construction time may be limited. Bolted connections
also allow for structures to be dismantled if
necessary. Drilling for pultruded FRP section is also
simple and quick. The lower modulus of FRP causes Figure 2. Bolted connection at structural node.
localised deformation at bolted joints, which improves
activation of bolts. However, bonded joints are vulnerable to peeling
failure, which occur due stress concentrations
However, bolted FRP connections have forming the edges of bonded surfaces. Peeling failure
disadvantages and are certainly less compatible than can be avoided by designing joints symmetrically to
bolted connections of steel structures. Localised prevent any moment forming due to eccentricity of
stress concentrations are a major concern for joining members. The thickness of FRPs used in civil
designers when considering bolted connections. engineering structures causes problems such as
The main failure modes of bolted connections are shear deformation of FRP plates at bonded joints.
tension, compression bearing, shear out and splitting These problems are generally not encountered in
of laminates. It is essential that the material strength bonded joints for FRP applications outside of
around the bolt is sufficient to transfer compression construction because thinner FRPs are used,
loads from the bolt. This is further complicated by resulting in different material behaviour.
the directional orientation of fibres, which can result
in splitting of FRPs parallel to the fibre grain at bolted
connections. For this reason, manufacturers such as
Fiberline Composites A/S have produced a design
manual with details for the arrangement of bolted
connections. It is necessary to avoid excessive
compression of FRP due to bolting, thus large
washers and spreading plates are often necessary.
The high emphasis on effective force distribution at
joints can result in bolted connections being bulky
and having a high weight penalty.

Bonded connections are an alternative to bolted

onnections. In some respects bonded connections
are more compatible with FRP material properties.
Loads are transmitted by shear stress and bonded
joints are typically very strong in tension, compression
and shear. Transferring loads over a larger surface
area avoids stress concentrations. This negates the
need for additional components to distribute loads at
connections, promoting lighter and more aesthetic
joints.
Figure 3. COMPOSLITE sections joined using a combination of
mechanical “toggle connections” and bonding. Pictures supplied
by Pipex®
Bonded joints can exhibit sudden failure and have
two distinct failure modes: adhesion failure and
cohesion failure. Adhesion failure is a failure of the
bond between adhesive and adherent, whereas
cohesion failure results from crack propagation in
the adhesive. The load bearing capacity of bonded
joints is not necessarily proportional to the surface
area of the bond. Beyond a certain limit, the capacity
will remain constant and is limited by the fracture
behaviour of the adhesive.

Bonded connections are very sensitive to

environmental conditions in the curing process. This
can present a major challenge for bonded
connections made in-situ. For curing of adhesives, a
zero relative humidity environment needs to be
maintained along with near constant temperature. In a
factory environment, this is relatively simple, however
such a controlled environment is not available for

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in-situ connections. Site connections using bonded
joints are normally a critical phase of an FRP bridge
project, since a repeat or alteration is not possible for
bonded joints.
Figure 4. Interlocking mechanical connections for COMPOSOLITE
sections
A combination of mechanical connection and
adhesive bonding is a solution that is advantageous
in some cases. The bonding component reduces the
stress around the bolt holes and bolt fatigue. The
use of bolts reduces the chance of peeling failure
if bolts are placed at the leading edges of bonded
joints. It also more effective for connections where
forces are transferred in several directions. Figure
3 shows a system of sections which connect by
both mechanical interlock and bonding. The bonded
connection is intended to transfer longitudinal shear
forces between sections and the mechanical interlock
transfers transverse forces.
However in situations where a stiff connection is
required and high temperatures are expected, a
combined mechanical and bonded joint is unsuitable
because the joint will lose stiffness at increased
temperature. A combined joint can also alter the
structural behaviour if the joint is overly stiff, by
attracting increased loads to the structure local to the
joint.
Fire design
Design for exposure to fire must take into account the
combustibility of hydrocarbon based resins, which
results in FRPs being combustible. The response of
FRPs to fire exposure is described by Davies et al. is
similar to the response of timber in the way that bulky
sections will perform better in fire than thin sections.
The improved survival durations of bulky cross-
section is largely due to the formation of a char
layer on the surface due to pyrolysis. Pyrolysis
is an endothermic reaction, thus serving to slow
deterioration of material below the char layer.
However, FRPs differ from timber in that it would
not normally be economical to design sections to
be bulky simply for fire protection purposes. The
use of intumescent coatings is not viable with FRPs,
because the response time of intumescent paints is
too long to prevent damage.
92  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
End of life use
The European Commission Waste Frame Directive
aims to minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill
and construction waste is recognised as a major
contributor. Demolition and disposal of FRP structures
is an area that has received little attention, mainly
because few FRP structures have reached the end of
service life. The recycling of FRPs is more complex
than recycling of other structural materials, notably
steel, for a variety of reasons.
The dominant use of cross-linked thermosetting
polymers for structural FRPs means that material
cannot simply be heated and remoulded for another
purpose. Depolymerisation processes can be used
on polyurethane to return the polymer to its original
monomer form, but for more common polymers this
is not practical.
Additionally, FRPs are mixtures of various materials,
which are not simple to separate into discrete
phases. The relative quantities and types of polymer,
fibre and fillers are often specific to particular projects
or batches of material, which further complicates
producing consistent recycling products.
A variety of processes have been proposed for
recycling of FRPs. These processes can generally
be divided into those using mechanical processes to
reduce FRPs into derivative products and those which
use thermal processes.
The remains of FRPs broken down by mechanical
processes can be re-used in the FRP manufacturing
process as fillers and in some cases as reinforcing
materials. However, given the current size of the
market for FRPs in infrastructure, it is unlikely that
recycling technologies will be developed for this
particular market. The current and projected use
of FRPs in the automobile industry is far larger
and appears more likely to propagate large scale
recycling.
Availability of design information
Material information is readily available for standard
pultruded sections in the same form as for standard
steel sections. This allows relative ease of design
for structures assembled from bonded or bolted
pultruded sections. Companies such Fiberline
Composites A/S and Strongwell Corporation publish
a large amount of information on section properties
and fabrication details. Fiberline Composites A/S has
also produced an iPhone app for FRP calculations,
which allows basic calculation and viewing of material
properties and design cases from mobile devices.
There is no common design code for FRPs in the EU
because there is no Eurocode for FRPs. Gutiérez et
al. note that while the number of constituent materials
and manufacturing methods makes the FRP market
innovative, the absence of common standards
creates difficulties with quality control and assurance.

DMRB BD 90/05 provides guidance for highways
and bridges using FRPs. BD 90/05 notes that
product standards which define limits for manufacture
and approval tests for steel and concrete do not
currently extend to FRPs. It mentions that limit state
principles may be used for FRP design, contrary to
recommendations made in other texts which advise
design for allowable deflection. BD 90/05 outlines the
responsibilities of the FRP designer as:
a) Design of FRP components at a material science
level.
b) Production of a specification and advice on
the procurement of components from an FRP
manufacturer or supplier;
c) Verification of the structural properties of the
components in relation to the specification and
provision of design data.
Part a) clearly imposes problems for designers
without experience of FRP design and an extensive
knowledge of FRP material behaviour. BD 90/05 also
states that an independent check (Category II or
Category III) is required for all FRP structures covered
by the DMRB.
Business case for FRP use
Current cost situation
The material and fabrication costs of FRP structures
normally render them more expensive than
conventional solutions. The material costs have
reduced significantly in recent years due to and
expansion in FRP use in other sectors creating an
incentive to develop cheaper resins. The resins
normally constitute the more expensive materials,
with the fibres being relatively cheap. The requirement
for specialist skills and equipment for design and
fabrication also increases costs. The curing of resins
requires controlled a controlled environment, which
can be expensive and particularly difficult to achieve
in-situ.
The business case for FRP is found in the impact
on lifecycle costs and the savings achieved in the
structure due to weight reduction. Further savings
can be made in the reduced installation costs that
FRP solutions may permit.
FRP uptake in the United States
The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has
shown an interest in FRP bridges in recent decades.
In August 2000, the FHWA reported:
“29% of the 587,755 bridges in the United States
were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.”
Due to the large and dispersed nature of US highway
assets, maintenance places a high demand on
resources. FRPs are seen by the FHWA as an
alternative for short-span bridges, 10m span or less,
because of the aforementioned benefits of FRPs.
Bridges can potentially be fabricated almost entirely in
a factory and shipped to site for rapid installation.
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In 2003 FHWA published a case study in the Journal
of Management in Engineering comparing the lifecycle
costs of constructing a new short-span bridge out of
reinforced concrete and FRP. The study considered
the new build scenario as the most severe test of FRP
bridge viability. The study acknowledged the effects of
mass production and increased industry experience
in reducing costs. Total costs were assumed to
comprise of several categories:
1. Construction cost.
2. Lifecycle costs
3. Future costs
4. Indirect or intangible costs
Case study: Bennet’s Creek bridge, New York
State
The bridge crossing Bennet’s Creek on New York
State Route 248 was completed in August 1998 to
replace an existing bridge that had become deficient
and was subject to weight restrictions. The original
bridge had been in place since 1926 and had
deterioration due to exposure to de-icing salts. The
FRP replacement had a clear span of 6.4m and an
overall length of 7.6m. The bridge carries two 2.75m
wide lanes and has 0.9m wide hard shoulder. The
annual average daily traffic is 300 vehicles, 17% of
which is goods vehicles.
The New York State Department of Transportation
(NYSDOT) had investigated the use of FRPs for a
short span highway bridge, and used the replacement
as a pilot project. The design of the structure was
done by Wagh Engineers P.C. using finite element
analysis and fabricated by Hardcore Composites LLC.
The structure was designed for live loads as defined
by AASHTO and a dead load allowance was made for
50mm of surfacing and reinforced concrete parapets.
NYSDOT specified additional design criteria for
aspects of FRP design not covered by specific
codes. The live load deflection was limited to 1 in 800
and the maximum strain was limited to 20% of the
ultimate strain in service conditions.
The superstructure was fabricated in two longitudinal
sections from E-glass fabric with vinyl ester resin in a
resin infusion moulding process. Each section was
5.036m wide, 7.807m long, 621mm deep and had a
30° skew. The structure was manufactured as a cell
core system, which provided stiffness in the vertical
and horizontal planes. The interior cells were formed
from 200mm × 200mm × 600mm foam cores
wrapped in a single ply fibre mat. The top and bottom
fibre mats of the structure were 12.7mm thick,
consisting of 9 plies of fibre.
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NYSDOT performed a cost benefit analysis of using
the FRP structure compared to a conventional
structure. The estimated cost breakdowns for a
conventional solution and the actual costs of the FRP
alternative are shown in Table 5 and Table 6 .

Item Cost

Bridge $672,000

Highway $477,000

Pre-Engineering @ 15% $172,000

Construction inspection @ 12% $138,000

Figure 5. Deck section during fabrication. Exposed starter bars for
reinforced concrete parapets visible on the right. Pictures supplied Total $1,459,000
by NYSDOT.
Table 5. Estimated costs by conventional construction. Figures
provided by NYSDOT.
Material properties are shown in Table 2. The fibre
arrangement of the composite skin was such that the
material was considered isotropic in the horizontal Item Cost
plane.
Engineering and fabrication $116,000

Linear Elastic Modulus in Compression 18749 MPa Construction $171,000

Linear Elastic Modulus in Tension 18749 MPa Detour and approaches $108,000

Shear Modulus 5861 MPa Testing $5,000

Density 1826 kg/m3 Total $400,000

Ultimate Tensile Strength 310 MPa Table 6. Costs for FRP solution. Figures provided by NYSDOT.

Ultimate Compression Strength 221 MPa

Ultimate Shear Strength 114 MPa
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion 0.0000144/°C
Table 4. Material properties for the Bennet’s Creek FRP
replacement bridge
The deck sections were mounted on reinforced
concrete abutments with fixed-end connections. The
rigid connections between the abutment and deck
were made use 25mm Hilti anchors. The deck
sections has longitudinal shear key to prevent
differential deflection of the two halves of the deck.
The deck was transported to site by lorry and
installed in using a 75 ton crane in little over 6 hours.
Barriers to market entry for FRPs
There are various barriers to entry for FRPs in the
bridge market. A major barrier is that steel and
reinforced concrete are the established structural
materials and the associated investment in expertise
in these materials. In their credit, steel and concrete
are proven materials and their properties are known
to engineers. On this basis, there is a tendency for
engineers to work with structural materials they and
their clients are familiar with. Innovation in steel and
concrete construction methods has improved their
value as a structural material.
Also, authorities often give greater consideration to
the initial cost of a structure, with maintenance costs
being of secondary importance when considering
material solutions. The situation is unlikely to be
improved by the current financial situation of many
asset holders.

Improving the economics

Figure 6. Deck sections during installation with shear key visible on
right. Pictures supplied by NYSDOT
Although the economic case for FRP bridges is
often made via the lifecycle economies that may be
found, the justification of FRP bridges use would
be more straightforward if they were competitive on
initial capital expenditure. Some industry experts
suggest that these economies are to be found in
fabrication and installation methods that promote
mass production and standardisation of bridge
components.
The standardisation of parts would allow FRP
bridges to be constructed in larger volumes, which
may overcome the economic issues of production
in limited quantities. However, all bridges are to a
greater or lesser degree unique, which complicates

94  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


the standardisation of parts. However, standardisation
of secondary structural elements such as decks is
certainly feasible.
Halvard et al. suggest that the projected cost of
FRP bridges will follow a learning-curve trend,
where the unit cost of FRP bridges reduces as
more industry experience is gained. Increased
industry experience is likely to reduce the costs of
manufacture, transportation and installation. The cost
of manufacture can generally be split into process
costs and material costs, which are both likely to
change with increased experience. Process costs
will likely drop with increased volume of production
because of efficiencies found through experience and
components common to several projects. Material
costs are also liable to drop because of better
application of materials with increased knowledge
and reduced scrap material, however the price of raw
materials is likely to be less influenced by increased
volume in what will still be a small market.
Lifecycle approach
In a time when clients are being urged to pursue
value solutions the weighting placed on initial
capital expenditure and lifecycle costs needs to be
evaluated. Evidence from case studies indicates that
there are benefits to FRP bridge structures in terms
of performance and economy. However, cost benefit
analysis must include a projection of lifecycle costs
when deciding whether to specify FRPs, conventional
materials or a hybrid solution.
Economic use of FRPs also requires collaboration
between manufacturers, asset holders and
consultants. Network Rail replaced several existing
bridges with FRP solutions, justified on the grounds
of:
–– Better consistency of factory manufactured
components
–– Lighter cranage
–– Benefits of off-site assembly
–– Ability to reuse existing foundation without
extensive remedial work
–– Possibly better durability
By 2010, Network Rail had four FRP bridges,
including the UKs first road over rail FRP bridge
at Standen Hey, and one aqueduct. Cost savings
have been sought on Network Rail project by using
standard pultruded sections and sharing the cost of
moulds over several projects. While manufacturing
costs are higher, cost savings are made through
shorter track possessions and less costly site
installations.
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2011
Lifecycle cost analysis
To compare the true cost difference between a bridge
of conventional construction and an FRP based
alternative it is necessary to compare present value
life-cycle cost (PVLCC). The PVLCC is comprised of
three components:
PVLCC = IC + PVOMR + PV
IC = Initial Cost
PVOMR = Present Value Operation, Maintenance and
Repair
PVD = Present Value Disposal
In the case of FRPs a further cost for the introduction
of a new technology must be accounted for.
This is the cost associated with transferring FRP
technologies from the research and demonstration
stage to being widely accepted in the construction
industry.
FRP bridges and current use
Lleida footbridge
The Lleida footbridge spans over the Barcelona-
Madrid railway line. Designed by Pedelta and
fabricated by Fiberline Composites A/S, the
footbridge was opened in 2004 and the overall
project cost was approximately $600,000. It was built
in only three months, with parts fabricated at the
Fiberline Composites A/S factory near Kolding in
Denmark and assembled on site. Installation of the
bridge only required a track possession of three
hours, highlighting the advantages of short
possessions and lighter cranage common to FRP
bridge installations.
Figure 7. Top to bottom: The Lleida bridge spanning across the
Madrid-Barcelona railway line; visible slackening of diagonal cable
braces.
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Christopher Morris MEng
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Spanning 38m between supports, it is one of the
longest FRP bridges in Europe. The structural form is
a trussed arch constructed from pultruded glass fibre
reinforce polymer sections with bolted connections.
The deck is approximately 3m wide and the whole
structure weighs only 19 tonnes. The proximity of
the structure to electrified overhead lines requires
all conductive components of the structure to be
grounded.
A visit in 2010 showed some minor signs of
degradation. These include slackening of cable
braces between structural joints. This could be
indicative of the long-term structural deformation.
However, the structure was largely free of major
degradation, especially of the materials.
Footbridge at St Austell Railway Station
The first FRP footbridge over a rail line in the UK was
constructed adjacent to St Austell Station, Cornwall.
Designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff, it comprises three
spans, with a main span of 14 m and two 6m side
spans. The bridge was fabricated by Pipex® as two
monolithic channel elements for the two spans. The
channel elements are built-up from bonded
COMPOSOLITE® sections. COMPOSOLITE® is a
pultruded FRP panelling system which be used for
load-bearing applications and facades. The panels
are connected using interlocking connectors and
toggles, as shown in Figure 3. Connectors allow joints
at various angles and the connections are secured by
applying resin to the toggles joint. The small size and
cellular construction of panels allow them to be
man-handled in fabrication. The parts of a structure
can be delivered flat-packed and assembled on site.
Figure 8. Top to bottom: Completed section during transportation;
Completed structure. Pictures supplied by Pipex®
The FRP solution was selected on the basis of low
maintenance requirements. The lightweight solution
allowed the reuse of existing masonry abutments. The
total weight of the main 14m span was only 5 tonnes.
96  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
The low weight allowed the bridge to be transported
by road with minimal difficulty and installation without
the need for excessive cranage. The ability to apply
pigments to FRPs shows a clear advantage in this
case, with the green structure blending unobtrusively
into the vegetated surroundings. A visit to the bridge
in 2012 showed virtually no signs of deterioration.
Fiberline bridge
The fiberline bridge in Kolding, Denmark, is another
example of an FRP bridge constructed over a rail
line with minimal track possessions. The bridge is
a cable stayed structure, fabricated from pultruded
sections and grates from Fiberline Composites A/S.
The structure spans 40m across a twin track mainline
railway. It is constructed asymmetrically, with the
tower offset from the track area and the larger span
crossing the tracks.
Completed in 1997, the bridge has a design life of
100 years, with no maintenance other than cosmetic
repairs anticipated in the first 50 years. Such a long
design life, with very low maintenance targets is
impressive considering that the structure is not a
crucial transport link.
Figure 9. Fiberline Bridge. Photo courtesy of Fiberline Composites
A/S.
West Mill bridge
The West Mill bridge, Oxfordshire, was built as a pilot
scheme for the ASSET® deck project. The ASSET®
deck project was undertaken by a consortium
including Mouchel and Fiberline Composites A/S.
ASSET® deck sections are pultruded FRP deck
sections as shown in Figure 10. The bridge was built
to replace an existing bridge, which was no longer
sufficient for traffic loads. It was the first FRP bridge
in Europe designed for road traffic. The bridge spans
10m across the River Cole. The project was intended
to trial using the ASSET deck system directly bonded
onto FRP main beams. The bridge was fabricated
using pultruded sections beams and ASSET® deck
sections in an in-situ factory built for the project. The
main beams were GFRP with longitudinal carbon fibre
reinforcing strands.

Figure 10. ASSET® deck profile. Courtesy of Fiberline Composites
A/S
Existing abutments were used and the main beams
of the bridge were connected into new reinforced
concrete diaphragm walls built on the abutments.
Reinforced concrete abutments and pavements
were constructed atop of the FRP superstructure,
effectively concealing the FRP components of the
bridge. Once fabrication was complete, the whole 37
tonne structure was craned into place in one lift.
The bridge opened in October 2002 and strain
gauges were installed to test the response of the
bridge to traffic loads and excitation from dynamic
loads. The project was subject to more media than
would normally be associated with a small highway
bridge, largely due to it being the UK’s first ‘plastic’
road bridge. The project was largely successful and
proved the engineering viability FRP bridges for
highways.
The project involved a consortium of European
companies and academic institutes, including
Skanska, Mouchel, Fiberline Composites A/S and
Oxfordshire County Council. A consortium brings
together the skills and resources of a variety of
experts and appears to be the model for success on
project trialling new technologies.
Comments on structures
FRP bridges have clear strengths for replacement and
remediation of existing assets. The lightweight nature
of FRP bridges allows them to be transported by road
in large sections ready for installation. Further, low-
weight allows rapid replacement, which is particularly
appealing for road and rail bridges where possessions
are required. An FRP replacement is often lighter
than the structure it replaces, reducing the need for
increasing the capacity of foundations.
Since the completion of the West Mill bridge, several
other FRP vehicle bridges have been completed
using ASSET® deck profiles including a 10m span
rail crossing at Standen Hey, The Mount Pleasant
Bridge over the M6 motorway and various projects in
Germany and Denmark. Not all projects to date have
used all-FRP structures, some opting to use hybrid
solutions with steel main beams with ASSET® deck
profiles.
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2011
A key driver in successful projects is clients that
prioritise lifecycle costs and performance over savings
on initial capital expenditure. The involvement of
research and development in projects is important,
because projects are often pushing boundaries of
technology. Designers and clients benefit from
engaging with manufactures, which often possess a
better knowledge of what is feasible to manufacture.
Figure 11. The Lleri bridge uses a hybrid combination of FRP
trusses mounted on existing wooden trestles. Picture supplied by
Pipex®.
Future of FRP bridges
Education and awareness
Awareness of FRPs potential for bridge construction
is a major factor in their development. Comparatively
few university structural engineering programmes
cover FRP design. It is understandable that courses
place greater emphasis on design of conventional
materials. University courses now have to cater for
environmental topics and computer analysis, which
can render courses too crowded for new material to
be introduced into syllabi.
Universities with a research programme for FRPs,
such as The University of Edinburgh, often include
modules on composites in structural engineering
degrees. There are also network groups and private
companies offering courses into composites in
construction. NetComposites Ltd, based in the UK,
runs courses covering awareness of composites
and developments in composite technologies.
NetComposites also provides a large resource base
for the composites industry in terms of information,
research and consultancy, which spans the
composites industry in different sectors.
Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures (ISIS)
Canada Research Network provides resources to
help civil engineers design, build and monitor FRP
structures. ISIS publishes lecture material for use
in university courses on FRP design and structural
health monitoring. ISIS has numerous partners in
industry, government and academia and aims to:
“Advance civil engineering to a world leadership
position, through the development and application of
FRPs and integrated intelligent FOS technologies, for
the benefit of Canadians”
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 97
Christopher Morris MEng
2011
This type of network group, which combines
the resources of many industry and academic
partners with clear aims for development in the civil
engineering sector, appears a productive means for
technology advancement. A crucial element of such
programs is the transfer of knowledge from research
in academia to widespread industry practice.
The use of digital media is an indispensable means
of transferring knowledge between sectors and
geographic regions. The availability of educational
material from ISIS to Canadian universities is an
example of digital media for low-cost knowledge
transfer.
Larger span structures
Larger spans and higher load capacity are a logical
direction for development of FRP bridges. In 2009
Acciona Infrastructuras completed the Alumuñénar
footbridge in Madrid, which at 44m in span and 3.5m
wide is currently the longest span FRP bridge in the
world. The structure comprises a monolithic 1.2m
deep carbon fibre channel beam with a deck
constructed from prefabricated reinforced concrete
slabs. The carbon fibre beam weighs 230kN and was
installed in 1 hour. The combination of this high
span-to-depth ratio, low weight and rapid installation
would have been difficult to achieve with conventional
materials. The project demonstrates the possibilities
that using FPPs allow.
Figure 12. The Alumuñénar bridge
Figure 13. The Asturias Bridge. The superstructure comprises a
40m continuous girder with 3 spans.
At the 2012 Composites in Civil Engineering
98  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Conference Paulotto et al. suggested that composite
hybrid structures were suitable for spans of 20m to
50m. Based on experiences of Acciona Infrastucturas
it was suggested that the best practice for such
spans with current technology was using glass/
carbon fibre FRP girders and cast in-situ concrete
decks with residual pultruded FRP formwork. It was
also suggested that the most appropriate method of
manufacture was resin-infusion, which could be made
more economical if both the fabric lay-up and resin
infusion could be automated.
There is interest in the viability of FRP cables for
long-span cable stayed bridges. This could potentially
allow longer spans to become viable for cable-stayed
bridges due to the low self-weight of the cables,
which would in turn reduce the cable sag. However,
this is at a conceptual stage and may be developed in
commercial reality in the future.
Conclusion
This paper has given an overview of design and
manufacture of FRP bridges for engineers unfamiliar
with this construction. It has also demonstrated
that FRPs are technically viable technical solutions
for medium span highway and pedestrian bridges
and that the spans feasible using FRPs are likely to
increase as technology develops. From an economic
perspective, the case studies presented in this
paper show that if costs for bridges are based on
lifecycle costs, FRP bridges and hybrid solutions
warrant consideration for many small to medium span
pedestrian and highway bridges.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge the assistance
of the following organisations which provided
assistance in producing this paper: Fiberline
Composites A/S, Pipex®, Federal Highways
Adminstration, Edinburgh University, Tony Gee and
Partners, ISIS CANADA, NetComposites, Journal of
Composites for Construction, Creative Pultrusions
Inc.
 Developments in fibre-reinforced polymer bridges in Europe and North America

References

2011
i Design of Advance Compost Materials. Leslie N
Phillips. 1990

ii Design with advanced composite materials. Leslie

N Phillips. 1990.

iii CIRIA C564: Fibre Reinforced Polymer

Composites in Construction. A. Cripps. 2002.

iv Advance Composite Materials with Applications to

Bridges.

v The design, construction and in-service

performance of the all composite Aberfeldy
footbridge. J Cadei and T Stratford.

vi Guide to the structural use of adhesives.

Institution of Structural Engineers. 1999.

vii Advanced Polymer Composites for Structural

Applications in Construction. Advanced
Composites in Construction 2004 Conference
Proceedings.

viii Purpose and justification for new design standards

regarding the use of fibre reinforced polymer
composites in civil engineering. E. Gutiérez, S.
Dimova, A. Pinto.

ix Design Manual for Roads and Bridges BD 90/05

Design of FRP bridges and highway structures.
Highways Agency. 2005.

x Financial Viability of Fibre-Reinforced Polymer

(FRP) Bridges. H. Nystrom, S. Watkins, A Nanni,
S. Murray. 2003.

xi Financial Viability of Fibre-Reinforced Polymer

(FRP) Bridges. H. Nystrom, S. Watkins, A Nanni,
S. Murray. 2003.

xii Design, Fabrication and Testing of an FRP

Superstructure. S Alampalli, G O’Conner, A.P.
Yannotti.

xiii Design, Fabrication and Testing of an FRP

Superstructure. S Alampalli, G O’Conner, A.P.
Yannotti.

xiv Lleida Footbridge Project File. PEDLTA. Available

from www.pedelta.com

xv ISIS website.

xvi FRP Girder Bridges: Lessons Learned in Spain

in the Last Decade. M. Hurtado, A. Bansal, C.
Paulotto, S. Primi. 2012

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 99
Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE
Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE
2011
Engineered bamboo houses for low-income
communities in Latin America
Abstract
This paper investigates low-cost engineered bamboo
houses in Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador,
and assesses them for their suitability for low-cost
housing. The conclusion is that well-engineered
bamboo designs have significant potential as a
sustainable, durable, seismically-resistant and
appropriate form of low-cost housing, however good
design and detailing is essential.
Biography
Sebastian Kaminski works as
a Structural Engineer in Arup
London, and is also a Director
of the development charity
Engage for Development.
He is involved in a number
of development projects
worldwide, and is currently
leading the design of a
seismically-resistant low-cost
housing project in El Salvador using local materials
Travel experience
The Educational Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award gave me
an excellent opportunity to conduct comprehensive
research on low-cost housing, and proved to be an
invaluable experience. Using the knowledge learnt,
we are now developing a low-cost housing solution
for El Salvador, which would have been impossible to
properly do without this investigation.
Synopsis
Bamboo has been used for thousands of years
for housing in many areas of the world because of
its strength, availability, fast growth and low cost,
however durability has demoted its modern position
to a poor man’s building material. This paper looks
at engineered bamboo houses that have become
popular in Latin America, and assesses them for
their suitability for low-cost housing. Three highly
seismic countries in Latin America – Costa Rica,
Colombia and Ecuador – were visited and modern
engineered bamboo low-cost housing projects
reviewed. Visual inspections and interviews were
conducted to determine the condition of the houses
and the attitudes of their occupants. This paper
suggests that well-engineered bamboo designs have
significant potential as a cheap, sustainable, durable,
seismically-resistant and appropriate form of low-
cost housing. However good design and detailing
is essential, especially with respect to durability,
maintenance and seismic resistance.
100  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Background to Latin America
With a population of 590 million and growing (World
Bank, 2011), Latin America is a fast-growing but still
primarily developing world region whose progress
has been stifled due to natural disasters, corruption,
poor political and economic policies, and conflict.
In 2010 for example, 31% of people lived below the
poverty line, with 12% below the extreme poverty
line (ECLAC, 2012). Recent estimates of the housing
deficit in Latin America are between 42-51 million
dwellings (this is the number of new houses required
to house all those in sub-standard, precariously
located or overcrowded housing, UN-Habitat, 2011).
Natural hazards, including earthquakes, volcanoes,
flooding and hurricanes, contribute significantly
towards this housing deficit. As the worst effects of
hurricanes tend to be confined to the Caribbean and
the Eastern seaboard of North and Central America,
one of Latin American mainland’s greatest natural
hazards is arguably earthquakes, due to the west
coast lying on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Many areas
experience a Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) in
excess of 0.4g (at 10% probability of exceedance in
50 years), illustrated by the 2010 Chile earthquake
which destroyed or severely damaged 8.8% of the
total population’s housing, and up to 20% in one
region alone (Ministerio de Planificación Gobierno de
Chile, n.d.).
In addition to natural hazards, the tropical
environment of Central America and much of the
northern and central areas of South America has high
rainfall, high humidity and is prevalent with termites
and borer beetles, all of which can lead to rapid
deterioration of exposed and susceptible natural
building materials such as timber or bamboo.
All three countries investigated in this study – Costa
Rica, Colombia and Ecuador – have aggressive
climates and are extremely seismic.
History of vernacular housing styles in Latin
America
Vernacular (traditional) housing designs develop to
become well-suited to the culture and region which
they are situated (Gutiérrez, 2004). Within many areas
of Latin America two vernacular designs are the most
common: adobe and a derivative of wattle-and-daub,
both of which use local materials, are relatively cheap
to construct and have a large thermal mass.
 Engineered bamboo houses for low-income communities in Latin America

2011
or bamboo frame, clad in a matrix of split bamboo,
cane, twigs or timber strips, and finally plastered
in manure or soil, sometimes with straw added for
strength (Figures 1 to 3). Historically, the roof was
constructed from palm fronds, but switched to cooler
yet heavier tiles after the Spanish invasion of Central
America (López, Bommer, & Méndez, 2004). Figures
4 to 6 present some of the materials used to make up
the different wall matrices for bahareque.

Figure 1. Traditional Wattle-and-Daub, Latin America (Carazas

-Aedo & Rivero-Olmos, 2013)

Figure 4. Esterilla (Colombia) or caña picada (Ecuador): Sheets of

bamboo formed by physically opening / splitting a large diameter
Figure 2. Bahareque damaged by termites and rot, El Salvador culm along its length and then unrolling it

Figure 3. Well-maintained bahareque housing, Colombia (Gutiérrez,

2004)

Historically, adobe was more common in poorer and/

or rural areas and typically consisted of unreinforced
unfired mud bricks and a simple timber or bamboo Figure 5. Reglilla (Colombia) or latillas (Ecuador): Laths of bamboo
formed by cutting a large diameter culm along its length into strips
roof. The local derivatives of wattle-and-daub on the
other hand were more popular in relatively wealthier
and/or urban areas, and are known as bahareque in
El Salvador, quincha in Peru, cuje in Cuba, pao pique
in Brazil and tabiquería in other countries (Carazas-
Aedo & Rivero-Olmos, 2013.) – for the purposes of
this paper, all of these derivatives will be referred to as
bahareque. Bahareque typically consists of a timber

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 101
Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE
2011
Figure 6. Caña brava
Properly constructed and maintained bahareque
houses have been shown to possess good structural
unity and flexibility, and therefore have a surprisingly
high degree of seismic resistance (López, Bommer
& Méndez, 2004, and Gutiérrez, 2000). However,
bahareque requires a reasonable standard of
construction, detailing and maintenance so as
not to deteriorate under rot or insect attack. Well-
constructed bahareque is normally elevated on
top of a rock or brick upstand to reduce the risks
of dampness, has a good roof overhang and uses
treated timber and bamboo (often with pig soap).
However, traditional treatments such as these are not
entirely effective, and damage due to termites and
borer beetles is still common. Therefore, frequent
maintenance is essential, including periodic rendering
and painting, replacing damaged elements and
controlling water ingress. In addition, pre-colonial
bahareque used palm fronds for the roofing, while the
Spanish introduced and then enforced clay tiles for
the roofing – this change greatly increased the dead
loads on the roof and hence the seismic demand
placed on the structure.
Another important disadvantage of both adobe
and bahareque is that they are prone to harbouring
insects, notably ‘the kissing bug’ or chinche as it is
known locally. This small biting insect can transmit
Chagas Disease, a potentially life-threatening illness
that is estimated to currently affect 10 million people
worldwide, mostly in Latin America (WHO, 2010).
A final important consideration when evaluating
low-cost housing is social status. In whatever socio-
economic bracket people are in, they tend to aspire
to have what they perceive to be a better, more
durable and safer house, and one which reflects
a higher level of prosperity in comparison to their
neighbours. In this respect, poor communities across
Latin America generally seem to prefer more modern
looking houses such as masonry, as opposed to
bahareque or adobe (López, Bommer & Méndez,
2004, Gutiérrez, 2004).
102  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Current trends in low-cost housing designs in
Latin America
In Latin America there are a large range of different
engineered permanent low-cost house designs that
have been constructed, such as confined masonry,
reinforced hollow blockwork, pre-fabricated concrete
and steel frames with masonry infill. Unfortunately,
‘engineered’ does not always mean ‘well-engineered’,
and the author has come across countless examples
of new housing projects involving charities and
governments that have not been properly designed,
especially in seismic areas.
Low-cost housing in seismic areas that has not
been ‘engineered’ will in many cases experience
considerable damage due to insufficient maintenance
or design issues such as the introduction of additional
floors or a heavy roof.
Bamboo
Bamboo tends to grow in a ‘belt’ running through
tropical, subtropical and temperate climates around
the globe. More than 1000 different species have
been identified, with diameters ranging from 10mm
to 200mm, wall thicknesses from <10% of the
external diameter to completely solid, and culm (stem)
heights exceeding 30m (Janssen, 2000). Bamboo is
technically a form of grass and can grow up to 25m in
6 months, although the culms take typically 4-6 years
to mature.
A bamboo culm is broken up by nodes, with the
space in-between nodes known as the internode.
Within the internodes, cellulose fibres run parallel
to the length of the culm, while at the internodes
they intersect, some of them crossing into the nodal
diaphragm. These fibres are about six times more
numerous on the outside of the culm compared to
the inside. A weak material known as lignin holds
these strong fibres together, which is what normally
governs the strength of a bamboo culm. Providing
a protective shell around the cellulose is a tough
silica layer approx. 0.25mm thick, which is relatively
impermeable.
One large diameter species of bamboo particularly
well-suited to structural use is Guadua angustofolia
Kunth, or simply guadua, common throughout Latin
America but especially Colombia, Ecuador and
Venezuela (Trujillo, 2007). Guadua is particularly
strong, tough and grows comparatively straight
when compared to other species (Londoño et al.,
2002), possessing very good structural properties
such as allowable stresses in bending, tension and
compression parallel-to-grain all around 15N/mm2
(Asociación Colombiana de Ingeniería Sísmica, 2010).
However compression perpendicular-to-grain and
shear are only 1.4 and 1.2N/mm2 respectively, which
when combined with the hollow and circular nature
of bamboo makes joints the most difficult to properly
design and also where most structural failures are
likely to first occur.
 Engineered bamboo houses for low-income communities in Latin America

2011
Bamboo has less natural durability than most woods In 1988 the Costa Rican National Bamboo
(Janssen, 2000), and in addition, the hollow nature Project (Proyecto Nacional de Bambú – PNB) was
of bamboo means that any insect or fungal damage established (Gutiérrez, 2000). This programme
that does occur reduces the total section by a larger developed and implemented an engineered form
proportion than when compared to a solid section of of bamboo bahareque for low-cost housing, which
timber. combined the local vernacular form of hollow
bahareque with bamboo bahareque technology from
Cane Colombia. The aim of the project was to develop a
cheaper and more sustainable form of housing.
While cane refers to a wide variety of different species
of grass, for the purposes of this paper cane shall
refer to the species Gynerium sagittatum, known as
‘caña brava’ in Costa Rica or ‘vara de castilla’ in
El Salvador. This hollow giant reed typically reaches
6-8m high with a diameter at maturity of 10-30mm.
From the outside caña brava looks nearly identical to
smaller diameter bamboos, sharing similar properties
such as its lack of natural durability.

Design codes
Research into bamboo is still very much in its infancy
when compared to timber. A few bamboo structural
design codes in some form exist throughout the
world, with the Colombian NSR-10 (2010) being
the most detailed. These codes when combined
with other research that is freely available provide a
relatively good understanding of the axial, bending
and shear behaviour of large diameter bamboo culms,
in addition to basic guidance on the design of cement
rendered bamboo panels and bolted connections.
However, aspects which are clearly lacking are:

1. sufficient material properties for many different

species of bamboo;

2. sufficient data and research on the behaviour of

connections.

Accordingly, in order to develop an efficient structural

design using bamboo, testing would typically need to
be required on both the connections and probably the
species. A less costly alternative would be to simply
design more conservatively – this latter approach is
more suited to low-rise low-cost housing.
Modern engineered bamboo housing in Latin
America
National Bamboo Project, Costa Rica
There is no significant traditional experience of
construction with bamboo in Costa Rica or indeed
Central America, mainly due to the scarcity of
adequate structural bamboos such as guadua. Local
bahareque is therefore generally built using a timber
frame clad in caña brava.
Figures 7 and 8. PNB house, using guadua frame, esterilla and
reglilla, Costa Rica
The first stage of the project involved the planting of
several hundred hectares of guadua in Costa Rica.
Simultaneously, the PNB began the design and
construction of engineered housing using a simple
timber frame clad in caña brava and finally rendered
in cement mortar. Once the guadua reached maturity
(3-5 years), new cheaper houses were built with
the timber replaced with whole bamboo culms and
the caña brava replaced with esterilla made from
the guadua culms (Figures 7 and 8). In total up until
1995 around 4000 of the two types of single-storey
low-cost houses were built for poor communities who
had been living in sub-standard or cramped housing
across the country.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 103
Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE
2011
Figure 9. Base of guadua column connection to PNB house,
constructed by inserting a steel rod into the culm and filling with
mortar while upside down, then casting the steel rod into the
foundation
Structure
The PNB houses vary in layout and design, but
broadly consist of the following:
–– A reinforced concrete ground beam
–– Two courses of reinforced masonry upstand
–– An unreinforced concrete ground slab
–– Frame and walls consisting of either:
1. A durable hardwood frame (caobilla, also
known as Brazilian Mahogany) clad in
caña brava on one side only. Simple nailed
connections were used throughout. Earlier
frames were braced.
2. A treated guadua frame clad in esterilla or
reglilla on one side only. Guadua-to-guadua
connections used bolts, guadua-to-foundation
connections used cast-in steel reinforcement
rods (Figure 9), and esterilla and reglilla was all
fixed with nails.
–– Fine steel chicken mesh nailed to the caña brava
or esterilla and finally cement render applied to
both sides.
–– Lightweight roofing of corrugated iron.
–– Habitable space was typically 30-50m2, including
a bathroom, living room and kitchen.
Methods of preservative treatment
The PNB Project developed very efficient and effective
methods of preserving all of the bamboo used, which
have been adopted by other organisations around the
world. After extensive research into different types of
preservative, boron was finally identified as the most
appropriate preservative because of its availability,
effectiveness, price, ease of application and low-
toxicity to humans.
To treat the whole guadua culms the modified
boucherie sap-displacement method was used,
104  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
involving pumping a boron solution through the
bamboo culm so that the sap in the vessels was
replaced by the preservative (Figure 10). For
guadua¸ the modified boucherie method provides
the best results regarding penetration, distribution
and retention of the preservative, and is less time
consuming than alternatives (each culm can be
treated in under half an hour) (Liese, Gutiérrez, &
González, 2002). However, its main disadvantage is
that it must be conducted on very fresh culms to be
effective.
To treat the caña brava, esterilla and reglilla a new
dip-diffusion method was developed. This involved
dipping the material into a boron solution for 5-10
minutes, removing it and draining off the excess
liquid, wrapping it in plastic and allowing the boron
solution to diffuse through the cane or bamboo for
10-20 days, after which it was left to dry before use.
The dip-diffusion method is only suitable for small
section sizes of cane or bamboo, however was
proven to be effective after conducting chemical
impregnation assessments and is much more efficient
than standard diffusion methods (Liese, Gutiérrez &
González, 2002).
Figure 10. Equipment for boucherie treatment of bamboo, Costa
Rica
Structural testing
In order to justify the structural design of the PNB
houses, especially regarding stability, in 1990 the
Materials and Structural Models National Laboratory
of the University of Costa Rica constructed 13
engineered bahareque wall panels and subjected
them to monotonic in-plane load (Mendoza &
Villalobos, 1990). The panels consisted of a timber
frame clad in either caña brava or esterilla and
rendered with cement mortar.
These tests demonstrated that:
–– The load capacity of the wall panels is
considerably greater than the seismic load
demand from the Costa Rican code.
–– Failure occurred by either buckling of the leading
stud in compression or a tensile failure of the rear
stud.
–– The cement render did not tend to spall,
regardless of the use of chicken mesh.

In 2004, additional cyclical tests were conducted
on similar specimens. This research confirmed the
original test results, also suggesting that the walls
had some ductility under cyclic loading and indicating
stiffness degradation with increasing cycles and
displacement levels (Gonzalez & Gutierrez, 2003).
Further confirmation of the strength of these types
of panels was seen when a number of newly
constructed PNB houses survived a Magnitude Mw
7.8 earthquake in Límon in 1991, with local MMI
intensities up to IX (Gonzalez & Gutierrez, 2003).
Based on these tests, it is considered that these
wall panels tend to work compositely, with the
cement render taking most of the load as a diagonal
compression strut, the wall matrix controlling cracking
and out-of-plane buckling and the timber studs taking
the vertical tension induced by the diagonal strut.
Colombia
Colombia has an abundance of bamboo, especially
guadua, and in more recent times some of the largest
and most complex engineered bamboo structures in
the world have been built there.
In 1999 a Magnitude Mw 6.4 earthquake struck
the coffee-growing region of Colombia, resulting in
300,000 people made homeless (Tistl & Velásquez,
2002). After this event it was noticed that while the
more modern masonry and reinforced concrete
buildings suffered significant damage and often
collapsed, the vernacular bahareque style of housing
fared significantly better (Trujillo, 2007). As such,
a number of NGOs and international development
agencies implemented housing reconstruction
projects that principally used bamboo for the
structure following the bahareque style, but with
engineering input and modern details. This interest
spurred the Colombian Earthquake Engineering
Association to conduct research into engineered
bahareque, which included a series of wall panel
tests in racking. Following this, the Construction
Manual for Seismically-Resistant Housing using
Mortared Bahareque was written (Prieto, Mogollón
& Farbiarz, 2002), to which some of the new
bamboo houses were designed (some of the
projects were implemented before this new research
was published). This work was based around the
traditional form of bahareque that uses esterilla nailed
onto a guadua frame, but improved it by engineering
the joints and replacing the mud or manure render
with cement mortar.
Methods of preservative treatment
A number of different treatment methods for bamboo
are currently used in Colombia, of which two of the
most popular currently are immersion and injection.
After treatment, the culms need to be dried before
use as otherwise cracking and fissuring can occur
after installation as the culms shrink radially at the
connections. Because fissuring can also occur
during drying before installation, it is best conducted
by gradually reducing the moisture content to the
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Engineered bamboo houses for low-income communities in Latin America
2011
ambient level using various stages, beginning with
drying outside, followed by a solar kiln, followed by a
heated kiln.
Immersion
The immersion method involves cleaning and then
submerging the whole culms in a hot boric acid bath
for approximately 8 hours (Figure 11). Immersion is
one of the simplest and most economical methods of
treating bamboo, offering good protection against
insects (Liese & Kumar, 2003). It also does not have
to be conducted on culms as fresh as are required by
the modified boucherie method, making it more
suitable in areas where the source of the bamboo is
further from the treatment plant.
Figure 11. Immersion of bamboo in boric acid solution, Colombia
Injection
The injection method involves drilling a small hole into
each internode and injecting a boron solution, which
is then absorbed by the bamboo through the more
permeable internal parts of the culm. The advantages
of this method are that it allows re-application of the
treatment through the life of the culm, although it is
expected to be most effective when the culm is still
fresh.
Structural testing
The seismic testing conducted after the coffee-
growing region earthquake in 1999 involved racking
tests on a variety of panels with different aspect
ratios, with and without in-plane bracing, using
principally guadua clad in esterilla, fine steel chicken
mesh and cement render. The results of the tests
were generally similar to those obtained in Costa
Rica.
Further testing has also recently been conducted on
a full-scale two-storey braced engineered bamboo
house subjected to uni-directional loading from a
shake table (Figure 12). This testing was successful,
and the design was found to comply comfortably with
the Colombian seismic design code.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 105
Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE
2011
• Flooring can be either MDP or timber panels.

• Roofing is corrugated cement-fibreboard sheeting.

Figure 12. Full-scale two storey house after uni-directional shake Figure 13. VHC basic house, with caña picada pre-fabricated wall
table test at the University de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia panels, Ecuador (Morán, 2012)

Viviendas del Hogar de Cristo, Ecuador
In Ecuador elevated houses are historically very
popular since this is an effective way to escape
moisture and flooding, and as such low-cost housing
tends to follow this trend.
The VHC houses are sold to beneficiaries on credit
over 35 months – the incentive behind selling as
opposed to donating is so that they are much more
likely to take ownership of the house.

Since 1971 a Christian Ecuadorean NGO named

Viviendas del Hogar de Cristo (VHC) have been
building temporary simple bamboo and timber
houses for the poorest communities in the region.
Approximately 10,000 of these houses are built per
year, pre-fabricated into panels in their factory and
then assembled on site in one day with six people
(Figure 13). VHC currently produce two slightly
different designs of their elevated housing:

–– Timber columns (untreated Fernán Sánchez)

embedded directly into the soil supporting
the elevated single-roomed house, with small
haunches for lateral bracing.

–– Pre-fabricated wall panels of house consist of

either:
1. Cana picada nailed onto a frame of 2”x4”
timbers (untreated Cow Tree). Bamboo is
treated with boron by either immersion in the
factory or by spraying by the beneficiary.
2. Medium density particleboard (MDP) panels.
MDP used is a local variety especially
developed to be more resistant to humidity.
VHC see this design as very much a temporary
shelter, and as such the house is clearly very
susceptible to humidity and insect attack, with the
timber lasting around ten years and the bamboo
approximately five. However, the beneficiaries are
encouraged to maintain and improve the house,
by for example plastering the bamboo with cement
render and adding blockwork to the area below the
house.
Figure 14. New elevated permanent low-cost house design using a
rendered guadua and caña picada frame, Ecuador (Morán, 2012)
In the future VHC aim to switch completely to using
MDP which they feel is more resistant to humidity.
They also aim to treat all of their bamboo by the
immersion method which they feel is more effective.
In addition to VHC, there is also a considerable
amount of new research and work being conducted
on bamboo in Ecuador, such as a bamboo house
construction manual aimed at beneficiaries (Morán,
2011), and model bamboo houses (Figure 14).
House inspections and interviews
In Costa Rica, 26 PNB houses were inspected
externally by the author, of which three had a guadua
frame and 23 had a timber frame. Of these, 21 were
also inspected internally and 20 interviews with the
beneficiaries were carried out. The houses seen
were in six different communities in four areas of the
country, all having been built between 12 and 24
years ago and with varying layouts on plan.

106  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Engineered bamboo houses for low-income communities in Latin America

2011
In Colombia, 29 low-cost engineered bamboo
houses, all constructed in the coffee-growing region
after the 1999 earthquake, were inspected externally
and internally, and interviews with the beneficiaries
conducted by the author. Of these there were eight
different designs, two of them being one-off model
houses and the rest built in large numbers (ranging
from fifty to several hundred). The plan layout,
structure and detailing varied between each of these
designs, with a mixture of single and two storey, and
terraced and detached houses seen (Figures 15-17).
All designs bar one used bamboo bracing for the
primary stability system, and walling systems were
typically single-skin esterilla or reglilla, hollow double- Figure 17. Barrio Español, Barcelona, Colombia
skin esterilla or a single skin steel mesh, all rendered
in cement mortar. Roofs typically consisted of clay Non-structural
tiles or lightweight fibrous corrugate sheets, some of
which may contain asbestos. Boron treatment was –– Money was a large factor constraining the proper
used on all houses, the exact method of treatment for maintenance of all houses.
each being unclear but many of them apparently still
required injection treatment on a periodic basis by the –– Many beneficiaries complained of uncomfortable
beneficiaries (typically once or twice a year). living temperatures during the hottest parts of the
day. The two-storey houses all tended to be very
Because all of the inspections were non-intrusive the hot upstairs, while the single-storey houses were
condition of hidden elements could not be definitively generally more acceptable. Some beneficiaries
determined. A list of the main findings of the survey complained that the house would sometimes get
and interviews is presented below: very cold at night.

–– Most beneficiaries complained of mice inside

the house, with many mentioning other vermin
such as rats, snakes, cockroaches, mosquitoes,
ants, vampire bats, fleas and chinche. Animal
infestations tended to be in the terraced houses
and those with a hollow double skin wall, both
presumably because they provide more areas
for vermin to live such as in the wall cavity and
between party walls.

–– Nearly all PNB beneficiaries presented a positive

opinion of the houses, while the beneficiaries in
Colombia had more negative comments on their
houses. The main aspects that the beneficiaries
disliked were the lack of durability of bamboo,
bad design detailing where water was coming into
the house during rain, the vermin that the house
attracted and the uncomfortable temperatures
inside the house.
Figure 15. Barrio Italiano, Barcelona, Colombia
–– Most beneficiaries maintained a strong preference
for masonry, which they consider to be the most
durable and seismically-resistant, remain cool
in the summer and are associated with a higher
standard of living.

Figure 16. Girardot, Cundinamarca, Colombia (Michael Ramage)

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 107
Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE

Structural
2011
–– Most houses appeared to be in good condition,
although the younger Colombian houses typically
had more problems than the PNB houses.
–– All designs had robust stability systems, usually
braced frames in the Colombian houses (Figure
18).
–– Many of the houses had either extensions or
modifications to the existing house, such as
removal of walls or addition of windows. The
extensions were typically poorly built and badly
connected to the existing structure, while some
of the modifications made large changes to the
building, leading to a lack of out-of-plane capacity
in some walls.
–– Cracking in the walls was generally minimal,
however delamination and spalling was more
common in Colombia, especially in areas exposed
to water. In these locations the chicken mesh
had completely corroded through, although the
esterilla still appeared to be in good condition
(Figure 22). This spalling is likely to have been
due to a combination of poor mortar mix designs,
water ingress and a weak bond to the esterilla.
–– In some houses gaps were seen between the
walls and both the external concrete plinth and
the internal in-fill slab. Some of these gaps
showed evidence of insect entry (Figure 23).

–– Little evidence of water damage seen in the

PNB houses, although the base of many of the
external walls was often mouldy which implies
there may be some rotting of some of the lower
canes inside the wall. However many houses in
Colombia, especially most of the two-storey ones,
complained of water ingress during heavy rainfall,
to the extent that the walls would get damp. In
some cases the render had started spalling off
internally as a result. This leaking occurred due
to short roof overhangs, bad drip detailing from
the roof, bad window detailing and permeability
of the walls. The two-storey houses suffered
most because inevitably much more wall was
openly exposed. Aside from being a nuisance for
the beneficiaries, the dampness in the walls is a
serious structural concern. This is especially the
case for the houses that have no diagonal bracing
and so rely entirely on the shear walls for stability,
since rotting of the esterilla or rusting of the steel
mesh inside the wall may lead to failure of the
unreinforced render in an earthquake.

–– No major insect damage was seen to internal

guadua and esterilla (except in untreated elements
added by the owners – Figure 19), however in Figure 18. Interior of upper storey of house, showing diaphragm
all cases guadua that had been exposed to the and wall bracing, Colombia
elements, regardless of whether it was treated
or how it was detailed, was deteriorating (Figure
20). It is also worth noting that old termite shelter
tubes were spotted in many houses, suggesting
there may be hidden damage to the timber and/
or cane

–– In one community in Costa Rica severe termite

damage to the timber frame and the cane was
found in all houses, with visible 100% section
loss to many of the elements, leaving the houses
unable to resist lateral loading (Figure 21).
However, these houses were situated near a river
which floods every year and in addition used
untreated cane and less thoroughly-selected
timber.

Figure 19. Borer beetle attack in untreated esterilla added by

owner – treated esterilla showed no damage, Colombia

108  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Engineered bamboo houses for low-income communities in Latin America

2011
Figure 20. Deterioration of exposed bamboo culms, Colombia Figure 23. Cracked unreinforced concrete plinth around house with
emerging termite shelter tube visible, PNB houses

Other projects around the world

There are also many other good examples of
engineered-bamboo houses and other important
bamboo research within these same countries and
across the world, including Peru, Brazil, Indonesia,
China and India.

Conclusions and recommendations

Based on this investigation, the following conclusions
and recommendations are made with regards to
future designs of low-cost engineered bamboo
housing, especially in seismic areas and aggressive
environments.

–– Bamboo and cane must be well protected from

both moisture and insect attack. Good detailing
such as elevated column and wall bases, a large
overhang, good drip details and periodic painting
of the walls will help against rot, while boron
appears to be by far the most appropriate and
best chemical to control insect attack. Bamboo
exposed to the elements, however it is treated
or maintained, is expected to always deteriorate
within the design life of the house.

–– Single storey detached bamboo houses tend to

Figure 21. 100% section loss to sole plate and wall stud from be preferred by beneficiaries as they are easier to
termite attack, PNB houses maintain, tend to experience less water damage
and are cooler than multi-storey terraced houses.

–– Possible stability systems for bamboo houses

include braced frames and composite cement
rendered shear walls using cane or split bamboo.
Two-storey houses should use a braced frame
system with robust and well-detailed bracing
connections, while single-storey houses may only
need a composite shear wall system. Tie-downs
to the foundations are likely to be required for
both stability systems to control overturning.
For the shear walls, adequate spacing between
the canes or split bamboo is recommended to
ensure a good mortar bond and reduce the risk of
spalling.
Figure 22. Spalling of mortar render, Colombia

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 109
Sebastian Kaminski MEng (Hons) ACGI MIStructE
2011
–– Beneficiaries must be involved at every stage in
the design process. An important consideration
is the appropriateness of the design and whether
potential beneficiaries would accept to live in a
bamboo house, as they may perceive this form
of construction to be of a low standard and low
social standing.
Summary
This paper has shown that engineered low-cost
bamboo houses have the potential to offer a more
sustainable, appropriate and seismically-resilient
alternative to more modern forms of construction.
They are particularly suited to countries with
abundant and adequate types of bamboo and a
tradition of using bamboo in housing, since a local
skill set will already be available. As for any low-cost
housing project, beneficiary involvement is essential
throughout the design and implementation process,
however despite being historically associated with a
low socio-economic status, properly thought-through
bamboo housing projects have the ability to be well-
accepted by local communities. Finally, durability is a
primary concern and as such great emphasis should
be placed on treatment and detailing to mitigate this.
With the advent of bamboo design codes this decade
and the considerable research that is still being done
in this field, it is hoped that in the future bamboo can
be used more frequently for low-cost housing when
appropriate to do so, and provide beneficiaries with a
safe, comfortable and resilient home.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by contributions from
the Educational Trust of The Institution of Structural
Engineers through the Pai Lin Li Travel Award 2011,
and from Arup. This work could not have been done
without the extremely kind and helpful support of a
large number of people: Ana Cecilia Chavez Robles,
Andrew Lawrence, David Trujillo, Guillermo González,
Guillermo González Beltrán, Jaime Jaramillo, Jairo
Velásquez, Jorge Gutiérrez, Jorge Morán, Juan
Francisco Correal Daza, Lisa Bunclark, Luis Felipe
López Muñoz and Ximena Londoño. Their time,
advice and assistance was incredible, both in-
country and after, and their enthusiasm for helping
poor communities in developing countries was truly
inspiring.
110  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
References
World Bank (2011) Latin America’s population growth
slows but region’s services still insufficient. [Online].
Available at: http://go.worldbank.org/I6VGAJX960
(Accessed: July 2012)
ECLAC (2012) CEPALSTAT Database. [Online].
Available at: http://www.eclac.cl/estadisticas/default.
asp?idioma=IN (Accessed: July 2012)
UN-Habitat (2011) Affordable Land and Housing in
Latin America and the Caribbean. Nairobi, UN-Habitat
Ministerio de Planificación Gobierno de Chile (n.d.)
Encuesta Post Terremoto: Principales resultados –
Efectos en la calidad de vida de la población afectada
por el terremoto/tsunami. Chile: Ministerio de
Planificación Gobierno de Chile
Gutiérrez, J. (2004) ‘Notes on the seismic adequacy
of vernacular buildings’, 13th World Conference on
Earthquake Engineering. Vancouver, Canada, August
1-6 2004. Paper No. 5011
Carazas-Aedo, W, Rivero-Olmos, A. (2013) A Wattle
and Daub Anti-seismic Construction Handbook.
[Online]. Available at: http://www.misereor.org/
fileadmin/redaktion/Wattledaub%20handbook%20
anti-seismic%20construction.pdf (Accessed: May
2013)
López, M., Bommer, J., Méndez, P. (2004) ‘The
seismic performance of bahareque dwellings in El
Salvador’, 13th World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering. Vancouver, Canada, August 1-6 2004.
Paper No. 2646
Gutiérrez, J. (2000) Technical Report 19: Structural
adequacy of traditional bamboo housing in Latin
America. Beijing: INBAR
WHO (2010) Fact sheet 340: Chagas disease.
[Online]. Available at: http://www.who.int/
mediacentre/factsheets/fs340/en/index.html
(Accessed: July 2012)
Janssen, J. (2000) Technical Report 20: Designing
and Building with Bamboo. Beijing: INBAR
Trujillo, D. (2007) ‘Bamboo structures in Colombia’.
The Structural Engineer, March 2007, pp.25-30.
Londoño, X., Camayo, G., Riaño, N., López, Y.
(2002) ‘Characterization of the anatomy of Guadua
angustifolia culms’, Bamboo Science and Culture:
The journal of the American Bamboo Society, 16(1),
pp.18-31.
Asociación Colombiana de Ingeniería Sísmica (2010)
NSR-10 Reglamento Colombiano de construcción
sismo resistente. Bogota: Asociación Colombiana de
Ingeniería Sísmica
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Liese, W., Gutiérrez, J., González, G. (2002)
‘Preservation of bamboo for the construction
of houses for low income people’, Bamboo for
Sustainable Development, pp.481-494.

Mendoza, H, Villalobos, C. (1990) Capacidad

Estructural de Paneles de Bambú. Graduation
Project, University of Costa Rica, School of Civil
Engineering

Gonzalez, G., Gutierrez, J. (2003) Cyclic Load Testing

of Bamboo Bahareque Shear Walls for housing
protection in Earthquake Prone Areas. Materials and
Structural Models National Laboratory, School of Civil
Engineering, University of Costa Rica

Tistl, M., Velásquez, J. (2002) ‘Roofs instead of tends:

a reconstruction project in the Colombian Coffee
Zone after the Earthquake of January 25th, 1999’,
Proceedings of the International Workshop on the
Role of Bamboo in Disaster Avoidance. Guayaquil,
Ecuador, 6-8 August 2001. pp.140-148.

Prieto, S., Mogollón, J., Farbiarz, J. (2002) ‘Manual

for earthquake-resistant construction of one and
two storey houses with cemented bahareque’,
Proceedings of the International Workshop on the
Role of Bamboo in Disaster Avoidance. Guayaquil,
Ecuador, 6-8 August 2001. pp.149-166.

Liese, W., Kumar, S. (2003) INBAR Technical Report

22: Bamboo Preservation Compendium. Beijing:
INBAR

Ramage, M. (20012) Personal photo collection.

VHC (n.d.) Servicio de vivienda. Presentation,

Guayaquil: VHC

Morán, J. (2011) Construir con guadúa. Quito: INBAR

Morán, J. (2012) Personal photo collection.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 111
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD

John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD

2012

Form: an adventure in concrete and brick

Abstract and ideas for future work are presented. Covering
Form active design can facilitate architecturally European and South American construction the
interesting, structurally optimised, materially efficient travel award provides a unique perspective on the
construction. This paper set out to consider how political, social, economic and technical demands of
prestressed brick, and flexibly formed concrete, can sustainable and materially efficient construction.
influence future possibilities for globally sustainable
construction. Relationships between these complex demands will
be considered to demonstrate the important role that
Biography structural engineers can have in facilitating globally
sustainable construction through their choices of form
Dr John Orr is a lecturer in and material.
sustainable construction at
the University of Bath, UK. Introduction
He received his MEng and
PhD degrees from the same Against a backdrop of carbon dioxide emissions
institution in 2009 and 2012 reduction targets (Figure 1), recognition of the impact
respectively. His research construction has on the environment and an
interests include the design increasing focus on sustainability, design philosophies
of concrete structures using centred around the need to put structural material
fabric formwork and the shear only where it is required are increasingly desirable. In
behaviour and computational order to meet the aims of the Climate Change Act
modelling of concrete. (2008), changes in the way we design and build will
be required. In this paper opportunities are discussed
Travel experience from both current and historical processes - fabric
formwork and the thin shells of Eladio Dieste.
The Pai Lin Li Travel Award gave me the opportunity
to investigate two innovative forms of sustainable
800
construction in South America. In Chile, the use
(Kyoto Greenhouse Gas Basket)

of fabric formwork at the Open City was a great 700

inspiration for me, being closely linked to my research 600
2020 Target = 34% reduction
on 1990 level
interests. The Open City’s pedagogy, using poetry
MtCO2e

500
and art to activate design, is perhaps unique and
gave me a new perspective on how we learn. I am 400
indebted to the teachers and students who gave up 300
so much time to involve me in their work. In Uruguay, 200
Eladio Dieste’s shell structures illustrated to me the 2050 Target = 80% reduction
100
fundamental role structural mechanics can play in on 1990 level
sustainable design. The whole experience was truly 0
inspiring, providing me with new research and travel 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
ideas as well as new contacts for future research Year
collaborations.
Figure 1. Emissions reductions targets to 2050
(DECC, 2013)
Synopsis
The principles of form active design can facilitate
architecturally interesting, structurally optimised,
materially efficient construction. This paper describes
the result of a travel scholarship undertaken in 2013
and funded by The Institution of Structural Engineers’
Educational Trust Pai Lin Li Travel Award.

The paper sets out to illustrate 1) how the concrete

construction industry may be positively influenced
by recent advances in flexible formwork technology, Figure 2. Fabric formed beams and columns.
towards an aim of low carbon construction and 2)
how the prestressed brickwork and construction
techniques of Eladio Dieste might be utilised
to influence the future direction of form active
construction across the world. Links between
these two objectives are made, before conclusions

112  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Fabric formwork
Research at the University of Winnipeg (Hashemian,
2012; West, 2003), the University of Edinburgh (Lee,
2010) the University of Bath (Orr, 2012) and others
(see Orr et al., 2012) has shown that by replacing
conventional rigid concrete formwork systems with
lightweight, high strength, low cost, sheets of fabric,
significant embodied carbon savings in new concrete
structures can be achieved. In addition, the use of a
flexible, permeable mould provides durability benefits
by allowing air and water to escape during the curing
process (Orr, 2012). Architecturally, a flexible mould
provides opportunities for innovation in form (Figure 2)
Structural engineering research has covered both
beams (where material reductions of up to 40%
have been achieved in fabric cast beams, when
compared to equivalent strength prismatic sections
(Orr, 2012; Lee, 2010)) and shells, where processes
for their design and, crucially, construction, have
been the focus (Orr, 2012; Orr et al., 2012). In both,
the principle of providing a means to create low-
material use, efficient structures remains. This new
construction process represents a step change in the
way that concrete is used as a structural material.
Further opportunities for fabric formwork include the
use of low-carbon cement replacements, prestressed
reinforcement and nonmetallic reinforcement, all of
which offer the potential for further benefits. These
aspects also form part of ongoing research by the
author and others.
The Open City, Chile
Located 30km North of the city of Valparaíso (Figure
3), The Open City is a 300ha area of the Chilean
coast dedicated to cultural discovery in the continent
of America.
The City is closely linked with the School of
Architecture at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Valparaíso (PUCV), which was founded in 1952 by a
group of architects and poets, including Godofredo
Iommi (b.1917;d.2001).
Iommi’s poem ‘Amereida’ (1967) discusses the origin
and destiny of being an ‘American’. Amereida, and
acts of poetry more generally, form a strong part
of the teaching and ethos of the PUCV School of
Architecture. In 1970, at a time of social upheaval in
Chile which led to an economic depression in 1972
and the military coup of General Pinochet in 1973, the
founding group at PUCV purchased the land at the
Open City to act as a place with a particular way to
live, work and study in America.
Today the Open City today is home to around 30
people, living and working together (the majority also
teach at PUCV). Throughout the City are some 29
works of architecture, sculpture and art that have
been undertaken since the founding of the city (Figure
4). A more detailed history of the City and its
methodologies is described by Pendelton-julli (1996).
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Form: an adventure in concrete and brick
2012
La Serena Vicuna
30o Coquimbo
32o
The Open City
Godoy Cruz
Valparaiso
Santiago
72o
34o
74o
Figure 3. The Open City, Chile
Figure 4. A selection of works undertaken at the Open City.
The Travesia
As part of their teaching, the School undertakes an
annual ‘travesia’ (a voyage, literally crossing) with the
students. Each of these travelling projects has the
simple aim to provide a gift to a place in America. The
travesia use poetic ‘acts’ to form the architecture they
create; in this way the poets of the Open City take an
integral part in teaching. A focus is placed on detail
(in Spanish: pormenor), or creating “the smallest
space you can inhabit with your mind” (Jolly, D.,
pers com. 16th January 2013). An example of this is
shown from a travesia to Arambare, Brasil (Figure 5).
Fabric formwork
Fabric formwork was introduced to the Open City
by Professor Mark West, University of Manitoba, in
2002. Since then, it has formed a continual part of
the travesia, the teaching and professional practice at
the Open City.
The first teaching experience with Fabric Formwork at
the Open City was in 2003, on a travesia to Garupa,
Argentina (Figure 6). Here, fabric formed concrete
elements were used to provide an area of play,
calm and shelter at a Childrens’ refuge. Working in
Chile each student first formed concepts in scaled-
down plaster models. Once the design process was
complete, these were translated into full scale fabric
moulds (using a locally sourced geotextile) that were
‘proofed’ in Chile using sand in place of concrete.
With the form thus ensured, the formwork was
simply rolled up and loaded into a van, ready to be
constructed in concrete in Argentina. The results of
this travesia are shown in Figure 6.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 113
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD
2012
The transportation of the fabric mould is inherently
simple - it can be rolled up and put in a box. This is in
stark contrast to the bulk and weight of conventional
concrete formwork systems. This ability to fabricate
the formwork and then post it anywhere in the
world offers a significant opportunity for introducing
low carbon construction in both developed and
developing countries.
Since 2003, fabric formwork has been utilised by
PUCV in multiple travesias. In 2006, to Sao Miguel
des Misors (Brazil), in 2009 to Pan de Azucar (Chile)
and in 2010 to Valle de Elqui (Chile). Photos of these
works are shown in Figure 7. In each case, the ability
of fabric formwork to be designed, modelled, and
tested in Chile; before being transported and cast in
concrete at the chosen location, was a key
advantage.
Figure 5. Results of a travesia to Arambare, Brasil (photo courtesy
D. Jolly)
Figure 6. The first travesia using fabric formwork (2003). Top left:
formwork for a column; Top right: a fabric cast seat; Bottom: All the
elements cast in fabric formwork. All photos courtesy D Jolly, PUCV.
114  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 7. Top: ‘T’ beams as outdoor tables for the Catholic Mission
in Sao Miguel das missoes; Middle: Sculptural installations in Fabric
Formed concrete, placed in the Atacama desert near Pan de
Azucar; Bottom: Seats in the desert, near an artificial lake in Valle de
Elqui, Chile. Photos courtesy of D Jolly, PUCV.
Works
In addition to the travesia, fabric formwork is also
used in the teaching of concrete technology at
PUCV. Across the Open City lie examples of works in
fabric formwork undertaken by teachers and visiting
academics, some of which are shown in Figure 8.
Fabric formwork has also been used in the casting of
structural elements. A concept for a new workshop
space, designed in collaboration with engineers at
PUCV, utilises optimised fabric formed beams hung
from four-leaf columns. The workshop floor then
spans between pairs of beams and columns, as
shown in the concept model (Figure 10).
To date, only a test element has been created (at full
scale). This pair of columns and beams is also shown
in Figure 10, where the unique form, and optimised
beam shape, is seen. The columns are created
from four identical pieces, each cast in a fabric
mould, that are tied together on site using additional
reinforcement and in-situ concrete. This process is
illustrated in Figure 11.
The exposed location of the Open City means that
unprotected steel deteriorates rapidly. To prevent
this, the workshop concept was originally intended
to use Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer bars to hang
the beams, but local difficulties in their use prevented
this. Instead, the test element was created using
steel rods (which are currently corroding and will soon
require remedial work to prevent collapse). A solution
using the originally planned FRP is currently being
worked on at the University of Bath.
The structural design of the beam and column system
is unusual. Chile is a highly seismically active area,
and the principle behind the hanging beam system
design is similar to Bogue Babicki’s ‘hung buildings’,
in which a single central core is precompressed
by the weight of the floors above (for example the
Westcoast Transmission Building, Vancouver, now
‘Qube’ (Parks Canada, 2012)).

Figure 8. Further works in fabric formwork at the
Open City.
Although the workshop design uses multiple columns
(as compared to Babicki’s single column), a similar
example of a hanging structural frame has already
been used at the Open City. One house has been
constructed with all floors hung from a steel frame, as
shown in Figure 12.
In the 2010 Chile Earthquake (magnitude 8.8, the
sixth largest ever recorded globally), no structural
or internal damage was recorded in this particular
house. In other residences on the Open City,
considerable internal effects (such as overturned
furniture) were felt (Jolly, D., pers com. 17th January
2013).
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Form: an adventure in concrete and brick
2012
For the architects at the Open City, fabric formwork
has also been used in works external to the City itself.
Victoria Jolly’s public space and seating in the nearby
town of Loncura (Figure 13) was entirely cast using
fabric formwork, one of few such projects that exist
today.
Surface quality
Research has shown that by casting concrete into a
fabric mould, surface durability can be improved
dramatically (Orr, 2012). This arises as air and water
are allowed to escape from the mould during the
curing process. However, much of this research has
been undertaken using accelerated test methods. At
the Open City, the elements are exposed to a very
harsh environment, and so the area provides an ideal
location for future research into the long-term
durability of fabric cast concrete. Shown in Figure 9 is
a fabric cast concrete sample, which has be exposed
to the elements at the Open City for at least four
years.
Figure 9. Surface of fabric cast concrete.
Conclusions
Working at the Open City has shown that fabric
formwork has a huge potential for application to
the construction industry. The simplicity of the
formwork making, as has also been seen in research
at the University of Bath, offers real benefits for
construction. The ability of the formwork to be
transported anywhere in the world (after fabrication at
a central location) is another advantage.
The aim of this section was to determine how the
concrete construction industry might positively benefit
from the use of fabric formwork. At present the use of
fabric formwork in ‘real’ projects, both in America and
Europe, is limited - but interest remains consistently
high and new research in this field is providing an ever
growing body of knowledge to help all those who
wish to be involved.
The differing economic, demographic and social
perspectives of America and Europe do not detract
from the strong need to balance new construction
with environmental impact. The potential for fabric
formwork to provide a means to create low carbon
concrete structures should therefore not be missed.
It is clear that many of the perceived hurdles to
adoption of fabric formwork that exist in the UK
also exist in Chile. These hurdles, which include
the simple fact that it is a ‘non-conventional’ and
relatively untested construction technique will require
some forward thinking contractors and engineers to
overcome.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 115
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD
2012
In the Open City, fabric formwork has been used with In the following section the work of Eladio Dieste,
success to create beams, columns and sculptural whose structurally efficient shells were constructed
elements. Its use as a tool for teaching is also to the lowest economic and environmental cost, is
important, and by educating the next generation explored.
of architects in the advantages of moving away
from rigid formwork systems, it is hoped that future
innovations will be fostered.

Fabric formwork has at its heart the concept that

by following the loads applied to a structure an
optimised form can be generated. This optimal form
is most often non-prismatic; and thus ideally suited to
casting in a flexible mould. All of this is achieved with
efficient use of materials in a simple and potentially
cost effective construction method.

Figure 12: Hanging House at the Open City, Chile.

Figure 10: ‘Workshop’. Concept model (top left, courtesy V Jolly)

and photos of the sample elements (January 2013)

Figure 13: Fabric cast seating in an open square, Loncura, Chile

Figure 11: Column construction method for the Workshop. Four

identical fabric cast ‘leaf’ sections (left) are held in position and tied
with reinforcement (centre); concrete is cast in the middle (right).

116  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


Thin brick shells
Eladio Dieste was born in 1917 in Artigas, Uruguay. In
1943 he graduated in Engineering from the University
of the Republic in Montevideo, and went on to work
for the Highway Administration of Uruguay until 1948.
Between 1949 and 1956 he worked for the Viermond
piling company (Anderson, 2004).
In 1946 Dieste worked with architect Antoní Bonet to
design the roof for a house in Maldonado, Uruguay
(known as the Berlingieri house); this became his first
work in reinforced brick (Dieste, 1947, cited by
Anderson, 2004). Stemming from this early project,
Dieste went on to push the boundaries of sustainable
design with his structures in reinforced and
prestressed brickwork. In this section a small part of
Dieste’s work in Uruguay is explored. Links with fabric
formwork and potential applications of Dieste’s
designs in modern construction are then considered.
Form
In the same way that fabric formed elements are
designed for structural efficiency by utilising the
flexible mould to create an optimised shape, shells
also gain strength through the form that they take.
Defining this form is crucial. A thin, flat plate without
curvature must carry load through bending and shear
stresses; the addition of curvature to the plate allows
it to act as a membrane, carrying in-plane forces and
providing far greater load capacity. This requirement
for the correct form is noted by Dieste (in Pedreschi,
2000):
“The resistant virtues of the structure that we make
depend on their form; it is through their form that
they are stable and not because of an awkward
accumulation of materials. There is nothing more
noble and elegant from an intellectual viewpoint than
this; resistance through form”
The concept of reinforced brick as a construction
material originates in the 19th Century, with works
noted by Marc Isambard Brunel (Peters, 1996) and
de Baudot (Frampron, 1995). Inspired by timbrel (or
Catalan) vaulting (described by Becker and Anderson
(2004), Rafael Guastavino and his son worked with
lightly reinforced brick shells in the 20th Century, and
their company’s patents are arguably the precursors
to thin reinforced concrete shells.
Dieste’s introduction to the use of brick vaulting
came by chance in the Berlingieri house. Here, his
use of a catenary form for the roof demonstrates his
approach of thinking first of structural, rather than
purely architectural, forms. From this introduction, his
work in brick moved well beyond a traditional timbrel
vault (which acts primarily in compression) to include
both reinforcing and, most importantly, prestressing.
This technology allowed Dieste to greatly extend the
possibilities in form of the brick vault, whilst retaining
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Form: an adventure in concrete and brick
2012
his process of designing from first principles.
Dieste’s use of brickwork, rather than the more
fashionable concrete being used in Europe at the
same time, is itself interesting. His rationale is noted
by Pedreschi (2000) as being an economic one. At
the time brick offered many advantages, including:
1. a lower self weight of brick compared to
concrete (resulting in lower stresses in the vaults)
(Anderson, 2004);
2. unitised brick construction used less cement
than a concrete solution (Pedreschi and
Theodossopoulos, 2007);
3. control of the internal conditions beneath the shell
by utilising the hygroscopic properties of bricks
(Anderson, 2004).
Economics
The innovations seen in Dieste’s shells were possible
not because clients were looking for a particular
form, or because they wanted iconic projects and
were willing to incur greater cost to achieve this -
but because Dieste (through his company, Dieste y
Montañez) could bid against ‘traditional’ construction
processes, and win. This approach has similarities
to the work of Pier Luigi Nervi, whose optimised
reinforced concrete structures (Figure 14) were also
designed to win competitive bids (Nervi, 1956; Orr,
2010).
Dieste achieved economy through repetition, allowing
formwork to be reused through projects. Thus, the
expense of the formwork that some of his Gaussian
shells required was mitigated. In addition, the majority
of the building components used by Dieste were
widely available - brick, steel reinforcement and
cables for prestressing - and his systems for
construction (described later) were made as simple as
possible.
Figure 14. Exhibition Hall, Turin (Orr, 2010). Main shell spans 95m.
In contrast to the high cost of formwork for brick
shells, flexible fabric formwork has a relatively low
cost. There is therefore the intriguing potential
for economy in construction, without requiring
repetition of form. By optimising each unique fabric
cast element, the overall embodied carbon can be
reduced (Orr, 2012).
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 117
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD
2012
The economics of Dieste’s shells are also related by Locations
Anderson (2004) to the craftsmen working for Dieste Discovering the works of Eladio Dieste required
y Montañez. Many of the masons who built Dieste’s considerable travel across Uruguay. Shown in Figure
shells worked with him for over thirty years. This long 16 are the various locations visited, with a summary
lasting relationship meant that the company could of each destination provided in Table 1.
continually learn and innovate. Dieste’s shells were
not just financially economical - through a series of
essays reproduced by Anderson (2004), it is clear that
Dieste was also committed to social responsibility
and always considered the environment and local
communities affected by each of his projects.

Dieste’s recognition that sustainable design and 50km

construction can most effectively be achieved Brazil

by using local skills, materials and techniques is
highlighted by attempts to build a series of shells
Salto
designed by Dieste in Spain in the 1990s. Importing
Dieste’s construction technique, and attempting to Argentina Uruguay

build three churches with limited local knowledge of

the technique, inevitably led to problems. Dieste’s Young

deep understanding of brick as a material, the Durazno

structural mechanics behind its most efficient forms, Mercedes

and how to build these forms economically, is Nueva Palmira

impressive. Eladio Dieste was also a spiritual man and Colonia Maldonado
wrote extensively on the philosophy behind his work.
Excellent essays in Anderson (2004) cover these Buenos Aires Montevideo

points in much more detail.

Figure 16. Summary of locations considered

Works
Writing in Anderson (2004), Edward Allen describes
Table 1. Works visited in January 2013. Works in Montevideo are
four general categories into which Dieste’s work can listed first by group and construction date, others are listed after by
be divided. These typologies have been used in this group and construction date. [T = typology (Figure 15)]
paper to aid descriptions. In the following sections,
examples of each form are described. Picture Name and Location Built T
(GPS)

Structures in Montevideo

Unilever Factory 1960-62 1

(previously: TEM
Factory) Camino
Carrasco, Montevideo
(-34.869357,-
1. Gaussian shells 3. Folded plates 56.086707)

Port Warehouse, 1977-79 1

Rambla 25 de Agosto
de 1925, Montevideo
(-34.903575,-
56.209424)

2. Self support shells 4. Ruled surfaces

Fundacion Don Pedro 1979-80 1
(Juan B Ferrando
Figure 15. Typologies for the work of Dieste.
Metal Facility) Oncativo
2960, Montevideo
(-34.866857,-
56.09787).

Conaprole Depot, 1980-82 1

Cno Francisco
Lecoco, Montevideo
(-34.834272,-
56.252339)

118  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 Form: an adventure in concrete and brick

2012
Picture Name and Location Built T Picture Name and Location Built T
(GPS) (GPS)

Empresa Constructora - 1 Outside Montevideo:

Alvaro Palenga,
CADYL Grain Silo, 1976-78 1
SA, Warehouse,
Route 3, Young
Emancipation,
(-32.691783,
Montevideo,
-57.640489)
(-34.834263,-
56.247876)

Matalurgica Minstar SA 1981-82 1

(Empresa Constructora A Dewarin Fils Wool 1991 1
Warehouse), Warehouse, Route 5
Emancipation, 39.5km, Canelones
Montevideo (-34.575048,
(-34.846102,- -56.261212)
56.228092)

Gomeria Marylel SA 1957-57 2 Maldonado 1967-68 2

(Gas Station) , 2099 Gymnasium, 3 de
Cooper, Montevideo Febrero, Maldonado.
(-34.86912,-56.069198) (-34.913596,
-54.954616)

Technomadera 1964 2 Municipal Bus Station, 1973-74 2

(Autopalace), Andres Latorre,
Av. Gral. Flores Salto (-31.394791,
2775, Montevideo -57.966437)
(-34.876518,-
56.180434)

Devoto Supermarket 1965-66 2 La Gaviota (Barbiere 1975-76 2

(Carlos Patron and Leggire Service
Garage), Arenal Station), Pascaul
Grande, Montevideo Harriague and Route
(-34.892445,- 3, Salto (-31.412895,
56.180456). -57.943507)

Church of Madre 1967 2 Dayman Thermal 1976-76 2

Paulina, Carmelo De Baths, Avda. Paysandu,
Arzadum, Montevideo, Dayman (-31.458478,
(-34.828671,-56.24297) -57.90768)

Carugatti Workshop. 1978-79 2 Hydro Agri SA (Massaro 1976-80 2

Av. Italia and Alejanadro Agroindustries), Route
Korn, Montevideo 5 km 37.5, Canelones
(-34.886261,- (-34.598415,
56.119049) -56.260911)

Roche Laboratory 1978-80 2 Fenix SA (Refrescos 1977-80 2

(San Augustin Parish del Norte), Av.
Centre), Justino Zavala Gobemador De Viana,
Muniz, Montevideo Salto (-31.410159,
(-34.885676,- -57.944405)
56.086812)

Church of Our Lady 1965-68 4 Club Remeros, Rambla 1979-80 2

of Lourdes, Av. Gral. Costanera Norte,
Rivera, Montevideo Salto (-31.381749,
(-34.891557,- -57.975226)
56.099946)

Montevideo Shopping, 1984-85 4 Agencia Central 1980-80 2

Av. Dr. Luis A de (Turlit Bus Station),
Herrara, Montevideo Dr Bortagary,
(-34.903038,- Salto (-31.388903,
56.136752) -57.95739)

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 119
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD
2012
Picture Name and Location Built T
(GPS)

Iglesia San Pedro, 1969-71 3

Shell
Jose Batlle y Ordonez,
Durazno (-33.38117, Tie Edge
beam
-56.522689)

End

Church of Christ, 1956-60 4

Worker, Atlantida,
Avda. Monsenor Jose
Orzali (-34.743988, Shell
-55.766403) Tie

Midspan
Water Tower, 1976-76 4
Defensa and Av
Gral Manuel Oribe,
Salto (-31.387844,
-57.907181)
NTS

Ayui Parador, Rambla 1976-77 4 Figure 17. The Gaussian shell form, illustrated cross section along
Costanera Norte, the length.
Salto (-31.359606,
-57.985652) Lateral forces at the supports is one challenge of
shells. Freyssinet’s concrete shells, notably in Paris
(Figure 18), use tension ties to carry this force, a
Channel 7 TV 1985-86 4 solution that is both simple and logical. Dieste, in his
Tower, Ituzaingo Gaussian shells, extended this principle in two ways.
and Av. Joaquin de In general he minimised the number of ties per bay of
Viana, Maldonado a structure, which help to reduce the visual impact of
(-34.906797,
-54.962601)
the steel tie. In the Don Bosco School Gymnasium,
Dieste went one step further and put the tension tie
on the external side of the shell (supported by a
cantilevered column). The largest of Dieste’s Gaussian
Typology 1: Gaussian shells shells is found at Montevideo Port, with a span of
The barrel vaults which Dieste developed into his 50m and a maximum rise of 6.4m.
‘self supporting shells’, described in §5.6, rely on
pretensioning to provide extraordinary cantilevers
and spans. Barrel vaults tend to have low span:rise
ratios, ensuring stresses in the bricks are low (and so
utilisation of the material properties is low). Reducing
the arch rise while retaining a thin shell will increase
compressive stresses in the brick, but also introduces
buckling as an increasingly likely failure mode
(Pedreschi and Theodossopoulos, 2007).

In his Gaussian shells, Dieste resists buckling by

taking a new form to the shell beyond that seen in
his self carrying vaults. To increase the shell stiffness
in the mid span, the form shown in Figure 17 is
used. From a horizontal line at the support, the shell
changes to form an ‘S’ shape at the apex of the vault.
This form provides buckling resistance in the shell
(as each point on the shell is now stiffened by two Figure 18. Freyssinet shell in Paris (Orr, 2010) (l) and Dieste
different curvatures (Anderson, 2004)) and gives an Gaussian shell at the Fundacion Don Pedro (r).
easy connection to the surrounding walls.
The repetitious nature of the Gaussian shell design
Axial compression along the shell varies depending allows for great economy in construction. The
on the cross section, and the shear stresses formwork for one project could feasibly be reused in
resulting from these variations are carried by steel another. Many of these shell structures were built as
reinforcement laid in the brickwork. The individual storage sheds or warehouses - where construction
shells that form a roof all have an identical geometry economy is most clearly required. The system again
to simplify construction, and the ‘S’ shape also allows demonstrates the success of Dieste’s return to first
for the addition of roof level glazing. principles.

120  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


38m
50m
Figure 19: Storage Warehouse, Montevideo. Clockwise from top left: Plan; East Elevation, North Elevation,
South Elevation.
Storage Warehouse for a construction company,
Montevideo
Dieste’s structure for Álvaro Palenga SA, Montevideo
is possibly unique as it remains unenclosed. Today it
is used to store machinery.
The form of the structure and its estimated
dimensions are shown in Figure 19. The roof remains
in adequate condition, although much of the glazing
is broken and the first steel tie at the South end is
sagging considerably (Figure 20). There was no visible
evidence of cracking in the concrete or brickwork.
Figure 20. Sagging in the first tie cable (photo looking South).
Typology 2: self supporting shells
The ‘self supporting shells’ of Dieste are some of
his most intriguing elements, which often appear to
be almost impossible. They act as both thin shell
and cantilever beams; this behaviour being elegantly
expressed in the Hydro Agri SA warehouse, Figure
21.
At the Hydro Agri warehouse, the thrust of its large
brick canopy vault is taken by a folded edge beam,
which is then supported on a diagonally braced
reinforced concrete column (Section BB in Figure 21).
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Form: an adventure in concrete and brick
2012
The vaults are huge - the main building consists of
five vaults, each 114.9m long and 12.8m wide
(Anderson, 2004). In the longitudinal direction the
vaults span 35m, with a 16.5m cantilever at one end
(Figure 21). This cantilevered section itself overlaps
another shell; this one being supported on just one
set of columns and cantilevering in both directions by
13m. In this building, the minimal number of columns
was a direct result of poor local ground conditions:
long spans simply reduced the cost of construction
by minimising piling.
Section AA
B
A A
Section BB
Plan
B
Figure 21. Hydro Agri SA; self supporting vaults.
In order to span such distances with thin shells,
Dieste’s surfaces are prestressed. By prestressing,
the entire section can be placed in compression, and
tension due to bending relieves this compression. By
careful control, very efficient forms can be achieved.
Pai Lin Li Travel Award 121
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD
2012
However, it is noted by Pedreschi and Larrambebere
(2004) that to retain construction economy, a method
of prestressing was required that did not add
considerable expense and maintained his desired
thin structural form. The resulting innovations in
construction achieved by Dieste y Montañez are
themselves interesting (and are discussed in more
detail by Pedreschi and Larrambebere, 2004).
In the self-carrying vaults, prestress is applied to
the brickwork during construction primarily through
simple loops of steel cable. For the cantilevering
vaults, running-track shaped loops of steelwork are
placed on the hardened brick and clamped to the
shell using steelwork embedded in the brick. By
pulling the wires together (creating a figure of eight
shape), prestress can be applied to the surface. This
pulling of the cables was achieved with a simple hand
operated jack, also designed by Dieste. The amount
of prestress is of course critical, and was calculated
by the width of the loop at the mid point. Multiple
loops are laid in each shell, with progressively less
prestress applied as the calculated bending stresses
reduce. In this way the prestress is also optimised to
the form of the shell.
Between supports, when tension can be felt in the
valley of the vaults, Dieste used a similar method to
prestress the shell. A loop of cable is placed along
the length of the vault, its ends overlapping in the
middle. The cable is tensioned by pulling the ends of
the cable loop against each other until the required
extension is reached, with the cables then locked
together with a steel piece of a predetermined size.
In this way Dieste was able to effectively prestress his
entire brick vaults without complex end anchorage
and prestressing equipment.
Steel
tie
At the Maldonado gymnasium, Dieste also uses
inclined columns at the perimeter to contribute to the
prestressing of the shell (Figure 34).
Figure 22. Hydro Agri SA (l); Prestressing the vaults (r) (after
Anderson, 2004)
Turlit bus station (Agencia Central)
On a small site in the centre of alto the Turlit Bus
station (completed 1980, and now known as Agencia
Central) is Dieste’s second bus station in the town,
completed six years after the Municipal bus station.
122  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
The Agencia Central is both complex and unusual,
and develops on the theme of Dieste’s earlier bus
station in Salto. The vaults, which project 13.7m to
the rear and 14.3m to the front, span 5.8m laterally.
Lateral thrust from such an arch would commonly
result in buttressing, thrust walls or ties. None of
these were employed by Dieste - instead, he uses a
folded surface at the edge of his vaults to carry the
horizontal thrust to concrete piers.
At Agencia Central, thrust from the vaults is carried by
an optimised edge beam (Figure 23), which tapers
almost to nothing from its deepest section over the
columns where the lateral force is greatest. Thrust
from the vault is resolved one story below, in the tie
beams between the columns (with the end column
also being shaped to follow its bending moment
diagram). Unusually, the vault cantilever is not
balanced, so at the back of the shell a steel tie to
ground level was added to carry tension (Figure 23).
Steel
tie
Figure 23. Agencia Central, Salto.
Refrescos del Norte, Salto
The Refrescos del Norte complex (Figure 24) in Salto
holds some similarities to Hydro Agri SA (Figure 21).
Its most interesting feature is in the entrance canopy
of double cantilever self-carrying vaults with an edge
beam. Further details are provided by Pedreschi
(2000).
Barbiere and Leggire service station - the Sea Gull
The Sea Gull (Figure 25) is probably Dieste’s most
well known work. Its form is uniquely adjusted from
his usual self-carrying vaults to fit its original purpose
as a petrol station, to which its single central column
is ideally suited.
The 17m x 5.6m Sea Gull is a prestressed cantilever
beam with additional reinforcement in the transverse
direction, sitting on a single central column. Its
structural form is analogous to taking a vault, cutting
it in half and swapping the two halves over (in the
 Form: an adventure in concrete and brick

2012
process producing a less efficient structure, but one
which here serves a clear and well defined purpose).
Prestress is applied longitudinally to the cantilevered
wings using cable loops. This puts the top surface
in compression, and tension in the valley of the shell
is carried by additional reinforcement and a thicker
section.

The structure now forms an entrance to the City of

Salto, having been moved after 1996, when it was
threatened with destruction. It now sits in the middle
of a roundabout.

Figure 24. Refrescos del Norte, Salto, Entrance Canopy.

Cable loops
(illustration)

Centre Line

Figure 26. Church of Saint Peter, Durazno. Rose window (top);

Sanctuary (bottom).

Figure 25. The Sea Gull (transverse reinforcement not shown).

Typology 3: folded structures Folded plate

roof
Hidden behind the surviving facade and outer walls
of the original Church of St. Peter in Durazno is a
wonder in folded brick plates. Here, Dieste has used
three plates to enclose the church space. Two ‘Z’
shapes spanning 30.5m make up the walls and a 30.5m span
pitched folded plate roof above are all formed in brick ‘Z’ wall
tiles. The large wall span allows a column free interior
between the nave and side aisles.
Figure 27. Layout, Church of Saint Peter, Durazno

A narrow gap between walls and roof lets in light,

although the two are connected by short steel posts.
At the sanctuary, high walls lead to a clerestory
window. Above the main entrance, Dieste’s brick rose
window adds further delight to the space.

The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 123
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD
2012
Typology 4: ruled surfaces
The famous Church of Christ the Worker, Atlantida,
was the result of years of study for Dieste (Anderson,
2004). The church is shown in plan and elevation in
Figure 28.
The walls of the Church begin at ground level as
parallel lines, moving upwards (constructed without
formwork) as ruled surfaces to become a series of
parabolas at the top of the wall. This parabola meets
the roof, which is a continuous double curvature vault
(constructed with formwork). In the valley of each
vault, cables run transversely to tie the two walls
together, but these are not visible from the inside. In
the transverse section, the building form follows the
bending moment diagram of a portal frame under its
own self weight, thus forming a materially efficient
overall geometry.
The junction between the complex geometry of the
wall and the roof, both doubly curved surfaces, is
described by Pedreschi (2004) as the ‘most lucid
expression of Dieste’s desire “to resist through form”’.
The coincidence of the trough of the vault with the
crest of the wall allows the aforementioned steel tie to
be passed between the two walls. The tie is anchored
in an edge beam atop the wall, itself taking the shape
of its bending moment diagram.
In addition to the Church building itself, which has
recently been restored, the site at Atlantida also holds
one of Dieste’s towers, in this case acting as a bell
tower. The form of the tower is reflected in many
iterations throughout Dieste’s work, most commonly
as a water tower.
Dieste’s towers show extraordinary efficiency, not
just in materials but in their construction process. A
gentle taper to the top of the tower allows the towers
be built without formwork. By adding perforations
to the tower, it becomes a series of vertical brick
piers interlinked by horizontal reinforced brick ribs,
reducing the number of brick cuts to be made. The
perforations not only reduce wind load, but provide a
means to support work platforms for the masons. By
tapering the perforations, rather than the brick piers,
construction is simplified and the verticality of the
tower is emphasised.
A selection of towers, including that found at
Atlantida, are shown in Figure 31.

Construction photographs, shown in Figure 29, show

the remarkable process of building the walls, before
the roof formwork is installed between them, on top
of which Dieste’s roof system is constructed.

5m

Figure 30. The Church of Christ the Worker, Atlantida.

Figure 28. Approximate elevation, plan and section of the Church

of Christ the Worker, Atlantida (image from wikiarquitectura (2012)).

Figure 29. Construction (l-r): walls, roof formwork, roof tile and
steelwork detail.

124  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award


1 2 3
4 solved using computational methods to both make
5 6
Figure 31. 1) Channel 7 TV Tower, Maldonado; 2) Water tower, Av
Gral Manuel Oribe, Salto; 3) Church of Christ the Worker, Atlantida;
4) Refrescos del Norte, Salto; 5) Internal to (3); and 6) Internal to (2).
Conclusions
The Pai Lin Li Travel Award has provided an
opportunity to visit and investigate two innovative
forms of construction; both of which can facilitate
form-active design and offer the potential for
sustainable construction in both brick and concrete.
In Chile, the use of fabric formwork at the Open City
was a great inspiration. The School’s pedagogy,
with its poetic acts and travesias was unique and
intriguing. In Uruguay, the work of Eladio Dieste
illustrates how sustainable design can relate structural
mechanics to climate, local workers, and material
availability.
Fabric formed brick shells
In this paper, the use of fabric formwork to hold
wet concrete in a particular manner to result in a
form-active beam shape has been illustrated. Whilst
exciting, there exists many further opportunities in this
field of concrete construction (see Orr et al., 2012).
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Form: an adventure in concrete and brick
2012
Hanging models, which define a form in tension,
can be turned over to provide a form carrying
only compression. Designs by Isler and Gaudí,
for example, used this process to help define the
geometry of their shell structures. The disadvantage
of hanging models is that they do not provide an
indication of the stress levels in the resulting structure
(Tomlow et al., 1989). This problem can now be
and analyse the hanging model.
Work at the University of Manitoba (West and
Prakash, 2005) has taken inspiration from Dieste
to create 6m span fabric formed brick shells. By
using the hanging fabric to create the tension
structure, adding bricks and cementing them ‘upside
down’, creates the shell form. Once set, the entire
construction can then be turned over to act solely in
compression. The act of turning the shell over clearly
introduces new difficulties, overcome by West and
Prakash (2005) by post-tensioning the shell laterally
with threaded rods, and adding rotation points along
the centre of gravity of the shell (Figure 32).
Although a relatively small example, the shell does
suggest possibilities for larger scale construction. The
hanging sheet of fabric could also include a light steel
or FRP mesh for reinforcement, providing a
participating formwork system. Once in place, a thin
topping would seal the structure and provide
additional deadweight.
Figure 32. Fabric formed brick shell. Hung in the fabric mould and
awaiting mortaring (left); Complete, turned over shell (right). Images:
West and Prakash (2005).
1 2
3 4
Figure 33. 1) Vacummatics (Huijben, 2012); 2) A binishell
(Binishells, 2012); 3, 4) Inflating an ice shell (Kollegger, 2012).
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 125
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD
2012
A further possibility is shown in work on
‘Vacuumatics’ by Huijben et al. (2012). Beginning with
a bag of loose particles, and removing the air inside
results in a stiffer bag (analogous to vacuum packed
coffee). By shaping the initial loose bag correctly, a
freely curved surface can be created. It is proposed
by Huijben et al. (2012) that vacuumatics could be
used to create the formwork for a thin concrete shell.
After casting, deflation of the formwork system leaves
behind a thin shell structure. On a larger scale, an
analogous process is undertaken in Binishells (2012)
and in ice structures (Kollegger, 2012), Figure 33.
In addition to possibilities of shells formed in fabric
formwork, research at the University of Bath is
also considering optimisation of prestressed fabric
cast structures, ultra-high performance concrete
to achieve very slender structures, the use of
permanent participating fabric formwork systems, and
nonmetallic reinforcement as further opportunities for
achieving low carbon concrete construction.
Carbon
Eladio Dieste undertook his designs with a desire
to achieve structural efficiency, which in turn led to
lower material use and cost, allowing his designs to
be commercially successful. It is worth noting that
whilst he was building in brick, in Europe reinforced
concrete was more fashionable. There are contrasting
advantages of the two materials. Fired engineering
bricks have compressive strengths >75N/mm2 (BS
EN 771-1, 2011), but also have a high embodied
carbon equivalent (mostly due to the firing process),
and are rarely reinforced to carry bending. Reinforced
concrete has a relatively low embodied energy, which
is improved by the addition of cement replacements
such as Fly Ash (FA) and ground granulated blast
furnace slag (GGBS) (Hammond and Jones, 2008),
and is most common with compressive strengths
around 50N/mm2.
As compressive stresses in even the longest span
shells can be very low (Nervi, 1956; Chilton, 2000),
alternative materials may be more appropriate.
Buckling of thin shells is of concern for all materials,
but is resisted through form rather than by increasing
the material compressive strengths. Therefore, a
very low-embodied carbon material such as unfired
brick (see Heath et al., 2012), could be used to carry
compression in a thin shell. In complex designs such
as those presented by Dieste, this could be combined
with reinforced concrete or prestressed brickwork to
carry bending. An external render would be required
for weatherproofing and would simply add a uniform
load to the shell.
Such an approach would therefore be considering
both optimisation of form and optimisation of
materials - putting the appropriate material in the right
place. A selection of data for the materials mentioned
in this paper showing their relative carbon intensity
(all in CO2-equivalent) is provided in Table 2 for
comparison.
126  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Table 2. Comparison of the embodied carbon of various materials.
Material Embodied Compressive
Carbon (kgCO2e/ strength (MPa)
kg)
Fired engineering 0.24 75
brick1
Unfired clay brick2 0.036 3
RC50, 15% FA1 0.174 50
RC50, 25% 0.153 50
GGBS1
1 Hammond and Jones, 2008; 2 Heath et al., 2009
The use of a flexible mould to put material only where
it is needed (by design optimisation) ensures the
concrete is being used effectively. Lower material use
is coupled with a low-cost mould that can often be
reused. Computer generation of cutting patterns for
the fabric mould is possible to control accuracy and
tolerances.
Sustainable construction should consider what is
appropriate to every project and location, and this
includes the use of local resources (people, materials,
and technology). Dieste relied heavily on his masons
in the construction of each shell. The introduction
of new technologies (such as flexible moulds) will
require contractors who are willing to rethink their
construction methods. In the same way as Dieste
y Montañez, this rethinking will be made possible if
the flexible mould is shown to be an economically
advantageous alternative to conventional construction
processes.
Design
Dieste’s work shows that understanding the available
palette of materials, and choosing a structural form
that can achieve the desired aims (efficiency, a
particular span, thermal mass, fire resistance, load
capacity, and so on) is crucially interlinked with the
architectural intent and the subsequent construction
processes.
It is notable that Eladio Dieste and Pier Luigi Nervi,
along with John Roebling, Gustave Eiffel, and Robert
Maillart, all created innovative structures whilst
running their own construction companies. This deep
involvement and understanding of the construction
process can be missing in linear design processes
where information simply feeds from architect to
engineer to contractor.
Such a linear approach is unlikely to achieve the best
solution to a design problem. Nervi (1956) suggests
that the presence of separate Schools of Architecture
and Engineering simply serves to create divisions
between the two professions, and that engineering
and architecture should be taught as one, removing
the barriers between the two types of designer who
rely so much on one another. Nervi further highlights
his desire for students who have an intuition of
structural behaviour, separate from ‘abstract and
impersonal mathematical formulas’ (Nervi, 1956).

In teaching at the University of Bath, students quickly
become used to working in interdisciplinary teams
and recognise their inherent advantages. The true
working of such a team requires feedback loops
between architect, engineer, and contractor. This
ensures that design changes to improve efficiency,
speed up construction or reduce costs can be made
and agreed on early in the design process. Although
Eladio Dieste can be thought of as architect, engineer
and contractor, his work still very much relied on
the team around him to realise the final design.
Throughout all of this, the commercial aspect of
Dieste’s designs is clear; they fulfil their design brief
for the minimum cost.
As shells are essentially designed by mathematical
rules, their forms can reasonably be generated,
analysed, and optimised computationally. Computers
have introduced great power into design offices,
yet their use is often not much more than as ‘digital
paper’. A more integrated approach, in which the
computer is used by the entire team in parametric
(rule based) design processes has been suggested
by Shepherd and Richens (2012), who also question
what CAD software would be like if it was designed
from scratch today.
A successful example of parametric design applied
in practice is provided by Shepherd (2011). The
possibilities of digital architectonics, in which
structural mechanics can be quite readily ‘fed back’
into a design, leading to multiple iterations to find
structurally and architecturally robust solutions, are
extensive.
The ability of Nervi, Dieste, Eiffel, Maillart and others
to work from first principles, to create something
structurally efficient is a skill that both engineers
and architects should have. Forcing a structure
to do something can result in inefficient designs.
Nervi compares such ‘untrue’ designs to early cars
designed as ‘horse-less carriages’, and early steam
ships with sailing ship masts.
Comparisons between the roof structures for two
sports venues in London (Olympic Velodrome and
Swimming Pool) made by Wise et al. (2012) further
demonstrates how clear structural forms can provide
materially and financially efficient design solutions.
Just as the engineer should know the difference
between mathematics and engineering, so the
architectural student should be taught not to mistake
drawing for architecture (Nervi, 1956).
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
Form: an adventure in concrete and brick
2012
Conclusion
This paper has shown how the principles of form
active design can facilitate architecturally interesting,
structurally optimised, materially efficient construction.
It is clear that the concrete construction industry
may be positively influenced by recent advances in
flexible formwork technology, and some companies
are already beginning to work in this field to produce
their own design and construction processes.
Work presented in Orr et al (2012) further illustrates
considerable academic research in this field that has
applications for a range of concrete construction
processes.
The prestressed brickwork and timbrel vaulting
techniques of Eladio Dieste demonstrate alternative
techniques for form active construction, whose
resistance through form is not only structurally, but
also architecturally, inspiring. It is the collaborative
nature of the relationship between architect, engineer,
and contractor that Dieste’s work exemplifies that is
arguably key to sustainable design. Achieving all of
this while meeting each project’s economic conditions
means that structural engineers must take a more
significant role in facilitating globally sustainable
construction through their influence on the choice of
form and material.
“The resistant virtues of the structure that we make
depend on their form; it is through their form that
they are stable and not because of an awkward
accumulation of materials. There is nothing more
noble and elegant from an intellectual viewpoint than
this; resistance through form”
Eladio Dieste (Pedreschi, 2000)
“Shape is cheaper than material”
Beukers and van Hinte (2005)
Future work
The results of this travel award have been both
intriguing and inspiring. The works discovered have
also provided new ideas for future work in this area.
Possible further topics relating directly to the work
described in this paper include investigations of the
earthquake resistance of hanging building systems;
the application of fabric formwork to brick shell
construction; the addition of prestress to fabric
formed structures; and the potential for both brick
shells and fabric formwork to provide low carbon
construction.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 127
John Orr MEng (Hons) PhD

Acknowledgements
2012
This paper would not have been possible without the
support of the Pai Lin Li Travel Award, given
generously by The Institution of Structural Engineers
Educational Trust. I am indebted to David Jolly, his
family, and all at the Open City for their hospitality and
assistance during my stay in Chile. My studies of
Eladio Dieste were helped enormously by unnamed
and numerous Uruguayans, who were consistently
helpful, understanding and patient as I photographed
their buildings.

Figure 36. Carugatti Workshop.

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Anderson, S. 2004. Eladio Dieste Innovation in

Structural Art, Princeton, Princeton Architectural
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Becker, T. P. & Anderson, S. 2004. Technology and

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Figure 34. Maldonado Gymnasium (-34.913596, -54.954616). inevitable renaissance of minimum energy structures.
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Hashemian, F. 2012. Structural behaviour and

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Heath, A., Walker, P., Fourie, C. and Lawrence, M.
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Orr, J. J. 2012. Flexible formwork for concrete Wise, C., Weir, A., Oates, G., & Winslow, P., 2012.
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Orr, J. J., Evernden, M., Darby, A. P. & Ibell, T. J.

2012. Proceedings of the Second International
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Oschendorf, J. 2004. Eladio Dieste as a Structural

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The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 129
Katie Symons MEng MA (Cantab) CEng MICE MIStructE
Katie Symons MEng MA (Cantab) CEng MICE MIStructE
2012
International perspectives on Life Cycle
Assessment of structural materials, particularly
timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
Abstract
This paper outlines experience gained from travel in
Australia and New Zealand in 2013, examining the
status of life cycle assessment (LCA) of construction
materials, particularly with respect to embodied
energy and carbon. The innovative use of low carbon
materials, particularly timber, is also explored.
Biography
Katie Symons graduated from
the University of Cambridge
in 2004 and went to work for
whitbybird engineers, now
Ramboll. She has a keen
interest in the sustainability
of the built environment,
especially the embodied energy
and carbon of buildings.
She presented her research
work undertaken during a
secondment to the University
of Cambridge at the Australian Life Cycle Assessment
Society conference in Sydney in July 2012 and
has had journal papers published on the subject of
evaluating embodied energy and Carbon. Katie is
a Chartered Engineer with both the Institutions of
Structural and Civil Engineers.
Travel experience
Katie travelled to Australia and New Zealand in 2013.
She was a platform speaker at the Australian Life
Cycle Assessment Society conference in Sydney
in July 2013, presenting her work on the life cycle
embodied carbon impacts of timber modelling
different end-of-life scenarios, within the context of
the new European suite of life cycle standards, EN
TC350. Whilst in New Zealand, she visited innovative
buildings which use post-tensioned timber frames
and energy dissipaters to improve their seismic
performance, and met the pioneers of these systems
at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.
She visited manufacturers of timber construction
systems including Cross Laminated Timber panels
and fabricated LVL sections. She also saw the pile
of demolition waste arisings from the Christchurch
earthquakes of 2010-2011, of which 60-70% is
timber, and met with local government to discuss
potential treatment options.
130  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Introduction
Embodied Energy, Embodied Carbon and Life
Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Many structural engineers are familiar by now with the
terms Embodied Energy (EE) and Embodied Carbon
(EC), and may even have been required to provide
a quantitative analysis of the embodied energy
and carbon of their designs. Defined as the energy
expended (in kJ) and the greenhouse gases (GHG)
emitted (in kg CO2 equivalent) attributable to the use
of construction materials and products in buildings,
these embodied impacts are becoming increasingly
important as the construction industry moves from
operational impacts (e.g. from heating and ventilation)
to look for other ways to reduce the environmental
impacts of buildings. Those responsible for the design
and construction of the fabric of buildings need to
examine ways in which they can deliver buildings that
minimise CO2 emissions both up to and beyond the
period in which the building is occupied. As studies
have consistently shown that high mass elements in
a building, i.e. those elements designed and specified
by structural engineers such as foundations, floor
plates and frames, are typically the high EC elements,
it is the professional responsibility of structural
engineers to both be aware of, and minimise
wherever possible, the impact of our designs.
Structural engineers who have investigated EE and
EC will have very quickly come across Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) as a discipline that can and is
used to produce the data required to evaluate EE and
EC of construction elements and buildings. LCA has
been around for many years as a method used to
determine the overall impact of a product or process
beyond the initial up-front impact, by including
consideration of additional impacts that occur during
its lifetime. Impact criteria commonly used are cost
and various environmental impacts including energy
use and GHG emissions. By their nature, LCAs are
complex: something as simple as the amount of
energy required to produce, and the amount of CO2
emitted in the production of, say 1m3 of reinforced
concrete, or 1kg of steel, or 1m3 of structural timber,
quickly becomes very complicated in the world of
LCA, where system boundaries, allocation rules, and
functional unit are just some terms that add to the
confusion.
 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
Figure 1. EPD for cross laminated timber panels
Yet in order to find robust data that represents a
true reflection of the energy and carbon impacts of
construction materials, the fundamentals of LCA need
to be understood by structural engineers.
LCA of construction products in Europe
Results of environmental LCAs for products, including
those used in construction, are often communicated
in the form of an ‘Environmental Product Declaration’
or EPD, a short document which gives a quantitative
assessment of the environmental impact of the
manufacture and use of the product according to
a number of criteria, such as GHG emissions. The
EPDs that have been produced to date have most
commonly used ISO standards pertaining to Life
Cycle Assessment [1] for guidance or rules under
which the impacts are calculated.
The use of EPDs around the world was led by
Europe, and soon it was felt that national EPD
schemes were interpreting the ISO standards
differently, so that the EPDs being produced were
not comparable across national boundaries. This
was seen as a barrier to trade between EU member
states, therefore in 2004 Technical Committee (TC)
350 was set up to develop a suite of standards for
the sustainability of construction works. These would
provide environmental information from LCA studies
in a common format, based on common rules known
as Product Category Rules (PCRs). In February
2012 the final standard relating to environmental
impacts, EN15804 was published, paving the way
for comparable EPDs to be produced, and hopefully
leading to a proliferation of EPDs for construction
products, both across Europe and around the world,
as it is anticipated that the European approach will be
adopted elsewhere.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
2012
An EPD contains information on more environmental
impacts than GHG emissions and energy use, but
these two are commonly of the most interest. As they
are derived from primary data, provided by product
manufacturers in accordance with internationally
recognised standards, and are reviewed, approved
and certified by a suitable body, EPDs offer a reliable
source of data for an EE and EC analysis. The main
problem with them is there aren’t enough of them
to adequately cover the wide range of construction
materials on the market.
LCA of Timber
Timber is almost unique as it is an organic
mainstream construction material, which therefore
contains Carbon created by the removal of CO2 from
the atmosphere during tree growth. The issue of how
to deal with this carbon ‘sequestered’ in the material
in the LCA of timber is one of great debate, because
if the sequestered carbon in timber is included as a
‘negative’ carbon impact, it usually far outweighs the
‘positive’ carbon impacts from the timber product
manufacturing processes. This makes the use of
timber seem a way to not only reduce but reverse
CO2 emissions, and so it appears highly favourable
when compared to other traditional structural
materials such as concrete or steel.
At the same time, we are witnessing good growth in
timber construction (compared to the construction
industry as a whole), including the use of engineered
timber materials like cross laminated timber (CLT)
panels in the UK. Various construction sector lobby
groups are becoming increasingly vocal about the
environmental impacts of their materials and so
the question of carbon sequestration in timber is
becoming increasingly pertinent.
Study Objectives
I had an opportunity to examine some of the issues
surrounding LCA of construction materials during
a 10 month sabbatical placement as a Research
Associate at the University of Cambridge, working
on a tool to evaluate EE and EC in UK domestic
buildings. During this time I identified timber as being
an area where considerable more work needed
to be done, and that exploring the problem from
different perspectives would be valuable. During my
research I had identified Australia as a region where
there was interesting academic work being done on
an LCA approach known as ‘input-output’, which
differed from the ‘process’ approach adopted by
EPDs and the European TC350 standards. I was
also aware of innovative timber construction systems
being pioneered in New Zealand, driven by a strong
domestic structural timber market but also the need
for new seismic resistant buildings, following the
devastating earthquakes in Christchurch in 2010
and 2011. Timber has excellent inherent seismic
properties, being lightweight and having a high strain
to failure, and I was keen to see how this was being
applied to new timber construction methods and how
they compared with traditional materials.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 131
Katie Symons MEng MA (Cantab) CEng MICE MIStructE
2012
Following the end of my research placement, with
the support of an Institution of Structural Engineers’
Educational Trust Travel Award I travelled to Australia
and New Zealand to study the current status of LCA
applied construction materials, especially timber, and
explore the new timber construction methods being
pioneered there.
This report summarises my findings from the following
activities:
- Presenting a paper on my research based on
applying European codes to LCA of timber at
the Australian LCA Society (ALCAS) conference
in July, and receiving feedback on the European
approach and how it may differ in Australia and
New Zealand,
- Engaging with the NZ Wood organisation to see
how timber is being used in innovative ways
across the country but especially in Christchurch
following the devastating earthquakes of 2010-
2011,
- Visiting companies in the timber supply chain
in New Zealand, who are producing innovative
products for both export and use in their home
country,
- Visiting the stockpile of demolition waste that has
resulted from the destruction of many domestic
and commercial buildings in Christchurch, and
finding out how local government are considering
the carbon impacts of the timber disposal options.
The lessons that can be learned from what is
happening in the Australasian region are summarised
at the end of my report.
The ALCAS 2013 conference
Overview
The 8th Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society
(ALCAS) conference, held in Manly, Sydney, in July
2013 was attended by 120 delegates from the private
and public sector as well as academia and had over
80 presentations. It is held biannually, on alternate
years to the conference of Association of Life Cycle
Assessment New Zealand (ALCANZ) and the two
organisations work closely together.
Status of EPDs in Australasia
Throughout the conference there was much
discussion of developments in Europe, including how
Environmental Produce Declarations are produced.
EPDs are a particular format that has been adopted
in Europe to present LCA results for all types of
products, including construction materials. The EU
construction products directive, which came into
force on 1st July 2013 requires all manufacturers
to provide LCA data on their GHG emissions and
energy use in order to get a CE mark. It is recognised
that this will be an important driver pushing the
publications of EPDs in the European market that
will affect exports from Australia and New Zealand
132  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
to Europe, as well as their competitiveness against
European products in other global markets. With
the publication of the final standard relating to
environmental impacts in the CEN/TC350 suite
of standards (EN 15804)[2] in February 2012, the
Australian and New Zealand LCA community are
aware of the importance of developing an EPD
scheme that is compatible with European standards
and do not ‘reinvent the wheel’. The conference
opened with an announcement of a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) between ALCAS, ALCANZ
and EnviroDec, the provider of the ‘International EPD
system’, which is based in Sweden but has been
implemented in a number of countries to become
one of the largest EPD databases, with over 300
registered. The MoU stated that EPDs would now
be registered in the International EPD system in
Australia and New Zealand by ALCAS and ALCANZ in
accordance with EN15804 methodology, modified for
regional factors such as climate.
Availability of good data for LCA studies was a key
concern, as is the case in Europe and the UK also.
Australia benefits from the existence of 2 freely
available LCA datasets, the AusLCI database and
the BPIC database, and although there have been
political and commercial issues with populating
them, the fact that they exist at all is a significant
achievement.
Input-Output LCA
One of my main motivations for attending an LCA
conference in Australia rather than any other country
was the research output from universities there on the
‘input-output’ LCA method. This is a fundamentally
different approach to the ‘process’ LCA method,
which is adopted by the TC350 standards and
subsequently most EPDs. In a process approach,
the environmental impact (say CO2 emissions) are
calculated at each stage of a product’s manufacturing
process, and summed to produce a life cycle
impact. However, this approach fails to account for
impacts caused by indirect processes that can only
be attributed in part to that product. An example
would be the road transportation of raw materials for
a particular product: a process LCA would include
the impacts of the fuel consumed by the vehicle, but
would not include the impacts of the manufacture
of the vehicle or construction of the road. An ‘input-
output’ LCA approach would include these impacts,
avoiding so-called ‘truncation errors’ through the
process of allocating impacts to industrial sectors
according to the economic output of their sector.
Studies have shown that a traditional LCA approach
applied to the EC of buildings can evaluate a total
EC of only 50% of the total obtained through an
input-output approach that does not include any
truncation error[3]. Input-Output analysis has its own
disadvantages, and in order to overcome them, a
hybrid process/input-output approach has been
developed by Dr Robert Crawford at the University of
Melbourne[4]. As there is no incorporation of input-
output methods into LCA standards in Europe, let
alone a new hybrid method, I wanted to see if the
situation was any different in Australia. Through
 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
conversations with conference delegates, who were
primarily LCA professionals, providing LCA services
commercially, I realised that as the LCA methods in
Australia were primarily driven by European policy and
standards in Europe, input-output analysis was just
as unfamiliar a concept here as in Europe, and the
potentially significant impact of input-output derived
data was not being considered.
LCA in Sustainable Building Assessment tools
A comprehensive review of how LCA is used in
building rating tools around the world was presented
by Lynda Amitrano, sustainable built environment
manager at BRANZ (Building Research Association
of New Zealand). She highlighted once again that
Europe is where the world looks to for leadership in
LCA in construction products. Whilst BREEAM from
the UK is the oldest sustainable building assessment
tool, the US LEED tool is the most widely used by
number of countries and buildings assessed globally.
It was noted that the materials credits in the LEED
can be obtained by using materials that have an
EN15804 compliant EPD, indicating the influence
of the European standards in the US as well as
Australasia.
Currently there is no regulatory requirement to
carry out LCA or embodied carbon analysis of
buildings in Australasia. However, it was announced
at the conference that in 2014 the next revision of
GreenStar, the building sustainability assessment tool
used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa,
would contain an element of LCA of construction
products used in buildings. This would be
compatible with the new Australian and New Zealand
registered EPDs. Although this was welcomed by
the conference delegates, it was pointed out that
where LCA is an ‘optional extra’ in environmental
assessment schemes, such as BREEAM in the
UK, it is often omitted due to the high cost of LCA
compared with other cheaper ways of scoring
points in the assessment process. Ways in which
the cost of LCA could be kept low was recognised
as an important challenge along with encouraging
industry take up of LCA in general by producing more
EPDs. The International EPD scheme has over 300
registered EPDs but also around 100 PCRs. This
implies that for each product type (something like
plywood, or concrete blocks) there is an average of
only 3 manufacturers that have been through the EPD
process, indicating very low market penetration.
Timber LCA
My own paper on how the end-of-life scenarios for
timber affect its whole life embodied carbon was
received with interest by a number of delegates.
The impacts of landfilling timber sparked a great
deal of debate: whether the emissions avoided from
capturing landfill gases is included in the study is
very significant on the carbon emissions, and there
was some concern that my analysis did not reflect
current practice in landfill management (in my analysis
I conservatively assumed no landfill gas was captured
in landfill sites). This issue is more pertinent to
Australia and New Zealand, where the relatively low
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
2012
Figure 2. The author at the ALCAS 2013 conference
density populations hasn’t led to hefty landfill taxes
like in the UK and Europe, which means that nearly all
waste timber in the region is landfilled. The practice
of landfilling timber is illegal in Germany and was only
not made illegal in the UK following a recent review
because the cost of enforcement was considered
too high for a small impact as hardly any timber is
landfilled: it is much more valuable as a resource for
recycling or fuel for waste to energy plants. It is not
surprising then that the only published experimental
data for CO2 and methane emissions from timber in
landfill comes from work done by Fabiano Ximenes, a
research officer in the New South Wales government
Department of Primary Industries. His most recent
paper [5] implies that as little as 10% of the carbon in
landfilled timber will ever decompose and find its way
back into the atmosphere as CO2 or the more potent
GHG, methane. This is significantly lower than the
current IPCC default value of 50% [6], and Mr Ximenes
is involved in the revisions that will be made to the
IPCC guidelines for national GHG reporting.
Interest in innovative timber construction methods
has clearly been sparked by the Forte building in
Melbourne, a 10 storey cross laminated timber (CLT)
panel building that held the record as the world’s
tallest residential timber building. Its environmental
benefits, as well as other advantages such as shorter
construction programmes and low site waste due
to prefabrication have attracted attention. It was
however disappointing to hear that the developer,
Lend Lease, had no plans to repeat the use of
CLT for the large scale residential buildings in the
Barangaroo project, a huge mixed-used development
to the West of the Sydney central business district
(CBD). CLT options were considered, and may still be
implemented on some smaller commercial buildings,
but for the larger towers, the cost of the CLT option
was prohibitive. As all CLT used in the region is
currently shipped from central Europe, one would
hope that in future a home-grown engineered timber
industry would make CLT schemes more competitive.
The Barangaroo project is still of interest from an EE
and EC perspective as Lend Lease are committed
to achieving a 20% reduction in EC compared to
equivalent typical construction for all the buildings on
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2012
Figure 3. The Forte building
the site, and have made it a mandatory requirement
for all their suppliers to provide either an EPD or an
LCA study for their construction products.
Use of Timber as a Construction Material in
Australasia
Overview
Timber has traditionally been the construction
material of choice for domestic, low rise buildings
in the Australasia region. With the introduction of
new engineered timber products, such as CLT as
demonstrated in the Forte building, it is seeing a
renaissance in non-domestic use, particularly in New
Zealand, where its revival has been driven by its good
seismic properties. I travelled to New Zealand and
while I was there I attended a seminar in Christchurch
organised by NZ Wood, an industry-wide programme
designed to promote the use of timber. Attended
by over 100 architects, engineers and suppliers,
various timber case study buildings, companies and
research programmes were presented. I then had the
opportunity to visit some of the case study buildings,
described in the following sections, to learn how
timber was successfully used in each.
Arts and Media Building, Nelson and Marlborough
Institute of Technology
The Arts and Media building on the Nelson and
Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) campus
in Nelson (Figure 1) received a Structural Award from
the IStructE in 2011. Designed by Irving Smith Jack
architects and Aurecon engineers, it was completed
in December 2010, and is a landmark building, widely
regarded as the first post-tensioned timber building
in the world. It came to be built using this system
following a national design competition, for which the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) provided
NZ$1,000,000 funding and stipulated that the
building must be sustainable, local and substantially
made of wood. MAF also commissioned research to
scrutinise aspects of the selected timber scheme,
not only in construction but after completion how it
was used by the occupiers. Funding was also made
available for a detailed construction cost analysis, as
134  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 4. The NMIT building, Nelson
well as a carbon LCA and life cycle cost analysis for
the scheme as built compared to alternative steel and
concrete structural schemes.
The building is 3 storeys and comprises studios,
galleries, workshops, teaching and office spaces,
adjoining a full height atrium running the length of the
building. The structure of the main block consists of a
Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) beam and column
gravity frame with 2 pairs of 3m wide post tensioned
LVL shear walls providing stability in both directions.
The floors are a timber-concrete composite and the
roof is formed of lightweight LVL purlins.
Figure 5. Post tensioned shear walls: bars pass
through a void in the centre of the wall section,
and the U plates between the walls act as energy
dissipaters
The post tensioned walls are an example of
‘EXPAN’ technology, developed by the Sustainable
Timber Innovation Company (STIC), a New Zealand
industrial-academic research consortium. In each
wall, 4 Macalloy bars pass down a void within the wall
section from the top storey down to the foundations,
providing the capacity to ‘recentralise’ the walls
following an earthquake. Between each pair of walls
at each floor are a number of U shaped flexural steel
plates, which act as energy dissipaters. They are
designed to yield under seismic loads, absorbing
energy and therefore limiting the shaking experienced
 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
by the remainder of the building elements, hence why
the system is known as a type of ‘damage limiting
design’. The plates themselves can be easily and
cheaply replaced, saving the remainder of the building
structure from damage, reducing costs dramatically
compared to a full structural frame repair, the expense
of which has condemned many buildings in post-
earthquake Christchurch to demolition.
The unique design has given rise to a number of
interesting structural details in the building. The
support to the atrium timber stair stringers at the
landing is provided by a steel frame, designed to
allow the stair to slide over it during the ‘rocking’
motion anticipated during an earthquake.
In order to allow the floors to remain horizontal but
the shear walls to ‘rock’, the wall/floor connections
are bolted through slotted holes and a single large
pin which transfers the lateral loads from the floor
diaphragm into the wall.
The expected maximum horizontal inter-storey drift
resulting from this design is 1.5% for a major seismic
event, well below the 2.5% maximum stipulated by
the New Zealand building codes.
While the building is yet to be tested in a real seismic
event, its success in raising the profile and indeed
interest and excitement in timber engineering, as well
as structural engineering in general, is not in doubt.
The building is frequently toured by engineers, and
on one such occasion a professor at the University
of Canterbury found himself having the function
of the energy dissipaters between the shear walls
enthusiastically explained to him by the resident
art students at work: a fine example of public
engagement in the art of structural engineering.
Figure 6. Atrium with steel landing support
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
2012
The Merritt Building
The Merritt Building in Christchurch is situated in
Victoria Street, a thriving community of boutique
shops and cafes that was severely damaged during
the February 2011 earthquake. Following the
destruction of the existing building on the plot, the
owner wished to construct a new building in timber,
and approached architect Sheppard and Rout with
that proposition. Together with structural engineers
Kirk Roberts, they developed a post tensioned LVL
scheme but unlike the NMIT building, there are no
post-tensioned walls here. Lateral stability is provided
in the long direction by a precast concrete shear
wall that extends the entire length of the building
in the long direction along the South East elevation
(concrete was used for its acoustic performance
as the building is close to the site boundary on this
elevation), and 7 no. post-tensioned portal frames in
the short direction, which also take out the torsion
due to the asymmetric layout.
Figure 7. The Merritt Building (proposed)
Figure 8. The erection of the portal frames during
construction, January 2013
Another example of EXPAN technology, steel tendons
rather than Macalloy bars post tension both the
primary beams and columns by passing through
voids in the middle of the section. The energy
dissipation is provided by so called ‘plug and play’
connections, necked steel bars at the top and bottom
of the portal connections.
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2012
Figure 9. Beam column junction showing post-
tensioning cable termination
Figure 10. ‘Plug and play’ connector energy
dissipaters
Under seismic loading, the building is again designed
to ‘self-centre’ itself after rocking through the elastic
behaviour of the post tensioned cables. During the
rocking, rotation at the beam and column junction
causes gaps to open and the necked bars yield in a
ductile manner, thus dissipating energy that would
otherwise be transmitted throughout the structure.
The portal connections are designed in such a way
that 60% of the moment resistance is derived from
the tendons, 40% from the dissipaters, a so-called
‘magic ratio’ to achieve self centring and adequate
rotation at the joint to activate the dissipaters.
The floors beams are designed to act compositely
with the concrete topping and the shear connection
is provided by coach screws placed in the beams
at notches to reduce rotation of the screw. The
structural depth is not shallow: primary beams are
800mm deep, secondary beams 400mm deep.
136  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
The design was developed very soon after the
February 2011 earthquake, when strong aftershocks
were common in the city, so there was a desire to
have the robust connections on show to emphasise
that the building had been designed to resist
significant seismic loading. The structural design is
predicted to resist a 1 in 2500 year event seismic
event, with only a 1.5% storey drift in a 1 in 500
year event, well above the performance required of
a typical new build structure. Timber may have been
thought to be an expensive option, especially given
the innovative system being used, but the base build
cost for the three storey office and retail building, with
a total area of 1800m2, came in at only NZ$2350/m2,
comparable with traditional building methods.
The Trimble Building
Trimble Navigation Systems employ around
240 people in New Zealand in their offices in
Christchurch, which was damaged in the February
2011 earthquake. The repair or reinstatement of
many commercial buildings in the city has been
held up by lengthy insurance claim processes, while
loss-adjusters decide whether repairing building
would be more costly than simply demolishing them
and starting again. In the case of this building, the
decision was made when a devastating fire ripped
through the remains of the structure in May 2011,
making a rebuild the only option and hastening
the insurance payout. Interestingly, given timber’s
commonly held but somewhat unjust reputation for
poor fire resistance, the client opted for a timber
scheme for the new building.
Figure 11. The Trimble building under construction,
May 2013
The building consists of two separate blocks with a
total floor space of 6000m2 over two storeys. The
construction of both blocks is a post-tensioned LVL
frame incorporating EXPAN technology. Stability in the
short direction is provided by coupled post-tensioned
LVL shear walls connected by steel U-plate energy
dissipaters, similar to those in the NMIT building
except these also have ‘plug and play’ dissipaters at
the base. Stability in the long direction is provided by
moment resistance at the beam-column connection,
as in the Merritt building, using a combination of the
post tensioning Macalloy bars through the beams and
columns and the ‘plug and play’ connectors at the
top and bottom of the connection.
The upper floor is constructed using a timber-
 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
Figure 12. Two types of energy dissipaters at the
base of the shear walls
Figure 13. Face fixed ‘plug and play’ connectors to primary
beams; also note face fixed blocks on secondary beams
indicating the beam notches to improve composite action
concrete composite system developed at the Sydney
Institute of Technology. The timber joists are fixed to
the plywood deck to form prefabricated units that
are then easily lifted onto the frame and located
onto bearers connected to the main longitudinal
beams. The joists are notched to improve the shear
connection of the coach screws to the 60mm
concrete topping that is poured onto the deck. Shear
connections are optimised for most beams, with more
connections at the beam ends, fewer in the middle.
Where beams are connected to the shear walls, the
number of shear connectors is increased as that
beam is acting as a ‘collector’ for the lateral loads
from the floor diaphragm going into the shear walls.
Figure 14. Pre-fabricated timber concrete composite
floor units being lifted into place
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
2012
The construction manager at the site noted a key
benefit of this type of construction was the simple
site management, as only 1 gang of workers were on
site, dedicated to the erection of the timber frame,
avoiding the need to coordinate multiple gangs
that are required for other construction types, e.g.
formwork erectors, steel fixers and concrete gangs
for in situ concrete frames.
Timber portal frame connections: Quick Connect
Another product in the EXPAN range is the Quick
Connect system, developed at the University of
Auckland: an innovative connection design used
to for pitched LVL roof beams in portal frame
construction. Pre-fabricated, pre-installed LVL sleeves
are screwed to the main portal frame LVL members
and grooved to allow the insertion of threaded rods
that are fastened to the receiving columns or rafters.
The system allows for more assembly offsite, saving
time and money as well as an element of damage
limiting design, because in the event of high loads,
such as during an earthquake, the steel tendons will
yield. Like the other EXPAN products, they act like
‘structural fuses’, saving the rest of the structure from
significant damage and can be replaced cheaply and
easily. The expedient installation of LVL rafters to
any type of columns reduces the use of a crane and
labour needed during erection. Quick Connect portal
frames have found a niche in the industrial/agricultural
sector in New Zealand, where they are being used
to replace traditional steel construction. For basic
‘tin shed’ buildings such as these, cost is more than
ever the key design driver. Portal framed warehouses
that were delivered at a cost of NZ$350/m2 using
traditional steel construction could be delivered
using Quick Connect connections between LVL roof
beams and steel columns for only 15% additional
cost (NZ$375), but this was more than offset by the
savings in programme. The system won the Timber
Innovation in Business category in the 2012 New
Zealand Wood awards.
The system is not only used in commercial buildings.
One of the first known domestic applications was
designed by Batchelar McDougall Consulting for a
house in Wanaka. Situated in magnificent mountain
scenery, the two storey home built predominantly of
timber SIP panels was subject to high wind loads.
The design made the most of the vistas by having
a highly glazed envelope at first floor level which
required an additional brace frame to provide lateral
stability in the absence of structural walls. The
client and architect wished to maintain the timber
structure of the house, so rather than a steel moment
connection, a Quick Connect portal frame was used
to stabilise the gable end of the building where the
walls could not be used for restraint. The 6m span flat
roof was supported by a 360mmx90mm LVL beam
with end moment connections formed with the Quick
Connect system.
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2012
Figure 15. Sketch showing the Quick Connect connection
details
Further development and opportunities for timber
construction
Although the STIC research consortium funding
expires in 2013, there is still ongoing research to
continue to optimise EXPAN technology, particularly
with respect the cost of the connections. But it
is hoped that the momentum gained in timber
construction will continue to increase following
Forte in Australia, NMIT and other successful post-
tensioned buildings in New Zealand, especially in the
wake of the Christchurch rebuild challenge. It is clear
in Christchurch that timber has the potential to be put
to widespread use in commercial as well as residential
construction. Two years after the most destructive
earthquake of February 2011, as work finally moves
from demolition to rebuild, it is interesting to note
that many of the first new buildings to appear in the
city are constructed from timber, both in the form of
EXPAN buildings like the two discussed here (there
are others in Christchurch) and other ‘pop up’ timber
buildings, constructed very quickly because of their
high economic importance – including the student
union bar at the University of Canterbury!
138  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
Figure 16. ‘The Foundry’, the student union bar at
the University of Canterbury, made of timber
New Zealand Timber Supply Chain
Overview
New Zealand has a history of developing successful
home grown solutions and industries, given its
geographical isolation. The theory and technology
behind the EXPAN timber systems developed
primarily in the New Zealand Universities of
Canterbury and Auckland required a completely new
way of engineering timber, which has been provided
entirely by the existing domestic timber supply
chain. Whilst in New Zealand I had the opportunity
to visit the factories of companies delivering timber
construction products: two that form the fabricated
LVL members for post-tensioned frames and a CLT
producer, all based within a few km of each other in
Nelson, at the North end of the South Island.
Nelson Pine
Nelson Pine Industries has been operating since
1986 but only started making LVL in 2002. Situated
on a coastal plain overlooking Tasman Bay, the
factory covers nearly 8 hectares. Alongside the
largest single site Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF)
plant in the world, Nelson Pine Industries has the
capacity to produce approximately 80,000m3 of
LVL per year, much of which is exported overseas
from the port in Nelson to Asia, the Middle East,
and Australia for a variety of uses, including scaffold
planks and formwork in addition to high strength
structural applications. But as their investment in the
STIC consortium indicates, Nelson Pine Industries
recognise the potential of engineered timber in new
construction techniques, including post-tensioned
timber, and are clearly keen to promote this new
application of their product.
Figure 17. The Nelson Pine factory
 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
Figure 18. Logs awaiting ‘peeling’ on the LVL
production line
The Nelson region has around 175,000 hectares
of plantation forests, approximately 16% of the
productive land area, making it one of New Zealand’s
most important forestry areas. About 2 million m3 of
timber is produced here every year, the temperature
and climate makes good growing conditions for
structural timber logs. Most of the plantations are
radiata pine, the only species used by Nelson Pine,
who owns 5000 hectares of forest itself, but buys the
majority of its raw material from other forest owners,
with the capacity to process around 50% of the total
log output of the region for the manufacturing of MDF
and LVL.
The production process for LVL is fascinating to
watch, as logs straight off the truck from the forests
less than 50km away are transformed into a highly
engineered structural product. The first stage in the
process is for the logs to be debarked on site then
placed in hot water baths, where they are heated to
80oC for 24hrs, bringing the core temperature up to
improve the performance of the ‘peeling’ process.
Here the logs are held at each end and rotated
about their axis at high speed and a high precision
lathe slices off a continuous veneer, approximately
3.5mm thick, reducing the diameter of the log from
around 450mm to 78mm. The veneers are cut to
1.3m x 2.7m sheets and automated scanners check
for the presence of imperfections such as knots or
bark, removing them as necessary. The veneers
are then dried in a steam powered 6 deck drier to
a target moisture content of 6-8%. Once dry, they
are visually graded, as well as graded for strength
using sonic methods. All sheets edges are scarfed,
to enhance strength as well as achieving a uniform
thickness when the sheets are laid up. An automated
production line arranges the laying up of face sheets
and core sheets, all with parallel grain direction, and
the phenol formaldehyde glue is applied through a
curtain coating machine to ensure uniform covering.
The sheets are then laid up into a mat of the required
thickness in a continuous process over a moving
conveyor. It is then put through the 45m long hot
press, where under 10bar pressure and 120oC heat
the glue is cured in only a few minutes to produce
the billets of LVL. Sanding is an option for products
which require a smoother finish, then the billets
are cut to size, wrapped and packed, ready for
distribution.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
2012
Figure 19. Automated laying up of veneers after
application of glue
The company is keen to showcase the uses of LVL in
buildings that are fast becoming landmarks such as
NMIT. But they also use their own product for their
own buildings: many of the huge warehouses that
form the factory are constructed from LVL beams and
columns. The roof and walls for the 64m span, 14m
high dispatch hall are all framed with LVL sections,
demonstrating the structural performance of the
material on an impressively large scale.
Figure 20. LVL packed and ready to go in the
dispatch hall, constructed of fabricated LVL sections.
Nelson Pine Industries is also keen to highlight the
environmental credentials of their product. All the
offcuts and timber waste from the factory is either
used to make MDF or burned in the boilers on site
to provide renewable heat for the MDF and LVL
manufacturing lines. Together with the other two LVL
manufacturers in New Zealand, Carter Holt Harvey
and Juken New Zealand, they contributed primary
data on energy and material use to a study by
SCION, the New Zealand forest and wood products
research institute, to produce a carbon footprint
report for LVL made in New Zealand [7]. Freely
available on their website the report is refreshing in
its clarity and open discussion of the major factors
contributing to the product’s emissions, including
the sequestration of carbon in growing timber
and the impact of different end-of-life scenarios.
The study was carried out in accordance with the
‘Guidelines for GHG footprinting for engineered
wood products’ [8], developed by New Zealand’s
Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). These
were produced as part of MAF’s GHG footprinting
strategy to enable land based primary sectors to
respond to the increasing pressures from export
markets for product specific environmental impact
data, especially GHG emissions. Although it clearly
has a narrower scope than the TC350 standards,
it is much more readable, directly addressing the
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2012
key issues of carbon sequestration and landfilling
timber within a robust LCA methodology that is in
accordance with ISO standards. An example perhaps
of how the geographic isolation of New Zealand and
the importance of exports to its economy allows
progress to be made in addressing the technicalities
of environmental impacts quickly to respond to
market demand for information. In contrast, the
European standard addressing LCA of timber
products, EN16485, ended its consultation period on
the draft version in November 2012 and is not due for
publication until August 2014.
Hunter Laminates
Hunter Laminates is traditionally a glulam
manufacturer, based in Richmond, 10km from Nelson.
Glulam in New Zealand is made on a smaller scale
than in Europe, with the product not having a large
domestic market. However it is in much demand
as a structural material abroad, with many exports
going to showcase buildings in the Pacific region
and the Middle East. Hunters are now diversifying,
finding that they have the tools and skills to produce
the fabricated LVL sections used in EXPAN post-
tensioned frames, and are investing in new plant to
make the process more efficient in the future.
Layers of LVL are glued together into fabricated
sections in much the same way that laminates of plain
timber are glued together to make glulam sections.
Once the glue (a resorcinol formaldehyde resin) is
applied, the sections are placed in presses that can
be adjusted to suit any length of section, including
curved members. It is then gently heated to around
70oC and left to cure for around 24hrs, after which
the section is ready for treatment, if required. A
light organic solvent preservative (LOSP) treatment
is typically used for internal exposed applications.
The finished sections are loaded into a pressurised
bath where the preservative is applied by vacuum
impregnation, ensuring a uniform penetration into the
timber.
Figure 21. A fabricated LVL column for the Nelson
Pine dispatch hall extension is transported in the
Hunters factory
In some areas of their business, Hunter Laminates
seem to have almost a symbiotic relationship with
Nelson Pine LVL. The LVL sections being made in the
factory at the time of our visit were columns for the
new extension to Nelson Pine’s dispatch warehouse,
so LVL is made by Nelson Pine, sent down the road
to Hunters for fabrication into columns and then sent
140  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award
back to be erected in the new warehouse. As the
logs for the LVL were harvested in the nearby forests,
it can truly claim to be a locally sourced structural
frame. At the time of my visit, LVL members for a
new post-tensioned office building in Nelson were in
production were, but they are also working further
afield. They have over 1500m3 of LVL fabrications
programmed in the next 6 months, including post
tensioned sections for the new 9000m2 campus
centre buildings for Tate Electronics in Christchurch
and portal frame members which use the EXPAN
‘Quick Connect’ system for the new Netball City
stadium on the Olympic Park in Sydney.
XLam
Another example of kiwi entrepreneurial activity in
the timber industry is XLam NZ Limited, the only CLT
panel manufacturer in the Southern hemisphere. In
little over a year of operation, they have successfully
delivered CLT panels for a number of residential
buildings in New Zealand and are moving into the
commercial building sector. Their factory contains
a 15mx3.4m press with a capacity for an output
of 8000m3 CLT per annum. Situated in the heart
the Nelson-Marlborough region, they have good
access to both Radiata Pine and Douglas Fir, offering
a choice in aesthetic appearance that these two
species offer.
Figure 22. The CLT press in the XLam factory
XLam has faced the significant challenge of being
the first to introduce a new and unknown product
into the New Zealand market, which offers many
benefits but is also a radically new way of building
and designing, which architects, engineers and
clients can be reluctant to adopt before seeing
proven examples. Quantity surveyors can also be
notoriously conservative when pricing new building
systems without experience to base their estimates
on. No-one wants to be the first! Nevertheless, XLam
have invested heavily in their equipment, initially
making use of the fully operational production facility
is required to make demonstration panels for a variety
of different applications, to show the wide-ranging
applications of CLT (many of the plant items in the
factory are built out of CLT itself). They are confident
that boom in the use of CLT in Europe as its benefits
are recognised will soon come to the Australasian
region.
 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
Figure 23. Boards come out of the finger jointing
machine onto this storage platform, itself constructed
out of CLT
Almost every stage of timber processing is done
in-house so XLam can control all aspects of quality
control, seen as vital when introducing a new product
to the construction industry. Timber direct from
sawmills is graded on site, both for visual appearance
and stiffness. Imperfections are removed and the
boards go through the fully automated finger jointing
machine. They are then planed to remove 5mm of
thickness before being put into the press, laid up in
layers of alternating grain direction. The quality of the
final product is determined by the thickness of the
glueline, which must be maintained between 0.1mm
and 0.3mm. Before the glue is applied to the boards
in the press, the flow rate and viscosity of the glue is
tested to ensure uniformity during application. The
boards are face glued only: XLam’s own testing has
shown that glueing the edges of boards does not
improve their performance significantly, and leaving
the edges free may also offer the timber a chance
to expand and contract with changes in moisture
content. The press is sealed with a membrane and
a vacuum pressure of around 90kPa is applied
for 2.5hours. Panels can be laid up with openings
incorporated for windows or doors, and smaller
openings can be cut after the panel is cured. Layer
thicknesses are 20mm and 35mm, soon 45mm will
be available, with panel thicknesses ranging from
60mm to 130mm, with the potential to go up to
500mm.
With no Australian or New Zealand standard for
CLT, XLam manufacture their product according
to a number of New Zealand standards for timber
and glue manufacture and use, including adopting
standards for glulam manufacture. XLam also comply
with the contents of the draft ISO standard for the
manufacture of CLT (ISO N695WD16696), in the
expectation this will be adopted by the Australian
and New Zealand standards authorities when it is
finalised. Their manufacturing procedures are audited
against their comprehensive Quality Assurance
Framework standards by an independent body.
In the future, XLam plans to develop Acceptable
Solutions, accepted by Australasian Local Issuing
Authorities, to simplify the consenting process. In the
meantime, building consent for CLT in New Zealand
and Australia is through the ‘Alternative Solutions’
route, and all applications to date have been
successful.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
2012
While XLam is currently not at a comparable scale to
the established CLT producers in Europe, they are
growing strongly and pushing the boundaries of their
product with their own testing programmes. They are
experimenting with ideas such as cast-in conduits
to panels for service runs, and ‘TwinSkin’ cassette
panels for long span floor and roof applications.
At the time of my visit, work was going on to
manufacture wall panels for the new Kaikoura District
Council building, a museum, library and office building
to be made totally out of timber. In this building the
shear walls that would incorporate EXPAN post-
tensioning tendons will be made from CLT rather than
LVL. This will be the first of its kind in the world, but
seeing the ambition of XLam, it is not likely to be the
last.
Timber Disposal in Australasia
Overview
As discussed earlier, the whole life EC of timber
is significantly affected by the end of life scenario
that is assumed, and landfilling timber can result in
very significant emissions. This does no favours for
emissions in Australia and New Zealand which in
contrast to Europe, landfills almost all waste timber.
Timber in Christchurch’s demolition waste
Post-quake Christchurch offers many unique
challenges and opportunities. In addition to the
rebuild of an entire city centre and almost 10,000
houses, there is also the issue of what to do with the
stockpile of demolition waste following the destruction
caused by the 2010-2011 earthquake sequence. To
date this waste is being stored at Burwood Resource
Recovery Park (BRRP), a ex-council landfill site that
was closed in 2006 but reopened in March 2011
to receive mixed waste arising from the demolition
of damaged buildings. Since 2006, municipal solid
waste in the region was being sent to Kate Valley, a
relatively new landfill site some 60km North of the
city. It was decided to allow Burwood to receive the
demolition waste given its proximity to the city centre,
only 10km away. Operated by Transwaste, a joint
venture organisation split in ownership between the 5
Councils in Canterbury (the region that Christchurch
is in), and TransPacific, a private waste company, the
aim is to recycle as much as possible of the material,
with a minimum target of 50%, reducing as much as
possible the volume of waste that will eventually be
landfilled. It is estimated that waste from over 1000
demolished commercial buildings in the city centre
and 500 from the wider Christchurch area will be
sent there for processing, in addition to waste from
up to 10,000 houses that will be demolished. Even
in mid-2013, buildings were still being demolished
and so waste was still being delivered to the site,
albeit at a reduced rate than the initial high volumes
in the immediate aftermath. At the time of my visit in
May 2013, the stockpile was estimated to be around
400,000t, with material arriving at a rate of 300t/day
and expected to continue to do so until the end of
2013.
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Katie Symons MEng MA (Cantab) CEng MICE MIStructE
2012

Figure 24. The demolition waste arisings at BRRP (see figure 27 to appreciate scale by
comparison with green processing line just visible to the right hand side)

The extraordinary fact about the waste in terms of
its carbon impact is that it is estimated to comprise
around 60-70% timber by volume.
This high proportion is due to the propensity for New
Zealand buildings, particularly domestic and low rise
pre-1970s non-residential buildings to be timber
framed. But even non-timber buildings (such as the
masonry heritage buildings that will be a great loss to
the city’s environment) contain a large amount of non-
structural timber that has contributed to the stockpile.
Timber weatherboards are a very popular cladding,
and have in the past been made from precious
indigenous timbers such as Kauri, Matai and Rimu.
Treated timber
The impact of treated timber in the stockpile is
significant. More than half the timber used for
construction in New Zealand today is treated in some
form to improve its resistance to fungal attack and
general decay. Radiata pine, the most commonly
used timber has low natural durability when compared
with other softwoods, but its porous cell structure
makes it very receptive to chemical treatment. The
most common and well known treatment chemical
is Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), but there are
many others, such as copper azole, boron and other
light organic solvent preservatives (LOSPs). Treated
timber is not considered to be an inert material, and
so by law cannot be disposed of in ‘clean fills’, where
material that will have no adverse effect on people or
the environment such as concrete, masonry and rock
may be buried. Instead it is regarded as a hazardous
material, because of the risk of leachate containing
harmful chemicals such as arsenic and chromium
leaking into the ground and entering ground water
supplies. CCA is recognised internationally as being
hazardous and its use in construction is banned in
some countries including Japan and Germany.
particularly CCA, became widespread, and is indeed
still used to this day. However during the demolition
process there was no strategy in place to sort the
timber from old and new houses, and as there is
no economically feasible way to separate treated
from untreated timber, all the timber that is delivered
to BRRP will be handled as treated timber. This
undoubtedly is a missed opportunity to save money
and effort in treating this waste, however it will be an
excellent learning process for authorities to consider
how to modernise and improve their handling of
treated timber waste, as the problem is not going
to go away. It is estimated that in 2006 alone, over
830,000m3 of treated timber was produced in New
Zealand, 70% of it with CCA [11]. Extrapolating from
these figures, over the last 20 years, 16.6M m3 of
treated timber has been put into circulation and will
eventually require disposal.
End-of-Life options for timber in Christchurch
demolition waste
There is much published research, including my own,
that shows the significantly different carbon impacts
of the 3 main end-of-life options for timber (recycle,
incinerate, or landfill)[12].

In 2013, Environment Canterbury (ECan), the regional

council with responsibility for addressing hazardous
waste issues in the region, commissioned a project
to examine and evaluate the options for dealing
with the treated timber in the stockpile. The first two
milestone reports of this project have been published
[9][10]
; the first contains the striking fact that although
the volume of timber that will arise from demolitions
is estimated to be around 400,000t, of that, only
24,000t or 6% is anticipated to be treated timber. This
is because most of the demolished buildings were
constructed pre-1970s, when the use of treatment,
Figure 25. The whole life EC of the CLT panels used in
the Forte building with 3 different End-of-Life scenarios
[12]
Christchurch has an opportunity to make significant
carbon savings by optimising the end-of-life
destinations for the timber contained in the demolition
waste. The STIC research consortium has carried
out a review if end-of-life options for structural timber

142  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
specifically for New Zealand and Australia [11]. Future
legislation may limit the current status of all timber
going into landfill, recognising that it is not sustainable
in the long term. When all the earthquake demolitions
in Christchurch are complete, it is estimated that
the waste arisings will be equivalent to 20 times the
amount of municipal solid waste that goes to the Kate
Valley landfill site each year.
Recycling
Recycling of the timber is happening, but although
quantities are hard to measure, it is undoubtedly on
a very small scale. Organisations such as ReKindle,
who make furniture, decorative ornaments and even
jewellery out of salvaged timber, including valuable
native timber weatherboards, are getting publicity
and recognition from their work and their mission
to reduce as much valuable material as possible
from being treated as waste. Arrow International,
the contractor responsible for around 1/3 of the
residential building demolitions report that they are
able to ‘flatpack’ and reuse around 5% of condemned
houses, with a further 5% able to be removed as
complete structures and relocated elsewhere.
Figure 26. A ‘ReKindle’ chair, made from timber
weatherboards recovered from houses to be
demolished in Christchurch
In April 2013 a state-of-the-art recycling plant
commenced operation at Burwood, with the ability
to sort the demolition waste in a combination of
automated and manual processes, in what is widely
regarded as the most sophisticated material sorting
process ever seen in Australasia.
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
2012
Figure 27. The material sorting and recycling line at
BRRP
Ferrous metal is removed by magnets, non-ferrous
metals by eddy current drums. Heavyweight material
such as concrete and masonry are removed by
simply immersing the waste stream in water and
scooping up the floating timber. The rubble and metal
recovered are easily sold on to scrap merchants.
Fibre (cardboard, paper), fittings, plastics, gib/plaster
board, and other reusable materials are removed
manually, leaving a waste stream consisting of fairly
homogenous timber.
Incineration
Incineration, or other processes that use wood as
a fuel and may include energy recovery, such as
gasification, pyrolysis or torrefaction, have little or no
market penetration in New Zealand. When burning
treated timber, high tech and expensive flue gas
cleaning equipment is required to ensure emissions
to air do not contain any harmful chemicals. These
are standard on large Waste to Energy plants found
in the US, Scandinavia and other Northern European
countries but would be a big investment for a small
country like New Zealand where throughput would be
low compared to more densely populated countries.
However it is not inconceivable that it may be of
interest to some waste companies, given the volumes
of waste timber in circulation and the readily available
supply of waste with a potentially high calorific value
waiting to be processed in Christchurch.
Landfill
The default option for the timber waste from
Christchurch is to maintain the ‘status quo’ and
send it to a landfill site with the appropriate controls
to manage the potentially hazardous leachate. An
area of the BRRP is already being prepared as a
landfill cell, to be lined with liquefied silt/sand material
ejected from the ground during the earthquakes. It will
have the capacity to store up to 700,000t of material,
more than enough for all the timber demolition
waste. Provided the harmful treatment chemicals
can be contained, this may well be the optimum
environmental option if careful management can also
ensure the majority of landfill gas emissions can be
captured and ideally burned with energy recovery,
displacing emissions from fossil derived energy to
reduce the carbon impact. Should this option be
pursued, it would also be an excellent opportunity
to conduct research on the emissions from timber in
landfill, which is currently very poorly understood.
Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 143
Katie Symons MEng MA (Cantab) CEng MICE MIStructE
2012
Whatever happens to the timber demolition waste, NMIT building which has now spawned a number of
it is possibly the start of a new era of treating timber buildings using the same system (and not required
waste in New Zealand. The project commissioned by subsidies to be commercially viable) should be taken
ECan included environmental as well as economic on board by those looking to increase the use of
assessments in its evaluation of each option, and it is timber as a mainstream structural material.
hoped that the carbon impacts are given due weight
by decision makers. The project is to culminate in the Finally the processing of treated timber waste arising
specification of pilot trials, the results from which will from the demolitions in Christchurch is going to
be noted across New Zealand as well as the greater have implications for timber waste treatment in New
Australasian region and around the world. An event Zealand, and lessons should be learned from it
such as the earthquake sequence in Christchurch around the world, including the carbon impact of the
highlights the impact of demolishing buildings in a possible options.
way that is hidden to most engineers in everyday
construction, where buildings are demolished at a
low rate. Hopefully the experience of Christchurch will
highlight to engineers the importance of considering
the end-of-life stage in the life cycle of buildings, and
encourage a sensible approach to minimising material
use wherever possible to reduce the environmental
impact of their designs long after their construction
has been completed.

Conclusions
When attempting to apply LCA to construction
materials to carry out EE and EC analyses of buildings
in Australasia, many of the challenges faced are the
same as in Europe. Although European standards
are still considered to be the best available, we
should learn from the efforts of Australia to make LCA
datasets for construction materials freely available.
The example of the New Zealand government going
ahead and publishing transparent carbon footprinting
methodology and results for important materials
such as LVL, without waiting for cumbersome and
bureaucratic standards to be published is one that
we should look to emulate in Europe. However,
EE and EC data for construction materials in a
format accessible to structural engineers wishing
to do a simple evaluation of their designs is sparse
in Australasia, and save the New Zealand data
collected by Alcorn, last updated in 2003, there is no
comparison to the Bath ICE database [13] that is used
so widely in the UK.

Despite a wide research base working on the

input-output approach to LCA, most LCA practice
in industry in Australia is still based on a process
approach and looks like it will continue to be so in the
future.

The examples of innovative timber design in New

Zealand are world-leading, and have great potential
to be used abroad, especially in seismic design.
However, there are other lessons that can be
learned even in non-earthquake regions like the UK.
The cooperation between the local timber supply
chain and the design and academic community is
an excellent example of maximising the value of
a domestic resource, which could be considered
by those involved in the new ‘Grown in Britain’
campaign, which is looking at how the UK can
capitalise on its domestic timber industry rather than
rely on imports. The fact that direct government
funding led to the post-tensioned timber frame of the

144  The Institution of Structural Engineers  Pai Lin Li Travel Award

 International perspectives on Life Cycle Assessment of structural materials, particularly timber: lessons to be learned from Australasia
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to the Educational Trust of the
Institution of Structural Engineers for the travel award
that has allowed me to carry out this study.
In addition, I wish to acknowledge and express my
gratitude to the following people who generously
volunteered their time to share their knowledge:
Prof. Andy Buchanan & Stephen John, Department
of Department of Civil and Natural Resources
Engineering, University of Canterbury
Tony Sellin, Energy manager, University of Canterbury
Neil Dodunski, Hunter Laminates
Jason Guiver, Nelson Pine Industries
Robin Jack and Sam Leslie, XLam NZ Ltd
Shane Haydon, Aurecon
Marga Lamoreaux, Kirk Roberts Consulting Engineers
Ltd
Andrew Brown, Opus International Consultant Ltf
Fraser Scott, True North Consulting
Chris Keeling, Environment Canterbury
Anne MacKenzie, Build Green
Warren Batchelar & Henry Smeaton, Batchelar
McDougall Consulting
Robert Finch, Quake Centre, University of Canterbury
(previously STIC)
Rob Wilson, Burwood Resource Recovery Park
Robert Crawford, Faculty of Architecture, Building
and Planning, University of Melbourne
The Institution of Structural Engineers Educational Trust
References
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[1] ISO 14025:2006 Environmental labels
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[2] BS EN 15804:2012 Sustainability of construction
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[4] Crawford 2004, Validation of the use of I-O data
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[5] Ximenes & Grant 2013, Quantifying the
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[6] 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse
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[7] Carbon Footprint of New Zealand Laminated
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[8] Guidelines for GHG footprinting for engineered
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[9] Treated Timber Waste Minimisation Project,
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R13/31, May 2013
[10] Treated Timber Waste Minimisation Project,
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[12] Symons, Moncaster & Symons 2013, An
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[13] Embodied Carbon: The Inventory of Carbon and
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Pai Lin Li  Travel Award 145
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