Enhancing Adobe Housing in Oaxaca, Mexico
Disciplines
Architectural Technology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Enhancing Adobe Housing in Oaxaca, Mexico
Abstract
Oaxaca is a state located in southern Mexico that is best known for its indigenous people and cultures. In the past, housing in Oaxaca was also influenced by its native traditions and were built using adobe bricks. Unfortunately, in present day, most of adobe homes have been replaced by concrete, and the tradition of building with adobe is being forgotten. Adobe, which is a dried mud brick, is traditionally made by mixing sand, clay, straw, and water before being baked in the sun. The importance of this material ties into the culture and traditions of the Zapotec and Mixtec who are Oaxaca’s pre-columbian indigenous civilizations. In addition, adobe is an ideal building material due to its heat absorption ability during hot days and ability to reflect this stored heat during cold nights. Adobe is currently being replaced by concrete due to the inexpensiveness of the material cost. Concrete, although uncomfortable to live in with Oaxaca’s hot climate, is faster and easier to build with compared to adobe. In addition, people residing in Oaxaca prefer to build with concrete because they believe that a concrete house is more luxurious than a house made of “dirt”. I want to reverse the stereotypical idea and bring back adobe housing to Oaxaca’s villages by using a different adobe building technique. What will be the most ideal method of building with adobe in order to design an adobe house that conserves Oaxaca’s culture, customs, and traditions?
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CACM - Architecture
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Arief Setiawan
Enhancing Adobe Housing in Oaxaca, Mexico
Enhancing Adobe Housing in Oaxaca, Mexico
Abstract
Oaxaca is a state located in southern Mexico that is best known for its indigenous people and cultures. In the past, housing in Oaxaca was also influenced by its native traditions and were built using adobe bricks. Unfortunately, in present day, most of adobe homes have been replaced by concrete, and the tradition of building with adobe is being forgotten. Adobe, which is a dried mud brick, is traditionally made by mixing sand, clay, straw, and water before being baked in the sun. The importance of this material ties into the culture and traditions of the Zapotec and Mixtec who are Oaxaca’s pre-columbian indigenous civilizations. In addition, adobe is an ideal building material due to its heat absorption ability during hot days and ability to reflect this stored heat during cold nights. Adobe is currently being replaced by concrete due to the inexpensiveness of the material cost. Concrete, although uncomfortable to live in with Oaxaca’s hot climate, is faster and easier to build with compared to adobe. In addition, people residing in Oaxaca prefer to build with concrete because they believe that a concrete house is more luxurious than a house made of “dirt”. I want to reverse the stereotypical idea and bring back adobe housing to Oaxaca’s villages by using a different adobe building technique. What will be the most ideal method of building with adobe in order to design an adobe house that conserves Oaxaca’s culture, customs, and traditions?