Hotel Aaculaax
Ecological Construction - Adobe
Clay has been used in construction for over 9000 years and approximately one third of the world population lives in clay houses. Homes made of clay that were built in the sixteenth century are still standing today in the industrialized world, proving the strength of this material. In the "underdeveloped" world clay is still the most important construction material while it is once again getting popular in "developed nations."
Clay has immense advantages compared to all other building materials:- Clay absorbs humidity in the rainy season and then returns it in the dry season, which regulates the air humidity and creates a healthy room climate.
- Clay absorbs heat during the daytime and releases it during the night, acting as an efficient energy saver.
- The production and usage of adobe uses little energy.
- It is completely recyclable and won't contaminate the environment.
- Adobe is non-toxic and harmless as opposed to cement and lime, which are aggressive agents on the lungs and skin.
- Clay is accessible all over the world, so transporting it isn't an added expense.
- Adobe is easy to work with, even inexperienced people can build an adobe house with a little advice.
- Clay is easy to sculpt and therefore great for all kinds of decoration and detail work.
Our Adobe Story
On my first trip to Guatemala I was very fascinated by the simple but beautiful homes of the people. Surprisingly, I saw that many adobe houses were being torn down in favor of concrete that lacks all of the benefits of adobe building. I then developed the idea to build an attractive adobe house to demonstrate to the locals that adobe is "modern."
The dirt we found in our land was perfect for adobe bricks. We made our adobe by mixing it with water and grass, then stomping on it with bare feet until the material was well mixed. Then we threw a big handful into a mold.
The molds were 10"x 2"x 3", made out of wooden boards with the tops and bottoms open. Two handles on each side are necessary to remove the mold. To facilitate the removal of the adobe bricks we covered the ground with a half-inch layer of sand. We had to create an efficient drying area because we produced the bricks during the rainy season.
We used two rows of cement blocks, with six 8-feet long boards on top of them. We then formed the bricks on top of the boards, which we covered with sand. On top of each layer of bricks we placed the blocks, boards, and sand, and then formed more bricks. We formed four layers of bricks per row. When the rain started we covered the pile with a plastic sheet. During the dry season it takes about 3 days to dry the adobe, and about 2 weeks during the rainy season.
We built a metal and concrete frame and used the adobe only as "filling material" because of the frequency of earthquakes in our area. Inside and outside we applied plaster made of clay that has been dissolved by water mixed with wood glue. This creates a natural color and finish while the glue helps to make the plaster more resistant.