Its combination of energy efficiency, structural solidity,
resource conservation and low construction costs heralds a radical
change in the way homes and communities around the world can be
designed and built. With the ability to accommodate the ultimate in
creative expression due to it’s design flexibility. The construction
method does include such perks as tax breaks, generation of
greenhouse gas credits, reduced in insurance premiums and lower
maintenance costs an unlike other construction does not depreciate. The
ultimate in extreme weather housing, the insulation provided by the
composite materials is effective enough that the house can be heated
or cooled using less than half the energy it takes for a home built
with conventional materials. The foam / concrete house is more
resistant to fire, mold and pests than typical homes, and better
able to withstand such hazards as earthquakes, extreme weather,
climate conditions and flooding with it’s resistance to water. It
natural resistance to pests both insects and rodents reduce the
costs associated with pest control, exposure to toxic pesticides and
the diseases transmitted by them. The available non-porous interior
designed without cracks and crevices makes sterilization and
cleaning a breeze. Complimented by the use of a natural non-toxic
residue free biocide, Anolyte solution, the same used by the human
body to destroy pathogens, created using salt water and sunlight
reduces the risk of contagions producing disease.
Compared to other environmentally sensitive, energy-efficient
construction methods this technique used for the foam house is
better by every measure. The method may have its greatest potential
for a significant impact in Third World nations. Foam / Concrete
composite buildings could be the answer to housing growing
populations more affordably, as well as more securely, particularly
in regions threatened by extreme climate chaos or prone to
earthquakes. Optimized for countries that do not have wood, steel,
and other materials for infrastructure, or which can be very
expensive in those that do have the resources. It can take months or
up to three years to build just one house, with this approach a
house can go up in a matter of days.
Test results also scored well in the Scottsdale Green Building
program. The components rated very high 80-points, indicating
sustainability. In terms of energy conservation, materials
reduction, and other environmental elements, it proved exceptionally
earth friendly. The buildings conserve raw materials by eliminating
the need for conventional structural components such as wood or
metal framing, straps, nails, wallboard, stucco, and insulation. The
structures are energy-efficient, with an energy rating of R40 in the
walls and R100 for roofs. Typically found in homes, fiberglass
blankets of insulation have a nominal R-value rating of less than
half of polystyrene foam. Higher R-values translate into less energy
consumption for heating and cooling. It replaces every structural
component, including walls, floors, and roof, providing a near
air-tight-building envelope.
The new construction method and material is being targeted for use
in 45 acre spiritual retreat, conference / workshop center, pod
housing and sustainable living prototype in New Mexico. One using
surface soil remineralization in place of petroleum based
fertilizers and pesticides and
Amaranth as a food staple.
The new composite building system features a patented building
technique and material composed of expanded polystyrene foam coated
with a structurally reinforced concrete composite. These materials
form an incredibly strong bond to withstand building loads. Fibers
are disbursed throughout the matrix of the composite, which makes
the material three to five times stronger than steel. The foam cores
are over 98% air and provide the means to hold an outer concrete
skin that gives the structure its strength. When completed the
structure is a single seamless structure multiple components
becoming one very solid structure without cracks or crevices or
structure weakening joints.
These bonded components are inexpensive to maintain, durable, and
resistant to fire, mold, pests, earthquakes and extreme weather and
wind conditions. The structure also provides superior insulating
qualities reducing the energy requirements for heating and cooling
combined with special ventilation the house is passive and
sustainable energy sources like wind, solar, and geothermal can
easily meet all energy requirements.
The structures can also be supplemented with additional technology
to provide shielding from electromagnetic radiation. The
structure itself can be turned into a large solar cell allowing for a distributed
decentralized energy infrastructure with each unit able to feed the
grid with surplus energy when equipped with battery storage. Each
unit is intelligently connected to a wireless mesh communications
network supported by each individual unit connected to all the rest
as one contiguous whole, for voice, data, and video. This allows
hospitals and manufacturing facilities to negotiate energy draws
from each individual unit providing fail safe distributed energy
architecture.
The technique binds the lightweight foam and a glass
fiber-reinforced concrete. Crucial to this method becoming viable is
a special computer program that takes an architectural design and
slices it up into pieces allowing the data to be fed to computer
controlled foam cutters, which produce the pieces for easy assembly.
The light weight foam pieces allow large panels to be lifted into
place by a single worker.
The architects CAD/CAM design is processed generating digital
instructions that directed a robotic foam cutter to accurately carve
the polystyrene shapes required for the building. The end result is
a set of building blocks that may be curved, angular, or the more
traditional square and rectangular shapes. These individually
fashioned pieces are assembled onsite like LEGOs. The rectangular
panels range up to four by eight feet. Exterior walls are eight to
ten inches thick, and interior walls are four inches thick. Patented
roof beams, manufactured out of polystyrene foam and concrete
composite, are thirty-inch thick supports.
The box frame design is
much stronger than conventional construction. This increases the
maximum span without requiring internal supporting walls or posts.
“Clear Span” construction provides the designer free reign to use up
to 40 feet of unobstructed space between walls.
After assembly with a special adhesive, the foam is spray coated
with cement creating a single one piece unit.
Special tools, such as nail guns, electric saws, or compressors, are
not necessary in the construction of a home. In actuality, the most
unusual machine needed during construction is a hotwire tool that is
used to cut out windows, doors, or other openings from the foam
blocks. Any mistakes are easily fixed with a handheld foam gun. It’s
a forgiving system that can be repaired easily with unskilled labor.
A worker can be taught to do the job in two or three days. And it is
a lot easier than wood frame construction.
The fusion of the foam and a glass fiber-reinforced concrete
materials offers enough strength and durability to construct a house
without using any standard framing or reinforcement — wood, steel or
otherwise — and without a single nail, bolt or screw. The result is
a seamless single piece structure limited in form only by the
imagination the design whether it be a conventional ranch, English
Tudor, adobe or any style that could be imagined including a house
without right angles having only curved surfaces.
The other important achievement making this technology viable is a
patented method of predicting the performance of the structural
members of an entire building composed of these composites.
Traditional composite materials have had limited application in the
building industry because there have been no practical means for
predicting the performance of buildings using composites as
structural members. Desktop computing in the last few years advanced
to the point where a program could simulate the effects of earth
movement, wind, snow load, and other natural forces on these
composite structures. The drawings of the proposed building are used
in concert with a mathematical program called Finite Element
Analysis. FEA is used to predict the performance of the structure
against the forces of nature. A performance record of the building
is available for review by architects, builders, and local building
authorities.
One major milestone and proof of viability was the passing of a
series of durability tests that conform to International Commercial
Code (ICC) standards. ICC requires a myriad of tests performed by an
independent laboratory for fire, aging, x-rays, water absorption,
freeze/thaw, salt spray, water penetration, seismic, and structural
strength. it is clear from the computer modeling that all aspects of
structural concerns can be met with this technology – wind,
earthquakes, ground settling, etc. which may become much more
important in the near future with the threat of Global Climate
Chaos and extreme weather.
If the construction method is applied on a large scale, an
economy of scale is created resulting in costs well below those
built with conventional materials. Build time is very short, a few
days, which means a large number of units can be built and habitable
within weeks making it appropriate for rebuilding large areas
ravaged by extreme weather, earthquakes or other destructive forces.
The walls consist of 8-inch-thick blocks of polystyrene coated with
a quarter inch thick "skin’ of the fiber concrete. The layer of
concrete is too thin to work just by itself and the foam is too weak
to work by itself. But when bonded together, the result is something
to marvel at perhaps qualifying as a miracle material.
The Composite, is poised to transform the construction industry by
being stronger, more design-flexible, less expensive and more
sustainable than conventional building materials and methods. It has
the potential to fundamentally change the way construction companies
conceive their projects, now that advanced computer age technologies
have caught up with the imagination of architects and builders to
create better and energy efficient structures. The composite
introduces 21st century science, computer technology and mathematics
to an industry that still relies heavily on products and techniques
popularized in the 19th century and used ever since.
GOOGLE has provided a free 3D tool called SketchUp, which could enable
one to design a house online as
only you can dream it.
With assistance from our architects your online design idea can
become a reality, some engineering guidelines and restrictions would
apply. You could also select from standard models and easily customize
them and drag and drop features, furniture and appliances etc.
1. Setting up highly scalable manufacturing and R & D operations
ramping up to thousands
2. Design and
engineering aid
3. Site survey,
recommendations and feasibility process
4. CNC laser EPS
foam cutting operations mobile and base operations (tied into
bill of materials system, work order, MRP system, with bar coding
and RFID)
5. Structural
coating manufacture / mixing operation and storage.
6. Sequencing
Operation and System for delivery of all components to job sites
based on sales order and BOM. This would include the components of
the integrated technologies as well as electrical wiring harnesses
and pre cut plumbing if feasible.
7. Documentation
and certification
8. Online
configuration system with component and feature selection for
customers
9. Local job and
skill training programs integrated with active projects.
Other Integrated Sustainable Technologies
-
LED or Plasma Lighting
-
Water Collection & Storage
-
Geothermal
-
Solar
-
Wind
-
Heat exchange controlled ventilation system
-
Battery based energy storage
-
IP based Wireless mesh communications (voice, video,
internet data)
-
Anolyte water purification and sterilization system
-
IP based Smart House Control System
-
Smart Electric Grid Interface
-
Epoxy and Anti-Microbial Coatings
-
Water and Flood Seal
|