The Peru Project – Low Cost Housing for the United Nations: Composite bamboo/polyurethane foam beams – Photographs of testing procedure

01/01/1969

Construction Experiment & Mock-up

Sixteen photographs from the load testing procedure of the real-size composite bamboo beam mock-up. Images depict various steps of size verification, fastening the beam and gradually adding weights .

Photographer:

Christopher Alexander/C.E.S., Lima, Peru

Source:

Negative

Characteristics:

35mm, B&W

Content of

Construction Innovation

Peru Project - Low Cost Housing for the United Nations: Composite bamboo foam beams 1969

Construction System, Bamboo Foam Beam & Plank

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Sanford Hirshen, Sara Ishikawa, Christie Coffin, Shlomo Angel

Boxed beams rectangular in section, 20 cm wide, 40 cm deep and 5 meters long, made of 6cm bamboos, placed over plywood templates, with a core of poly-urethane fire-retardant foam, foamed in place. The bamboos are pinned and spot glued ...

Contents

Photographs

SEE ALL Photographs

References

Scientific Research

Innovative Construction Systems, Techniques and Materials

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Construction Innovation

One of the main topics of research, included in every building project, was to identify, early on in the design process, the material and techniques of construction. This would re-establish building as an art, and allow rapid shaping and adaptation, ...

Projects

Peru Project - Low Cost Housing for the United Nations 1969 to 1970

11km north of Lima, Lima, Peru

Master Planning, Low Cost Housing, Realized , Invited Competition, Proposal submitted in 1970

Client:

Mr. Peter Land, United Nations coordinator of PREVI project

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Sanford Hirshen, Sara Ishikawa, Christie Coffin, Shlomo Angel

Sponsor:

United Nations

Project cost:

$1,800-$3,800 / house

Project stages:

Pattern language for the project by C.E.S. Generic rules for choice process Preliminary Design Innovative construction methods

Master plan for a community of 1500 houses, submitted as one out of twelve other competition entries for the United Nations sponsored international housing competition PREVI (Proyecto Experimental de Vivienda). The Center for Environmental Structure was chosen as the ...