Low Cost Houses for Mexicali – Production of earth-cement interlocking blocks: Photographs of the four types of blocks

01/01/1976

Construction Experiment & Mock-up

Seven photos illustrating the different blocks produced specifically for the project in the builder’s yard; square and cylindrical blocks for columns, thin rectangular blocks for walls and wider blocks for foundations.
A couple of them were exhibited at the Locus Manifesto-exposition “Re-enchant the World: Architecture and the City facing society´s transitions”, in Science Cabinet 2.

Photographer:

Howard Davis/C.E.S., Mexicali, Mexico

Source:

Digital, Print, Negative

Characteristics:

8"x10", 4"x5", 2 3/8"x3 6/8", Color, B&W

Content of

Construction Innovation

Low Cost Houses for Mexicali: Production of earth-cement interlocking blocks 1975

Construction System, Cement Interlocking Blocks

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Julio Martinez, Howard Davis, Donald Corner

Production of earth-cement blocks in the builder's yard, vibrated and compressed in a block-making machine, and fabricated on the basis of specially designed and made steel molds for four different shapes of blocks; cylindrical blocks for free standing columns, corner ...

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

Low Cost Houses for Mexicali 1975 to 1977

Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico

Low Cost Housing, Realized , Construction completed in 1977

Client:

Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexicali - Mr. Jorge Nunez, Director of the School of Architecture

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Julio Martinez, Howard Davis, Donald Corner, students and families

Contractor:

Built by the families and local subcontractors under the management of the Center for Environmental Structure

Sponsor:

University of Baja California

Project cost:

$70,000

Project stages:

Pattern language for the project by C.E.S. Layout on the ground by clients and C.E.S. Preliminary Design drawings done after layout Direct Construction management along with on-site design decisions Budget and subcontractors under C.E.S. control Users in

A cluster of houses for large families, with a builders yard, built by the families themselves with the help of students from the Universidad Autonoma of Mexico, and a team of builders from the Center for Environmental Structure. Each house ...

Public Events

Locus Manifesto-exposition "Re-enchant the World: Architecture and the City facing Society´s Transitions" 21/05/2014 to 06/10/2014

The Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, Paris, France

Exhibition

C.E.S. staff:

Maggie Moore, Artemis Anninou, Lily Alexander

Organized by:

LOCUS Foundation & Cité de l'Architecture & du Patrimoine - Marie-Hélène Contal, Curator

The 40 architects already awarded the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture participated and exhibited their works. The exhibition was on international touring until 2016. Christopher Alexander’s participation included the extensive presentation of the Mexicali project in the “Saving the People’s Habitat” ...

Visual & Audio Materials

Locus Manifesto-exposition: CES presented the innovation on the use of cost-effective techniques for the production of earth-cement interlocking blocks, as applied in the low cost houses for the Mexicali project 30/05/2014

Public Event, Visual, Exhibition Board

Created by:

Lily Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Maggie Moore, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Two boards included in Science Cabinet #1 of the exhibit, with images illustrating the concept of “Builders’ Yard”, as implemented in the Mexicali project. The project focused on a cost-effective process of construction by using, large scale production of building ...