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Neighborhood of Seventy Low Cost Houses: Low-cost reinforced concrete beam and column structure with brick infill
1989The form of construction was based on a building system developed by Consutyamos for "self-help" housing; however a modified version was used, in order to take care of the non-modular and non-repetitive character of the houses, and in order to ensure its low cost. The construction system used was essentially flexible: reinforced concrete beam and column structure with brick infill. Pitched roofs supported by long bamboo purlins spanning between built-up gable ends. The system involves cost-saving measures, such as building up the infill walls first to provide partial formwork for the columns. The only prefabricated elements were the concrete beams and "plaquettas" second-story floor.
Given the non-modular character of the houses, the fact that all houses were different, and there were instances of oblique corners in several houses, some minor modifications were introduced. The beams had to be pre-cast on site in standard shallow box forms, and where the length was modified by using inserts in the beam, in principle always making the beam shorter. The floor plaquettas spanned across the standard spacing of beams, and were pre-fabricated as before. The special size plaquettas, required for covering the sides of a plan, were cast on site, again through a procedure of using inserts in standart forms.
Contents
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Neighborhood of Seventy Low-Cost Houses: Prototype house construction - Photographs
01/11/1989
Six images of the prototype house in early construction stage, illustrating the first floor construction up to the placement of the lintels.
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Neighborhood of Seventy Low-Cost Houses: Prototype house master builders - Photographs
01/05/1989
Six images with the master builders working on the prototype house construction on wall and lintel completion, plumbing and sewage works.
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Neighborhood of Seventy Low Cost Houses: Reinforced concrete beam and column structure with brick infill - Photographs
01/05/1989
Four images of the prototype house depicting the construction sequence: 1) Starting from the foundation and the initial steps of the brick wall layout before the pouring of the exterior columns; 2) Complreting the first-floor walls and the peripheral beams ...