The word adobe is immediately associated with buildings from former times, common in Costa Rica, many of which withstood earthquakes. However, the term superadobe refers to a new low-cost architectural trend.
On Tuesday, October 20th, the Venezuelan couple Alejandro Lopezy and Angela Valencia presented this new construction method, also known as Geobunker, to the Municipal Council.
Building permits have been granted for this technique in other cities in the world, like in California. However, it has not yet been endorsed by the Association of Engineers and Architects (Colegio de Ingenieros y Arquitectos)in Costa Rica.
In order to be able to open the first school made with this type of construction in Avellanas, Lopezy requested help from the council members.
“Our greatest interest is to formally consult the Association of Engineers and Architects. We want to ask for the help of one of your engineerswho is a member of the association to supervise it and we could make an alliance with the Municipality to perform community projects,” commented Lopezy.
After the proposal from the Venezuelans, the council agreed to refer the matter to the mayor’s office in order to coordinate with Mayor Jorge Chavarria, who was absent from the session, to provide an engineer and to assess what works could be built for the Santa Cruz community.
More About Superadobe
The main feature of this type of construction is that 70% of the construction material isdirt, making its cost much cheaper. The rest is a mixture of sand and a stabilizer, which can be lime or cement.
Unlike traditional adobe, this is earthquake proof and these buildings could last up to 200 years. In addition, it is not vulnerable to termites or fire.
These constructions also have underground airways, which makes them very cool dwellings without the need for air conditioning.
According to the Venezuelan, the construction process is based on rings that are like levels. Once ring can be built per day since it is necessary to let the mixture dry. A house could be built with 30 rings, in other words, 30 days of work.To do it, a technician for the mixture and two construction workers are needed.
In addition to houses, the Venezuelans explained that the technique can be implemented for any work like retaining walls, walls, storage sheds and offices, among others.
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