A new community center in Tanzania is being built using cutting-edge techniques to shape the oldest building material on Earth: earth itself.
That's right, it's dirt. New Atlas reported that the building will be 3D printed using a mixture based on soil gathered from within 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) of the construction site.
The community center is intended to be central to life in the Hope Village. It forms just part of a plan to provide housing, school education, childcare, and skills training for disadvantaged young local girls in Kibaha, eastern Tanzania.
"The Hope Village community hall design seeks to create a beautiful, functional, safe and uplifting environment that provides both hope and education for vulnerable girls," said Mark Loughnan, principal and head of design at Hassell, which is heading the project, per New Atlas.
"The hall is a welcoming space that creates an innovative central activity hub that also connects with its surrounding environment. The design and building process for the hall aims to engage the community and provide ongoing opportunities for local participation and education throughout construction."
In addition to Hassell, Australian-based charity One Heart is also collaborating on the project. It will use a 3D printer from WASP, an organization that has been researching 3D-printed buildings for years, New Atlas reported.
While many modern 3D printed structures use concrete, this is not the first attempt at using earth. Architects in Bologna, Italy, have created a prototype from locally sourced clay, for example.
The community center's walls will be printed from an earth-based mixture, with metal mesh inside to add strength. The walls will not be load-bearing; instead, the roof, made from local timber, will be supported by a steel "spine" held up by a few interior columns. The roof will be surfaced with corrugated metal, which is common and easily available in the area.
Using natural and local materials to build structures cuts down the impact on the environment compared to getting materials shipped in. Meanwhile, 3D printing reduces the cost by minimizing labor, and using earth instead of concrete is a less polluting option.
Overall, this building is being constructed in a way that's good for the community and the environment.
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