TEDxKyiv - Andrew Bobrovitsky - Eco-house
Hello! We live in an amazing time. Which is interesting because everyone now thinks about what he drinks, thinks of those products, which he buys for himself. And I would like to ask you how much each of you wonders, in which house he lives today? And this question can be answered by the World Health Organization. According to the World Health Organization 30% of buildings in the world are affected by pollutants. The atmosphere in our homes does not meet hygienic requirements, that apply to air quality at factory premises. Well, as you can see, we actually live in worse conditions than at factory. We breath air, which is filled with not quite good elements. Many years ago, when I was on a construction site, I had a desire to learn how to build a house. And everything that I had learned at the construction - I did not really like. Let's just say, did not like at all. In the first place, I did not accept the idea that modern construction is very expensive. Those exorbitant prices, that a common ukrainian practically can not afford. Second thing, that does not suit me - is that people, who live in modern homes, do not always feel healthy. Let's explain with a real example. There is a house in Brovarsky region [near Kyiv], with a price of 760 thousand hryvnia [$100k], 120 square meters, rather comfortable as for a regular large family. Given that the average salary in Ukraine, actually in Kyiv, not in Ukraine, is 3,500 UAH [$440], we get 42,000 UAH [$5,300] per year. It turns out that over 18 years, if you skip eating, do not buy clothes and do not spend anything at all, you can buy such a wonderful house. It is very simple: 18 years. The guy, who just spoke before me, can tell how to make it happen practically. [Laughter] How was that house built? The technology is rather simple, popular in modern society, more precisely, on modern construction site. The house was constructed of polystyrene blocks. It's a kind of foam Lego, boxes, which are stacked on each other, filled with concrete, and you get this kind of a wonderful house. What is the disadvantage? Polystyrene produces during its whole life-cycle - popularly it's called foam plastic - releases poisonous gas into the atmosphere: called styrene. It affects liver negatively, and other internal organs. Well, in addition, it's an embryogenic poison. Such unpleasant phenomena. What else is a disadvantage? Concrete. Concrete production in the world is 1.5 billion cubic meters per year. The production of each cubic meter means thousand tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This is directly linked to global warming. Plus, such house is usually decorated with polymeric materials, which also add their own "raisin". Well, that would be enough, as for negative sides, today is Earth's Day, so let's talk about something positive. Therefore... This one I can't skip: it's simply unbearable. Another drawback of modern technology, modern construction - is that modern systems, they are not viable. Speaking on the examples, in modern society we often have social and environmental cataclysms. Roughly speaking, in Kyiv, when water supply is turned off for 2 days, and on the third day, everybody scatter from Kyiv, because sewage is crammed, no electricity, and other stuff. The system is not viable, but we live in an amazing time, that is why we need to create some kinds of systems which are more viable. What are the options? The decision, in my opinion, is to use natural materials for construction. It is not only about wood, of which remains very little in Ukraine, in the world - even less. You can use clay, earth, wood, straw, reeds, well, basically, everything that we have under our feet. A good warrior, it is said, finds his weapons on the battlefield. So, a good eco-builder can find building materials in a vicinity of 2 kilometers. Then, build a house out of those. So... being engaged in the construction with clay, with earth, I got people coming to me, who asked how this can be done, clarifying certain points, then there were more people coming and they had to be organized somehow. We understood, that we had to engage in theory. To talk about how this is possible. It had started 3 years ago, now it happens almost every month, often takes place in Kyiv, in different cities of Ukraine. These are not just theoretical seminars. It seems, it's a construction workshop, but, in fact, there you can learn how to make bread without yeast, how to take childbirth at home, how to survive in harsh conditions. And only at our workshops you can hear how real Scottish bagpipes sound. Furthermore, when we had been carried away with the theory, we had realized that we needed a little practice. Last year we engaged in what is called practice. At ordinary construction sites we got people coming, puting tents, kneading clay, working with wood. Children were doing very important stuff - they were managing all those processes. More than 80 persons have visited the workshop. This year, these seminars will take place in different regions of Ukraine. Very depictive picture: what is the difference between a usual workshop on building and a workshop on eco-construction? After the workshop you can hear drumbeat. And pay attention to those spots on the photo. My friend ufologist said that those are traces of extraterrestrial civilization. Therefore we've renamed our seminars from international to intergalactic. Well, it happens... It is a pleasure to know, that there is interest from other planets. [On the slide: "Enlightenment opens up a new world for us"] Enlightenment was very important. Changing our approach to life, to construction. Enlightenment in environmental construction issues was necessary to change our stereotype and a holy faith in ferroconcrete structures. This whole, this whole process, this whole project has found an interesting, modest title: "New World" - kind of simple, tasteful. Major project milestones. First - lectures and workshops that you saw. The second - practical exercises. The third stage - conferences. The first one, fortunately, will be held this year. And the fourth process, the final - is experimentarium. Experimentarium is a complex of 10 or 12 buildings, a permanent exhibition, where each person may come, touch, feel, sleep in a house of straw, for example, or of clay. In my opinion, the "New World" is required in order to form a new vision of architecture, construction and housing. Because any kind of tangible manifestation begins with an understanding of some important issues with a new philosophy, maybe. So, what technologies could be exhibited at experimentarium? The first option - a house made of wood. Quite simply, used for many millennia. Unfortunately there is few wood left, so other technologies will also find a place. Wattle and daub. Very popular now in Europe, especially France. In French it sounds: "la pisé". Clay is filled into the formwork and damered. Thus the wall is erected. Now, an interesting point: walls are not plastered. It is considered fashionable, beautiful, kind of an interesting object. The second option - wattle and ground. The construction can be performed with the use of conventional ground. It is enough for the ground to have 10-12% of clay in it. Well, almost all the soil in Ukraine's territory, fits such requirement. This palace was built in the Leningrad region by a remarkable architect, innovator of his times. Architect named Nikolai Lvov. [On the slide: "Wattle and ground"] Even at that time he was concerned with using wood for construction. Another technology - home from adobe. What is adobe? Clay, straw, sand are mixed by legs, sometimes with the help of a horse, sometimes with the help of machines. Out of this mass, as of plasticine, a wall is made. Then clay hardens and we get such a warm, comfortable house. A modern house of adobe was built a year ago near Kyiv, 80 square meters. Designed on the principles of solar architecture: most of the windows are directed to the south. [On the slide: "The house of straw blocks"] Well, another interesting technology. If you can remember the [Soviet] cartoon "Nu pogodi!", there is such a terrible thing chasing the wolf across the field, with straw blocks falling out behind. So, these blocks have appeared about 200 years ago, and at that time already people had started to build houses out of them. Now such houses are already being built in Ukraine. Blocks are laid out at each other like bricks or fill a wooden frame. The technology allows to build houses that require almost no heating. On this slide, you see a library, which was built 180 years ago. It is still in operation in Nebraska. Such a remarkable building. [On the slide: "House of firewood"] Another technology - a house of firewood or fuel wood. Another name: "cordwood". Houses are laid out as billets out of conventional long logs. Adobe is filled between logs. This technology was very popular in Austria, called the half-timbered house. Now there are entire half-timbered streets there, well, literally, 30- or 50-house streets, which were built from ordinary stuff, ordinary wooden frame filled with clay inside. Some houses are used for 700-850 years there. Well, this technology is very interesting. Innovator, Nader Khalili has invented it. Why is it interesting in the modern world? Houses of polypropylene bags are quickly erected, they are very inexpensive, we can say totally affordable. They can withstand earthquakes up to 6 points because of the domed construction. Plus, they can withstand flooding, and primarily they were used in areas with seismic activity. That's how this house looks when it is plastered. It is said that NASA agents slept in such houses, checked out the facilities, and came to the conclusion, that it needs to be built on the Moon. What? Clay or soil, sand - rather rarely. What do such technologies give us? They give us the opportunity to get rid of garbage, which man produces. According to The Economist magazine, the construction and dismantling together produce 36% of industrial waste. That is even more than a third. Roughly speaking, the construction gives us more than a third of all garbage on the planet, and as a result of this construction 3 houses out of 10 are not suitable for life. Well, paradoxes, which, are kind of typical for our time. Mining and quarrying - 28%. Also relevant to modern construction. Going back to what I would like to create. The "New World" project - a new vision of architecture, construction and housing. What will it grant or bring each one individually? A comfortable housing for everyone. From environmentally friendly materials. Affordable for the average Ukrainian. Moderate consumption of resources. And a clean planet for our children. And for me personally, the eco-house is a happy future for my children and children of my relatives, and children of the people of Ukraine, and children of the world. That's all. [Applause]