O-Soil block

Project

267574

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Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

O-Soil block

Full concept/idea title

Description

O-Soil comes from Our Soil, which is an indicator of its locality. It is our material because it has our resources: our soil, our fibers, our seeds, and our hand's labor put in it. It is thought for our land with its geological and atmospheric conditions. Consequently, there is a material's formulation for each place.  Biodegradability and closed loops are the mindsets, likewise the commitment to the regeneration of local ecosystems for the thriving of all species. 

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

The project's development is in the Mediterranean zone (as other earthquake-prone locations), in a framework of the need for earthquake-resistant materials. As also, future resilient communities that value materials, locality, and DIY products.  Regarding earthquake-resistant material, it is the first loop of O-Soil. The way of approaching the issue is through the block material: rubber-like bioplastic matrix (with a thickening agent dependant on the local resources) combined with local fibers, recycled paper, and local soil. The wall's assembly method is in concordance with the block's shape, a lego-like surface that secures the interconnection between the blocks. These statements mentioned before are the main features of the material (being biodegradability the core). From there, recipes and shapes will be developed to improve material's adaptability to requirements, recipes according to local resources, and shape according to structure or form.  It is estimated that the material's permanence in the first loop could be from 5 to 70 years, a lapse when blocks reuse can happen. Humans will be in charge of managing this material flow until the second loop is working. Afterward, nature will manage the loop's continuity within its biological cycle.   Regarding encapsulated seeds, which are the main feature of O-soil's second loop, they will be within the block's matrix. The harvesting of the seeds will occur in or near the building's location zone. Criteria for seed selection are endemicity, priority to endangered species, and ability to germinate after the storage period. After harvesting, seeds will be dried and saved inside a capsule container to introduce them inside the block. Once the first loop finishes, walls will be disassembled, and the blocks carried to a nearby protected field. Here the material's decomposition will start, and seeds will have the conditions to germinate. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

The key objectives of the project in terms of sustainability are:  Closed loops, the opportunity for ecosystem thriving, resources locality, and user inclusion on the design stage.  In terms of closed loops, the system will value all materials and avoid waste through biodegradability, which is a natural way that allows other species to take and use matter find in nature for their purposes. What O-Soil will give is a toxic-free, soil returning material that is the way to close the loops within the biological cycle.  The opportunity for ecosystem thriving is what encapsulated seeds try to reach. Allowing some vernacular plant seeds to remain inside a building material until the time to germinate comes in an adequate land near that place, can help to restore some local flora and consequently some biodiversity.  Regarding resources locality, the path to follow is research to combine materials of the area. They can be at hand like soil, everyday waste like paper, or water used to cook peas. Or be a waste stream product from an industrial process like residual hemp fibers. These are local things that require the minimum transport to the building place. Also, as this process is low-tech and artisanal, it can avoid polluting energy sources. But if there is a need for a machine, one with energy efficiency certificates will be used. Additionally, during the building's lifespan, the energy consumption could be reduced due to the soil's thermal isolation properties.  Finally, user inclusion on the design stage is a sustainability goal because mindset change and material reproducibility will empower local people to start making their materials (Sustainability for all species). It is local sources ecology, where humans reencounter nature's rhythm through design and workshop sets that will take place while developing the material with the community.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

In terms of user experience and aesthetics, the objective is to get the most out of the material's texture and DIY formula properties.  The rubber-like texture and consistency are regard as hit or impact-friendly surfaces, similar to the floor or exercise objects in a gym or a kids' playground. Here, bouncing is the language, and the user will understand this language in interaction with the wall's texture and surface topography. It will be a haptic block that invites you to touch. Additionally, to smooth the surface and grant the material additional protection, the block can be submerged in its bioplastic mixture without soil after being dried.  Regarding DIY formula properties, the basic formulation remotely researched (site information will take place in the future) for Vibo Valentia's case is algae bioplastic, soil, and residual hemp-paper fibers. But a modification of these main ingredients can give the material new aesthetic properties regarding transparency and color. Namely, we can reduce or eliminate the soil component in the mixture to achieve a  transparency effect. It will allow light to go through it to be diffracted into the interior space. Several portions of the wall can use this type of block to grant more illumination during daylight.  Another way to work with the material properties is color. Mineral pigments can be applied to the mixture to change color, but the intrinsic soil colors would be a great advantage. They can form horizontal, vertical block layers or follow specific patterns to shape new aesthetics.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

The project's objectives in terms of inclusion are locality, appropriation of the material by its community, and new job sources. Therefore, the whole experimenting and making process must be inclusive. We need local people to share their knowledge about their land soil conditions, fiber harvest opportunities, endemic plants, and seed preservation. Moreover,  local technical skills for materials manufacturing will be advantageous to reinforce the belonging of the material to that place. The block-making process promotes a DIY approach, where participatory work with the community will help to acquire local resources knowledge. Then, a recipe for that community will be created and added to the DIY O-Soil booklet, which will be a manifesto of materials locality and people empowerment. Free distribution will be available for jobless people and communities in earthquake-prone areas. The booklet's creation will present the results of the initial part efforts. Anyway, modifications can happen according to the constructor's requirements. The artisanal (or semi-artisanal) process and manufacturing methods will give value to people's handwork. So, the labor force (new job sources) will be essential, likewise given the project's objectives, the appropriation of the material. Both attest that connection with people is fundamental, a project from the community to the community. 

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

The idea's innovative character is in recovering soil's value as a construction material and bring it from the past to the future with a local approach. The actual construction system is advanced regarding concrete or wood. But, other materials are less developed or paused in the career for innovation and advancement that could improve the performance in connection to local atmospheric or geographic conditions. The way to bring soil to the future is in an elastic mixture, which will open the scope of possibilities for new soil uses. It is an innovative consistency for a material considered hard or crumbly. This consistency derives from the need for an earthquake thought material for walls. In building construction, most earthquake-resistance efforts are focused on the structure. But, walls are disregarded. The O-Soil block is an earthquake-resistant material for walls. In a seismic zone where the movement is constant, concrete blocks or other rigid materials will eventually crack. The proposal is a flexible material with the necessary elasticity and resilience to work according to geological requirements. Additionally, the main innovative proposal is supplemented with encapsulated seed incorporation. In the way that the design of most building materials is for one loop, to then dwell in a landfill for the rest of their life. The O-Soil block's design is for a thriving and enriching second loop for ecosystem conservation, not only giving back soil and nutrients to nature but incorporating endemic seeds for new life opportunities.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

The ideal background to start the project is in a community in a seismic zone. The pilot plan will develop in the region of Calabria, Italy.  The process begins with research and dialogue with the local community. With the collected information, some experiments will be carried out. A sample of the soil must be taken, characterized, and upgraded to make the best mixture. The same should happen with residual fibers (from industries or city waste) for improving shear resistance. Then, a local thickening agent must be studied and used to prepare the rubber-like consistency bioplastic. Regarding the seeds, the harvesting will take place based on germination probabilities and endangered species cases. A bunch will be collected and put to dry. Then, the capsule will be manufactured with a 70-years or more life span to seal the seeds inside.   Once the formulation has satisfactory results in material resistance tests (compression, flexion, shear resistance, hardness), the process of making it will be written and represented in the O-Soil DIY booklet. Then, the distribution of the digital and physical material will happen in the area. The idea is to summon temporal open workshops to build the material given a specific building design where this material is chosen. So, people can learn. This will happen before May 2022. But, most important is O-Soil's block potential responsiveness to earthquake disaster zones. A group can be prepared to run O-Soil researching and developing workshops to supply aid in materials creation applied to a specific location. Afterward, that formulation will be written in the O-Soil's DIY booklet, to then be distributed. The ultimate goal is to help in building reconstruction in earthquake disaster zones at any place in the world. 

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.