Hybrid materials, their implementation, strength and versatility,
exemplify the important advances of industrial development. The chemistry of
plastics, the metallurgy of alloys aimed at improving steel or the union of
steel and cement in reinforced concrete developed effective composite materials
for construction. Modern architecture and its new programs benefitted from the
large open spans engendered by the innovative use of these composites. Hardened
cement reinforced with steel typifies the hybrid «modern» material. First employed
as a kind of «magical powder» by Roman builders, the nineteenth century's
production capacity directed a renaissance for hydrated and reinforced cement.
Patented in France in 1848, ferrocement preceded basic reinforced
concrete by decades. Steel webbing encased in Portland cement produces a
thinner, stronger and lighter material. As opposed to reinforced concrete, the
cement is mixed without large aggregates and the steel reinforcing mesh is considerably
tighter. The pasty mixture of sand, cement and water is troweled over compactly
woven steel mesh or expanded metal lath: a fortifying fibre textile like surface.
The monolithic hybrid's tensile strength and cracking endurance are superior to
those of reinforced concrete. Produced in thin panels for finishes or for wall
systems, the lightweight material also contributed to a revolution in structural
capacity. Displayed most famously by Pier-Luigi Nervi in some of the most remarkable
structures of the 20th century, ferrocement embodied the idea of
structural efficiency and material economy.
The concepts displayed by Nervi early in the 20th century can
also be found in the thin shell ferrocement prototype module proposed by the Leningrad
Research Institute of Standardized and Experimental Design as a stand-alone house.
The dwelling unit employed a thinly cast eggshell shaped ovoid structure.
Weighing five tons with an inhabitable area of some thirty-five square meters the
capsule could be airlifted or transported to any site. Its form resistant
silhouette defined the thin shell’s sectional dimension of 120 mm. Akin
to fiberglass boat hull construction the composite cement and reinforcing mesh
was completely self-sufficient and required no on-site foundations as the
capsule could be deposited on compressed gravel infrastructure. In matters of
experimental prefabricated housing or temporary dwellings, Ferrocement is still
put forward in developing countries as it requires little specialization and is
merely contingent to the construction of a supporting mesh.
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| The ovoid shaped dwelling structure |
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