Cob: Domes ...

Wed Dec 8 17:57:36 CST 1999

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THere is a woman in Presidio, Texas (Simone Swan) who studied with Hassan
Fathy and now is building adobe (not cob) domes and vaults in the Chihuahuan
desert.  She believes the technique is only applicable to arid desert
climates.  I have been to see the home she built herself, and also
one in Ojinaga Mexico - 500sf - and they are both lovely places. 
Simone's home has had no problems with weathering, but the house in Ojinaga
has been left with no plaster on the walls, and there is some erosion. 
Simone will be doing an adobe dome construction workshop at my property
in the Big Bend in late January.  You can see details at my website: 
<a href="http://twistedroad.com">twistedroad.com</a>.  Also, she will
be doing an adobe vault workshop in February in Mexico.  If you are
interested in her work, she now has a web site at:  <a href="http://brooksdata.net/personal/adobesim">brooksdata.net/personal/adobesim</a>. 
You can contact her through that site if you are looking for more specific
info about the application of Hassan Fathy's work in the states. 
She did work on the mosque at Abique, New Mexico, which I believe was built
in the 80s.
<p>Patricia
<p>Rosemary Lyndall Wemm wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>Does anyone have information on cob dome and vault
building?
<p>I've been reading a bit on Hassar Fahey's house building for the poor
in
<br>Egypt.  Fascintating, but low on "how to" and whether such techniques
could
<br>be translated to different climates successfully.  How do they
stand up in
<br>torrential tropical downpours?  How are they water-proofed? If
you
<br>water-proof the dome how does that affect the "breathing" of the rest
of the
<br>building. How high are the best domes?  How can they be safely
interrupted
<br>for a cupola? What is "corbelling"?
<p>- Rosemary
<p> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
<br> Rosemary LYNDALL WEMM,
<br> B.A.(Hons), M.A.(Neuropsych.), B.Mus.(Inst.), T.S.T.C.,etc.  
_--_|\
<br> Clinical Neuro-psychologist                            
Perth/      \
<br> Perth, Western Australia    lyndall at neurognostics.com.au 
-->\_.--._/
<br> ------------------- <a href="http://www.neurognostics.com.au">http://www.neurognostics.com.au</a>
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