STLabs.com RE: Cob intro

[Roberto Verzola]

 >	I would be interested in learning anything you know about materials
 >and methods for tropical and near-tropical climates - especially uses of
 >"non-traditional" (for U.S.) woods like mangrove, mango, guava, palm, etc.
 >for structure framing.  Also anything about palm and grass thatching &

There's a very good book authored by Malaysian architect Lim Jee Yuan.
It is entitled _The Malay House_, if I'm not mistaken. He discusses
the traditional Malay house design and its variations, as well as the
materials used. The designs in the book are very similar to Philippine
designs.

Our traditional home is called the "nipa hut". Its roof is made of
nipa while the structure and the sides are from bamboo. The main posts
are made either of bamboo or of tree trunks (local name: kakawate or
madre cacao).

Unfortunately, local building codes are highly discriminatory against
these traditional materials. So, new structures in urbanizing areas
are usually made of wood, cement hollow blocks, and GI sheets. The
resulting oven-like houses are no match to the cool comfort of
homes made from traditional materials.

Roberto Verzola