 BUILDING SAFETY DEPARTMENT--GREEN BUILDING Note: While these buildings are recognized as sustainable types of construction, modifications and/or engineering may be required to comply with Building Code requirements. Types of Green Building
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, and water mixed with some type of fibrous or organic material (sticks, straw, dung), which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun. It is similar to cob and mud brick. Adobe structures are extremely durable. In hot climates, compared to wooden buildings, adobe buildings offer significant advantages due to their greater thermal mass, but they are known to be particularly susceptible to seismic damage in an event such as an earthquake.
When treated, bamboo forms a very hard wood which is both lightweight and exceptionally durable. In tropical climates, it is used in elements of house construction, construction scaffolding, as a substitute for steel reinforcing rods in concrete construction, and so on. Historically, bamboo has been used in adobe construction to span openings of doors and windows to support the wall above the opening and is now being used in cob and straw bale construction in the same way.
Cast earth is a modified (and patented) building material developed in the mid-1990's. It is a concrete-like composite with soil (of a suitable composition) as its bulk component, but is set with about 15% calcined gypsum (plaster of Paris) instead of cement. It can be used to form solid walls that need not be reinforced with steel or timber framing, unless extra seismic reinforcement is necessary. Forms are set up and filled with cast earth, which sets quickly and solidly. Once the forms are removed, the wall stays sound.
Cob is a building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe. Cob is fireproof, resistant to seismic activity, and inexpensive. It can be used to create artistic, sculptural forms and has been revived in recent years by the natural building and sustainability movements.
Cordwood construction (also called "cordwood masonry," "stackwall construction" or "stackwood construction") is a term used for a natural building method in which "cordwood" or short pieces of debarked tree are laid up crosswise with masonry or cob mixtures to build a wall.
When "building green", dimension stone has a big advantage over concrete, aluminum, and steel, whose productions are all highly energy intensive and create much air and water pollution. Dimension stone is any type of natural rock material that is quarried in order to make blocks or slabs of rock that are cut to specific sizes (width, length, and thickness) and shapes. As an entirely natural product, dimension stone also has an advantage over quartz surface artificial stone (resin-agglomerated stone) made from mixed quartz sand or ground stone and a resin (i.e., acrylic). 
Building with Earthbags (sometimes called sandbags) is both old and new. Sandbags have long been used, particularly by the military, for creating strong, protective barriers, or for flood control. The same reasons that make them useful for these applications carry over to creating housing. Since the walls are so substantial, they resist all kinds of severe weather (or even bullets) and also stand up to natural calamities such as earthquakes and floods. They can be erected simply and quickly, with readily available components, for very little money. 
An Earthship is a type of passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials. The homes are primarily constructed to work autonomously and are generally made of earth-filled tires, utilizing thermal mass construction to naturally regulate indoor temperature. They also usually have their own special natural ventilation system. Earthships are generally off-the-grid homes, minimizing their reliance on public utilities and fossil fuels.
Papercrete is a recently developed construction material which consists of re-pulped paper fiber with Portland cement or clay and/or other soil added. First patented in 1928, it has been revived since the 1980s. Although perceived as an environmentally friendly material due to the significant recycled content, this is offset by the presence of cement. The material lacks standardization, so proper use requires care and experience. Using Rammed Earth involves a process of compressing a damp mixture of earth that has suitable proportions of sand, gravel and clay (sometimes with an added stabilizer) into an externally supported frame that molds the shape of a wall section, creating a solid wall of earth. Cement has been the stabilizer of choice for modern times. A pneumatically powered backfill tamper — something like a hand-held pogo stick with a flat plate on the bottom or even a manual tamper — is then used to compact the material to around 50% of its original height. Further layers of material are added and the process is repeated until the wall has reached the desired height. The wall is so solid that, if desired, the forms can be removed immediately.
Straw Bales --When bales are used to build or insulate buildings, the straw bales are commonly finished with plaster. The plastered walls provide excellent thermal mass, compressive and ductile structural strength, and excellent fire resistance as well as thermal resistance (insulation). Straw is an abundant agricultural waste product, and requires little energy to bale and transport for construction. For these reasons, strawbale construction is gaining popularity as part of passive solar and other renewable energy projects. Contact Us: Gila County Community Development
1400 East Ash
Globe, Arizona 85501
928-425-3231 Ext. 4224
Fax 928-425-0829 | Gila County Community Development
608 E. Hwy 260
Payson, Arizona 85541
928-474-9276
Fax 928-474-0802 |
800-304-4452
Extension 4224 for Globe Office
Extension 7110 for Payson Office
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