Article: Is it practical?

Saturday October 3, 2009

Is mud practical as a building material in Malaysia?

"Mud is one of the least sustainable methods of construction in the monsoon tropics," says Kevin Low of Small Projects, who spent some time in Sana'a Yemen, studying the ancient city's building technology.

He also did a workshop on rammed earth with an Arizona architect in the US and drew the plans for the mud houses at Sekeping Serendah in Selangor.

Low feels our culture's indigenous architecture is one of the surest ways to gauge the kind of buildings that best fit the local context.

"In the case of Malaysia, this comes in the form of the traditional Malay house and the habitations of the Orang Asli — you don't see much mud in these dwellings," explains Low, who completed his graduate studies in architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Here, anything that sits on the ground is susceptible to flooding and ground moisture penetration, Low observes. Ground moisture is food for infestation and humidity. Humidity is what creates heat, since air laden with moisture has a considerably higher specific heat capacity than dry air. Wet air in turn leads to sweating and discomfort.

The country's traditional building methods lift the house off the ground to keep ground water away from the floor as well as allow the cross ventilation of the house from beneath for better cooling and drying during the monsoon months.

"The only reason most mud walls around the world have lasted as long as they have is the relatively arid regions in which they've been found," says Low, via e-mail.

In addition, most contemporary mud walls, like those of the Sekeping mud houses, are constructed with cement added to the clay mixture to increase their strength and preserve their structural integrity. If the walls of the Earth House were built without cement, then they will require refurbishment every two years or so, he notes.

"Adobe construction best benefits dry and cool tropics, the most rare form of all tropical climates. It's for this reason that adobe construction in the tropics doesn't make sense," he says.

From a practical, functional and climatic point of view, mud walls are not a good solution to building in Malaysia, Low concludes.

Loo Jia-Ling, the lady behind Earth House, agrees that earthen houses are unsuitable for Malaysia's climate.

"But if you're looking to build a simple shelter, are willing to get dirty and re-plaster your house on a regular basis, I believe earthen building, especially wattle-and-daub, is a viable, low cost alternative," says Loo. "I guess my position and that of Low's is more a difference in attitude towards what shelter means and being self reliant."

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This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Focus 3 October 2009