Architecture - All

Anyone recommend an architect and construction company who might be qualified to replace the roofs on five two-story condominium buildings? About 10,000 square feet?

Martin msod@aol.com

http://homes.yahoo.com/news/homes-with-living-roofs.html?page=all

Viable in Nicaragua?

I came across this website which has a great page on green building in the tropics. More importantly, it's from the west coast of Costa Rica so the climate is similar to the west coast of Nicaragua, having both wet and dry seasons.

http://www.puravidasunsets.com/green-building/

Prototype built for Prince Charles Royal Gardens. Now you can have one too. Live like royalty in your own hovel, etc. (Note: Royal Gardens not included in kit.)

When I was out in the middle of nowhere as reported in the Javier III post, we spent some time talking with a woman from a Canadian NGO. They have a 3-year program in organic farming.

The audience are the young folks in the area. There are two days of classes per week with a garden space that they share. In addition, they are to set up their own private gardens back at home. Seeds and other material are given to them. Besides growing the crops, they will learn to collect their own seeds in order to make a sustainable system.

Looking for a really creative architect to design and oversee the construction of a large U-shaped Mexican style hacienda in Carazo. msod@aol.com

hope i spelt it correct. couple of people recommended i use this material to backfill over a 4¨perforated pipe. to me, this is just rock hard clay which should breakdown when water hits it. gravel is very expensive here. would anyone have a suggestion for a french drain system? the house sits on top of a good slope and the property behind has a great lay for the water to be diverted. i am more concerned about run off from the roof in monsoon season. i am doing earth bag construction and also looking for a capillitory break material to place. thanks, K

Seems like we have a lot of good building input on here today.

I know a lot of the good stuff about this kind of small house, but want to hear what i might be missing about the negatives.

Cannot think of too many.

Stilt House

Maybe the heat has gotten to me me but I'm thinking about getting a big lot in the far northern edge of Granada and building a earthbag house. Earthbag w heavy clay soil from San Juan Oriente mixed with pea sized volcanic gravel..I'm thinking three dome group about 600 sq feet total. A 18' living-room kitchen, 16' bedroom w partial loft & 8' bath..the actual structure should only cost about $C15 a sq foot leaving money to well appoint the interior. Attached outdoor/jardin space... kind of like a bear enclosure at a modern zoo http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/videos.htm

I will be the first to admit this is a bit out there but we often talk about building materials and what might fit. This article is about building with fungi complete with photos and an explanation of the process. While this specific type of fungi may not be the local answer, it certainly encourages out of the box thinking.

So, check out this fungus house either to get some out of the box ideas or just for your amusement.

RSJGringita's post on Earthquake-resistant construction in Managua, deserves a closer look I think. I did some small research and the results I found are worrying. In the week after the earthquake of Port au Prince, some articles that were published in LP and END expressed the same worries.

Earthships are the idea created by Michael Reynolds and installed by his crew of volunteers from Taos, New Mexico and around the globe. Essentially, they use materials that can be found in the community to build "cheap" homes, coupled with rainwater catchment systems, solar panels and other construction techniques to develop a community with the lightest footprint possible. Rest of the story w pics

http://tiny.cc/tireHouse

Does anyone have information or links to resources about colonial architecture in Leon and-or Granada?

We are creating a surf resort on our 2 acres of land - 5 minutes outside of San Juan Del Sur.

Now we are thinking of hiring a local contractor (if you know of any, send us an email at - lukeboychuk@divezero.com,

or building the resort out of shipping containers. Does anyone know where I can buy (10) 40 ft high used shipping containers for $1000 a piece and (10) 20 ft containers for $500 a piece?

Anyone have experience with building with shipping containers in Nicaragua?

Fyl,

Any cost on the 25' dome ?? Curious minds want to know.

Regards, Tim