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How to design a house to last 1000 years

constructionphysics.substack.com

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Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#231

Post by Rikuesque »

JAlexoid wrote: post #217
Rikuesque wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thing I've noticed while attending school in Japan was that many old "Machiya" houses get torn down and more modern and western houses get built. At least this was the case in Kyoto. Earthquake-proofing the house is one aspect but I think people in Japan prefer to own a more western home. It's too bad because those old Japanese homes are getting taken down

It's not a case of "more western home". What you see as a "more western home" is a more energy efficient outer shell. Which just happens to be fairly universal.

I agree on that, although there are residential homes in Japan that implement energy efficient outer shell, while still keeping the Machiya look. There definitely is a preference in Japanese society for western style homes.

Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#232

Post by tzs »

rsync wrote: post #98

This is a very odd design document and it makes me think this author has thought a lot about materials and buildings but not actually built anything . The steel moment frame, to someone with shallow knowledge, sounds so strong and resilient . But in fact, a rigid steel structure is more vulnerable to seismic (and even wind) loads than wooden framing which can flex and move and dampen those loads naturally. The stainl…

> If I had an unlimited budget and was aiming for >1000 years I would pour the piles to bedrock with stainless rebar inside fly-ash concrete and top those pilings with plate connectors into which you could socket large wooden columns (perhaps 8x8) and build the structure with large wooden members connected with steel connectors and column caps, etc.

Are there any existing buildings constructed that way that have stood for >1000 years?

If not, my approach would be to copy an existing building that has stood for >1000 years in a region that has had several of the same kind of natural disasters that happen at the place I'm going to be building.

Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#233

Post by rootusrootus »

austinl wrote: post #170
NortySpock wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parent poster is probably referring to "How Buildings Learn", a book by Stewart Brand with lots of architectural pictures and commentary about how various buildings have been (re)used over the decades or centuries. Brand posits (a) human needs change faster than buildings age, and thus buildings must adapt to that change over the lifespan of the building (b) there are two reasons a building lives to be more than…

It's fascinating how culture has effects on architecture. So many older American homes have small kitchens that are separate from a formal dining room. Historically, a family member or cook would be making food separately, out of the way, and then it was presented in the dining room. Today, everyone wants a kitchen that's integrated with the dining area. Cooking has been culturally elevated – people don't feel like t…

What I see a lot of in my region (US PNW) is open kitchens integrating with informal dining areas (breakfast nook, or seating at a kitchen island) and living rooms. But most houses are still built with a separate dining room. Heck, my house was even built with a butler's pantry to connect them. That's pretty common.

Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#234

Post by notahacker »

fumblebee wrote: post #102

The author cites London as being a desirable city given the historical lack of disasters, steady government, and cultural preference for preservation etc. London was also my first thought as a safe haven for a long lasting build. On the other hand, I can't help but feel London would be an obvious target for nuclear annihilation in some future conflict; UK commerce / industry / power / wealth is deeply centralised in…

Never mind the small possibility of nukes (think my house surviving would be the least of my concerns for humanity then), London has the highest value land in the country and most of 1000 year old London is buried several feet below much newer and bigger buildings. Pretty much any smaller UK town that isn't threatened by coastal erosion, flooding or mining subsidence offers better survival prospects.

Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#237

Post by polymerist »

specialist wrote: post #166
Fiahil wrote: post #128

I expected something much simpler : bricks, stones, and wood. It's not like we are running low on examples of 1000+ years buildings ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_century_in_architecture ). These castles, cathedrals, farms, were built to last, so it's appropriate to use them as examples. We can, however, apply modern technics and materials when they make sense : insulation, windows, waterways... Prefer wood, wo…

Ya. I'm very curious about this kind of stuff. And now especially "activhaus" ideas. Being a software guy, probably from envy. Ages ago, I started remodeling while my Belgian coworker (working from Belgian) started his new home construction. My house in the USA Pacific Northwest is timber framed with tar shingle roof. Coworker's house, IIRC, was block walls and ceramic roof. My house so temporary, their house built f…

Rammed earth you definitely need to be careful of the humidity and mitigation internal humidity is going to be important. Good technique though for arid/desert climates.

Timber Frame + external insulation with anairtight building envelope is a really good construction method that will be energy efficient and last a long time.

Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#238

Post by addaon »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #181

On a similar note, I've wondered at construction of a million year time capsule. Layered I imagine, with the artifact cargo in some neutral gel, inside a gold envelope, inside a steel envelope, inside a ceramic shell, buried in an ablative material like cement or resin, sunk in a deep oceanic trench?

You're at a time frame where you have to worry about subduction. There's areas of the ocean floor that are candidates, but I'd seriously consider a high orbit or lunar placement if you're going for that time period. Also saves a lot of environmental challenges.

Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#239

Post by pharke »

They forgot the most important part about making a structure last 1000 years: it cannot be made of materials that people would conceivably want to repurpose in times of duress or those materials should be in such a form that it is extremely difficult to remove them from the structure. This is how many historical buildings were lost, they were mined for stone to use in other structures. It's also how many modern buildings get ruined by people looking to sell the copper wiring or pipe, and that's in a politically stable era.

A better strategy would be to build the house from massive blocks of the most common stone in the area. The blocks should be large enough that they would require significant effort to move or demolish. I wouldn't recommend using any metal in the structure of the house at all. Even wood could be conceivably stripped in times of need.

Re: How to design a house to last 1000 years

#240

Post by jccooper »

kansface wrote: post #171
robocat wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stone is heavy: can you design a stone structure to withstand an earthquake? In my magnitude 6.2 experience, stone structures without massive steel framing fail in an earthquake.

Doesn't Italy have stone masonry construction that has lasted centuries? Maybe you need a really good foundation to pull it off?

Rome and its environs are fairly quiet. Italy elsewhere has quite a lot of masonry construction that was destroyed by earthquakes.
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