Ice Lodge: Non-Footprint Architecture at the Mount Everest Basecamp
Project idea
This master thesis focuses on the im plementation of a sustainable, func tional, non-footprint Lodge, cons tructed out of ice and bamboo at the Mount Everest Basecamp. After recei ving the KUWI-Scholarship, for scien tific research abroad, from TU Vien na, I traveled to Nepal, for 2 months, and hiked up to the Basecamp. After experiencing the Trekking Tour and getting an insight into the logistics and waste management challenges at Mount Everest Basecamp, it be came clear that this project requires thinking outside the box. Documen ting the Lodges alongside the Trek and conducting interviews with Lodge owners and mountaineers helped to distinguish the demands for this pro position. Using an innovative non footprint material, to not affect the environment, was the main objecti ve. After analyzing Khumbu Glacier and the climate at the Basecamp the decision to construct a Lodge out of Ice was bound. Ice Experiments, and calculations during the form-finding process, showed that the material can only endure a very low amount of tensile force. A series of chain mo dels, using the catenary curve, for med the base for the final ice shells with solely compressive forces. Hy draulic pressure tests on different ice concoctions exhibited the strength of the materials. The more wooden grain and ecological binding agents were mixed into the water, the hig her the amount of compressive force it could deal with. The result of this work is a sustainable, innovative con cept aiming to inspire developing new ecological materials aligning to its en vironmental and climatical situation.
Project description
Starting the design phase with Ice Experiments led to an understanding of the material and its character. There were two different approaches. Firstly, based on the igloo research stacking layers of ice and creating an ice dome. After inflating a balloon, tissues were sprayed with water layer by layer, came on top, and put into the freezer. After freezing the shape the balloon got removed and the construction was solid. For the second approach, a rainwater hose got filled with water and hung between two trees generating a catenary curve. The structure stayed one night while -7 degrees outside but did not freeze, unfortunately. This showed that freezing a large amount of water with temperatures above -10 degrees is rather problematic. In contrast, freezing a small amount of water in layers, forming a construction, has high potential.
With the aid of Phänotyp, an Add-On for Blender, developed by Bewegende Architektur e.U. and Karl Deix, it was possible to calculate the forces of the shell shape. Phänotyp permits architectural structures to undergo genetic alteration. It may also be used to examine moving shapes. Especially when working on dynamic architectural projects Phänotyp is extremely helpful. The calculation showed that the current shape endures many tensile forces. High tensile forces could be demonstrated, particularly in the upper vertex. Beyond that, in the lower arched area occurs an overload of forces. Knowing that ice cannot deal with a high number of tensile forces the decision to create a form, that only generating compressive forces, was made.
6 After analyzing the system and operating mode of chain models, I created a variation of them to gene rate a shell structure with only compressive forces and no tensile forces. The chains form different domes for individual functions.
Technical information
The creation of an extremely durable substance from a frozen combination of pulped wood and water was found by two American academics in the early months of 1943. They gave this substance the name Pykrete in honor of Geoffrey Pyke, who had previously suggested building ships out of ice. This is the account of a top-secret World War II initiative to study the utilization of ice in shipbuilding. To improve the compressive strength of the ice, based on the knowledge of Pykrete, I created ice material samples with various components and conducted material tests at the Technical Test and Research Institute of the University of Innsbruck. This undertaking started with preparing the samples and mixing the components. After mixing the ingredients the liquid samples got frozen in a freezer. In the last step, the frozen samples got placed in the hydraulic press, one after another, to document their performance under compressive force and later evaluate the differences.
The connection between the Ice shells is executed with bamboo columns via metal hopper plugged into the bamboo canes. The footing is explicated via traditional Asian stone and bamboo resting connection.
Documentation
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