Human vulnerability can be characterized as people living with uncertain livelihood options, precariously settled in structurally unsafe buildings. A striking aspect of this vulnerability is the large number of people living in earthen structures within seismically active zones. This reality is exemplified by the earthquake which occurred this past summer around Pisco, Peru. The earthquake caused enormous damage to more than 80% of the adobe buildings. Although confined masonry is the preferred construction technique for families who can afford it, adobe is still the only economically viable alternative for most. Presently reconstruction efforts are focused on encouraging residents to build with reinforced masonry, but the reality is that once these volunteers leave, or their funding runs out, people living in these areas will not be able to afford to continue with these enhanced types of construction. The goal then, is to come up with a hybrid of earthen construction found in the area that incorporates what is known of structural reinforcement with found or recycled objects that can contribute to improved tensile strength. This hybrid will allow for the rebuilding of Pisco at an affordable, yet highly stable level. This thesis will begin by visiting Pisco to conduct forensic studies of structural failures with documentation of physical observations and discussions with local institutions that have researched the crisis. Interviews with residents will also give insight into the events and building failures due to earthquakes as well as local construction methods. Readily available resources will be incorporated into the project in a way that should improve seismic resistance. Throughout this process research will be done on current seismic engineering discoveries in conjunction with indigenous approaches to earthen construction in comparable areas around the world. The possible construction approaches will be tested in collaboration with local Universities’ Seismic testing facilities. Once established, this hybrid earthen construction technique will be applied to one of several different building typologies (housing, schools, churches, etc). The end result will be the creation of a building design that establishes an appropriate reconstruction method at an economic level that will reduce the inhabitants’ susceptibility to future seismic disasters.

The topic of my thesis is the design of a kindergarten in Rajhrad. The building is one storey with a flat roof. In the middle of the building there are technical facilities, a kitchen, a director's office and facilities for staff. On the sides there are classrooms with bathrooms and cloakrooms. The load-bearing masonry is designed of Heluz ceramic blocks. The perimeter masonry is insulated with the ETICS contact insulation system. The roof structure is made of prefabricated floor slabs SPIROLL. The building is covered by a green flat roof. The building will be heated by a gas condensing boiler. It will have an air handling unit located on the roof along with photovoltaic panels. Intelligent LED lighting will be deployed throughout the building. The third part deals with the comparison between masonry construction and the more environmentally friendly clay construction. Specifically, it compares the CO2 production of masonry and clay construction of the same building using the SBToolCZ methodology. The results obtained showed that the clay building produces approximately 30% less CO2 than the masonry building. I created my thesis using ArchiCAD and DEKsoft software.

Após muitas décadas de mau uso das técnicas construtivas de terra, associando-as à miséria e habitações subumanas, há tentativas de resgatá-las e reintroduzi-las como opção construtiva digna. A terra, utilizada como material construtivo, possui muitas potencialidades, especialmente quando se trata do meio rural, onde se apresenta em quantidade e variedade abundante, possibilitando maior flexibilidade na técnica a ser utilizada. Além disso, as áreas rurais brasileiras, inclusive os assentamentos rurais de reforma agrária, têm um déficit de moradias proporcionalmente equivalente ao das áreas urbanas, porém não recebem uma atenção equivalente na forma de políticas públicas e investimentos. Os programas habitacionais federais, em sua maioria, são desenhados para a população e dinâmica das áreas urbanas e não contemplam particularidades do campo e do trabalhador rural. No Assentamento Rural Sepé Tiaraju, localizado no município de Serra Azul-SP, 77 famílias acessaram recursos provenientes de um programa habitacional federal e do INCRA para construção de suas casas. Dessas 77, um grupo de 10 famílias auto-intitulado de Grupo Alternativo, optou por construir suas casas utilizando materiais ditos mais sustentáveis, não industrializados e, de preferência, não comercializáveis, escolhendo a terra como material construtivo de vedação. No entanto, após cinco anos de projeto, apenas três famílias permaneceram com a terra como opção construtiva. Diante desse contexto, o objetivo dessa pesquisa é identificar e avaliar as variáveis que tiveram maior influência na adoção da terra como material construtivo para habitação social rural no caso do Grupo Alternativo do Assentamento Rural Sepé Tiaraju. Como método de coleta de dados da pesquisa foi utilizado o levantamento documental e áudio-visual, com consulta à literatura técnica e científica sobre o tema, os registros de pesquisa do grupo Habis e consulta a profissionais e pesquisadores da área de construção em terra. Como métodos de análise de dados da pesquisa foram utilizados a Linha do Tempo e a Matriz de Correlação de Influência (MCI). Como resultado, pode-se identificar que as variáveis que tiveram maior influência na adoção da terra como material construtivo para habitação social rural no presente caso, foram as relacionadas ao \"material construtivo\", \"assessor técnico\" e \"produção\". Já as variáveis relacionadas a Famílias, tiveram muita influência, mas não foram determinantes. As relações de influência que tiveram maior destaque foram as relações dentro do grupo de variáveis relacionadas a elementos técnicos e entre essas e as variáveis relacionadas ao assessor técnico. Os resultados dessa pesquisa permitem indicar que a terra é uma opção viável para construção de habitação rural com recursos de programas habitacionais federais, desde que exista um programa habitacional direcionado para as especificidades do meio rural e uso de materiais não convencionais. / After many decades of misuse of earth-based building techniques, which are associated with poverty and subhuman housing, some people still try to rescue and reintroduce them as a worthy alternative. The earth used as a building material has many potential, mainly when applied to rural areas, where this kind of material is encountered in abundant quantity and variety, being possible to apply more techniques. In addition, the Brazilian rural areas, including rural settlements of agrarian reform have a housing deficit that is proportionally equivalent to the urban areas. However, these rural areas do not receive equivalent attention in terms of public policies and investments. Many federal housing programs are designed for the population and dynamic urban areas, thus, sometimes they do not consider the conditions of rural areas and worker particularities. In Sepé Tiaraju Rural Settlement located in the municipality of Serra Azul, state of São Paulo, 77 families used funds obtained from a federal housing program and from INCRA to build their homes. From these 77 families, a group of 10 families chose to build their homes using more sustainable materials, non-industrialized and non-commercialized, choosing the earth as a building material for walls. This group was called Alternative Group. However, after five years only three families remain using the earth-based building technique. Following this context, the objective of this research is the identification and evaluation of variables that most influenced the adoption of earth-based building technique applied to social housing in rural areas. In order to validate the methodology proposed, this work uses the case of the Alternative Group (Sepé Tiaraju Rural Settlement). In this way, as the method to obtain research data was the use of documents and audio-visual resources, the researches of Habis Group, moreover, consultation to professionals and researchers of this area. After obtained all these data, a timeline and a correlation matrix were employed in order to evaluate the data in a qualitative way. It is important to highlight that the correlation matrix was used to verify the influence between the variables that compose the data previously obtained. Hence, one can identify that the variables related to technical advisor, production and building material were most responsible to use the earth-based building technique in this case study. On the other hand, the variables related to family had some influence, but were not decisive, and the variables related to technical elements and their relationships with the variables related to technical advisor have been highlighted. The final results of this research allow us to indicate that earth is a viable choice for building rural housing using funds from federal housing programs. However, it is important that these programs target the specificities of rural areas and unconventional materials.

Após muitas décadas de mau uso das técnicas construtivas de terra, associando-as à miséria e habitações subumanas, há tentativas de resgatá-las e reintroduzi-las como opção construtiva digna. A terra, utilizada como material construtivo, possui muitas potencialidades, especialmente quando se trata do meio rural, onde se apresenta em quantidade e variedade abundante, possibilitando maior flexibilidade na técnica a ser utilizada. Além disso, as áreas rurais brasileiras, inclusive os assentamentos rurais de reforma agrária, têm um déficit de moradias proporcionalmente equivalente ao das áreas urbanas, porém não recebem uma atenção equivalente na forma de políticas públicas e investimentos. Os programas habitacionais federais, em sua maioria, são desenhados para a população e dinâmica das áreas urbanas e não contemplam particularidades do campo e do trabalhador rural. No Assentamento Rural Sepé Tiaraju, localizado no município de Serra Azul-SP, 77 famílias acessaram recursos provenientes de um programa habitacional federal e do INCRA para construção de suas casas. Dessas 77, um grupo de 10 famílias auto-intitulado de Grupo Alternativo, optou por construir suas casas utilizando materiais ditos mais sustentáveis, não industrializados e, de preferência, não comercializáveis, escolhendo a terra como material construtivo de vedação. No entanto, após cinco anos de projeto, apenas três famílias permaneceram com a terra como opção construtiva. Diante desse contexto, o objetivo dessa pesquisa é identificar e avaliar as variáveis que tiveram maior influência na adoção da terra como material construtivo para habitação social rural no caso do Grupo Alternativo do Assentamento Rural Sepé Tiaraju. Como método de coleta de dados da pesquisa foi utilizado o levantamento documental e áudio-visual, com consulta à literatura técnica e científica sobre o tema, os registros de pesquisa do grupo Habis e consulta a profissionais e pesquisadores da área de construção em terra. Como métodos de análise de dados da pesquisa foram utilizados a Linha do Tempo e a Matriz de Correlação de Influência (MCI). Como resultado, pode-se identificar que as variáveis que tiveram maior influência na adoção da terra como material construtivo para habitação social rural no presente caso, foram as relacionadas ao \"material construtivo\", \"assessor técnico\" e \"produção\". Já as variáveis relacionadas a Famílias, tiveram muita influência, mas não foram determinantes. As relações de influência que tiveram maior destaque foram as relações dentro do grupo de variáveis relacionadas a elementos técnicos e entre essas e as variáveis relacionadas ao assessor técnico. Os resultados dessa pesquisa permitem indicar que a terra é uma opção viável para construção de habitação rural com recursos de programas habitacionais federais, desde que exista um programa habitacional direcionado para as especificidades do meio rural e uso de materiais não convencionais. / After many decades of misuse of earth-based building techniques, which are associated with poverty and subhuman housing, some people still try to rescue and reintroduce them as a worthy alternative. The earth used as a building material has many potential, mainly when applied to rural areas, where this kind of material is encountered in abundant quantity and variety, being possible to apply more techniques. In addition, the Brazilian rural areas, including rural settlements of agrarian reform have a housing deficit that is proportionally equivalent to the urban areas. However, these rural areas do not receive equivalent attention in terms of public policies and investments. Many federal housing programs are designed for the population and dynamic urban areas, thus, sometimes they do not consider the conditions of rural areas and worker particularities. In Sepé Tiaraju Rural Settlement located in the municipality of Serra Azul, state of São Paulo, 77 families used funds obtained from a federal housing program and from INCRA to build their homes. From these 77 families, a group of 10 families chose to build their homes using more sustainable materials, non-industrialized and non-commercialized, choosing the earth as a building material for walls. This group was called Alternative Group. However, after five years only three families remain using the earth-based building technique. Following this context, the objective of this research is the identification and evaluation of variables that most influenced the adoption of earth-based building technique applied to social housing in rural areas. In order to validate the methodology proposed, this work uses the case of the Alternative Group (Sepé Tiaraju Rural Settlement). In this way, as the method to obtain research data was the use of documents and audio-visual resources, the researches of Habis Group, moreover, consultation to professionals and researchers of this area. After obtained all these data, a timeline and a correlation matrix were employed in order to evaluate the data in a qualitative way. It is important to highlight that the correlation matrix was used to verify the influence between the variables that compose the data previously obtained. Hence, one can identify that the variables related to technical advisor, production and building material were most responsible to use the earth-based building technique in this case study. On the other hand, the variables related to family had some influence, but were not decisive, and the variables related to technical elements and their relationships with the variables related to technical advisor have been highlighted. The final results of this research allow us to indicate that earth is a viable choice for building rural housing using funds from federal housing programs. However, it is important that these programs target the specificities of rural areas and unconventional materials.

La réduction de la consommation énergétique dans le secteur de bâtiments présente aujourd’hui une priorité primordiale dans les politiques des pays industrialisés. En France, le secteur du bâtiment consomme environ 43 % de l’énergie finale et contribue pour près d’un quart aux émissions nationales de gaz à effet de serre [ADEME]. Il se positionne comme un acteur clé pour parvenir à résoudre les inquiétants défis environnementaux auxquels nous devons faire face. Face à ces véritables défis, l’augmentation des niveaux d’exigence des réglementations thermiques s’est poursuivie et intensifiée pendant les 40 dernières années, jusqu’à la naissance de la réglementation thermique 2012, qui a permis de construire des bâtiments basse consommation (BBC) qui équivaut à 50 kWh/m².an. Cette nouvelle réglementation plus exigeante constitue une incitation forte à l'innovation des matériaux, produits et systèmes d'enveloppe. Dans ces conditions, l’amélioration des performances hygrothermiques des matériaux de construction aura des retombées économiques et environnementales conséquentes. C’est dans ce contexte que ce travail a été mené. Il vise à étudier et à améliorer les performances des produits de l’entreprise Briqueteries du Nord (BdN). Il est réparti sur deux axes principaux : le premier consiste à l’étude de l’inertie thermique et du pouvoir hygroscopique des briques en terre crue. Le second axe vise à élaborer des solutions possibles concernant l’amélioration de la résistance thermique des briques en terre cuite. Ce travail de recherche a été réalisé au laboratoire de l’Ecole Centrale de Lille avec une étroite collaboration avec l’université d’Artois et l’entreprise (BdN) / Nowadays, the reduction of energy consumption in buildings industry represents a major issue in industrialized countries’ policies. In France, the building sector consumes about 43% of final energy and accounts for nearly a quarter of the national emissions of greenhouse gas emissions [ADEME]. It is considered as a key factor to overcome the environmental challenges we have to face.In front of these significant challenges, the thermal regulations requirements were seriously intensified during the last 40 years until the notification of the thermal regulation 2012. This latter enable the construction of low energy buildings (BBC) whose consumption is equivalent to 50 kWh/m² per year on average. This new regulation provides a strong incentive for innovation of materials, products and envelope systems. Under these conditions, improving hygrothermal performance of building materials will allow a substantial economic and environmental benefits. This work was conducted in this context. It aims to study and improve the performance of the company Briqueteries du Nord (BdN) products. It is divided in two main axis: the first consists on studying the thermal inertia and hygroscopic capacity of unfired clay bricks. However, the second axis aims to develop possible solutions for improving the thermal resistance of fired clay bricks. This research was conducted in the laboratory of the Ecole Centrale de Lille with close collaboration with the University of Artois and the BdN company