ARC4030 STRUCTURES, ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNICAL STUDIES

GROUP MEMBERS:
22137315
23106080
23150824
23148416
23127999
22124860
MANGBETU HOUSES
LOCATION:

zaire-
Democratic
Republic of the
Congo
The Mangbetu are a tribe located in Fig. 1 Mangbetu village consisting of multiple
northeastern Zaire in the southern part of Mangbetu houses
Sudan. Mangbetu houses are very simple huts
which in large amounts create a village. In
terms of the geographical location of the
Mangbetu, the topography gradually rises and
the area surrounding the Mangbetu consists
of grasslands as well as tropical forests.

The climate in this area of Sudan is usually

quite hot and humid with mean annual
temperatures of a range between 26 and 32
degrees Celsius. The highest temperature can
often exceed 43 degrees in the hotter days
of the summer. The southern part of Sudan
where the Mangbetu are located usually
experiences erratic rainfall often up to 1500
mm every year. This period of rainfall is usually
between March and October with the heaviest
amount being between June and September. On
the other hand, during the winter months, Fig. 2 Close up of one of many Mangbetu houses
temperatures can be as low as 12 degrees Celsius. in a Mangbetu village
The Mangbetu houses are made of very simple
materials which can easily be found in the
local area. Some of these materials are mud,
bark, banana/plantain leaves, split Spanish
reed, sticks, grass and wood. The hot and
humid climate is an almost perfect condition
for the growth of plantain leaves which
makes it quite easy to find these leaves. The
use of mud mixed with grass and other such
materials is very commonly used in this area
as these materials are very easy for the locals
to get a hold of and work with but also
because these materials keep the buildings
cool from the heat. These huts further
prevent overheating by avoiding windows
and keeping the door - the only opening
to the building – shut whenever possible.
MATERIALS

Coarse Mud

There are different methods of

using mud in construction, us- Banana Leaves
ing different ratios, there’s mul-
tiple types of mud methods in Organic waste such as ba-
construction such as Rammed nanas and potatoes could be
Earth, which consists of chalk, used in buildings and be used
lime, and Gravel, which can as materials, the UK alone
be hard to work with with- 60% of all raw construc-
out machinery. Moulded and tion materials are consumed.
compressed Earth bricks, Banana Leaves ash is one of BARK
Earth combined with water those waste materials being
which forms a paste-like mix- pozzolanic in nature and has Bark is like a miracle materi-
ture and then poured into synonymous properties like ce- al, non-toxic, renewable, bio-
moulds. For these bricks not ment and is easily available in Pa- degradable, and lightweight,
to crack they use grass and kistan at a large extent. The use bark is also fire resistant with
straw fibres which have high of banana leaves has been stud- low sound and heat conduc-
tensions, which prevent crack- ied and researched and is seen tivity, bark can be used for all
ing and maintain structure as a replacement of cement. sorts of things. Bark is now in-
throughout the construction. The experimental work was corporated into many things
Adobe which is the sun-dried done on 18 number of samples, about construction such
clay brick one of the oldest three for each mix and the as the cork insulation and
building materials used by man, samples were given the cur- bark flooring. This a perfect-
because of the drying process ing of 7 days and 28 days and ly natural sustainable mate-
it requires a period of warm after curing of 7 days and rial, and this does not affect
weather to make sure they 28 days the samples were test- the trees either as bark sheds
are all properly structured. ed and the hardened proper- off the trees this is why it’s
(CityChangers.org – Home ty like compressive strength such a great material which
Base for Urban Shapers, 2021) was observed. (Abro et al., n.d.) can never run out. (team, 2023)
 FIG.3 PERSPECTIVE DRAWING OF MANGBETU
AND its surroundings (F, FATHE-DEEN, 2023)
FIG. DRAWING SHOWING TH EMATERIALS AND
LAYERS INSIDE A MANGBETU HOUSE. ( JAVED, K,
2023)
FURTHER RESEARCH INTO MANGBETU HOUSES
MATERIAL OF CHOICE:

BANANA LEAVES
The KWIECO Shelter
Designed by: Hollmen Reuter Sandman architects
Completed in: 2015
Location: Tanzania

The material our group have chosen to explore through a contemporary piece
is banana leaves. Banana leaves aren’t typically used outside of vernacular
architecture due to their high maintenance to retain their features, however, this
case study is an example of where it has been used by architects in the 21st century.

The KWIECO Shelter was designed by Hollmen Reuter Sandman architects and was completed
in 2015. The shelter was made to provide a secure place for women in Tanzania who may need
help and was aimed to feel ‘secure for users that can be very traumatised when coming
there’ (Reuter 2015) The shelter was constructed with local materials and techniques so
that it better fit its context. One of the materials used was in fact banana leaves. The banana
leaves here were used to create ceilings in some of the rooms. This was done to respect
Tanzanian culture and climate as well as their materials and to allow for as minimal
environmental impacts as possible, hence the use of as many open resources as already available.

KEY DATA OF THE MATERIAL:

Location- Tropical and subtropical climates.
Typical use- Used for cooking food in most
cultures. In religions like Hinduism and Bud-
dhism, it is used for symbolic decoration. Also
used for its health benefits. (Karn, 2021).
Construction- Used for ceilings in construc-
tion due to its high strength fibre.
Deconstruction and re-use- Banana leaves
can rip when deconstructing, hence it not
being an ideal material to reuse.
Appearance- Slim and very thin with a wax-
like film on top. Typically, a long but also
wide shape. The older the leaf the darker the
green colour becomes. (Sustano, 2018).
Cost- It depends highly on location; some can
access it for free whilst others need to pay
for it to be imported.
Fire resistance- Banana leaves steam rath-
er than burn (hence it is used for cooking
often), however too much heat can dry out
the leaf and therefore cause it to catch fire. Fig. 5 KWIECO shelter designed by Hollmen
(Margolis, 2021). Reuter Sandman Architects.
Water resistance- Banana leaves are water-
proof.
Renewability- Due to banana leaves being a
by-product, it is considered to be a part of the
renewable natural cycle as this leaf would
have otherwise been disposed of.
Lifetime- Preserved leaves can last up to three
years (Bananaleaftechnology, 2019).
FURTHER RESEARCH INTO MANGBETU HOUSES

Fig. 6 KWIECO Shelter House, Tanzania (Ilonen, J)

The KWIECO shelter house was built in a way which

would be complimentary to its environment and
the elements it is surrounded by. This means the de-
sign and materials used in construction have a
purpose to make the building suitable for the cul-
ture, climate and use (Archello, 2015). Due to the
tropical climate and high humidity in Tanzania,
which is located in East Africa, the building must
have good ventilation throughout as well as
shelter from the sun and rain (Archello, 2015; Met
Office, 2023). The ceilings were built using banana
leaves which is a vernacular method historically
used by the Mangbetu people. Banana leaves can be
used to make ceilings due to their large surface
area, flexible structure and waterproof proper-
ties. More commonly banana leaves are dried and
woven to create a durable thatch which can
be used as the lowest layer of ceiling (Nassrulla,
2015). On top of the thatched roof, there is an in-
sulating layer on top of which lies a ridged iron
roof which allows the water to run off (Archel-
lo, 2015). Using locally sourced banana leaves for
roofing is a sustainable method as bananas are
one of the most extensively grown crops in Tanza-
nia. They can be grown all year round due to the
high rainfall and tropical climate(Nassrulla, 2015).
Another reason the use of this material is sustain-
able is that the banana plant does not need to be
cut down to harvest banana leaves therefore this
process does not contribute to releasing CO2 into
the environment (Construction Management, 2017).
 miro board mind-map

FIG. 7 SCREENSHOT OF MIRO BOARD SHOWING MIND-MAP

 LIST OF FIGURES and%20southern%20regions. [Accessed 5

LIST OF FIGURES, references& BIBLIOGRAPHY November 2023]

Construction Management (2017) Are bananas

Herbert, L. (1909) View of Mangbetu village houses
(1). Available at: https://digitalcollections.amnh. the new building material? Available at:
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predicts-bananas-and-potatoes-will-be-used-bu/
2URM1T9WUJLD.html [Accessed 5 November 2023]
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Herbert, L. (1909) View of Mangbetu village houses
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(2). Available at: https://digitalcollections.amnh.
org/archive/View-of-Mangbetu-village-houses-
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Fathe-Deen, F. (2023) Perspective drawing of
Mangbetu and its surroundings. [graphite
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and digital modification] 297mm x 420mm.
Available at: https://www.loc.gov/today/
placesinthenews/archive/2014arch/20140114_
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and layers inside a Mangbetu house. [digital]
t e r r a i n % 2 0 g r a d u a l ly % 2 0 r i s e s , a n d % 2 0
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