Arg-é Bam

Mud, considered a nuisance in many areas of the world, has been considered to be a chief building material in other areas of the globe. Clay soil is found in abundance on this planet, providing its inhabitants with sturdy homes. The remarkable thing about mud brick structures is their durability, with some mud buildings lasting for a thousand years.The Arg-e Bam was the largest adobe building in the world, located in bam, a city in the kerman Province of southeastern IranArg-e-Bam, the Citadel of Bam is the most representative example of a fortified medieval town built in vernacular technique using mud layers combined with mud bricks

The topography of area consists of

rugged, mountainous rims surrounding

high interior basins. a series of parallel

ridges interspersed with plains that

bisect the country from northwest to

southeast.

The center of Iran consists of several

closed basins that collectively are

referred to as the Central Plateau.

Climatic conditions

Iran has a variable climate. In summer, the

weather can be cool as well as warm, and

in the cold winters, it can be mild.

The temperatures mentioned hereafter are

expressed in degrees Celsius and

represent the monthly averages observed

over a great number of years. The rainfall

graph can also be useful to determine the

better period to set out on a trip.

Climatic conditions

structure

The citadel consists of four main sections: a residential zone, the stables, the army barracks and the governor’s residence.

Arg-e-Bam had 38 watchtowers, four entrance gates and the outer defense wall is surrounded by a moat. The Government Quarters are on a rocky hill, protected by a double fortification wall. The most notable structures are the bazaar, the Congregational Mosque, the Mirza Na’im ensemble and the Mir House.

structure

MATERIALS USED

The materials used were comprised of mixture of stone,aggregates, lime, and pozzolonalayered with sun dried blocks of mud clay

Heavy clays, readily available at various places throughout the plateau, have encouraged the development of the most primitive of all building techniques, molded mud, compressed as solidly as possible, and allowed to dry. The abundance of heavy plastic earth, in conjunction with a tenacious lime mortar, also facilitated the development and use of brick.

Arg-e-Bam before the restoration

Arg-e-Bam was totally abandoned since 1932 and may be, even before for the old city. Therefore without any repair and even with the little annual rainfall, weathering had already severely deteriorated the earth buildings before the earthquake. Before the start of the restoration works, Arg-e-Bam was in ruins and the vaulted roofs were extremely damaged.

Weathering shows here its effects on a city abandoned for several decades. Very little remains from the roofs and the walls are extremely eroded. This was the condition of nearly the entire city before restoration.

The Stables, though in a much better condition than the houses, show that about a third of the domes were either totally collapsed or damage

Arg-e-Bam before the earthquake

On December 26, 2003, a major earthquake hit Bam, destroying most of the city as well as the archaeological site of Arg-e-Bam

The main reason for such massive damage may be the weakness of adobe and brick houses. However, the damage was disproportionately and unexpectedly large in comparison with the magnitude of the earthquake

Several reasons seem to be the cause:

• Badly built and/or badly maintained buildings.

• Geometry of the building: some had L or U shapes, others had projections, etc.

• Perhaps a different ground quality which gave different vibrations to buildings.

The earthen walls composed of materials of different densities resulting from their different phases of construction, repair and reconstruction proved to be more vulnerable to the earthquake vibrations. The successive phases of construction of Arg-e-Bam over the centuries have produced walls of a very different composition.

Every layer was of a different density and cohesion resulting from the different ages. Organic material was used for reinforcement but rotted or was eaten by insects, leaving cavities and friable earth.

The clay stucco reinforced with straw added before the earthquake appeared to have been consumed by termites.

DURING RECONSTRUCTION

Presentation by

Aastha shah

Raj tank

Rutu patel

Ruja

Vikas

references: auroville earth institute

Construction methods: you tube