Emergency Sandbag Shelter and Eco-Village: Manual-How to Build Your Own with Superadobe/Earthbags [Paperback]

Nader Khalili (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2011

"We live on earth, yet so ignorant of earth and all the treasures it holds."-Rumi

Emergency Sandbag Shelter is a must-have manual for every home, as an emergency guide. Now for the first time this book is made available to people around the world by its inventor, award-winning architect Nader Khalili (1932-2008), whose specialty was skyscrapers and who dedicated his life to teaching others how to build shelter for humanity. This book, with over 700 photos and illustrations, shows how to use sandbags and barbed wire, the materials of war, for peaceful purposes as the new invention known as Superadobe or earth-bag, which can shelter millions of people around the globe as a temporary as well as permanent housing solution. This affordable, self-help, sustainable, and disaster resistant structural system is a spin off from Khalili's presentation to NASA for habitat on the moon and Mars, which successfully passed rigorous tests for strict California earthquake building codes. This book along with a small library of films and kits can guide anyone to learn and teach how to build a home or community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bypass the UN, by-pass government. People can start building their own." -- Washington Post "The buildings are cool in summer and warm in winter, probably the most environmentally-friendly homes you'll ever come across." -- BBC

About the Author

Nader Khalili, Humanitarian Architect (1932-2008)

Architect and author Nader Khalili developed the simple breakthrough building technologies known as Superadobe(sandbags and barbed wire) and Ceramic Houses, with the freely available material of earth, for almost thirty years. Inspired by the poetry of the 12th century mystic Rumi, who wrote in his native Persian language, Khalili served as a consultant to the U.N. (UNIDO) and a contributor to NASA, as well as directing the Architectural Research Program (ARP) at SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture).

For his work in Earth and Ceramic Architecture since 1975, he received awards from organizations such as the CCAIA for "Excellence in Technology," the U.N. and HUD for "Shelter for the Homeless," the ASCE (Aerospace Division) for his work in lunar base building technology, and most recently the Aga Khan award for architecture for "Sandbag Shelter Prototypes".

Through his work, Nader Khalili has inspired a global movement and left a rich body of philosophy, design and innovative construction technology. His work is continued at Cal-Earth Institute, as the basis for its research and educational mission.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Cal Earth Press; First Edition edition (June 28, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889625051
• ISBN-13: 978-1889625058
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nader Khalili, an Iranian-born California architect and author, is the designer and innovator of the Geltaftan Earth-and-Fire System known as "ceramic houses" as well as the Superadobe building technologies. He received his education in Iran, Turkey, and the United States, and has been a licensed architect in California since 1970. In 1975, he closed his successful practice in the United States and Iran designing high-rise buildings and journeyed by motorcycle for five years through the Iranian desert, where he worked closely with local villagers to develop his earth architecture prototypes. His impressions have been collected in his book Racing Alone. Mr. Khalili serves as a consultant to the United Nations and is a contributor to NASA on construction technologies for the moon and Mars. He is the founder and director of the Cal-Earth Institute, Geltaftan Foundation-dedicated to research and development in earth and space architecture technologies for the moon and Mars.Khalili presently lives in the Mojave desert city of Hesperia, California (north east of Los Angeles). He has a son Dastan and a daughter Sheefteh. He continues to work as an architect, teacher, and author. For more information please visit this website.