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The east wall of the Goat House was constructed from a compacted mixture of clay and cement with various concentrations of magnolia leaves and cones. Designed by Annie Pearce and Jamie Frazier, this wall was constructed in approximately three hours using the combined labor of five people. The wall was erected in conjunction with end supports constructed from lumber discarded after Georgia Tech's Homecoming Parade floats were disassembled. Two sheets of oriented strand board had to be purchased to serve as side forms for the construction of the wall. Plexiglass recovered from a research dumpster was used to separate the three wall sections, each of which used differing ratios of leaves to soil to cement. The magnolia leaf-soil-cement wall was designed to investigate the potential for using waste products from the magnolia tree to improve the durability and weathering performance of compressed soil as a building material. Magnolia trees are abundant in the southeastern United States, and produce copious amounts of fallen leaves and cones year-round. Due to their high acidity and stubborn resistance to decomposition, these leaves are uncompostable, and are usually collected and landfilled. Finding a use for magnolia tree waste would solve this ongoing problem. We initially attempted to chop the leaves to facilitate mixing, but eventually gave up and used the leaves intact. All mixing of soil, cement, magnolia leaves and cones, and water was done by hand, much to the chagrin of the students involved. Georgia clay proved extraordinarily difficult to mix with anything; only by mixing small batches at one time could we ensure that the mix was uniform. Even with small batches, we had a very difficulty time in obtaining a uniform and consistent mix. We used an eight-pound hand tamper to compact the soil within our forms. When the forms were filled approximately 50%, we discovered that we had underestimated the forces required for compaction, and we had to add bracing to strengthen the forms. We also reduced the amount of compaction used in each section after this point, resulting in significant voids throughout the wall. Initial reinforcement of the forms would have permitted better compaction, resulting in a higher quality wall. The Magnolia-soil-cement wall has yet to prove itself structurally. Formwork was removed from the wall approximately one week after its construction, revealing significant voids and nonuniformities in the mix. While the two wall sections incorporating concrete demonstrate significant hardness, the center section consisting only of compressed clay is easily malleable to the touch and shows signs of cracking as it dries. More mix uniformity, additional compaction, and stronger formwork may have improved the quality of this wall, as well as shredding of the magnolia leaves and cones. |
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