Development of sustainable building components utilizing date palm midribs for light wide-span multi-purpose structures for rural communities in Egypt

Date palm midribs are one of the most available and renewable agricultural residues in Egypt. They enjoy a technical heritage that still thrives in the fields of handicrafts, furniture and simple rural huts among the poor rural communities in Egypt. This qualifies them to be developed for contemporary construction that matches the modern lifestyle of the youth. This paper aims to develop low-cost date palm midribs building components for light and sustainable wide-span multi-purpose structures for rural communities. This is achieved firstly by selecting a primary design that respects the natural shape and lightness of the material. The primary design selected was a 12 m span tri-arched space truss system as a semi-form active structure that utilized traditional palm midribs crates techniques such as bundling and friction-based joinery. Secondly, the conceptual design was developed in order to enhance the design ability for mass production, stability, and aesthetic enhancement. Thirdly, an exploratory physical model was built to visualize and develop the practical design of the building components. This process simulated the building sequence and tackled the details of the building components. The physical model showed that the proposed system allowed multiple alterations and high flexibility, showed promising durability and well balanced visual composition with a unique spatial experience that reflect the traditional essence of the material in a modern fashion. The work presented is a part of the undergoing validation process of date palm midribs wide-span building components, to introduce the material a sustainable alternative for the poor rural communities in Egypt.