Advantages Over Traditional Construction
AVAVA Systems is a new way of building that will allow almost anyone to build a simple, light yet strong, and inexpensive structure using commonly available materials. A three-story, 1,000 square foot home made almost entirely of plywood takes less than three days to build with no more than battery powered screwdrivers and hand tools. It provides protection from earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods in energy efficient comfort, and only needs to be supported at each of the four corners. It is capable of being completely dismantled in less than three days and transported to a new site . . . or recycled into other wood structures or wood based products.
The AVAVA System enables the structure to be self-supporting, and capable of bridging much greater distances without the interior structural support (beams, columns, braces, etc) required by traditionally framed structures and devices.
Architectural options are endless when there is no need for the load-bearing interior walls that define the spaces of traditional construction. The structure's roof has the same strength as the floors below and can itself be used as an added floor with the addition of conventionally framed walls and an upper roof.
The structure has walls that are twice as thick in section than industry standard. These walls combined with the roof and floors are ideal for insulation materials and make the structure more energy efficient than typical modern construction.
Is AVAVA Green?
There is a new philosophy beyond "Green Building" called "Cradle-to-Cradle" and AVAVA Systems rises to this new challenge. Cradle-to-Cradle is about creating things with the intention of having no negative impact on the world. Cradle-to-Cradle products are made using sustainable materials and manufacturing techniques, that can be either 100% reused or recycled . . . leaving nothing to landfill and nothing wasted.
All components of the AVAVA Systems construction follow this "Cradle-to-Cradle" principle. The products used in AVAVA Systems are based on young or recycled wood products in the form of plywood or OSB (oriented strand board). Parts that make up an AVAVA building come from the factory already measured and cut so that there will be little or no waste during construction. AVAVA building elements are assembled and held together with bolts and screws that will allow for easy disassembly in the future, yet provide the desired strength during the service life of the finished structure.
Why Wood?
Wood is sustainable, requires small amounts of energy to produce, can be recycled or reused, is lightweight, is readily available and economical. Wood is organic, flexible, and is a common building material for smaller buildings such as homes. Why plywood in particular? Much smaller trees are used to make plywood, which means shorter re-growth time for the trees.
How Does it Work?
The vertical and horizontal wood I-joists are connected with interlocking wood blocks that match the surfaces and contours of the webs and flanges. The shape of the blocks determines the geometry of the structure. A tension member is threaded through all the interconnected joints along each intersection to create the stiffened frame. Plywood is added over the framing to create diaphragms on each surface of the shape thus creating the finished structure.