Unusual buildings in a post-apocalypse village/town?

[Sprocketteer]

Nice one, Rob.

[Matt W]

cement kiln: Portland cement needs clay, shale, limestone and gypsum ... and a lot of heat.

----------------SNIP---------------------

1.5 tons of quicklime (plus the other components) results in (about) 2 tons of portland cement. To make a cubic meter of concrete, mix:

• 307 kg of cement
• 926 kg of sand
• 950 kg of aggregate (typically gravel)
• 163 liters of fresh water

Thus a cubic meter of concrete requires at least 46 kg of coal to be burned ... probably twice that much, since the rotary kiln needs to be pretty hot, also. That brick kiln is one of of a process that creates 6.5 cubic meters of concrete each day.

Our (classic-setting) campaign has some more info on the process: http://asmrb.pbworks.com/w/page/1131...neering#cement

--
Michael B.

But why not use the concrete that you already have Concrete can be recycled. And - with the right techniques - rubble can be turned into useful building material

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/mobile-factory-turns-earthquake-rubble-into-bricks-permanent-homes-180960663/

[Gelrir]

"His patented Q-Brixx blocks start out as debris thats torn into three- to four-centimeter pieces inside the Mobile Factory. Special additives and cement then transform it into a new, high-quality concrete that is poured into Lego-like molds." So there's probably resin and cement being added to glue chunks of broken concrete together. Useful, but it still needs cement and "special additives". I'm not sure about the "high-quality" term, either; I'm sure it's fine for homes, but I dunno about building dams, bridges, bunkers, etc. with it.

--
Michael B.

[Sprocketteer]

A library.
Some crazy old man or woman has been finding books, he/she is the only person who can read in town, so has a bit of power or status, as a seer or shaman or priest of the old ways.

Of course there is no telling what books they have, so it could lead to some strange beliefs or laws or cultural ideas.

[ArmySGT.]

Methane digester.

Holding tank for anaerobic bacteria that give off flammable gas. The gas is then siphoned off to be burned as fuel.

Maybe gas lamps, gas ovens, gas heat for a green house.

[Gelrir]

• Museum of the Time Before ... items from before the Apocalypse, and a possibly-mistaken interpretation of them. "We aren't sure, but we think the pre-War people wore these to honor some sort of rodent god. In any case, they are black plastic hats, with round shapes probably intended to resemble ears."
  
• Isolation house: people who've broken taboos, or who society shuns at certain times. Recently-pregnant women, or men who gazed too long at the sheep, or people named Herbert, or red-heads ... in any case, you can't come out until you've changed, or the calendar is right, or a bluebird lands on city hall ...

[Gelrir]

• The Shunned House: a building that nobody in town will enter; it's bad manners to even discuss it. Maybe nasty lawbreakers (cannibals, or folk who sold their children) lived there; or people died of disease or unknown causes; or it was contaminated with chemical/biological/nuclear hazardous waste; or it gathered a haunted reputation; or some odd legal or religious ritual requires it ("It's the house of the night spirit ... he needs a home, otherwise he'll come into YOUR home!").

[knightofrubus]

A green for festivals, outdoor meetings and grazing a few cattle.

An area set aside for nomadic groups when they come to town. Often far from where businesses or valuables are kept, alternately the local general store is an old gas station.

An ice house where ice harvested in winter is stored for summer use. Often packed with lots of saw dust to insulate.