Thesis on earth architecture

EARTH ARCHITECTURE
Innovations in earth construction and potential of earth architecture in
contemporary scenario

Approval

Undergraduate Research Thesis
Vyavasayi Vidya Pratisthan’s
Indubhai Parekh School of Architecture
Rajkot, India

The following study is hereby approved as creditable work on the approved subject,
carried out and presented in a manner sufficiently satisfactory to warrant its acceptance as
a prerequisite to the degree for which it has been submitted.

It is understood that by this approval, the undersigned does not necessarily endorse or
approve of any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn there in, and
approves the study only for the above purpose, and satisfies him as to the requirements
laid down by the thesis committee.

Thesis Title: EARTH ARCHITECTURE
Innovations in earth construction and potential of earth architecture in
contemporary scenario

Name: Bhavi Vador Guide: Vishwanath Kashikar
Roll No: 3805 Signature:
Date:

The dissertation is dedicated to my parents and to every individual who inspired me, guided me and
helped me in my endeavours.

Acknowledgement
Inspirations and critique makes individual to do better. Ultimately, an individual grows through such individuals.

I would to acknowledge a number of individuals who have played a pivotal role in the actualisation of this thesis.

Firstly, i would like to thank my parents and whole family for supporting me throughout my life till now, they have given me
this wonderful life by supporting me and making me an individual to stand out and face every difficulty that comes along the
way of progress.
I am very much thankful to my guide - Vishwanath Kashikar for guiding me, providing me sufficient and timely discussions
and valuable inputs and broadening my concepts and ideas about earth architecture.

All my people who helped me in one way or the other, who questioned, criticised and discussed factors related to the topic and
thereby create a formwork for the dissertation. I would like to acknowledge not only those who directly contributed to this
dissertation, but also those whose moral support and confidence in me, whose companionship and discussions I have always
valued.

Ar. Nirav Vador and Ar. Kartik Bijlani for being a guide throughout, Dr.Tejal Gajra, Dhaval Vador and Jill Vador for asking
me thousand times ‘when will you complete your thesis?’ .Nikitasha Vador for accompanying to auroville and making the trip
memorable and helping with the work there.

Jimmy katira,Sweta Amin, Krishma Shah, Rutvik Agnihotri,Chandni Parekh,Tejas Bhatt,Pranav Meghani,Mitul Shah,
Dhruvansh Hirani,Ronak patel,Ankit Mehta and Siddharth Chauhan for discussing the work, for being there in happy and low
times and for being the best persons in my life.

Anand Dave, Kanupriya Raniwala, Saumil Mewada, Bhaumik Modi, Pratik zaveri, Sridevi, Rosy for valuable inputs and
discussions.

Prabhulal Vora, Savita Vora, Pallavi aunty, Shailesh uncle, Parth Amin and the ‘shailvi’ home...for supporting and giving
every facility to get a working environment.

IPSA for being a wonderful platform for providing knowledge and all the faculties, students, administration people,
maintenance people for sharing knowledge.

IPSA library, CEPT library for providing with books and internet access.

Prof Bakul Jani, Ar. Devang Parekh, Ar. Hitesh Changela, Mr. Kiran Vaghela, Ar. Satprem Maini, Ar. Dharmesh Jadeja for
their valuable inputs and discussions related to the topic.

I was able to proceed in my topic because of the valuable time given by the Architects, engineers, labourers and contractors
with whom i had discussions related to my questionnaire.

Thanks to owners of earth buildings in auroville and Kutch who co-ordinated well and helped to study and measure draw their
respective buildings.

To batch 2005-this consists of all my friends who have experienced architecture academics with me, sharing all their fun and
knowledge and for being together in a new city away from the family.

I would also like to thank all those who in some way or the other helped me in every stage of my life till now and finally to the
person who is reading this and (hopefully going to read) further. I hope the study become useful and serve the purpose for
which it is been read.

Contents

PREFACE 1

1. INTRODUCTION 2-7

1.1 Aim/objectives

1.2 Methodology

1.3 Necessity of research on earth construction

1.4 Scope and limitations

2. EARTH CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES 8-22

2.1 Earth architecture of world

2.2 Earth as a building material

2.3 Traditional earth construction techniques

2.4 Contemporary earth construction techniques (illustrated with figures) 23-32

2.4(a) Cob

2.4(b) Adobe

2.4(c) compressed stabilised earth blocks

2.4(d) Wattle and daub

2.4(e) Rammed earth

3. INNOVATIONS IN EARTH CONSTRUCTION 33-62

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Analytical charts showing solutions through:

3.2(a) Primary case studies

3.2(b) Designing

3.3(c) Construction

3.4(d) Maintenance

3.5(e) Demolition/Reuse

4. CONCLUSIONS 63-64

APPENDIX 65-118

1. Interviews and discussions with subject experts 65-70

2. Analysis of soil type 71-72

3. Traditional construction drawings 73-75

4. CSEB and stabilized rammed earth 76-93

5. Built examples 94-118

Afterword-the future 119

Glossary 120

Image credits 121

Bibliography 122

Preface

Currently it is estimated that one half of the world's population, approximately three billion people on six
continents live or work in buildings constructed of earth. It is evaluated that about 1.7 billion people of the world‟s
population live in earthen houses: About 50 % of the population in developing countries, and at least 20% of urban
and suburban populations. And while the vast legacy of traditional and vernacular earthen construction has been
widely discussed, little attention has been paid to the contemporary tradition of earth architecture.

- Ronal Rael-Earth Architecture

This paper is focusing particularly on the innovations done in last few years in the field of earth construction that
can lead to its better use as a building material. This thesis deals with earth as a building material, and provides a
survey of all of its applications and construction techniques while explaining its specific qualities and the
possibilities of optimising them. It provides the new, creative uses of the oldest building material on the planet.
Many assume that it's only used for housing in poor rural areas—but there are examples of bungalows, offices,
apartments and institutions that are made of earth. It's also assumed that earth is a fragile, ephemeral material, while
in reality some of the oldest extant buildings on the planet are made of earth. Earth buildings are often thought of as
pre-modern or backward. With help of discussions with the subject experts, drawings and images, this paper
showcases the beauty and simplicity of one of humankind's most evolved and sophisticated building technologies.

Mud (wet, soft earth) is a natural material which after exploration can be used just the way other
contemporary materials are used. A person, who started using glass, would not have made a skyscraper at first go.
After years of experiments designers and engineers might have used it as skin for skyscrapers. If there are
advantages about a certain material then there are limitations and disadvantages too, that can be solved by studies,
experiments and application of that material in different ways. Just because mud was used traditionally doesn‘t
mean it cannot be used today in contemporary architecture, it has risen from those mud toys to mud huts and now
to institutions, bungalows and multi-storeys. Mud is no more a material known for construction of ‗kuccha‘ houses
.While shrinkage, erosion and mechanical damage can affect earth construction like any other building material,
preventative measures can be taken for innovating the material itself rather than constructing with high cost,
imported materials.

Appendix 1 is the basis of development of this paper. The introductory chapter provides with a short survey
on the history of earth architecture. In other following chapters it describes the contemporary and future roles of
earth as a building material, and lists all of the significant characteristics that distinguish earth from common
industrialised building materials. The thesis final appendices titled ‗built examples‘ are earth buildings from
various regions of the world. These constructions demonstrate the impressive versatility of earth architecture and
the many different uses of the building material earth.

1

EARTH ARCHITECTURE-Innovations in earth construction and potential of earth architecture in contemporary scenario

Introduction

“Here, for years, for centuries, the peasant had wisely and quietly exploited the obvious building material, while we, with our
modern school-learned ideas, never dreamed of using such a ludicrous substance as mud for so serious a creation as a house.
But why not? Certainly, the peasant‟s houses might be cramped, dark, dirty, and inconvenient, but this is no fault of the mud
brick. There was nothing that could not be put right by good design and a broom.”

-Hassan Fathy (1973: 4)

AIM

 The aim is to study the traditional earth construction techniques and earth construction techniques of contemporary
architecture, stating problems with the techniques as why they make earth architecture undesirable for present client
and stating solutions from the case studies of contemporary earth buildings that show innovations made in traditional
techniques and show potentials and possibilities of earth construction so that the present man desires it just like other
contemporary architectural styles and materials.

OBJECTIVES

 To understand ideology of earth materials.
 To study the various earth construction techniques.
 To analyse the contemporary earth architecture in respect to its construction.
 To review the possible innovative earth construction methods and study the minor details that can help improve its
use.
 To review the appropriateness of the earth as building material in present scenario.

METHODOLOGY

 Understanding traditional earth construction techniques(internet, books, people)
 Gathering secondary data(internet, books, previous thesis done by others)
 Preparing research questionnaire
 Conducting interviews with the experts(architects, contractors/engineers, skilled labourers) of the subject
 Identifying problems with the designing, methods, construction techniques and maintenance related to earth
architecture through those interviews and related case studies.
 Doing case studies to understand the contemporary explorations and innovations to overcome those problems and
show potentials of earth architecture.
 Compilation of data, chapter writing and deriving conclusions

2


NECESSITY OF RESEARCH ON EARTH CONSTRUCTION

 To get knowledge about the material and promote earth construction
 To create awareness about earth construction
 To learn the potentials of earth building process (designing, construction, maintenance, demolition/ re-use)

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

Chart 1

There are various aspects of earth architecture, but the focus in this thesis is to study the earth construction and innovations in
it, to study the problems that earth as a building material has and find the solutions through the recent innovations in the
material and its applications.

3


Earth construction techniques

“Our modern, advanced scientific minds should know how to assess the merits and demerits of historic and factual evidence of
the way people who have lived in a particular setting and climate, have coped with the problems which are still inevitably ours
today. To brush aside all this demonstration and evidence as old-fashioned and therefore useless is extremely foolish. Having
made our assessment we would show ourselves capable of adopting the lessons we have learned (negative or positive, they are
of equal importance) to our current living habits and the currently available building materials at our disposal. Along with this
we should remind ourselves that it is not „advancement‟ or „development‟ or „progress‟ to indulge in modern building
materials and techniques at tremendous expenses and to no good effect when there is no justification or reason for their use,
instead of older, simpler, inexpensive methods. ”

- Laurie Baker (life, work and writings), page 23

EARTH ARCHITECTURE OF WORLD

A MILLENNIA OLD TRADITION
Down through the ages, people have been using raw earth for building their living spaces. Every single continent, and nearly
every country, possesses a rich heritage of earthen buildings. From the roof of the world in Tibet, or the Andes Mountains in
Peru, to the Nile‘s shore in Egypt or the fertile valleys of China, many are the examples of earth as a building material.
Earth construction techniques have been known for over 9000 years. Mud brick (adobe) houses dating from 8000 to
6000 BC have been discovered in Russian Turkestan (Pumpelly, 1908). Rammed earth foundations dating from ca. 5000 BC
have been discovered in Assyria. Earth was used as the building material in all ancient cultures, not only for homes, but for
religious buildings as well. Vaults in the Temple of Ramses II at Gourna, Egypt, built from mud bricks 3200 years ago. The
citadel of Bam in Iran, parts of which are ca. 2500 years old; a fortified city in the Draa valley in Morocco, which is around
250 years old. The 4000-year-old Great Wall of China was originally built solely of rammed earth; only a later covering of
stones and bricks gave it the appearance of a stone wall. The core of the Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico, built between
the 300 and 900 AD, consists of approximately 2 million tons of rammed earth.
The world‘s oldest earthen building still standing is about 3,300 years old. In India, the oldest earthen building is Tabo
Monastery, in Spiti valley –Himachal Pradesh. It was also built with adobe and has withstood Himalayan winters since 996
AD.

1.

1. Earth construction areas of the world

4


2. 3.

4. 5.

6. 7.

2. Ziggurat of Ur-in-Khaldea
3. Dejenne Mosque of Mali, Mopti
4. Tabo monastery, India 996 AD
5. Archaeological site of Mari Syria – Funded in 2800BC
6. Taos pueblo, New Mexico
7. Great Wall of China

5


8.

9. 10.

11. 12.

8. A panoramic view for desert vernacular mud brick architecture in Dakhla oasis, Egypt.
9. Citadel of bam, Iran, before the earthquake
10. Ramasseum, Egypt ~ 1300 BC
11. Fortified city, Draa valley, Morocco
12. Bazaar, Sirdjan, Iran

6


EARTH AS A BUILDING MATERIAL

 Earth comes from the disintegration of the parent rock. This rock disintegrates into mineral particles with varying dimensions
ranging from pebbles to clayey dust.

This ―organic‖ soil is reserved
for agriculture.
The other layers are used for
In the upper layer these construction.
particles are mixed with
organic material from the
decomposition of the living
World.

Active
Organic
material

Inert

Stones Gravel Sand Silt Clay

Soil skeleton
Binder

Plasticity Cohesiveness Compatibility

Chart 2

There are several different types of earth according to the quantities of the following components:
GRAVELLY EARTH – SANDY EARTH – SILTY EARTH – CLAYEY EARTH 7


Note: These are some points for the overview of the material, more and detailed study of the material and its construction is
provided in chapter three and in the appendix containing discussions with the experts, and through the case studies.

The parts highlighted in the above chart are the main construction techniques used in contemporary earth construction and are
studied in detail and explained in the next part of ‗contemporary earth construction techniques‘

TRADITIONAL EARTH TECHNIQUES

12 earth construction techniques

Chart 3

8


EARTH DUG OUT
 The earth is dug out to create shelters. In most of cases dwellings are dug out in soft soils, tuffs, porous lava in areas
with hot and dry climate.
 The horizontal dug out create caves on the side of the hills, which are accessed by staircases and galleries.
 The vertical dug out are created in areas such as plateaus or plains. A kind of open courtyard is dug out a few meters
deep and then room are dug out like caves on the side of this courtyard. Access to the dwelling is done by a staircase,
often very steep.
 Beautiful examples are found in China, in the provinces of Hunnan, Shanxi, and Gansu, where more than 10 million
people live in homes dug out of the loess layer. In Tunisia too, one can find interesting achievements.
 In Turkey, Cappadocia show exceptional creations where people combined vertical and horizontal dug out.

13. 14.

15. 16.

13. Tunisia, Matmata (Photo CRATerre EAG
14. China, Nxiang region – Han Jia Bao (Photo V. Dubourg
15. China, Nxiang region (Photo Chinese Society of Architecture)
16. China – Plan of dug out dwelling (Source unknown)

9


CUT EARTH

 In areas where the soil was cohesive and contained concretions of carbonates (a natural chemical which give
cohesion) the soil was cut in the shape of blocks and used like bricks or stones. Such examples are found typically in
tropical areas where lateritic soils give a wonderful building material.
 Lateritic soils can be found in two natural states:
- Soft soils, which will harden when exposed to air due to chemical reaction of the soil constituent with the air.
Such soils can be found on the west coast of India, from Kerala to Goa.
- Hard crust which was long ago in soil form and has already hardened through the ages. Burkina Faso in
Africa and Orissa in India show wonderful examples of such soils and blocks.
 In areas where the soil is not cohesive enough, people have used topsoil and grass to create blocks which were stacked
fresh upon each other. This method has been used a lot in England, where it has been named sod.

.
17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22.

17. Uruguay, Montevideo – Sod house (Photo H. Guillaud)
18. India, Panaji – Ex Palace, 16th C.
19. Burkina Faso, Quarry of Kari (Photo CRATerre/EAG)
20. India, Kerala, Near Soranad – Shaping a plinthite block
21. India, Orissa, Near Narangarh – Cutting petroplinthite by hand
22. India, Goa – Basilica Bom Jesus, end 16th century

10


FILLED IN (EARTH BAG CONSTRUCTION)

 This method was developed from the bunkers made by the military.
 The basic construction method began by digging a trench.
 Rows of woven bags (or tubes) are filled with available inorganic material.
 After the foundation is laid, each successive layer will have one or more strands of barbed wire placed on top.
 The weight of this earth-filled bag pushes down on the barbed wire strands, locking the bag in place on the row below.
 The most popular type of bag is made of woven polypropylene.
 Organic natural materials such as hemp, other natural-fibre bags (like ―gunny sacks‖) can be used.
 Humid soil was traditionally poured into wooden lattice works. Thus, it gave some thermal mass to light structures as well
as some acoustic insulation.

23. 24.

25. 26.

23. USA, California, Cal-Earth – Eco-domes
24. Inside view from the dome
25. Exterior view without plaster
26. USA, California, Cal-Earth – Plastering the Eco-dome

11


COVERED EARTH

 Soil has been traditionally used to cover roofs in different parts of the world. In arid climates, either very hot or very
cold, it regulates the inside temperature, due to heavy thermal mass.
 In Scandinavia, the earth to cover roofs was taken with grass, so as to hold the soil and give cohesion to it through their
roots. This method also gave more thermal mass and allowed the inside temperature to be more even.
 In Nordic countries but also in the Himalayas regions, waterproofing was done long ago with the bark of birch trees.
The bark peeled from the tree was very thin and it was applied in several layers to get a waterproof effect.
 Nowadays, waterproofing is done with PVC or bitumen sheets. Green roofs are today a modern development of the
technique of covered earth. Green roofs, also known as vegetated roof covers or eco-roofs are multi-beneficial
structural components that help to mitigate the effects of urbanization on water quality by filtering, absorbing or
detaining rainfall.

27. 28.

29. 30.

27. Canada, Factory
28. German, House
29. Germany, School
30. Germany, House

12


TRADITIONAL RAMMED EARTH
 Rammed earth, also known in French as pisé de Terre or simply pisé has been used since ages worldwide like many other
earth techniques.
 Rammed earth is an ancient earth building technique. It is really quite similar to adobe and cob techniques, in that the soil is
mostly clay and sandy. The difference is that the material is compressed or tamped into place, usually with forms that create
very flat vertical surfaces.
 The earth is mixed thoroughly with water to get a homogeneous humid mix. This humid earth is poured in a form in thin
layers and then rammed to increase its density. The increase of density increases the compressive strength and the water
resistance.
 Ramming was traditionally done by hand.
 The worldwide tradition of rammed earth construction has shown that it is possible to achieve long lasting and majestic
buildings from single to multi storey. Wonderful heritage can be found in countries such as France, Spain, Morocco, China,
and all over the Himalayan area. One can see numerous and wonderful examples with all kinds of buildings:
 Farms, or rural houses, chateaux and apartments in Europe
 Entire villages in North Africa
 Parts of the great wall of China
 Buildings in most of the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Ladakh
 Widespread examples in South America

31. 32.

33. 34.

31. Morocco – Horizontal rammed earth construction
32. Morocco – House
33. China, Fujian Province – Village / house of Hakka‟s clan
34. France, Dauphine – Château, 19th century

13


Soil identification
 Knowing that the best soil for rammed earth is preferably sandy or gravely rather than clayey, one should take a lot of
care about the clay content.
 Worldwide, the skill and knowledge of people has led them to choose rammed earth when the soil was more sandy or
gravely. When the local soil was more silty or clayey they chose other techniques like Adobe, Cob or Wattle and Daub.

35. 36.

37. 38.

35. India, Ladakh – Spituk Gompa
36. Morocco village
37. Traditional rammed earth
38. Rammed earth Building in Yaman

14


SHAPED EARTH
 Direct shaping makes use of plastic earth and does not require a mould or formwork.
 Plastic earth is shaped, as a potter would do it.
 The quality of the soil, its preparation and the water consistency are important to be known.
 This technique presents the advantage to use minimal and very simple tools, and to use a minimum of labour which is
necessarily skilled. This technique allows very fluid architecture with a great variety.
 The limitation of this technique is mostly the know-how for the soil quality and controlling the shrinkage when the
wall dries.
 This technique has been and is still used a lot in Africa, in the Sahel as well as in equatorial regions. Beautiful
examples can be seen in Cameroon where shaped earth has been used for houses and granaries.
 Natural stabilisers have been use traditionally in countries like Nigeria and Ghana.
 They either used the juice of plants and vegetables or boiled seeds to prepare natural glues which were added to the
soil.

39. 40.

41. 42. 43.

39. Nigeria, Near Kankeya – Granary
40. Togo – Granary
41. Niger – Granaries
42. Cameron – Mousgoum hut (Photo Gert Chesi)
43. Cameron – Granaries

15


STACKED EARTH (COB)
 Cob construction uses sand, clay and straw. Elongated eggs are made of this mix and stacked layer wise. Mixed well this
special mud is applied to the foundation in continuing layers. Each layer must dry so that it can support the next, and the
wall is tapered in as you build up. When it is dry, the walls are very hard and load bearing. The roof is built directly on to
the walls, as the walls themselves are the support structure.
 This technique has been used a lot long ago in Europe, where it was named cob in England and bauge in France.
 This technique is still used a lot in Africa, India and in Saudi Arabia, where beautiful examples can be seen.
 The most beautiful examples are encountered in Yemen with Shibam. This old historic capital of Southern Yemen has been
named ―The Manhattan of the Desert‖.

44. 45.

46. 47.

44. Saudi Arabia – Najran Palace(Photo M. Abdul-Aziz)
45. Southern Yemen, Shibam (Photo Patrick Meyer)
46. Mali, North of Mopti – Mosque(Photo Gert Chesi)
47. Saudi Arabia – Najran Palace (Photo H. Houben)

16


ADOBE

 Sun dried clay brick, named Adobe, is undoubtedly one of the oldest building materials used by mankind: The oldest
identified adobes were produced around 9,000 BC at Dja‟ De El Mughara in Syria.
 Adobes are made of thick malleable mud, often added with straw. After being cast they are left to dry under sun. They are
traditionally either hand shaped or shaped in parallel piped wooden moulds.
 This technique has been used all over the world since memorial times, as can been seen on various hieroglyphs and Egyptian
scriptures.
 The oldest samples known were found on the site of Jericho, in the Jordan Valley, in Mesopotamia. They date from around
8000 BC and they were hand shaped. They looked like an elongated loaf. Fingerprints of the craftsmen who did them are
still visible on some of them.
 In Peru the hand shaped adobes were long ago conical. In the Middle East they were at a time hemispherical and
humpbacked. In India the archaeological site of Chitradurga in Karnataka state shows also hand shaped adobe of the 15th
century. They were like quadrangular loafs.
 Today one can still find hand shaped bricks in Africa, in countries like Nigeria or Niger where they are called Tubali.
 Adobe production has been industrialised in Western USA. Several states in USA have codified adobe making and its
construction.

48. 49.

50. 51.

48. India, Ladakh - Shey Palace 17th Century
49. Iran, Meiboud – Office of ICHO
50. Egypt, Baris - Market by Hassan Fathy
51. Bazaar, Sirdjan, Iran

17


EXTRUDED EARTH

 The earth extrusion technique has been used since a long while in the fired brick industry. Stabilised earth, at a plastic
state, is as well extruded through a machine which gives the desired shape.
 The blocks are often hollow and are cut to the desired length. This technique of stabilised extruded earth was developed
in the 20th century.
 Compared to the brick extrusion in the fired brick industry, stabilised extruded earth bricks show a major inconvenient:
the soil required for stabilised earth is much sandier than the one for fired earth. Thus the soil is more abrasive and the
machines get damaged at a much faster rate.

52. 53.

54.

52. Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou (Photo J. Joffroy)
53. Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou (Photo J. Joffroy)
54. France (Photo Unknown)

18


WATTLE AND DAUB

 Wattle and daub method is an old and common method of building mud structures.
 There bamboo and cane frame structure support the roof.
 Mud is plastered over this mesh of bamboo cane and straws.
 Due to excessive rainfall the wattle and daub structures gets washed off.
 However, the mesh of cane or split bamboo remains intact and after the heavy rain is over the mud is plastered on
again.

55. 56.

57. 58.

55. Traditional wattle and daub
56. Somalia, Genale - Village huts
57. France, Alsace – House
58. France, Bresse, Saint Triviers de Court - Farm house

19


FORMED EARTH (Straw Clay)
 Very clayey soil, in a liquid state, is poured on straw, which has been chopped to the desired length.
 The mix is generally tampered afterwards into forms. These walls are not load-bearing: they are light, have a very high
thermal insulation value and must be built in a wooden structure.
 It was traditionally used in Germany and was re-used for reconstruction after the 2nd world war. It is mostly known with
the name Straw clay.
 Straw clay can be used as a filler wall, formed between a wooden structure or as prefabricated blocks.

59. 60.

61. 62.

59. Germany, Hessen, Gross Gerau (Photo F. Volhard)
60. Belgium, Leuven (Photo H. Houben)
61. Germany, Darmstadt (Photo F. Volhard)
62. Germany, Darmstadt (Photo F. Volhard)

20


POURED EARTH

 The soil, in a liquid state, is poured like concrete into formworks. The soil characteristics must be very sandy or gravely
and should be stabilised.
 This technique is a new development and is very seldom used. The reason is that the high water content of the soil will
induce a lot of shrinkage when it will dry. Thus the wall will crack.
 The following chart shows how blocks are cut after the earth is poured in a blocked formworks.
 Also, directly the formwork is arranged on the wall through vertical bamboo supports and then liquid earth is poured
into the formworks.

Courtesy CRATerre -EAG

Chart 4

21


TERMITE WONDERS
 Termites can be considered as the best earth builders. Building with earth is inherent to their nature. Termites stabilise
the soil with their saliva. The latter is sticky, as it is issued for the digestion of cellulose, and it binds the grains of soil.
 This allows them to build such wonders. Termites can also be considered as the best air conditioners. Their hills are
meant to regulate temperature and moisture, in order to allow them to live.
 Constructed out of local dirt, sticks, and sometimes even faces, their saliva is used to form the bonding agent. The
interior of the mound includes a series of tunnels and chambers with the nest located at the bottom. Various openings
and passageways are cleverly placed throughout to assist in capturing and drawing in cool air while pushing warm air
up and out of the mound. By using this careful layout, the termites can regulate the temperature through blocking or
opening passageways within the mound to control the temperature to their needs.

- Laura Schultz

63. 64.

65. 66.

63. India, Auroville - Termite hill
64. India, Auroville - Termite nest
65. India, Auroville - Termite nest
66. Burkina Faso, Toussiana - Termite hill

22


CONTEMPORARY EARTH CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

 The techniques mentioned till now included overall all the techniques of earth construction and were explained briefly.
 Nowadays out of all those techniques only few of them are used with their innovative applications and manufacturing.

chart 5

 Cob

 Adobe

 Wattle and daub

 Compressed stabilised earth blocks(refer appendix, part 3)

 Rammed earth

23


COB
 With only a little water to form a very stiff mud, a large Lump is roughly moulded into the shape of a huge elongated
egg.
 The usual size is anything between 12 to 18-inches, (30 to 40 cm) long and about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter.
 A row of these cobs of mud are laid neatly side by side, preferably somewhat pressed together. Then another row of cobs
is laid on top.
 When three or four courses have been laid, one above the other, the sides are smoothened over so that the holes and
cracks disappear.
 Openings for doors and windows are a problem, which can be solved by using temporary vertical planks or shuttering.
 Another very simple shuttering for openings is to use empty kerosene tins.

67. 68. 69.

70. 71. 72.

73. 74. 75.

67. Forming stiff mud and moulds
68. Stacking the moulds
69. Levelling and trimming after every stage to prevent Unlevelled walls from building up and drying out
70. Smoothening the sides
71. Arrangement of shuttering for openings
72. Layering the cob strips
73. Plastering the cob wall
74. Thatch roof cob house
75. Flat roof cob house

24


 While in the case of earth block work, dry elements are built up with mortar joints, no mortar is used with wet loam work.
Plastic loam is bound simply by ramming, beating, pressing or throwing.
 Some detailing of cob construction is explained below.
 Stone set on wet concrete to bond the cobs better from the base.
 Top of the stem wall is irregular to provide „tooth‟ for cob.
 To prevent lifting in strong winds, anchoring roof to the cob walls by wooden rafters with galvanized wire to the wall.

76. 77.

78. 79.

Adobes are made of thick malleable mud, often added with straw.
76. Stem wall on top of foundation
77. Anchoring the window frames and door frames to ground by wooden logs.
78. Roof logs attached to cob walls through wooden rafters
79. Thatched roof detail

25


TYPICAL COB WALL SECTION DETAIL

80.

80. Typical profile of the elements making up a cob and thatch
building.(illustration from building with cob: a step by step guide, by Adam
ADOBEWeismann and Katy Bryce, green books

26


ADOBE

 Adobes are made either by filling moulds with a pasty loam mixture or by throwing moist lumps of earth into them.
 After being cast they are left to dry under sun. They are traditionally either hand shaped or shaped in parallel piped
wooden moulds.
 Different types of moulds can be used; some of these are shown below.
 They are usually made from timber. The throwing technique is commonly used in all developing countries.
 Here, a sandy loam is mixed with water, and cut straw is usually added and the whole formed into a paste that is thrown
into wooden moulds.
 The greater the force with which the loam is thrown, the better its compaction and dry strength. The surface is smoothed
by hand or by a timber piece, trowel or wire.
 One person can produce about 300 blocks per day (including preparation of mix, transportation and stacking.
 The disadvantage is that the blocks are usually stabilised with 4% to 8% cement content in order to endow them with
sufficient strength.
 This is necessary because of the absence of either sufficient water or adequate dynamic impact capable of significantly
activating the binding forces of the clay minerals. Without cement, pressed blocks usually have dry a compressive
strength lower than that of handmade adobes.
 Another disadvantage of such presses is that the soil mix must be kept at a constant level of moisture and composition.
 If compositions vary, then both the volume of the material to be filled and the pressure changes.
 This leads to variations in the heights and strengths of the blocks.
 Fully automatic block-making presses can produce 1500 to 4000 blocks daily. However, they require large investments
and may be difficult to maintain, especially in developing countries.
 To assure even loam consistencies, such machines often require separate crushers and mixers.
 Fully automatic presses are only economical if they have long lives, are utilised extensively on a daily basis, and if raw
material of even consistency is available locally and in sufficient quantities.

81. Timber moulds for adobes
82. Pouring earth mix into the manually
operated press
83. Compacting the mix
84. Taking out block from the press
85. CINVA press
86-88 Making adobes in Ecuador
89. Removal of surplus Loam with a wire
81.

27


82. 83.

84. 85.

86. 87.

88. 89.

28


WATTLE AND DAUB

 This type of wattle and daub is a more modern version of traditional wattle and daub and is the most widely used.
 It has sections of cane or bamboo poles fixed with wires and nails to a sawed wooden structure which enables a better
finished assembly. Earth mix is applied on this assembly and then finishes are applied to the wall surfaces.
 The prefabricated panel is a sawed wooden frame, filled with interwoven cane or bamboo battens, inserted in such a way
that they are self-anchoring. After being assembled these panels are walls which will be plastered with earth and straw
mortar with an initial layer and then a thin finishing layer. The advantage of prefabricated panels is that they enable the
panels and the structure that will carry them in the wall to be made at the same time, thus reducing assembly time.

90. 91.

92. 93.

81. Corner junctions
82. Detail structure of the wall
83. Detail of cane fastening
84. Elevation of the wall

29


Step by step construction

94. 95. 96.

97. 98. 99.

100. 101. 102.

94. T o set the columns use a plumb to make sure they are vertical, hold them temporarily with braces.
95. Always cut cane after knots.
96. The poles are fastened with a flexible material, such as galvanised wire or treated plant fibre
97. After defining the position of the vertical poles fix them. If you use hollow concrete blocks these can be taken advantage of.
98. Detail of connection between the corner column and the horizontal canes.
99. After justalling all the vertical poles, and before fixing the horizontal ones, the fasteners should be fixed.
100. Detail of join between vertical and horizontal poles
AOBE
101. After fitting the horizontal poles at a height of up to 50 cm it is advisable to first fill the columns with wattle and daub
mortar followed by the walls. The separation between the horizontal bars should be between 6cm and 8cm.
102. Detail of covering of iron ring (diameter 1/4"), with concrete mortar to make the column rigid.

30


RAMMED EARTH

 After being excavated, the soil is thoroughly sieved, to break the lumps and make it lighter. Big rocks should be removed
but some stones could be kept. If the natural soil is too dry, it should moistened and mixed so as to get a uniform humid
mix.
 This method has developed from the cob wall so as to standardize or regularize the thickness of the wall.
 It is also an attempt to increase the strength of the wall by ramming it.
 Two parallel planks are held firmly apart by metal rods and clips or bolts, or by small crosspieces of wood.
 Stiff mud is thrown in between these two planks and rammed down with either a wooden or metal ramrod.
 When one section is completed and hard, the two boards are moved along and the process is repeated.
 The two planks are then raised up and a second course of rammed earth is repeated over the first.
 Two techniques have traditionally been developed. They used either horizontal or vertical formworks.
 The horizontal technique was used in many parts of the world. Strips of walls were built horizontally and their height
varied from 30 to 90 cm.
 The formwork consisted of 2 wooden panels held together with wooden clamps and keys, which were tightened with
ropes. Once one portion of a wall was completed, the formwork is immediately dismantled and moved further along.
 Humid soil was evenly poured into the formwork to get a regular course of about 12-15 cm thickness. Ramming was
traditionally done by hand.
 The soil is first rammed along the sides of the panels and the central portion of the wall is rammed immediately after
that.
 Every course is rammed till the rammer hitting the soil gives a clear sharp sound and the rammer is not doing anymore
marks on the course.
 Unstabilised soil is concentrated horizontally, and alignment is from layer to layer of wall.
 Stabilized soil is concentrated vertically, and alignment is between forms.
 Openings for doors and windows within the wall are created with block outs.
 Corners are made stronger if created as one piece as opposed to solely having a joint between two.
 The specific construction of rammed earth consists of “lifts” or layers of earth poured into formwork at a depth of eight
inches and then compacted to five inches. This creates a striated earthen wall.
 After the wall completely goes up and is cured (twenty eight to fifty-six day period) any fixtures may be added. The roof
is tied into the wall, and window and doorframes are added. Fixings are buried deep within the wall to retain structural
integrity. In addition, utilities and systems, determined before construction, may pass within the wall to a certain degree.
The final part of the construction process is to apply a wall finish, if desired or required.

103. 104. 105.

106. 107. 108.
103. Boards and anchors for formwork
104. Spacers for connection of boards
105. Connected formwork
106. Manual compaction of mix between the boards
107. Anchoring the frames of doors with the ground and cross bracing them
108. Ramming first floor wall on top of a door 31


 The approximate proportion of subsoil is thirty percent clay/silt to seventy percent sand/gravel. Water has a direct impact on
the strength of finished walls, and depending on the soil mix, is eight to sixteen percent of the mix.
 An optional stabilizer may be added – four to twelve percent depending on conditions such as bonding strength of the clay,
seismic activity, desired construction process, or desired wall proportions.
 Stabilizers include cement, lime, or pozzolan added to the mix.
 There are numerous field and laboratory tests to be run at all stages of the material gathering process, each to determine the
specific mix peculiar to the site. These include density, compressive strength, bond strength, and erosion and wear resistance
tests.
 Soil stabilization gave a great input to rammed earth as well as mechanization.
 The traditional wooden rammer has been replaced by pneumatic rammers.
 Heavy wooden formworks evolved into light composite ones, made of plywood, wood and steel or sometimes aluminium.
 Pneumatic rammers, dumpy loaders, mixers, ban conveyors, etc. allowed to build faster and get a better quality finish.
 Structures are most of the time built with pier walls, meaning that walls are built up to their full height at once. This way of
building changed totally the design pattern of structures.

109. 110.
Moist Earth-Mixture of sand,
Reinforced Visible layers of
cement, gravel and clay
plywood frame Rammer compacted earth

111.
109. USA, California, David Easton – Vertical form
110. Ramming with electrical rammer
111. Compaction process
32


Innovations in earth construction

“CONTEXT- The necessity for speed was one of the big factors that contribute to that break with tradition. It probably took a
thousand years for us to find out by trial and error how to make a mud wall impervious to rain and wind, another thousand
years to learn how to keep termites out of it, and another two or three thousand to learn how to build multi-storied mud
buildings.”

-Laurie Baker (life, work and writings), Page 19

“On the one hand, raw earth is still used … as basic shelter on a massive scale by hundreds of millions of people throughout
the world. On the other hand, a new generation of architects and engineers, fascinated by the qualities of this highly ecological
resource, is finally rediscovering and reasserting its value, modernising its technology and adapting raw earth construction to
a broad range of modern applications:...” (2002:9).

-The series of articles by Detheir and Eaton appeared in the September 2003 issue of ByggKunst

 This chapter mainly tells about the problems associated with earth architecture and is divided into four parts according
to the various stages of a building process:

1. Designing
2. Construction
3. Maintenance
4. Demolition/reuse

 Now, there are innovations, detailing and some necessary precautions that can overcome those problems, limitations
and make earth construction as a viable system for building.

 Primary case studies include buildings seen and measure drawn (the required details) in Kutch and Auroville.
 According to the problems identified through the questionnaire and secondary case studies, there are solutions that are
mentioned in the charts through primary case studies.

33


PRIMARY CASE STUDIES

Problem Solution

Management of • When building with earth, one should pay a lot of attention of the management of resources
earth raw and raw materials. Topsoil should be scraped away, so as to be re-used for agriculture or
materials and gardens. Sieve the soil preferably in the quarry: the waste soil can be re-used on the spot to
mixing is a finalize the landscaping.
complex • One should always plan how the excavation would be used afterward. Design the quarry (area
process. and depth) according to the future use of the hole. Dig according to the design requirements:
steps or slope, deep holes or shallow excavation, etc.
• A proper management of the earth resources can create a new and harmonious balance
between nature and the buildings.
• Auroville shows various possibilities for the use of quarries: as water harvesting ponds, waste
water treatment ponds, pools, basement floors or shallow Biological wastewater treatment
depressions which are used for landscape design, work or play areas, gardens, etc.
• Various stages of making blocks from raw materials

o Sieving
o Measuring
o Dry mixing
o Humid mixing
o Moulding
o Initial curing
o First stacking
o Final curing
o Final stacking

Related drawings

1.

2 3
. .

4 5.
.

6. 7.
1. Process of formation of blocks/earth mix from raw materials for construction
2. Covered clay mixing area
3. Segregation of various raw materials through partitions
4. Quarry transformed into a wastewater treatment
5. Shallow excavation for making adobes
6. Quarry planned for a wastewater treatment and rainwater harvesting
7. Waste water treatment area

34


Problem Solution

The traditional • The contemporary stick-frame construction cut costs and reduces raw material usage
wattle and daub through the efficient use of wood cut into standardized sizes and designed geometrical
approach does not patterns with infill of earth mix.
have safeguards to • The timber framework is braced for lateral-stability.This also leads to a wall which is
ensure that the wall structurally sound and plumb is maintained.
is plumb and this can
result in structural
weaknesses Refer Appendix 5 (case study 9)
especially when the
technique is
translated to larger
buildings.

Penetration of water Thatched-earth tile roof
from the roofs that • The roof frame must be built strong enough to support the weight. The best earth tiles are
caused water made with stabilized soil
problems from the • Also, wooden strips or metal rods (called stringers) must be placed in the roof at close
roof on inside enough intervals so that each tile rests on two stringers, either directly or indirectly.
spaces. • Tiles are often made with a lip or groove near the upper edge so that they will be
positioned securely on the stringers.
• Earth tile have also been used for roofs. They can be pressed in a block making machine
by using fillers.
• They can also be of sun-dried adobe but in either case it is best to stabilize the earth. The
tiles are placed on a wooden frame.
• The tiles should be 1 1½" to 2" thick and about 1' long.
• Good sun-dried tiles are made with a thatch (or grass) "tail."
• The thatch tail helps prevent rain from eroding the block, and provides insulation for the
inside of the house.

Refer Appendix 5 (case study 7)

Related drawings

9.

10.

11.

8. Wattle and daub on top of wall made of CSEB units.
9. Connection of truss with the wattle and daub timber frame.
10. Roof wall assembly
11. Hunnarshala, Bhuj(wattle and daub) 8.

12. 13.

12. Hunnarshala, Bhuj(thatch roof)
13. Thatch roof supported on a steel
truss and CSEB walls
14. Connection of roof tiles with the
wooden strips(stringers)

14.

35


Problem Solution

Flat slabs are not • CEB blocks were used to make vaults on top of CSEB walls and supported on concrete
possible and so multi beams and a flat layer of kadappa stone was laid on top of the vaults leaving the side
storey's cannot be space on top of the dome hollow.
made. • Earth was used, from the first developments of Vikas, in all parts of the buildings, from
foundations to roof.
• Including the basement, it is a four storey building.
Formation of lintels
by earth blocks
• Project Details – Vikas Apartments, Auroville
• Architect: Satprem Maini
• Period of construction: 1992-1999
• Project Description: 23 residential apartments housing and common facilities.
• Building Type: Residential
• Climate: Warm and Humid
• Built in area: 1420 m2
• Owners/clients: Collective of clients
• Building Technologies: Earth and ferrocement
• Vikas apartment are built with stabilized rammed earth foundation (with five percent
cement)
• CEB (compressed earth blocks) with five percent cement for walls vaults and domes.
• Some walls have been made using rammed earth with five percent cement
• The soil for building has been extracted from the waste water treatment pond and the
garden tank.
• while in the third apartment building with a basement floor, the excavated soil is used
for building.
• Ferrocement roof channels have been used for some floors while doors and shelves are
of ferrocement.
• Concrete, glass, steel, etc. have been sparingly used.

Related drawings

15.

16.

19..

15. Vault and flat slab of kadappa stone with CEB
tiles as flooring
16. Vikas apartment, Auroville(vault supporting flat
slabs)
17. Vikas apartment, Auroville(3 storey's with
basement)
18. SEB as lintel on top of the door

18.

36


Problem Solution

Flat slabs are not Hourdi roofing used in auroville earth institute to create flat earth slabs.
possible and so multi
storey's cannot be • The hourdi block produced by the Auram press 3000 is used to create floors and roofs.
made. • These blocks rest either on reinforced concrete T beams or on ferrocement channels.
• As these blocks are hollow they create roofs which are more comfortable under a hot
climate.
• The resistance of these blocks is extremely high.
• The series of these blocks is rested on the edges of ferrocement channels and then earth
filling is done to make even surface on top surface which combines the channels with the
blocks.

Refer appendix 4(Cseb – hourdi roofing)

Related drawings

20. 21.

22.

23.

20. Adjusting hourdi blocks in between ferrocement channels
21. Casting an earth concrete: 1 cement: 2 soil: 3 sand: 4 gravel
22. Auroville earth institute, hourdi roofing
23. Vault structure on top of hourdi roofing

37


Problem Solution

Aesthetics and pottery for insulation and aesthetics
insulation
• Pottery is a developed craft of kutch. To use clay items for construction was to find new
ways of building methods.
• The clay plates and bowls are used for wall and roof insulation and pots as visual objects
for design.
• The local convex circular clay plates are claded on the external wall for insulation.
• Small holes are made in plates for ventilation and arranged in different designs and
patterns.
• The triangular spaces between them are filled with small mirrors for the reflection of heat.
Thus, the entire surface of wall is taken care of heat insulation.
• This wall cladding and insulation work proceeds fast as the surface coverage of each plate
is about 25cm diameter.
• Since it is a local material the cost of plate is low and the total item costs much less than
conventional cladding methods.
• At the same time, it provides work for the potter who has to make about 5000 plates for
one house.

• Clay tiles are also used in auroville and Bangalore inside the houses for improving the
inner climate through use of clay pots and clay tiles in ceilings.

• Inverted bowls used for ceiling pattern. They also act as lamp fixtures lighting up the
entire ceiling

Related drawings

25.

24.

26.

28.

27.

24. Clay plates fixed on walls for insulation and the in- between spaces 29.
filled with mirrors for reflecting heat
25. Clay bowls can also be used for wall insulation
26. Clay bowls as cladding for insulation, Kutch
27. Filler slabs( Mangalore tiles, Stabilized mud blocks) details
28. Mangalore tiled ceiling, Bangalore
29. Tiled ceiling for vault, Auroville

38

Related drawings

31.

32.

33.
30.

35.

34.

30. Inverted bowls used for ceiling pattern. They also act as lamp fixtures
lighting up the entire ceiling(wall section and view)
31. Use of inverted bowls, Auroville (creativity apartment)
32. Use of clay bowls with all fixtures for the ceiling , Auroville(creativity)
33. Use of clay bowls(whole inside), Bangalore
34. Inverted clay pots used in curvilinear ceiling
35. Inner view of the house
36. Inner view of the house 36.

39


Problem Solution

Wood doesn‟t There is an alternative where pivoted windows are used where there is no need of wooden
adhere with the frames and so the windows are directly attached by pivots to the two sides of the walls.
earth walls and
mostly create gaps
between the wall
and the frame of
the window.

Flat Earth flooring Rammed earth houses can be built in one of three basic ways. Individual, rammed earth bricks
can be formed and used with standard building techniques; in fact, such bricks may be used to
form the floors in a rammed earth house built with other techniques.

Oxide flooring is used now adays by which various colored flooring can be produced from
earth techniques.

Rammed earth flooring with covering of wooden blocks and strips are also a good solution to
achieve flat floors from earth.

Possibilities of CSEB walls and the introduction of stabilized walls for rammed earth has given more easy
large and various ways of making large openings of various shapes and sizes.
types of openings.
Some of the examples as seen in kutch region are given in the drawing part.


37.

38.

40.
39.

42.
41.

37. Sketches by Laurie baker
showing window type
38. Pivoted window(Hunnarshala,
Bhuj)
39. Oxide flooring (Hunnarshala,
Bhuj)
40. Some supporting sketches from
book building with earth
showing rammed floorings
41. Window type(Hiralaxmi craft
park, Bhujodi)
42. Window type(Hunnarshala,
Bhuj)
43. Various window types shown
through sketches and
pictures(Hunnarshala, Bhuj)
43.
40


Problem Solution

Formation of organic shapes Cob is the technique that gives opportunity to form organic shapes.
and single roofed buildings. Now adays there are formwork for curved walls too and so the possibilities of shapes
is more.

The plasticity of loam allows not only for the building of exterior walls, ceilings and
floors but also of built-in furniture.
For this, loam elements when still wet are particularly suitable as they can be given a
great variety of shapes; they also open up new aesthetic possibilities.

Related drawings

44 45. 46.

47.
44-46. Auromodele houses showing
some designs that can be done in
earth.
47. Some sketches from book
„architecture of Kutch‟ showing
curvilinear designs developed
from traditional bhungas
48.
48. Shaam-e-sarhad resort(hodka,
banni) showing curvilinear
shaped sitiing area
49. Shaa-e-sarhad (hodko, banni)
showing single roofed spaces
50. Chintan organic farm(bhujodi)
showing single roof made of
thatch with spaces segregated by
walls.
49.

50.

41


Problem Solution

Vaults and domes of earth Nubian vaults
masonry requires skill With the Nubian vault technique, used for centuries in Upper Egypt, vaults can be
labour . built without any formwork by using reclining arches made of adobe.

Refer appendix 5 (case study of Delhi office)

After studying examples from Hassan Fathy and Nadir Khali, Ray Meeker moved
to Pondicherry India. Using local materials of mud bricks, Meeker constructed a
house by forming a central dome surrounded by four Nubian vaults. To harden the
mud, Meeker turned the house into a kiln and fired the interior for four and a half
days. To offset labour costs, clay pots, tiles and extra bricks were also fired in the
structure to be sold. The term Agni Jata is used for this process; it means „fire
burned‟.

In order to avoid the disadvantages of Nubian dome technology, a new technique
for making domes using a rotational guide was developed at the BRL. With this
technique, the structurally optimal geometry of the dome can be achieved without
formwork.

The rotational guide has a right-angled head into which the blocks are placed. This
angle can be moved on a curved metal T-section bent to shape. This T-section is
fixed to a rotating arm, which is in turn fixed to a vertical post.

The figures are shown in the next page.

Related drawings

52.

54.

55.

56.

52. Firing the raw mud bricks and creating the
building itself as kiln
53. Plastered and completed house
54. Vault created by Nubian vault process
55. Foundation and plinth layer completed
56. The four stages showing process of creating a
vault without formwork derived from Nubian
53. technique.

42

BUILDING PROCESS - designing

Problem Solution

To choose earth Factors to be seen before choosing earth as a construction material
construction for the project.
• Availability of raw materials- in the proximity of 20 kms is considered viable
• Climate-mostly everywhere on each an every continent except Antarctica
because of unavailability of raw materials.
• Local labour- training minimum of 12 to 15 people is must for good earth
construction.
• Getting knowledge about the material thoroughly through books and resource
people.

To design appropriate earth Factors to be kept in mind while designing earth building that can overcome the
building. surface and structural defects:
Some of the problems are
listed below: • Wall thickness
Surface defects include • Spanning members
(cracks; flakes; blistering; • Which technique to be used for construction
peeling; loss of adhesion; • Number of storey's
and boniness.) • Corner junctions
• Joineries and detailing to avoid water and termite penetration
Maintenance & Repairs • Water is a major agent of decay for earth walls. Therefore, codes and other
publications generally recommend not placing plumbing within earthen features
Structural defects include
water borne erosion of wall;
freeze-thaw heave of wall;
low level erosion at base of
wall;
structural cracking
(settlement, overload);
bulging;
abrasion damage; and
rat runs and animal holes.

- Pearson, 1992

To convince the client for • By showing the possible options and benefits of earth construction and some
earth good examples of already made earth buildings.
Construction. • By showing the detailing that are done to overcome the issues related to water
Finalization of design with and insects, shrinkage cracks and stating the technique that is to be used.
the client • Showing the benefits related to climate and indoor temperature by using earth
walls for building.
• Material aesthetic benefits and also showing examples of buildings already
constructed out of earth.

Related drawings

1. Ring beam is lacking.
2. Lintels do not reach deeply
enough into masonry.
3. The distance between door and
window is too small.
4. The distance between openings
and wall corner is too small.
5. Plinth is lacking.
6. The window is too wide in
proportion to its height.
7. The wall is too thin in relation to
its height.
8. The quality of the mortar is too
poor, the vertical joints are not
totally filled, the horizontal joints
are too thick (more than 15 mm).
9. The roof is too heavy.
10. The roof is not sufficiently fixed
to the wall.

43

BUILDING PROCESS - designing

Problem Solution

Less durable as a • It is mostly because of the less thought given to the construction details at the
construction material initial stages of the design process.
compared to conventional • The joint of the wall with the plinth has to be carefully designed so that the
materials. rainwater can flow down unhindered without entering the joint between wall and
plinth.
Water problems
Termite and rodents
penetrating the walls
Roof connections with the
wall base

Protection from rain
• One method of preventing rain from coming into contact with a loam wall is to
provide it with a roof overhang.
• A sufficiently high plinth (30 to 50 cm) can protect from splashing rain.
• Solutions B and C may be acceptable in areas with little rain.
• Solution D is common, whereas E and F show perfect designs for combating this
problem.

solution A is unacceptable
because the extruded part
of the plinth wont allow
water to flow and will be
collected there causing
swelling and peeling of
the plaster and wall.

• In B, an elastic sealant has been introduced between the beam and wall in order
to provide sufficient tolerance for this shrinkage.

• In C, the structural system is separated from the wall, thereby allowing a greater
vertical movement of the timber structure.

Roof rafters should not rest
directly on the earth wall,
but instead on timber wall
plates or beams as seen in
A

Related drawings

44

BUILDING PROCESS – designing

Problem Solution

Loam is not a standardised • Depending on the site where the loam is dug out, it will be composed of differing
building material amounts and types of clay, silt, sand and aggregates.
• Its characteristics, therefore, may differ from site to site, and the preparation
• of the correct mix for a specific application may also differ.
• In order to judge its characteristics and alter these, when necessary, by applying
additives, one needs to know the specific composition of the loam involved.

Professionals make less • If the earth construction techniques and construction become widespread , all the
money from earth building prejudices and hesitations for its use as a construction material get removed
projects. gradually by proper training sessions and classes then it will lead to improvement
in the construction industry in developing countries and indirectly to the
professionals in money matters.

• The traditional hut is • Now adays various techniques have developed which can produce good spanning
limited to a single round members and structural members and so it becomes easy to cater various facilities
or square room of about in a single roof with inner divisions of spaces by walls.
3m diameter with conical • Various shapes are possible other than those round huts with thatch roofs with the
roof. innovation of loam walls and prefabricated panels of loam.
• This limited size and
shape means a single hut
usually cannot
accommodate several
functions under one roof.
Traditionally therefore,
several huts are required
to cater for the diverse
requirements in a Single
home.
• With the traditional
approach to building, all
rooms (such as kitchen,
sitting, bathrooms,
bedrooms etc) cannot be
contained under the same
roof.
• This results in functional
inconveniences which is
one cause of the social
undesirability of
traditional buildings.
• Refer appendix, part 3 for
drawings

45

BUILDING PROCESS – Construction(adobe)

Problem Solution
Load bearing floor slabs are • Loam elements which act as infill between floor joints also provide sound and
not possible. thermal insulation.
• In Hungary in 1987, Gernot Minke developed load-bearing infill elements with
cement-stabilised lightweight loam. various designs for load-bearing floor panels
were developed at that time.
• various designs for vaulted loam floors. Designs E, F, G, H are load bearing and
use heavy elements made of earth.
• A, B and C use earthen blocks, which transfer slab loads to the beams by vault-
action under compression.
• Design D shows a non-load bearing loam vault made by pouring lightweight loam
over a curved reed mat.
• When making loam-covered flat roofs, it should be kept in mind that roof edges
are susceptible to mechanical damage, especially by wind and water erosion. This
can be prevented by solutions of the type shown in
• I,, j, k, l. If the surface of the roof is to be walked upon, then tiles are
recommended as shown in l.

Related drawings

A E

F
B

C
G

D
H

56. Mould for infill block and the created
block

I
K

L
J

46


Problem Solution

Fixing fasteners to walls • Nails can be driven into an earth block walls more easily than into those
leads to cracking of the constructed of baked bricks.
blocks. • The more porous and humid the material, the easier one can drive a nail through it.
Green bricks tend to split more easily than soil blocks and adobes.
• If very thick nails are used, it is advisable to drill a hole into the block.
• Heavy shelves or wall hung cabinets can be fixed to the wall easily using screws
and dowels. Dowel holes, however, should be drilled large enough to
• prevent blocks from cracking.

With monolithic rammed • Different sections for larger wall panels made of lightweight mineral loam, are
earth walls, or even with developed now adays.
small-sized adobe masonry,
manpower is high and • These can be used either in internal walls, or to increase the thermal insulation of
drying time can delay exterior walls from the outside. Cavities reduce weight and increase thermal
construction work due to the insulation, while simultaneously providing grip holds for easy handling.
inherent water.
• Similar elements that can be used for making vaults.

Related drawings

57. Interior wall of pre fabricated loam
blocks

47


Problem Solution

Due to mechanical impacts, As loam plaster is susceptible to mechanical impact, corners should preferably be
corners often covered by wooden profiles, baked bricks or similar lippings.
break during the handling of
mud bricks.The corners of
the walls get spoiled and
deteriorated.

Surface treatment for adobe • If sufficiently moistened with a tool like a felt trowel, exposed earth block masonry
walls with uneven surfaces or joints can be easily smoothened. Plastering is not
Protection against rising advisable, since it interferes with the capacity of loam walls to balance internal air
damp humidity .
• Exterior loam walls have • However, exposed earth block masonry can, if not aesthetically acceptable, be
to be protected from rising given a wash of loam slurry stabilised with, for example, lime, lime casein etc. This
damp in the same way as wash also impacts the wall‟s surface stability .
baked brick or stone
masonry walls.
• A damp-proof course, a 3
to 4-cm-thick rich cement
concrete layer is often
used as an alternative.
• This should be
impregnated with bitumen
or waste Mobil oil.

Related drawings

Bricks

Mud bricks

Timber sections

Earth wall

58. Wall plastered with lime, casein and
loam

48


Problem Solution

Shrinkage is a problem • Prefabricated tiles made with stabilised earth can be used for flooring. One
associated with earth advantage is that since they are already dry, shrinkage only occurs in joints.
materials when they dry.
• Extruded green loam slabs consisting of a loam with high clay Content. They are
extruded 3 to 10 cm thick, 50 cm wide and cut into lengths of up to 100 cm or
more.

Mud seems to be the natural • A one-inch thick layer of mortar (one part of cement to 3-parts of sand) can be
home of termites so in areas laid all over the top of the basement wall before building the mud walls above it.
where they are common the This is helpful in keeping out both termites and damp.
same precautions have to be • Even better is to construct an apron of burnt brick or stone (or it can be rammed
taken as in all buildings to earth) all round the building (to prevent damage to the walls by splashing, of rain
prevent their moving up into water) and this too can be plastered over with a rich cement mortar.
the walls and eating wooden • Any thin sheet metal may be laid over the basement wall with a 3-inch downward
frames etc. projection before starting to build the superstructure mud wall above. This is
expensive but very effective.
• There are various chemicals on the market, which can be used.

Related drawings

59. Extruded loam slabs, Germany

Rich cement mortar

49

BUILDING PROCESS – Construction(wattle and daub)

Problem Solution

From a technical viewpoint, • The minimum width of the foundations will be 40cm.It is advisable to use a ratio
it is clear the traditional 1.5 times the width of the wall. The minimum height of the base between ground
wattle-and-daub has and the wall base will be 20cm.
problems that reduce its
durability to about 30 years.

One of the main problems is
lack of a waterproof base
such that the wooden poles
and earth are in direct
contact with the ground
thereby getting exposed to
moisture and termite attack.

the wall absorbs humidity
when it rains and the daub is
washed off from the wattle.

Flooding occurs if the level • In kitchens and bathrooms, the plinth should have a waterproof skirting of tiles,
of the inside floor is lower slates, rich cement plaster etc.
than outside. If the above • The skirting design should prevent water from leaking or broken pipes, which
occurs the wall will be could flood floors, from reaching the loam wall.
weakened and will easily
collapse in the event of any
natural disaster.

Related Drawings
Problem Solution

Wood
column

Outside inside
rain 2%
Foundations: column embedded in
the concrete.
inside outside
3" nails for
adherence

inside Outside
Absorption of humidity
2%
Foundation continued till the base of
the wall extending from the ground
level

Outside inside
2%

outside inside Wall base with concrete blocks
(39x19x14cm) or similar material
and concrete filling.

wooden support

inside Outside
Flooding
2%

Foundation with wooden column
3/8" fixed to the concrete wall base.
iron
anchor

50

Thesis on earth architecture

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