Down to earth

rammed earth architecture

Asensio, Sergio

Rammed earth is a wall building technique that uses earth, chalk, lime and gravel as raw materials. It is an ancient building method that has experienced a renaissance in recent years as people seek greener and more sustainable building materials and natural construction methods.Rammed earth walls are simple to construct, non-combus-tible, thermally massive, strong and durable. However, theycan be labour-intensive to construct without machinery andare susceptible to water damage if not properly protectedor maintained. Rammed earth buildings are found on al-most every continent, in a range of environments includingthe temperate and humid regions of northern Europe, semi-arid deserts, mountain and country areas and the tropics.The availability of usable soil and a building design suitedto local climatic conditions are factors favouring their use.This book is a compilation of the most relevant internation-al examples of this interesting building technique.