MIDTERM REVIEW

POSSIBLE BUILDING METHOD

"The visitor centre at the Eden project, Cornwall is constructed in rammed earth. Eden aimed to provide a natural and sustainable building in rammed earth, in addition to the iconic domes at the site."

"Architect David Richmond & Partners and structural engineer Price & Myers are creating a rammed earth wall using local soil for a new library and archive at Douai Abbey.The proposed 300mm-thick, 2.7m-tall earth walls, which will be built on a 100mm-tall concrete plinth, offer the right amount of thermal mass to ensure a stable internal temperature"

-tallest rammed earth building in germany



-tamping earth in form


-modern forms


-historic form


"Rammed earth is a simple construction technique where earth is compacted between formwork to make a homogeneous mass wall. It has recently become popular as a sustainable building material. Few realize the full extent of historic rammed earth construction and the varied techniques used in the past."

"Modern rammed earth building has recently become popular because of its sustainable credentials. In parts of North America, Australia and New Zealand, cement stabilized rammed earth is becoming a popular building material. In Europe, unstabilized rammed earth is seen as a very 'green' building material. Modern rammed earth construction uses formwork similar to that of concrete, and electric or pneumatic rammers are used."

"In using soil taken directly from the site, there is no transport requirement, directly reducing CO2 emissions and taking vehicles off the road"

"The high thermal mass of rammed earth walls mean they act to naturally regualate the internal temperature of a building. If a rammed earth wall is designed into the heating system of a structure, the energy required to both heat and cool the building can be greatly reduced, which further reduces the CO2 emissions of the building. Rammed earth naturally regualtes the internal relative humidity of the building, producing an improved air quality. This contrasts greatly with air conditioning systems, which act to dry the air in a building and contribute to harsh working and living environment."

"Rammed earth is perfectly able to act as load bearing members within a structural system. We have particular expertise in the structural performance of rammed earth and have developed novel testing methods to aid understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing the behaviour of rammed earth. The strength of dry, unstabilised rammed earth is close to 1MPa, but both the strength and stiffness of the material reduce greatly with increasing water content, and thus the building must be well designed in order to maximise the structural potential of the rammed earth."

"The inherent recycleablility of rammed earth, and the reduction in CO2 emissions during the lifetime of the structure, the high thermal mass and thus low operating costs all mean that rammed earth has a much lower embodied energy than comparable building materials."

"the house that kevin built"
http://www.historicrammedearth.co.uk/index.htm
http://historicrammedearth.wordpress.com