Building with earth - Gernot MINKE (1)

Two semi-detached houses,
Kassel, Germany
These two houses are characterised by
their green facades and roofs, which merge
with the landscape, and by their ecologically
appropriate concept. The notable feature
of the layout is that the rooms are disposed
around a central multi-purpose hall with a
gallery above, thereby avoiding corridors
and integrating a winter garden. All interior
walls display timber frame and exposed
loam surfaces. The timber roofs show
special domical designs made from timber
logs. Shelves and even the sink in the bathroom
were built from unbaked loam (see
chapter 14).
Architect: Gernot Minke, Kassel, Germany
Completion: 1985
Area: 160 m 2 + 120 m 2
Foundation: Plain concrete strip foundation
Flooring: 27 cm coarse gravel; covered with
thermal insulation and timber plank floor or
14-cm-thick lightweight mineral loam with sisal
floor matting and, in wet rooms, cork tiles
External walls: Green bricks, extruded loam
all with additional thermal insulation, air cavity
and untreated wooden larch boards
Internal walls: Timber frame with infill of extruded
loam elements
Roof: Timber structure; 12 cm thermal insulation;
2-mm-thick hot-air welded PVC-coated
polyester fabric; 15 cm of earth mixed with
expanded clay; living wild grasses
150
Built examples