Building with Earth. Fifth and revised edition

Gernot Minke
BUILDING
WITH EARTH
Design and Technology of
a Sustainable Architecture
Fifth and revised edition
Birkhäuser

Gernot Minke
BUILDING
WITH EARTH
Design and Technology of
a Sustainable Architecture
Fifth and revised edition
Birkhäuser
Basel

Table of contents
Preface 7
1 Introduction 9
History 9
Earth as a building material: the essentials 11
Improving indoor climate 13
Prejudices against earth as a building material 16
2 The properties of earth as a building material 17
Composition 17
Tests used to analyse the composition of loam 19
Effects of water 22
Effects of vapour 26
Influence of heat 29
Strength 30
pH-value 32
Radioactivity 33
Shelter against high-frequency electromagnetic
radiation 33
3 Preparing of loam 34
Soaking, crushing and mixing 34
Sieving 36
Mechanical slurrying 36
Water curing 36
Thinning 36
4 Improving the characteristics of loam by special
treatment or additives 37
Reduction of shrinkage cracks 37
Stabilisation against water erosion 38
Enhancement of binding force 40
Increasing compressive strength 40
Strength against abrasion 45
Increasing thermal insulation 45
Lightweight loams 46
5 Rammed earthworks 50
Formwork 51
Tools 52
Method of construction 53
Shaping of openings 53
Wall construction techniques 54
Rammed earth domes 59
Drying 59
Labour input 59
Thermal insulation 59
Surface treatment 59
6 Working with earth blocks 60
History 60
Production of earth blocks 61
Material composition 64
Laying earth blocks 64
Surface treatment 65
Fixing fasteners to walls 65
Lightweight earth blocks 65
Special acoustic green bricks and adobes 66
7 Large blocks and panels 67
Large blocks 67
Earth-filled wall panels 67
Clay panels 69
Heating panels 71
Floor slabs 71
Floor tiles 72
Extruded loam slabs 72
8 Direct forming with wet loam 73
Traditional wet loam techniques 73
The “Dünne loam loaf” technique 75
The stranglehm technique 75
9 Wet loam infill in skeleton structures 80
Thrown loam 80
Sprayed loam 80
Rolls and bottles of straw loam 81
Lightweight loam infill 81
Infill with stranglehm and earth-filled hoses 82
Sprayed loam in steel-reinforced walls and ceilings 82
10 Tamped, poured or pumped lightweight loam 85
Formwork 85
Tamped lightweight straw loam walls 85
Tamped lightweight wood loam walls 87
Tamped, poured or pumped lightweight mineral loam
walls 87
Pumped lightweight mineral loam floors 88
Loam-filled hollow blocks 88
Loam-filled hoses 90
11 Loam plasters 92
Preparation of substrate 92
Composition of loam plaster 92
Guidelines for plastering earth walls 94
Sprayed lightweight plaster 94
Lightweight mineral loam plaster 95

Thrown plaster 95
Plastered straw bale houses 95
Wet formed plaster 97
Protection of corners 97
Stabilised loam plasters 97
Characteristics of different loam plasters 97
12 Weather resistance, coatings and coverings 100
Consolidating the surface 100
Paints 100
Making surfaces water-repellent 103
Lime plasters 104
Shingles, planks and other covers 105
Structural methods 105
13 Repair of loam structures 106
Occurrence of damage 106
Repair of cracks and joints with loam fillers 106
Repair of cracks and joints with other fillers 107
Repairing larger damaged areas 107
Retrofitting thermal insulation with lightweight loam 107
14 Customised design solutions 109
Joints 109
Special wall constructions 111
Intermediate floors 113
Rammed earth floorings 113
Inclined roofs filled with lightweight loam 115
Earth-covered roofs 115
Earth block vaults and domes 117
Earthen storage wall in winter gardens 129
Loam in bathrooms 129
Built-in furniture and sanitary objects from loam 131
Passive solar wall heating system 132
15 Earthquake-resistant building 133
Structural measures 134
Openings for doors and windows 136
Bamboo-reinforced rammed earth walls 139
Steel-reinforced sprayed loam walls 139
Steel-reinforced adobe wall system 141
Domes 141
Vaults 141
Textile walls with loam infill 144
Steel-reinforced earth walls 146
Built examples
Residences
Vineyard residence, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria,
Australia 148
Residence cum office, Kassel, Germany 150
Residence, Merrijig, Victoria, Australia 152
Residence, Helensville, New Zealand 154
Residence, Palo Alto, California, USA 156
Weekend house, Ajijic, Mexico 158
Desert Outpost residence, Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA 160
Artist’s residence, Boulder, Colorado, USA 162
Casa Martha, La Misión, Baja California, Mexico 164
Condominiums Los Maitenes, Peñalolén, Santiago de Chile,
Chile 166
Residence at Valle Tucán, Emboscada, Paraguay 170
Barrel-vaulted residential buildings at Valle Tucán, Emboscada,
Paraguay 172
Cultural, educational and sacred buildings
National Environment Centre at Thurgoona Campus, Albury,
New South Wales, Australia 176
School, Rudrapur, Bangladesh 178
Chapel of Reconciliation, Berlin, Germany 180
WISE Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynleth,
Wales, UK 182
Primary school, Tanouan Ibi, Mali 184
Cemetery, Bushey, Hertfordshire, UK 188
The Village Nursery, Bellingdon, Buckinghamshire, UK 192
Centre for People with Disabilities and Dipdii Textiles Studio,
Rudrapur, Bangladesh 196
Adobe Dome Music Space, Aiguá, Uruguay 200
Burkina Institute of Technology, Koudougou,
Burkina Faso 204
Maison pour tous, Four, Isère, France 208
Commercial, hospitality and health buildings
Rivergreen Centre, Aykley Heads, Durham, UK 212
High Country Visitor Information Centre, Mansfield, Victoria,
Australia 214
Mii Amo Spa, Sedona, Arizona, USA 216
Bayalpata Hospital, Acham, Nepal 218
Office pavilion Earthbox, Asunción, Paraguay 222
Alnatura Office Building, Darmstadt, Germany 226
Prototype building TECLA, Massa Lombarda, Italy 230
Dior Pop-up Store, Jumeirah, Dubai 232
Bibliography 236
About the author 239
Illustration credits 239
Subject index 240

6

Preface
Left page:
Minaret of the Al-Mihdar Mosque in Tarim, Yemen; it
is 38 m high and built of handmade adobes.
7
This handbook was written in response to
an increasing worldwide interest in building
with earth. While in Europe and North America
earthen architecture may never play the
dominant role as in warmer regions, we nevertheless
find an increasing tendency to build
with loam also in cooler climate zones. One
reason for this is the growing environmental
awareness as well as the desire to live in a
balanced and healthy indoor environment.
Thus this fifth edition is timely and should
encourage architects to explore the potential
of this sustainable building material further.
The publication provides a survey of all applications
and construction techniques of
earth as a building material, including the
relevant physical data, while explaining its
specific qualities and the possibilities of optimising
them. On many accounts, earth can
offer an interesting alternative to industrialised
building materials. The data and expert
knowledge contained in this volume may be
used as guidelines for a variety of construction
processes and possible applications by
engineers, architects, builders and clients
who seek to use humanity’s oldest building
material for their purposes.
Earth as a building material comes in many
different compositions, and can be variously
processed. Loam, or clayey soil, as it is referred
to scientifically, has different names
when used in various applications, for instance
rammed earth, soil blocks, mud bricks
or adobe. This book documents the results of
experiments and research conducted at the
Preface
Forschungslabor für Experimentelles Bauen
(Building Research Institute – BRI) at the
University of Kassel in Germany from 1978 to
2011. Moreover, the specialised techniques
that the author developed and the practical
experience he gathered in the course of designing
earth buildings in a number of countries
have also found their way into this book.
This volume is loosely based on the German
publication Handbuch Lehmbau (Publisher:
Ökobuch Verlag, Staufen), first published in
1994 and now in its nineth edition (2017).
Besides this English edition, the publication
was translated into numerous languages
such as Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Czech,
Farsi, Arabic and Rumanian.
While this is first and foremost a technical
book, the introductory chapter also provides
the reader with a short survey on the history
of earth architecture. In this fifth English
edition, the relatively recent technology of
prefabricated rammed earth elements is introduced
and the growing segment of clay
panels is documented. The book’s final chapter
depicts a number of attractive 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.
Within this chapter, several older built examples
were replaced by seven new projects.
Kassel, March 2025
Gernot Minke

1.1
1.2
8 Introduction

1 Introduction
1.3
1.1 Citadel of Bam, Iran, before earthquake of
December 2003
1.2 Tulou of the Hakka in Fujian, Nanjing, China:
A timber roof construction with a courtyard and
rammed earth walls.
1.3 Fortified City, Draa valley, Morocco, 15th century
In nearly all hot-arid and temperate climates,
earth has always been the most prevalent
building material. Even today, one third of
the human population resides in earthen
houses; in developing countries this figure
is more than one half. It has proven impossible
to fulfil the immense requirements
for shelter in the developing countries with
industrial building materials, i.e. brick, concrete
and steel, nor with industrialised construction
techniques. Worldwide, no region
is endowed with the productive capacity or
financial resources needed to satisfy this
demand. In the developing countries, requirements
for shelter can be met only by
using local building materials and relying on
do-it-yourself construction techniques. Earth
is the most important natural building material,
and it is available in most regions of
the world. It is frequently obtained directly
from the building site when excavating foundations
or basements. In the industrialised
countries, careless exploitation of resources
and centralised capital combined with energy-intensive
production is not only wasteful;
it also pollutes the environment and increases
unemployment. In these countries, earth
is being revived as a building material.
Increasingly, people when building homes
demand energy- and cost-effective buildings
that emphasise a healthy, balanced indoor
climate. They are coming to realise that mud,
as a natural building material, is superior to
industrial building materials such as concrete,
brick and lime-sandstone. Newly developed,
advanced earth building techniques
demonstrate the value of earth not only in
do-it-yourself construction, but also for industrialised
construction involving contractors.
This handbook presents the basic theoretical
data concerning this material, and it
provides the necessary guidelines, based on
scientific research and practical experience,
for applying it in a variety of contexts.
History
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
9 Introduction

1.13
1.14
1.15
1.16
3 Loam saves energy and reduces
environmental pollution
The preparation, transport and handling
of loam on site requires only ca. 1% of the
energy needed for the production, transport
and handling of baked bricks or reinforced
concrete. Loam, then, produces virtually no
environmental pollution.
4 Loam is always reusable
Unbaked loam can be recycled an indefinite
number of times over an extremely long period.
Old dry loam can be reused after soaking
in water, so loam never becomes a waste
material that harms the environment.
5 Loam saves material and transportation
costs
Clayey soil is often found on site, so that the
soil excavated for foundations can then be
used for earth construction. If the soil contains
too little clay, then clayey soil must be
added, whereas if too much clay is present,
sand is added. The use of excavated soil
means greatly reduced costs in comparison
with other building materials. Even if this soil
is transported from other construction sites,
it is usually much cheaper than industrial
building materials.
6 Loam is ideal for do-it-yourself
construction
Provided the building process is supervised
by an experienced individual, earth construction
techniques can usually be executed by
non-professionals. Since the processes involved
are labour-intensive and require only
inexpensive tools and machines, they are
ideal for do-it-yourself building.
7 Loam preserves timber and other
organic materials
Owing to its low equilibrium moisture content
of 0.4% to 6% by weight and its high capillarity,
loam conserves the timber elements that
remain in contact with it by keeping them
dry. Normally, fungi or insects will not damage
such wood, since insects need a minimum
of 14% to 18% humidity to maintain
life, and fungi more than 20% (Volz, 2004, p.
13 Improving indoor climate
60). Similarly, loam can preserve small quantities
of straw that are mixed into it. However,
if lightweight straw loam with a density of
less than 500 to 600 kg/m 3 is used, then the
loam may lose its preservative capacity due
to the high capillarity of the straw when used
in such high proportions. In such cases, the
straw may rot when remaining wet over long
periods (see 10.3, p. 86).
8 Loam absorbs pollutants
It is often maintained that earth walls help
to clean polluted indoor air, but this has yet
to be proven scientifically. It is a fact that
earth walls can absorb pollutants dissolved
in water. For instance, a demonstration plant
exists in Ruhleben, Berlin, which uses clayey
soil to remove phosphates from 600 m 3
of sewage daily. The phosphates are bound
by the clay minerals and extracted from the
sewage. The advantage of this procedure is
that since no foreign substances remain in
the water, the phosphates are converted into
calcium phosphate for reuse as a fertiliser.
Improving indoor climate
In moderate to cold climates, people usually
spend about 90% of their time in enclosed
spaces, so indoor climate is a crucial factor
in well-being. Comfort depends upon the temperature,
movement, humidity, radiation to
and from surrounding objects, and pollution
content of the air contained in a given room.
Although occupants immediately become
aware when room temperatures are too high
or too low, the negative impacts of excessively
elevated or reduced humidity levels are not
common knowledge. Air humidity in contained
spaces has a significant impact on the health
of inhabitants, and earth has the ability to
balance indoor humidity like no other building
material. This fact, only recently investigated,
is described in detail later in this section.
Air humidity and health
Research performed by Grandjean (1973)
and Beckert (1986) has shown that a relative
humidity of less than 40% over a long period
may dry out the mucous membrane, which

Relative humidity
Water content in air in g/m³
48 hours 48 hours
Temperature in °C
1 Lime-sand brick
2 Porous concrete
3 Cement concrete M 25
4 Solid brick
5 Porous hollow brick
6 Clinker brick
1 Clayey loam
2 Clayey loam plaster
3 Spruce, planed
4 Lime-cement plaster
5 Gypsum plaster
1.17
1.18
can decrease resistance to colds and related
diseases. This is so because normally the
mucous membrane of the epithelial tissue
within the trachea absorbs dust, bacteria, viruses
etc. and returns them to the mouth by
the wavelike movement of the epithelial hair.
If this absorption and transportation system
is disturbed by drying, then foreign bodies
can reach the lungs and may cause health
problems (1.16). A high relative humidity of
up to 70% has many positive consequences:
it reduces the fine dust content of the
air, activates the protection mechanisms of
the skin against microbes, reduces the life
of many bacteria and viruses, and reduces
odour and static charge on the surfaces of
objects in the room.
A relative humidity of more than 70% is normally
experienced as unpleasant, probably
because of the reduction of oxygen intake by
the blood in warm-humid conditions. Increasing
rheumatic pains are observed in cold
humid air. Fungus formation increases significantly
in closed rooms when the humidity
rises above 70% or 80%. Fungus spores
in large quantities can lead to various kinds
of pain and allergies. From these considerations,
it follows that the humidity content in a
room should be a minimum of 40%, but not
more than 70%.
The impact of air exchange on air humidity
In moderate and cold climates, when the
outside temperatures are much lower than
inside temperatures, the greater degree of
fresh air exchange may make indoor air so
dry that negative health effects can result.
For example, if outside air with a temperature
of 0°C and 60% relative humidity enters
a room and is heated to 20°C, its relative
humidity decreases to less than 20%. Even
if the outside air (temperature 0°C) had
100% humidity level and was warmed up to
20°C, its relative humidity would still drop
to less than 30%. In both cases, it becomes
necessary to raise the humidity as soon as
possible in order to attain healthy and comfortable
conditions. This can be done by regulating
the humidity that is released by walls,
ceilings, floors and furniture (1.17).
The balancing effect of loam on humidity
Porous materials have the capacity to absorb
humidity from the ambient air and to desorb
humidity into the air, thereby achieving
humidity balance in indoor climates. The
equilibrium moisture content depends on
the temperature and humidity of the ambient
air (see 2.29, p. 28). The effectiveness
of this balancing process also depends upon
the speed of the absorption or desorption.
14
Introduction

Built examples
Vineyard residence
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria,
Australia
Architect: John Wardle Architects,
Melbourne, Australia
Completion: 2002
Wall system: Rammed earth
Floor area: 400 m²
The predominant elements of this residence,
which is situated in a large vineyard, are the
rammed earth walls. The living area extends
out to the north veranda, the kitchen to an
informal terrace area. The study opens up to
the garden.
The principal bedroom, with its walls angling
outward, evokes the impression of continuing
into the landscape. The entrance screen
reduces western sun into the living area.
Cross ventilation is achieved throughout all
areas.
148 Built examples

149 Residences

Casa Martha
La Misión, Baja California, Mexico
Architect: Alfredo Navarro Tiznado
Design team: Kenia Esmeralda García
Rosas, Hanna Appel Hernández, Giancarlo
Reyes Olguin
Completion: 2021
Wall system: Rammed earth walls
Floor area: 310 m²
Casa Martha, the retirement home for an archaeologist
couple, Martha and Bill, is located
between the municipalities of Ensenada
and Rosarito, in the urban area of La Misión.
The plot has a size of 15 × 40 metres, on
a terrain of rugged topography oriented towards
the Pacific Ocean.
The house comprises four levels in a terraced
arrangement. The ground floor is the access
level. The first floor is divided into two areas:
a visitor’s area with two rooms and a study
space that doubles as a painting and carpentry
workshop or as a garage. There are also
two small interior gardens. The second floor
accommodates the core of the house – the
entertainment room, dining room, and kitchen
– with large windows and porches. Woven
salt pine shutters provide protection from the
prevailing winds while maintaining the privacy
of the interior. They also create a play of
light and shadow on the interior walls. At the
back of the social area, a staircase leads to
the third floor, where the master bedroom is
located. This uppermost level has panoramic
views onto the desert landscape.
164
Built examples

165 Residences

Centre for People with Disabilities
and Dipdii Textiles Studio
Rudrapur, Bangladesh
Concept and design: Anna Heringer
Project management: Stefano Mori
Consultants: Martin Rauch (earth), Andreas
Guetling (roof construction), Emmanuel
Heringer (bamboo roof)
Contractor: Montu Ram Shaw
Completion: 2020
Wall system: Cob
Floor area: 174 m² (rooms), 180 m² (ramp
and veranda)
The two-storey-building accommodates a centre
for people with disabilities combined with
a small studio for the production of textiles,
allowing women to find work in their village. It
is called “Anandaloy” which can be translated
as “place of profound joy”. The name strikes
a positive note in a culture that traditionally
shuns people with disabilities as punished by
God. A large ramp leads to the first floor in order
to be accessible for wheel chairs.
The foundation was made of burnt bricks
while the walls consist of locally sourced
rammed earth using the cob technique that
needs no formwork. Cob is an ancient building
technology that is both simple and sturdy. Clay
subsoil, sand, straw and water are mixed together
to make a malleable mud that is then
formed into monolithic walls. When the cob
dries it becomes hard which results in very
durable walls and columns. The columns, ceilings
and the roof construction are bamboo.
The ventilated roof has a lower layer of straw
and is covered by metal sheeting.
A special feature inside the building are the
“caves”, spaces for self-learning and relaxing
formed by hand from clayey soil lumps (also
built in cob technique). Because the Anandaloy
project mainly uses earth available
nearby and bamboo from local farmers, the
biggest part of the budget was invested in local
crafts(wo)men. Thus, the building became
a real catalyst for local development. Because
of its sustainable and holistic concept, the
centre received the Obel Award 2020.
196
Built examples

197 Cultural, educational and sacred buildings

Adobe Dome Music Space
Aiguá, Uruguay
Design and supervision dome: Gernot
Minke, Kassel, Germany
Organisation and supervision: Macarena
Albarracin, Santiago Escarrá, Salta,
Argentina
Completion: 2020
Vault system: Adobe masonry without
formwork
Floor area: 38.5 m²
At a farm on the outskirts of the small town
of Aiguá, a dome was built from adobe, designed
for relaxation, meditation and music-making
for up to 50 people. Due to its special
acoustics, the building also serves as a
recording studio for experimental music. The
inner diameter of the dome is 7 m, the clear
height in the middle is 5.40 m. The foundation
and plinth as well as the circular entrance
are made of locally available natural stones.
The entrance has a diameter of 1.60 m, so
the room has to be entered in a stooped position
and its height is only experienced once
inside. The floor slopes 20 cm towards the
centre, so that no horizontal level is perceptible.
This creates a special spatial impression,
resulting in a sense of security and well-being.
The top has an opening which is covered
by an octagonal, pyramidical skylight, exuding
a sense of being in touch with the cosmos.
The dome was built during a two-week workshop
directed by the author with the assis-
tance of Macarena Albarracin and Santiago
Escarrá. It was built up utilising the “acoustic
adobes” developed by the author. These
have rounded edges to diffuse the sound
reflection and are walled up at an angle of
approximately 20° to the outside to reflect
part of the sound upwards, thus reducing
the focusing of the reflected sound towards
the centre of the room. In addition, the joints
have been recessed to improve sound absorption.
In order to achieve the statically
optimal cross-section of the dome, the rotational
guide developed by the “Research
Laboratory for Experimental Building” at the
University of Kassel was used, which defines
the correct position for each adobe. On the
outside, the dome was first covered with a
two-layer earth plaster and then sealed with
a fleece-reinforced acrylic paint to make it
weatherproof. The last layer of the transparent
paint was mixed with sand and clay powder
to achieve a clay-like appearance and to
provide additional protection against ultraviolet
radiation.
The floor is made of rammed earth, its surface
is divided into eight fields and a central
octagon by wooden strips. The top layer of
the floor consists of an approximately 2-cmthick
earth render, which has been stabilised
with some lime and cement.
200
Built examples

201 Cultural, educational and sacred buildings

202 Built examples

203 Cultural, educational and sacred buildings

Burkina Institute of Technology
Koudougou, Burkina Faso
Architect: Kéré Architecture, Jaime Herraiz
Completion: 2020
Wall system: Cement-stabilised rammed
earth
Floor area: 1000 m²
The Burkina Institute of Technology is based
on a system of repeated modules, housing
classrooms and auxiliary functions, arranged
orthogonally to define a rectangular courtyard.
The orthogonal layout of modules allows
the campus to be expanded incrementally
according to its needs. The modules are
staggered, allowing air to flow through the
central void, creating a cool space where
students can relax and interact.
The walls are made of cement-stabilised local
lateritic clayey soil poured into the onestorey-high
formwork and then rammed by a
special vibrator. Due to the special mixture,
which contains a high content of large particles,
it was sufficient to use for stabilisation
only 4.5% of cement by mass, which corresponds
by volume to 100 kg per m³. The basic
mixture contains per volume 57% of soil,
29% of crushed granite 05/15 and 14% of
coarse sand. The formwork was removed after
4 weeks.
The roof profiles, repeated regularly, create
a dynamic rhythm and form a chimney at the
back of each module where warm air can
be released. Suspended ceilings, made of
local eucalyptus wood, brighten the interior
spaces.
During the rainy season, water is channeled
into a large underground tank and stored
there. It is later used to irrigate the extensive
mango plantations on the campus.
1 Auditorium 200 seats
2 Auditorium 100 seats
3 Computers
4 Classroom
5 Exterior lessons
0 1 2 5 10 m
6 Teachers' room
7 Students' room
8 Teachers' bathroom
9 Students' bathroom
204
Built examples

205 Cultural, educational and sacred buildings

Office pavilion Earthbox
Asunción, Paraguay
Architects: Equipo de Arquitectura (Horacio
Cherniavsky and Viviana Pozzoli)
Structural engineer: Emilio Richer
Rammed earth consultant: Yago García-
Enríquez
Completion: 2018
Wall system: Rammed earth walls
Floor area: 45 m²
This pavilion was built by Equipo de Arquitectura
for themselves. A single continuous wall
wraps around a basic square plan. It opens
up to create the entrance to the office and
bends around a little restroom next to it. A
pre-existing guavirà tree was integrated into
the design, rises from the patio, and creates
a division between working spaces and kitchen.
Outside, a flame tree screens the earthbox
from the sun.
The 30-cm rammed earth walls hold the
weight of the roof, resting on only 20 cm of
their width and thus exploiting the structural
qualities of this material. The remaining 10
cm on the perimeter hide the ceiling slab
when seen from the outside.
All of the furniture and doors are made of
recycled wooden formwork that was used to
cast the concrete slab that covers the office.
The library shelves are detached from the
walls and suspended.
222
Built examples

223 Commercial, hospitality and health buildings

Earth, in common use for architectural construction
for thousands of years, has in recent years attracted
new attention as a healthy, environment-friendly
and economical building material. An impressive
number of buildings has been realized not just in
hot and dry regions but also in the colder climates
of Europe and North America. Technical innovations
such as prefabricated rammed earth components,
clay panels or earth walls from a 3D printer facilitate
the use of this sustainable material.
This manual, now in its fifth and revised editon,
describes the building technology of rammed earth.
The physical properties and characteristic values are
explained in a hands-on manner: With proper moisture
protection, earth buildings are very durable, and
in particular the combination with wood or straw
allows a wide spectrum of design options.
Thirty international built examples demonstrate the
range of applications for this fully recyclable material.
ISBN 978-3-0356-2766-4