Earth Building Research Forum

The Earth Building Research Forum was set up by Dr Kevan Heathcote and Mr Gregory Moor in the Faculty of Design Architecture and Building of UTS in December 1999. It was originally envisaged as a forum for disseminating ideas and research into the performance of earth buildings but has since been widened to include a database of earth building projects, information on forthcoming conferences, linkages to other earth building sites and to include more general articles on the subject. The Forum hosted an international earth building conference at UTS in January 2005 (EarthBuild 2005) and this is planned to be a biennial event. The Conference brought together engineers, environmentalists, builders and architects from around the world.

Earthen architecture in Iran and Central Asia Conference

Earthen architecture in Iran and Central Asia: its conservation, management, and relevance to contemporary society, a celebration of the life and work of Robert Byron, will be held at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 12-13th November 2005. The aim of the conference is to bring together individuals involved in the conservation and management of the archaeological and architectural legacy of earthen architecture in Iran and Central Asia, to discuss current approaches, practical applications, new projects and the impact of work on local communities and contemporary society.

Casa Grande

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Perhaps nowhere is the blending of modernity and the tradition of earth building more evident than at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Casa Grande was constructed between ad 1200-1450 by the Native American Hohokam near Phoenix, Arizona. In 1928, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of Frederick Law Olmsted the landscape architect most famous for the earthwork of Central Park in New York City, was acting as an adviser to the National Park Service. The desire by the National Park service was to create a shelter that both protected the ruins, while allowing them to have hierarchical presence. The Olmsted Jr. design was completed on December 12, 1932.