
Designed by Pyatt Studio, Casa Sanitas is the first rammed earth house to be constructed in the city of Boulder, Colorado and incorporates an insulated rammed earth enclosure appropriate for the Colorado Front Range climate.

Architecture, Art, Design, and Culture using of mud, clay, soil, dirt & dust.

Designed by Pyatt Studio, Casa Sanitas is the first rammed earth house to be constructed in the city of Boulder, Colorado and incorporates an insulated rammed earth enclosure appropriate for the Colorado Front Range climate.
The Center for Earth Architecture & Sustainable Integrated Development (CEASID) in Bangalore, India is hosting a Certificate Training Course in Earth Architecture. Details below:
Part-I (1week)
* Duration- 27th December-31st December 2010 (Mon-Fri)
*Eligibility – Open for all .
…(Architects/Non-Architects/students/Professionals/working/non-working).
*Fees- Indian Rupees -7,500 /- plus registration.
*Training contents:(Theory + Practice + Field visits):
-Introduction to Earth Architecture & its scope.
-Soil Identification,Stabilization & Soil Tests.
-Compressed stabilized Earth Blocks(CSEB) Production & Use
-Earth Arches, Vaults & Domes(AVD)-Construction & Use
-CSEB & AVD Case Studies
-Block making
-Feild Study & site visits
-Design Studio
-Participants’ Sessions & Their work presentations.
*Note-
-Training certificate & Training manual will be given at the end of the training.
-Intake:Minimum seats -10,Maximum seats -40 candidates.
– The training is very intensive and that any lecture/session missed will be detrimental to the trainee.
Part-II (1week)
* Duration- 02nd January-06th January 2011 (Sun-Thur)
*Eligibility – Open for all .
…(Architects/Non-Architects/students/Professionals/working/non-working).
*Fees- Indian Rupees -7,500 /- plus registration.
*TRAINING CONTENTS:
(Theory + Practice + Field visits+ Design Studio):
-Introduction to Earth Architecture & its scope.
-Introduction to World Earth Technologies:
-1.Extruded Technology
-2.Daubed Technology
-3.Poured Technology
-4.Formed Technology
-5.Projected Earth Technology
-6.Hybrid Technology
-7.Papercrete Technology
-8.Dug Out Technology
-9.Covered Technology
-10.Filled In Technology
-11.Cut Technology
-12.Compressed & Rammed Technology.
-13.Shaped Technology
-14.Stacked Technology
-15.Moulded Technology
-Earthquake resistant earth construction
-Earth Fast & Movable Construction
-Case studies
-Feild Study & site visits
-Design Studios
-Participants’ Sessions & Their work presentations.
*Note-
-Training certificate & Training manual will be given at the end of the training.
-Intake:Minimum seats -10,Maximum seats -40 candidates.
– The training is very intensive and that any lecture/session missed will be detrimental to the trainee.
*For Registration please Contact-
Ar.Mrs.Shubha Shukla
(Founder & Director CEASID,Bangalore,India)
Ph – 09620878423
email: ceasid@gmail.com

Photo: Héctor Santos-Díez
Vier Arquitectos, comprised of Antonio Raya, Christopher Crespo, Santiago Sánchez and Enrique Antelo, are the designers a municipal swimming pool in Toro (Zamora), Spain. A unique quality of the facility is that its exterior walls have been constructed of rammed earth, a traditional technique updated on a contemporary building typology.

Photo: Héctor Santos-Díez
The building, comprising three volumes, two for dressing and one more for the pool’s, supporting thermal collectors used to heat the pool water and showers, and extra water from the cleaning process, which is stored in a reservoir and reused in irrigating the landscape.

Photo: Héctor Santos-Díez
Low-energy materials were used throughout and the design for the pool received the first prize for ex eaquo de Edificación Sostenible in Castilla y Leon in its first edition.

Photo: Héctor Santos-Díez

Constructed primarily in rammed earth using local Dromana crushed rock, the Earth House, designed by Jolson Architecture Interiors, is a 465 sqm 4 bedroom residence that seemingly rises from the landscape and cranks to capture the sweeping rural and coastal panoramic views.

The western elevation consists of solid rammed earth walls without penetrations, designed as thermal banks capturing the afternoon sun. The eastern elevation is glazed to siphon dominant views inside. Designed around a large enclosed courtyard that provides protection from the strong winds, this outdoor room allows northern sunlight to filter into the main living areas.

Green Prophet has railed against projects like Dubai Burj Tower. They have pounded our chests at the audacity of Masdar City’s “zero” footprint claim, and have decried the potential consequences of unsustainable approaches to building and planning. “USD22 billion” for a building project and “sustainable” simply don’t belong in the same sentence.
Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy died in 1989 but left behind a legacy of 160 building projects ranging from small projects to large-scale communities complete with mosques and schools. His impact can still be felt from Egypt to Greece and even New Mexico, where in 1981 he designed the Dar Ar-Salam community. Fathy received several awards for his work, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1980, and founded The International Institute for Appropriate Technology in 1977.
The School of Civil and Resource Engineering of the University of Western Australia has a PhD position available for the following PhD project:
MECHANICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF RAMMED EARTH
Summary:
The significance of this project lies in recognition of the economic, environmental and social benefits of rammed earth as a construction material in Australian remote communities, and addresses the lack of a proper Australian Standards code supporting its wide-spread use. Qualitative and quantitative characterisation of the material and structural properties of rammed earth will be done through a comprehensive program of laboratory and industry-supported on-site experimental tests. The project will result in a first ever “Proposal Form for Standards Development” for rammed earth structures, to be submitted to Standards Australia. The findings will significantly improve cost effectiveness and safety of rammed earth structures in Australia.

Arquitectura con tierra en Uruguay is a book that offers a tour of fifteen case studies of buildings constructed with earth in Montevideo, Canelones, Maldonado, Rocha and Salto, Uruguay. One of the most significant characteristics of this type of construction technology in Uruguay is the amount of new work, which makes a difference to other countries in the region. This publication presents the works of several architects and builders from 1996 to 2009 in a compilation of 250 photographs and charts.
Arquitectura con tierra en Uruguay makes clear the living traditions of ancient technologies that are increasingly valued. This book is available in Uruguay in the Faculty of Architecture Library (Bulevar Artigas 1031, Montevideo) and in the Library of the Society of Architects of Uruguay (Gonzalo Ramírez 2030, Montevideo). It can be purchased elsewhere through www.entrelibros.com.uy
To preview the contents of the publication visit www.arquitecturacontierra.com.uy
Arquitectura con tierra en Uruguay es un libro que propone una recorrida por quince casos de construcciones con tierra en los departamentos de Montevideo, Canelones, Maldonado, Rocha y Salto. Una de las características más significativas de este tipo de tecnología constructiva en Uruguay es la cantidad de obra nueva que marca la diferencia con respecto a otros países de la región. En esta publicación se recopilan las obras de varios arquitectos y constructores desde 1996 a 2009 a través de 250 fotografías y gráficos elaborados especialmente.
Arquitectura con tierra en Uruguay da cuenta de la siempre viva actualidad de técnicas milenarias que vuelven a cobrar valor. Este libro se puede adquirir en Uruguay en la Librería de Facultad de Arquitectura (Bulevar Artigas 1031, Montevideo) y en la Librería de la Sociedad de Arquitectos del Uruguay (Gonzalo Ramírez 2030, Montevideo). Puede ser adquirido desde el exterior a través del sitio www.entrelibros.com.uy
Para ver un avance del contenido de la publicación viste www.arquitecturacontierra.com.uy
Arquitectura con tierra en Uruguay – Autor: Alejandro Ferreiro – 120 páginas – 17 x 24 cm – ISBN 978-9974-98-153-9. Alejandro Ferreiro es arquitecto egresado de la Facultad de Arquitectura (UdelaR) en 2005. Se desempeña como docente de la cátedra de Arquitectura y Tecnología y ha participado como capacitador a partir de 2002 en distintas actividades y jornadas universitarias de transferencia tecnológica. Desde el año 2008 comienza a trabajar como profesional liberal en proyectos de arquitectura con tierra y materiales naturales.

The Greenhouse Atelier, designed by al bordE, in Machachi, Ecuador is a shelter designed to express the powerful reflection of nature in the client’s paintings. The atelier is a “bubble” suspended between stone walls and rammed earth.

The existing space between walls, ground and bubble, protect the space from absorbing the humidity of the moorland. Additionally the first sun rays heat a radiator system that increase the temperature of the air gap. This heated air enters the space making it thermally comfortable. In the afternoon the main façade absorbs the sun heat, saving it in the solid floor of the workshop releasing the heat during the night.

Earth is a natural building material that is at once traditional and modern. In recent years it has advanced to become a high-quality material. Its aesthetic qualities and character along with its beneficial effect on the indoor climate and general well-being are widely recognised. Of particular relevance are its environmental properties, for example the incomparably low energy balance of many earth building materials. As an authentic historical building material, earth is also widely used in the conservation and renovation of historic buildings.
Lehmbau-Praxis, written by Ulrich Röhlen and Christof Ziegert, provides an overview of the current state of the art of planning and building earth constructions and is an invaluable reference for architects, engineers, building contractors and tradesmen. Available in English or German.

Brittlebush is an experimental Desert Dwelling designed by Simón de Agüero, a recent graduate of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture in Taliesin, Arizona. The open-air living space incorporates tensile fabric structures into its design to shelter occupants from the sun. A fireplace provides winter heating.


The majority of the material used for Brittlebush were recovered or found on site: 90% of the steel was salvaged from the school scrap yard, all of the wood used for the formwork was waste from a local renovation project, and the earth used for the walls was from on-site.

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