Category: Uncategorized

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Dachverband Lehm (Organization)

Dachverband Lehm is a German-based organization, established in 1992, specializing in earthen construction, particularly the use of rammed earth (Lehm in German) as a modern, sustainable building material. The company focuses on reviving traditional earth-building techniques while integrating contemporary engineering and architectural practices. Based in Germany, Dachverband Lehm works closely with architects, designers, and builders to create structurally sound and aesthetically refined rammed earth walls for residential, cultural, and commercial projects.

The organization emphasizes the environmental benefits of earth construction, including low embodied energy, recyclability, and the use of locally sourced materials. Their work demonstrates how rammed earth can meet modern building standards while maintaining a strong connection to natural materials and regional identity.

Dachverband Lehm maintains an extensive online resource through their website, earthbuilding.info. The site offers comprehensive information on traditional and contemporary earthen construction techniques, material selection, and design considerations. It also features educational content, including training programs, workshops, and vocational courses for professionals and enthusiasts interested in sustainable building practices. Visitors can explore international research initiatives, case studies, and examples of earth architecture, along with guidelines, standards, and regulatory information that support the safe and effective use of rammed earth in modern construction.

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Aseer Regional Architecture

 

Asir, or officially the Aseer Province in Saudi Arabia, was incorporated into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1934.  has a population of 2.2 million. The province has a long history with artifacts dating to the bronze age. The region is known for its tribal independence, agriculture, and high-altitude culture, situated on a high plateau.

The Aseer region is characterized by a cooler climate with considerable seasonal rain. It has approximately 400 traditional settlements, many located on the high plateau at altitudes greater than 2000 meters. Buildings generally took the form of square, multistory towers. Four principal construction types developed based on the local microclimate and available materials: mud tower houses, stone rubble houses, stone apron houses, and mud and slate tower buildings.

Rijal Almaa is a town that emerged 900 ye  ars ago and, given its strategic location on the route to Mecca from Yemen, it became a place of commercial exchange. The buildings are composed of stone, mud, and wood, and are constructed up to six floors. They are detailed with with white window frames, wooden shutterns, and decorative mofits, details that are characteristic of the region.

Rijal Almaa Heritage Village consists of around 60 traditional stone, mud, and wood buildings.
White window frames and checkered details

Typical  houses in the mountainous Asir province were made of mud reinforced with camel hair. The lower areas of the buildings were made from stone, with smaller flat stones wedged between bigger ones. The upper areas have a local flat stone between the bricks. Plaster was usually applied to the outside of the building to cover the mud bricks.

Al-Qatt Al-Asiri is a traditional interior wall decoration of the region. It is a spontaneous art technique carried out largely by women. It is typically practiced on rooms of visiting guests. Women invite female relatives of various age groups to help them in their homes, thereby transmitting this knowledge from generation to generation. The base is usually white gypsum and the patterns consist of icons of geometric shapes and symbols.

© 2016 by Ahmad AlSheme, Saudi Arabia
Aseer Craftsmanship
Aseer Craftsmanship

The Saudi government has developed set of architectural and urban guidelines and requirements that help guide the design and urban development process to align with the authentic local architectural style of each geographic area across the Kingdom.  Guidelines, maps, and more information can be found here: https://architsaudi.dasc.gov.sa/ar

Aseer Escarpment, Architectural Design Guidelines

Aseer Escarpment, Architectural Design Guidelines, Page 5
Aseer Escarpment, Architectural Design Guidelines, Page 13
Aseer Escarpment, Architectural Design Guidelines, Page 14

Al-Qatt Al-Asiri, female traditional interior wall decoration in Asir, Saudi Arabia

Craftsmanship of decorated wooden doors reflects Aseer’s artistic heritage

Rijal Almaa Heritage Village in Assir Region

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arakabe and shikkui plastering techniques, Japan

Following the spread of Buddhism, Shikkui was first introduced to Japan from the Korean Peninsula in the 6th century.  The original purpose was to provide a canvas for religious paintings.  When Shikkui was first introduced to Japan, paper fibers were mostly likely used in place of hemp.

Traditionally, the manufacturing of lime was energy intensive and lime was a valuable commodity in pre-industrial Japan.  Therefore, it was used very sparingly.  The Shikkui lime finish is usually applied a few millimeter thick over an earthen plaster, and in some cases, over a sand-lime plaster.  It’s primary function is to protect earthen plastered walls from rain erosion.  Depending on exposure, the lifespan of a Shikkui lime plaster is about 20 years. In this sense, it is a kind of sacrificial layer protecting a bamboo lattice and earthen plastered wall that will last over one-hundred years.

Shikkui was developed to allow large, uninterrupted earthen walls to be finished without joints. That is, by improving workability and moisture retention, Shikkui allows for the walls of castles and earthen store houses to be finished without interruption, so there are no joints in the finish lime plaster.

Through a chemical reaction with the carbon dioxide in the air, hydrated lime returns to limestone and provides a recalcitrant, weather resistant and dust free finish.

Seaweed glue is added to improve workability, that is, increase moisture retention and delay setup so that the plaster can be worked longer. (Seaweed glues are also added in earth plasters for the same reason.) Traditionally, dried seaweed was boiled and strained to produce glue, but now a powdered form is commonly available.

Fine hemp fibers reduce cracking and allow for a thin application.
Recipes vary according to the season (temperature and humidity) and craftsperson.

The following is a basic recipe for a Shikkui:
Hydrated Lime 20-23Kg (approx. 44-50lbs)
Powdered Tsunomata Seaweed Glue 500-1000g
Hemp Fibers 400-800g

Nakazaki Residence in Setouchi, Okayama, is an excellent example of exquisite craftsmanship, including fine plastering. Built over a period of 10 plus years during the early 1900’s, Nakazaki residence features traditional Japanese architecture with early western influences.

Nakazaki Residence in Setouchi, Okayama, is an excellent example of exquisite craftsmanship, including fine plastering. Built over a period of 10 plus years during the early 1900’s, Nakazaki residence features traditional Japanese architecture with early western influences.

The defining characteristic of plastering in Kyoto is the use of color clays.  The Kansai area of Japan is blessed with a variety of colored clays and these where incorporated into earthen plasters hundreds of years ago.

https://japaneseplastering.blogspot.com/

https://www.japaneseplastering.com/fundamentals/japanese-finishes

 

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Salara Hotel, Baja California

Salara Hotel located in Baja California Sur, Mexico is a hotel that was designed by Taller Héctor Barroso, with the vision to connect living with what emerges from the sand. Consisting of various residences ranging from 14,000 to 20,000sqft, it establishes a shared environment of both community and nature.

Completed residential unit

All the buildings are created with rammed earth. Allowing the natural raw materials that are available on site such as earth, chalk, lime or gravel, allowed a cost effective method to creating these vacation homes. The rammed earth also regulates the interior heat within the residences.

Creating the foundation and establishing electrical.

Development of the rammed earth walls on site

Process of rammed earth.

 

http://https://youtu.be/URJH8uQTKL8?si=wngOB8NsXI2QHAeG

The main focus of the use of material not only focused on sustainability but allowing guests to interact with light shade and surrounding vegetation as well as highlighting aspect of the geological features.

Proposed space highlights the geography of Baja alluding to the material.

Exterior pathways to each unit

Pathways connect the various 10 spaces allowing those to relax in their lifestyle while accessing each others units in community. The sand covered court allows for local tournaments and spaces to bring one another together.

 

Continue reading “Salara Hotel, Baja California”

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Diriyah, Saudi Arabia

Basic Information

Location: Diriyah, northwest of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Type: Historic earthen settlement / urban heritage site
Historic Core: At-Turaif District in ad-Dir‘iyah
Period: Founded in the 15th century; major political role in the 18th–early 19th century
UNESCO Status: World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2010
Primary Material: Traditional Najdi mudbrick / earth-based construction

Overview

Diriyah is a historic urban landscape shaped by earth construction. Its significance lies in the way architecture, settlement form, climate adaptation, and political history are bound together in one place. UNESCO describes At-Turaif as the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty and a witness to the Najdi architectural style specific to the center of the Arabian Peninsula. This means Diriyah is important not only because it uses earth as a material, but because it demonstrates how earthen architecture can operate at the scale of an entire city: walls, palaces, streets, courtyards, defensive structures, and urban hierarchy are all formed through related material and spatial logics.

Historical and Cultural Context

Diriyah’s importance is inseparable from its role in Saudi history. The official Diriyah site describes At-Turaif as the heart of the Emirate of Diriyah, the First Saudi State, built from traditional Najdi mudbrick and overlooking Wadi Hanifah and the Diriyah oasis. UNESCO likewise identifies it as the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty. These descriptions matter because they show that the architecture of Diriyah is not merely vernacular in the sense of being local and anonymous; it is also political, dynastic, and symbolic. Earth architecture here was used not only for domestic life, but also for governance, defense, and the representation of power. In other words, Diriyah demonstrates that earthen architecture can be monumental and state-forming, not only rural or modest.

Landscape and Settlement Logic

Diriyah is also a settlement shaped by its landscape. UNESCO and other heritage descriptions emphasize its position near Wadi Hanifah, where oasis conditions, topography, and defensive needs influenced how the city developed. This relationship to the valley matters because earthen settlements are often misread as isolated objects, when in fact their form emerges from water access, terrain, and patterns of protection and movement. In Diriyah, the historic district occupies an elevated position overlooking the wadi, which strengthened both its defensibility and its visual authority. The city therefore should be read as an environmental and territorial construction as much as an architectural one.

Material System

The material system of Diriyah is fundamental to understanding its architecture. The official Diriyah site repeatedly describes At-Turaif as built from traditional Najdi mudbrick, while tourism and heritage descriptions emphasize its mud-brick character at the scale of the entire district. Mudbrick construction relies on locally available earth, shaped into units and dried before assembly into thick walls. What matters here is not only that the material is local, but that it forms a coherent construction culture: the material, the wall thickness, the maintenance cycle, and the architectural language all depend on one another. Earthen construction in Diriyah is therefore not a superficial finish or a nostalgic aesthetic; it is the structural and cultural basis of the settlement itself.

Architectural Features

UNESCO identifies At-Turaif as a major example of Najdi architectural style, and this style can be understood through a set of recurring spatial and formal features: thick earth walls, carefully controlled openings, inward-oriented compounds, courtyards, and a dense urban fabric. These features are not isolated details; together they produce an architecture of mass, shade, privacy, and gradated enclosure. The city’s buildings do not rely on glassy openness or long-span structural expression. Instead, their character comes from the sculptural handling of mass and void. This is why Diriyah is so important within earth architecture studies: it shows how an entire urban language can emerge from the properties of earth itself.

Earthen Monumentality and Urban Scale

A deeper reason Diriyah matters is that it challenges a persistent misconception about earthen architecture: that earth belongs only to small, rural, or informal buildings. At-Turaif shows the opposite. UNESCO presents it as a dynastic capital, and the official Diriyah materials present it as a mud-brick citadel central to the making of the Kingdom. This means earth here operates at the scale of monument, palace, district, and capital city. Its essential to mention: Diriyah broadens the imagination of what earthen construction can be. It is not only a technology of shelter; it is also a technology of urban order, representation, and political centrality.

Contemporary Relevance

Diriyah remains highly relevant to contemporary architecture because it continues to function as a reference point for new work. Recent architectural coverage of projects in Diriyah, including Zaha Hadid Architects’ Asaan Museum, explicitly states that the site’s mud-brick architecture and centuries-old urban fabric are the source of inspiration, and that the project will use locally sourced clay mud-bricks. This is significant because it shows that Diriyah is not treated merely as a museum object frozen in the past. Instead, it acts as a living precedent for how local material intelligence, Najdi form, and climatic knowledge can be reinterpreted today. In that sense, Diriyah is both an origin and an ongoing design reference for contemporary earthen practice.

Conclusion

Diriyah is a foundational case in earth architecture because it demonstrates that earthen construction is not simply a matter of material substitution. It is a complete architectural and urban system in which politics, landscape, craft, climate, and form are interdependent. Its buildings are made of earth, but its significance goes beyond materiality alone: Diriyah shows how earth can generate a capital city, a heritage landscape, a climatic urbanism, and a continuing source of architectural knowledge. For that reason, it should be understood not as a relic of a premodern past, but as one of the clearest and most enduring demonstrations of earth architecture’s intelligence and relevance.

References

  1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, At-Turaif District in ad-Dir‘iyah. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1329
  2. Diriyah official website https://www.diriyah.sa/en/history-and-culture
  3. ArchDaily, Asaan Museum in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. https://www.archdaily.com/1030338/zaha-hadid-architects-breaks-ground-on-asaan-museum-in-diriyah-saudi-arabia
  4. Islamic Architectural Heritage / IRCICA, background on ad-Dir‘iyah and Wadi Hanifa. https://www.islamicarchitecturalheritage.com/listings/historic-at-turaif-district-diriyah
  5. Visit Saudi, At-Turaif World Heritage Site.  https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/diriyah/attractions/at-turaif
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Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School

Quai To commune in Dien Bien, Vietnam

The project was brought to life by 1+1>2 Architects, a Hanoi-based firm led by the renowned Hoang Thuc Hao.

Hao is widely considered a pioneer of “Social Architecture” in Vietnam. His philosophy revolves around the idea that architecture should not just be for the wealthy, but a tool to improve the lives of the marginalized. The firm is famous for combining traditional building techniques (like rammed earth, bamboo, and thatch) with modern structural engineering. They prioritize low-carbon footprints, using materials that are sourced locally. In an effort to harbor their social architecture approach, during the design and construction of the school, 1+1>2 often involved the villagers ensuring the community feels a sense of ownership over the finished school.

The Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School, located in the remote mountains of the Son La province in Vietnam, is a masterclass in how architecture can serve as both a functional shelter and a cultural bridge. Designed to serve the ethnic minority children of the region, the project is a testament to the power of “pro-bono” architecture that doesn’t compromise on beauty or utility.

The school’s design is heavily influenced by the rugged terrain and the traditional architecture of the local H’Mong people. Rather than leveling the land the architects opted for a stilted structure that follows the natural slope of the mountainside. The school is made up of various materials sourced locally and/or made on-site. Foundations are made of local mountain stone with adobe bricks stacked above. Some walls even being fully constructed of stone or adobe. Frames, fences and ceiling treatments are made with bamboo and natural wood to provide breathable interiors and soft boundaries that properly integrate this new building into the village. The roof materials somewhat break from tradition, using corrugated metal to provide proper insulation and ensure the building is watertight.

Traditional H’Mong architecture 

The school’s roofline, the most striking feature, is made to mimic the surrounding mountain peaks, allowing the building to blend seamlessly into the landscape. The school is divided into distinct “blocks” for the kindergarten and primary levels. These blocks are connected by covered walkways and open-air bridges, creating a sense of a small, interconnected village rather than an isolated institution.

Although the primary purpose of the building is education, the  school serves as the beating heart of the village. Often in remote Vietnamese regions, schools also become communal spaces for adults outside of school hours. The Hang Tau school serves to strengthen the sense of community that is heavily embedded in the Vietnamese culture. This is not only embodied by the programming of the school but the architecture itself as it also preserves the culture through the use of “local aesthetics”. Allowing the students to take pride in their culture and value their roots.

Given the tropical climate, the buildings utilize high ceilings and perforated walls (often made of local wood or brick) to allow cross-breezes, eliminating the need for mechanical cooling. These apertures also increase and incentivize connection the natural landscape which is a core value in Vietnamese culture and architecture. The school provides modern education while instilling the values of traditions of past generations. Giving the students access to successful futures and influential pasts.

 

Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School / 1+1>2 Architects

Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School: Redefining the Relationship Between Education and the Mountainous Environment

 

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Esfahk Mud Center

The Esfahk Mud Center, Iran.

The Esfahk Mud Center is a revival of clay and mud architecture in contemporary practice. Built in 2015 by architect Pouya Khazaeli, the center was established with the aim of reviving traditional clay and mud construction in Esfahk Village, Iran. Khazaeli founded the Esfahk Mud Center to reach beyond utility and conceptual design toward the extension of organic settings, with reverence to the cultural heritage of the region. The structure celebrates traditions that have allowed the local community to thrive in challenging weather conditions for ages.

Pouya Khazaeli, Founding Architect of Esfahk Mud Center.

Khazaeli is an architect from Tehran, Iran, who earned his Master’s degree in architecture from Tehran Azad University in 2000, and went on to found Rai Studio in 2007. He has worked across Iran and internationally on projects rooted in vernacular and earth-based construction. His motivation is clear: to resist the homogenization of contemporary architecture and instead recover the wisdom embedded in traditional building methods, particularly those developed by communities adapting to harsh desert climates over centuries.

Series of traditional structures found at Esfahk Mud Center.

As an educational center, the building offers a range of educational activities like mud brick production, hands-on Iranian vault construction and lime based plastering rooted in vernacular Iranian practices. 

Women carefully construct an Adobe brick model in a class offered at Esfahak Mud Center.

In terms of program, the Esfahk Mud Center functions simultaneously as a school, a research laboratory, and a cultural institution. Its aim extends beyond Esfahk itself; The center aspires to provide guidance wherever communities need sustainable ways to live with nature, positioning earth architecture as a globally relevant practice rather than a regional curiosity. Esfahk Village is a historically significant desert settlement in the South Khorasan region of Iran that suffered severe damage from the 1978 earthquake, causing much of the historic fabric to be abandoned over time. The center’s placement within this vulnerable context gives the project an urgency that goes beyond aesthetics: it is an act of cultural repair.  

Two women work together using fabric to reinforce and protect an adobe structure at Esfahk Mud Center.

The building is constructed primarily from adobe combined with lime-based plasters and earth mortars, all sourced locally and processed on-site by participants themselves. The design begins from the smallest unit, the adobe brick, and scales upward, using hands as the primary construction tool and traditional Iranian techniques as the guiding logic. 

Hand plastering a mud structure.

What the Esfahk Mud Center ultimately inspires is a rethinking of what a building can be asked to do. It is not simply shelter, nor merely an aesthetic statement — it is a living argument for the intelligence embedded in pre-industrial building cultures. The center raises the question of whether contemporary architecture, in its relentless pursuit of novelty and technological sophistication, has abandoned forms of knowledge that took centuries to develop and that address, with remarkable precision, the real conditions of place, climate, and community. Khazaeli’s work suggests that sustainability is not a feature to be added to a building but a logic that must be recovered from the ground up. 

Works Cited:

Khazaeli, Pouya. Esfahk Mud Center. Esfahk Mud Center, 2015. esfahkmudcenter.org

Esfahk Mud Center: Earth Architecture in South Khorasan. Terra — Hypotheses, CRAterre. Accessed March 2026. terra.hypotheses.org/3748

CAOI Architecture. Esfahak Historic Village Restoration Project. Archinect. Accessed March 2026. archinect.com/caoi/project/esfahak-historic-village-restoration-project

Khaloian, Nareh. Living Structures. Nareh Khaloian, 2023. Accessed March 2026. narehkhaloian.com/living-structures