Category: Architectural Models

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Zumthor’s Chapel Reimagined: Rammed Earth and Light

A project by Marcos Vargas, Lourdes Aguayo Francia, Vicente Angel Saavedra

Peter Zumthor's Bruder Klaus Field Chapel Through the Lens of Aldo Amoretti - Image 13 of 13
Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Field Chapel

The Bruder Klaus Chapel by Peter Zumthor, known for its use of concrete and its spiritual significance, inspired this project, which reimagines the chapel using rammed earth in hopes of offering a new perspective on the chapel’s form and spiritual significance. Through this material change, we emphasized the tactile and temporal qualities of the earth while maintaining the original architectural intent. Earth’s natural properties and historical significance in architecture highlight both the processes and challenges of working with rammed earth, from material sourcing to final assembly.

Recreation Section Front Elevation Model Photo

To embody the spiritual and material significance of the original chapel, our team chose to recreate the oculus section. Selecting this feature was crucial for exploring how architectural practices and traditions can express a spiritual narrative.

Recreation Section Side Elevation Model Photo

The dirt used in the project was collected from the back of Wurster Hall. Unfortunately, due to rain, the dirt was wet and could not be sifted through conventional means. As a result, the material was sifted by hand to remove larger particles and debris. Once prepared, the dirt was compacted into a mold designed to shape the wall’s mass.

The oculus element was formed using wooden dowels arranged around a clay cone. The dowels were secured inside a 3D-printed mold, which acted as a guide for stacking and compacting the rammed earth in layers. As the construction progressed, the 3D-printed mold was incrementally removed, and the clay cone was dug out to create the final oculus shape.

Initially, it was intended to burn the dowels to leave a charred imprint on the rammed earth, but the wet soil caused the dowels to detach. To address this, the dowels were coated in chalk prior, which created a residue resembling ash and transferred a faint wood grain texture on some areas of the rammed earth.

Recreation Section Detail Model Photo

Resources:

https://www.archdaily.com/798340/peter-zumthors-bruder-klaus-field-chapel-through-the-lens-of-aldo-amoretti

 

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Observatory in the desert…in Wurster Hall

The observatory in the desert was a project brought on by the Contemporary Architects Association that sought to revive tradition of clay and mud construction in the Esfahan Village in Iran with a beautiful communal piece. This work is described thoroughly in the following post. What is there not to love about this project? In this work of art, meticulously arranged mud bricks and rammed earth walls make a seamless experience.

Our group, Eryn King, Lucy Knopf and Camilla Faustinelli were blown away by this project when it was presented by one of the students in the class Earthen Material Practices in Contemporary Art and Architecture . We just had to recreate it.

The final pushed groups to build a model at 1/2” = 1’  scale, focusing on a specific building technique with earth we had studied.

Our group decided to focus on the mud brick.

For such an endeavor, we decided to change the design a bit. Because we weren’t going to focus on rammed earth walls, we made all of the construction  using mud bricks even if the interior circle is supposed to be a rammed earth wall in the actual project.

Construction process:

  1. Collecting the mud : Mud for the bricks was collected in the San Pablo coastline area, as well as a backyard in Elmwood, Berkeley.
  2. Making the bricks: Mud was pressed into silicone molds, then left to dry in the sun for several days.
  3. Building: With a concrete base, we stacked the bricks in a 45 degree angle on the outside, and not angled on the inside to act as the rammed earth wall on the actual project. This is where texture and consistency of our collected dry mud came to play, making some pieces more fragile than others.

Building this observatory was a meticulous project, but it’s incredible how making something makes you understand why it’s so special. What a beautiful project. Our group hopes to one day see the project in person.

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The Pottery Dome

As architecture students, we (Sascha Fawaz and Pedram Modaresi) built a dome structure/prototype merging pottery vessels with clay construction. Inspired by the Reviving Al Nazlah Center (Oriental Group Architects and Hamdy El-Setouhy) in Egypt, our installation transforms clay pots into architectural elements.

Our project focused on using pots as modular units for construction, integrating them into both the facade and roof.  Domes and curved surfaces formed the core of our design, emphasizing spans and spaces that feel timeless yet innovative.

We were fascinated by the dialogue between ancient techniques and modern design sensibilities in the precedent project, reflecting a deep respect for craftsmanship while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with humble materials like clay and pottery. It not only bridges the gap between past and present but also exemplifies the potential for sustainability, cultural revival, and community empowerment through architecture.

Reference images from the Al Nazlah Center by Hamdy El-Setouhy

We layered clay and pottery in sequential phases. Our initial dome structure  received embedded pots, adhesive coating with strong glue, and curing time.

 

We added a second clay layer to strengthen the form, followed by targeted drilling to reveal the pots from the interior of the dome . We filled joints with a second layer of clay for more stability and sanded the surface for a refined finish.

The completed dome sits on a brick foundation, raising it above ground level. Our project demonstrates the potential of traditional materials in contemporary architecture, combining ancient pottery techniques with modern structural approaches.

Proposal dome model. Scale: 1/4″=1′ 

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A ‘Model City’

drdharchitects’ proposal for the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism Architecture seeks to address the individual and collective lives of the inhabitants, and future inhabitants, of the World’s big cities. This seems of particular relevance given the extraordinary and rapid growth of Chinese cities like Shenzhen, as the country goes through a dramatic process of urbanisation. With the help of local school children from Shenzhen they proposed the creation of a miniature city, made of clay.

They wanted to engage local school children in imagining their own city. The process started by asking them to think about their home, through building a collection of miniature clay houses. drdharchitects asked them a series of questions such as where an entrance or window might be; how these played a part in defining the overall appearance of their buildings and how it might speak to its neighbours.

It concluded by asking them to consider the individual house as part of the collective city, how it might be laid out, its patterns and the relationships between things.