Europe – Page 11 – EARTH ARCHITECTURE

June 8, 2006March 17, 2026

Center for Alternative Technology

Work is about to begin on The Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE), a new complex intended to showcase the very latest thinking in environmentally-conscious building design at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), near Machynlleth in Wales. Among the innovative features of the building will be construction of rammed earth walls in the Institute’s lecture theatre. The 7.2m high rammed earth walls, which are load-bearing and made of excavated subsoil, exemplify this approach. The clay content of the soil means no additional binding material will have to be added. The walls are packed down in layers, using hand-held pneumatic compactors, between temporary formwork.

March 27, 2006

Earth Architecture in Portugal – Two New Publications

With the participation of 54 authors, the book Earth Architecture in Portugal is an assembly of essays and work by professionals with expertise on the topics of architecture and construction with earth. Topics include technology, materials, history, anthropology, conservation and particular attention is given to the contemporary architecture constructed of earth in the two last decades in Portugal. Publication is in English and Portuguese, 23 x 32 cm Hard Layer – 300 pages.

Terra em Seminário contains 70 essays presented in IV SIACOT and III SEMIN¡RIO OF EARTH ARCHITECTURE IN PORTUGAL. The publication offers a perspective on the current state of earthen architecture in an international context.

For purchase information contact www.centrodaterra.org or by emailing info@centrodaterra.org

March 16, 2006

The 5th International Photo Contest on Earth Architecture

The 5th International Photo Contest on “Earth Architectures: architectures landscapes” is an initiative of Casalincontrada (Ch) Documentation Centre on Earth Architectures. The “rediscovery” of the knowledge linked to raw earth architecture recomposed in images, like tiles of a mosaic made of people, things, material and places. Images that can be of “surviving structures” but also “new scenarios”, architectures of the territory, memories and situations. Entry deadline: June 30, 2006

December 23, 2005

Earthen Architecture Association

The Earthen Architecture Association, headquartered in the Czech Republic, is an organization whose members are interested in Earthen Architecture and natural materials, promotes use of clay in new buildings and protection and preservation of existing clay houses as a part of our cultural heritage.

November 18, 2005

Building with Earth Conference

Building with Raw Earth Today: International Conference on the Preservation, Promotion and Protection of Earth Architecture. December 9-10, 2005. Download conference schedule [Italian Language]

November 6, 2005

Node 1 and Contour Crafting

“Node 1” is a conceptual architecture project by French Architect François Roche which lacks most of the usual architectural accoutrements: blueprints, material suppliers, subcontractors. Instead, Roche imagines a programmable assembly device dubbed the “viab,” a construction robot capable of improvising as it assembles walls, ducts, cables, and pipes. A viab would produce structures that are not set and specific, but impermanent and malleable – merely viable – made of a uniform, recyclable substance like adobe.

The closest thing to a viab today is a modest mud-working robot, called “contour crafter”, invented by Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of engineering at the University of Southern California. Two years ago, California-based architect Greg Lynn was talking to Khoshnevis about the same topic. [ 1 | 2 | 3 ]

November 3, 2005

Rammed Earth: Design and Construction Guidelines

peter walker rammed earth.jpg

Rammed Earth: Design and Construction Guidelines by Peter Walker and BRE promotes the use of rammed earth wall construction in the UK as a high-quality and sustainable building technology. In one book it gives detailed practical guidance on architectural details, structural engineering recommendations, material selection, construction and maintenance of rammed earth.

October 19, 2005

Cobtun House

The Cobtun House, Worcestershire, built of mud, straw and corrugated iron, and designed by Associated Architects, has scooped this year’s Royal Institute of British Architects Sustainability Award.

October 12, 2005

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.

September 23, 2005

IV SIACOT / III SEMIN¡RIO

O 4? Seminário Ibero-Americano de Construção com Terra e 3? Seminário de Arquitectura de Terra em Portugal, Convento da Orada, Monsaraz, Portugal, 7 > 12 Outubro 2005, reunirá mais de 300 especialistas na área, e terá como principais objectivos: contribuir para a melhoria na qualidade de construção e protecção do património; preparar mais adequadamente técnicos nacionais, regionais e locais a intervirem com maior conhecimento e responsabilidade no património em terra urbano e rural, assim como em áreas protegidas; aprofundar a investigação, logo contribuir para um desenvolvimento local mais sustentável, por meio de um maior conhecimento da conservação do património, da difusão de arquitectura contempor‚nea utilizando materiais tradicionais, da utilização de materiais com maior eficiÍncia energética, assim como de estratégias para formação local, com maior integração social.