Dot.ateliers, Adjaye Associates

Osu Waterfront, Accra, Ghana

(Adjaye Associates built a new home for dot.ateliers’ community and art space in Accra)

Dot.ateliers is located on the Osu waterfront in Accra, Ghana. The building was completed in 2023. The project covers approximately 540 to 600 square meters. Amoako Boafo founded the project as an artist residency and community art space. The building supports studios, exhibitions, and public programs for contemporary art in Ghana.

David Adjaye designed the project with his practice, Adjaye Associates. David Adjaye is a Ghanaian-British architect. He was born in Tanzania and raised in the United Kingdom. He founded Adjaye Associates in 2000. The studio works internationally. The practice focuses on culture, local materials, climate response, and social impact.

David Adjaye

(https://indonesian-recipes.com/)

Adjaye believes architecture should respond to place. He sees buildings as part of social and cultural systems. He does not treat architecture as a neutral object. He often uses local materials in his work. He always considers climate and geography during design.

Dot.ateliers reflects these values clearly. The building uses locally sourced rammed earth as its main material. The material reduces the carbon footprint. The material also connects the building to Ghana’s construction traditions. The façade uses a double-skin system. The cavity between the layers improves thermal performance. The system helps regulate heat in Accra’s hot and humid climate. The material shapes both structure and atmosphere.

South-facing windows

Adjaye Associates built a new home for dot.ateliers’ community and art space in Accra

The site strongly influences the design. The building stands near the coastline. The ocean brings strong sunlight and steady winds. The architects needed to manage heat, light, and ventilation. The surrounding neighborhood contains small residential buildings. The area does not include high-rise towers. The building keeps a modest scale in response. The building rises three stories. The building remains compact and controlled.

West Section

(https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/fzmgm/adjaye-associates-built-a-new-home-for-dot-ateliers-community-and-art-space-in-accra?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

The ground floor creates the main connection to the city. A perforated timber screen defines the entrance. The screen forms a transition between the street and the courtyard. The screen creates a space that feels both open and protected. The ground floor contains the café and gallery. The courtyard brings light and air into the center. This level supports public activity and circulation.

Ground Floor Gallery

Adjaye Associates built a new home for dot.ateliers’ community and art space in Accra

The upper floors contain more private spaces. The second floor holds artist studios and work areas. The atmosphere becomes quieter on this level. The top floor contains additional studios and enclosed rooms. The organization follows a clear vertical order. The building moves from public to private as one moves upward.

(Dot Ateliers / Adjaye Associates | ArchDaily)

Interior materials support this order. Exposed concrete appears in circulation areas. White plaster defines the gallery spaces. Timber adds warmth to transitional zones. Each material helps clarify function.

The Cafe

Artist’s studio

(Dot Ateliers / Adjaye Associates | ArchDaily)

The roof completes the spatial experience. The sawtooth roof introduces north-facing clerestory light. The roof allows soft and even daylight to enter the gallery. The roof reduces glare and excessive heat. The roof acts as both a formal gesture and a climate device.

Dot.ateliers shows how a small building can carry strong meaning. The project connects culture, climate, and community. The project expresses the values of Adjaye Associates through material and space. The building remains simple, grounded, and precise.

(dot.ateliers – Adjaye Associates)

Citations

1.Dot.ateliers / Adjaye Associates — Project Overview, ArchDaily. Retrieved from:
https://www.archdaily.com/1036823/dot-ateliers-adjaye-associates

2.Dot.ateliers — Project Detail, Adjaye Associates (official project page). Retrieved from:
https://www.adjaye.com/work/dot-ateliers/

3.Adjaye Associates — Studio Official Website, Adjaye Associates. Retrieved from:
https://www.adjaye.com/

4.Adjaye Associates Built a New Home for dot.ateliers Community and Art Space in Accra, WorldArchitecture.org. Retrieved from:
https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/fzmgm/adjaye-associates-built-a-new-home-for-dot-ateliers-community-and-art-space-in-accra

February 17, 2026February 24, 2026

Rammed Earth House: Tuckey Design Studio

About the Design Studio

Tuckey Design Studio (UK) explores the cultural, social and emotional connections formed with buildings over time. They seek to transform structures, through adaptive reuse of existing buildings or sustainable new construction, into places that serve their occupants for generations.

Rammed Earth House

Sector: Residential
Client: Private
Location: Wiltshire, England
Area: 810 sq m
Collaborators: Todhunter Earle Interiors, Stonewood Builders (Contractor), Lehm Ton Erde (Rammed earth consultant)

Recently completed in the Wiltshire countryside is a pioneering new build homestead that’s relearnt an ancient building method.

Located on a former brickworks, the series of buildings has risen upon an area of clay rich soil which, alongside recycled aggregate from demolished outbuildings, forms the composition for the rammed earth. The home is one of a few examples in the UK that utilize unstablised rammed earth; a circular construction method involving no cement in the mix.

Castle-like walls inexorably bind the building to its landscape, forming walled gardens and visually offset by Douglas fir and oak timber frames that contrast with the monolithic earth structure. Distinguishing elements include decorative niches embedded in the walls, a spiral staircase, rammed earth flooring in the snug and a ‘storm terrace’ from which to observe the dramatic cloud formations over the West country landscape.

This house should also make clever use of the inside/outside spaces, particularly for entertaining, and feel intimate enough for two, but it could host 20.

The result is an H‑shaped plan incorporating five bedrooms, with an additional two in the staff quarters across the drive, and a separate flat on the first floor of a Victorian house that was otherwise mostly demolished to make way for the new homestead. There is a boot room to support equestrian pursuits; a puzzle room for playing games; two walled gardens; and Bachelardian snugs, nooks and landings for lounging and socializing outside the living and dining room areas.

At 810 sq m, sat on a 63-acre estate, the property is large; yet the studio’s clever design and high-spec yet tactile and organic materials afford a comfortably intimate feel.

Sourcing material from the site

When faced with a spectacular view, architects often find it hard to resist the temptation to make it the central focus; think expansive glazing that makes rolling hills visible from every point. But Tuckey believes there can be too much of a good thing: that a view is best when rationed and mediated. “You need to pace it,” he says. “You can have one moment where you get it all, but it also needs to be sliced up and served in small chunks.”

The notion of imperfection set the tone for the project’s most significant design decision: the use of rammed earth. When the client demolished some buildings on the site, an old brickworks, they discovered clay underneath. And rammed earth is durable and energy efficient, also forgiving.

Triple glazing and the thermal mass of rammed earth walls support the sustainability strategy.

Deep windows with timber-lined reveals frame landscape views.

Refining the rammed earth mix

The process is as follows. First you dig up the clay, then you dry it for anywhere between a few weeks and six months – in this case, two or three – before crushing it into a powder. When you’re ready to build, the clay is mixed with an aggregate, which can be gravel or broken-up bricks, blockwork or concrete. Here, the demolished buildings on the site were the first option, but when that didn’t provide the right consistency, gravel was sourced from nearby to correct the balance. The material was then combined with water to form a “dry, biscuity consistency”. The clay and aggregate mix requires 7 per cent water content for optimal results

This was tipped into formwork and compacted from 150mm to about 75mm for the external walls and 100mm to 50mm for the internal ones, to make them tighter and less prone to dusting. The external walls are stratified with layers of pozzolanic lime mortar that act as an erosion check – ‘speed bumps’ for falling water – every 300mm, and every layer on the corners. The most exposed walls are tiled with stone for additional strength. Walls are typically 400mm thick, but range up to a meter, requiring no joints for more than 100m in length.

An oak spiral stair is structurally independent of curved rammed earth walls.

A rich interior palette and hidden technology

Together, the team created features ranging from a wooden spiral staircase to enormous pivoting doors. Creative freedom was balanced with a common understanding of the atmosphere required. The end result comprises spaces that vary from double-height atriums to cozy nooks, creating a sense of discovery and variety. Recessed niches for objects echo the benches carved into exterior walls. The palette is rich and tactile: earth walls finished with a muted, protective casein coating, limestone, oak, copper and clay plaster.

While craft and materiality are the house’s most evident characteristics, it is far from arcane. A lot of technology is hidden within the earthen structure. There’s a fully automated lighting system, a ground-source heat pump for hot water and heating, a photovoltaic slate roof to generate electricity, and troughs harvesting rainwater for watering the gardening – all of which fulfil the client’s expectation of high functionality and sustainability.

Kitchen-diner with custom-made cabinetry.

Inspiration

In terms of the house’s eco credentials, it was unable to obtain Passivhaus certification on account of having too many junctions – perhaps an indication of it being, by most standards, an exceptionally large house for two people. Its true eco legacy, within the context of a country that faces dual housing and climate crises, is the range of possibilities it opens for wider applications of unstabilised rammed earth. Tuckey Design Studio is now working with Stonewood to explore ways of using prefabricated rammed-earth components in a terraced housing project.

Rauch’s company, Lehm Ton Erde, produces such elements in Austria, but he has long maintained that transporting panels across great distances offsets the carbon savings made by using the material in the first place. Instead, Rauch promotes ‘field factories’ situated as close to building sites as possible – a little like Rammed Earth House’s on‑site laboratory, but standardised and at a larger scale. This house marks an important step in demonstrating the viability of unstabilised rammed‑earth construction in the UK.

The house incorporates two walled gardens, protected from the elements, as well as a greenhouse. The unstabilised rammed earth is capped by brick ‘hats’, which protect the walls from direct rainfall

sources:

February 17, 2026

The Windhover Contemplative Center

The Windhover Contemplative Center is a one-story, 4,000-square-foot spiritual refuge on the Stanford University campus. It was designed by the architecture firm Aidlin Darling Design and named after a series of paintings by artist Nathan Oliveira.

About the Architect

The cofounding partners of Aidlin Darling Design at the Center for Architecture + Design in San Francisco. Photography: Adam Rouse.

Aidlin Darling Design is an architecture firm based in San Francisco, California, founded in 1998. It was established by two partners, Joshua Aidlin and David Darling.

They earned their Bachelor of Architecture degrees from the University of Cincinnati, where they met as students. Their collaboration began with woodworking and furniture-making projects, which later developed into their architectural practice.

They see design as a multisensory experience, where the way something feels, smells, and sounds is as important as how it looks.

About the Architecture

The building is situated beside a natural oak grove. Visitors enter through a long private garden, where a bamboo grove at the entrance separates the building from the outside world.

The building primarily uses rammed earth, stained oak wood, glass, and water elements to create a sensory and contemplative atmosphere. Inside the center, thick rammed earth walls and dark wood surfaces create a strong contrast with the light-filled eastern wall.

Matthew Millman Photography

Water and landscape elements are integrated throughout the project: fountains within the interior and courtyards create a calm atmosphere, while a quiet reflecting pool and garden on the south side mirror the surrounding trees.

The outdoor meditation spaces blend seamlessly with the daily use of the center, reinforcing the connection between nature, art, and contemplation. The courtyards and the expansive glass curtain wall on the east allow visitors to view the paintings without entering the building, creating a peaceful place for the Stanford community both day and night.

About the Material

The rammed earth walls, ranging from 18 inches to 2 feet thick, were hand-tamped pneumatically in 6–8 inch lifts. The pressure was carefully controlled to create a variegated texture that reflects the construction process.

The soil beneath the building initially produced a rich brown color, similar to the sandstone buildings of Stanford’s original campus. While beautiful, the pure site soil proved too dominant for the artwork. Ultimately, a five-part blend was developed, with 20% of the material sourced directly from the site. The remaining ingredients included coarse sand, “birdseye” gravel, powdered rhyolite, decomposed granite, and Portland cement.

Oliveria’s Windhover Dyptich, 36 feet long and six feet high, hangs on 234,000 pounds of rammed earth-a wall twenty feet tall by sixty feet long. A wall this tall requires two form set-ups. With a stacked form you need to give careful consideration to the location of the stack point. Notice the cold joint runs right through the center of the painting.

February 17, 2026February 18, 2026

DUST: Tucson Mountain Retreat

The project was designed by DUST (Design, Undertaking, Space, Territory), led by architects Cade Hayes and Jesús Robles. Completed in 2012 in the Tucson Mountains, Arizona, the approximately 2,300-square-foot residence reflects the studio’s commitment to material authenticity and desert-responsive architecture.

The Tucson Mountain Retreat is located along more than 900 feet of shared boundary with Saguaro National Park, embedded within the rugged and ecologically sensitive Sonoran Desert. Surrounded by dense stands of towering saguaro cacti, the site conveys a profound sense of stillness and geological permanence. The architecture responds not as an object placed upon the land, but as a form shaped by its climate, light, and topography.

Conceived as an experiential rammed earth residence, the project approaches the desert landscape with restraint and reciprocity. The muted tones and layered texture of rammed earth define a restrained program that opens generously toward the horizon. Circulation sequences deliberately extend outdoors, folding landscape into daily life. Shifting desert light, filtered views, and seasonal changes become active participants in the spatial experience.

The clients—a physician from San Diego and his wife—sought both reconnection to the desert landscape and a space that supports music as an integral part of daily life. The program includes living spaces, bedrooms, and a dedicated music studio. A clear separation strategy organizes these functions to enhance site integration while ensuring acoustic isolation between the studio and private areas.

The structural system integrates load-bearing rammed earth walls with concrete and steel elements, while large operable glazing systems frame expansive views of Saguaro National Park and facilitate cross-ventilation.

Arrival is marked by a sequence of fractal concrete cubes that offer an open-ended path toward two separate entries: midway up the ascent, a narrow slit marks the bedroom entry, while a dark square void defines the main entry.

Rammed earth walls traverse the plan, dividing it into three primary zones while providing thermal mass and acoustic buffering. The central living space, open to both north and south, acts as the core of the house and as a transitional buffer between the music studio to the west and the sleeping quarters to the east.

Material and sensory engagement are central to the design. Spanish cedar introduces warmth and scent in the bedrooms, while charred wood surfaces in the bathroom core evoke the cracked textures of a drought-stricken desert floor.

Each programmatic component is accessed via exterior passages, encouraging repeated engagement with the landscape.

Above, a spiral stair leads to a roof deck oriented toward expansive desert views and night skies.

When large sliding glass panels retract, the house dissolves into a shaded, ramada-like pavilion, animated by wind, scent, and the changing desert light.

February 16, 2026February 17, 2026

Le Corbusier: Les Maisons Murondins

Les Maisons Murondins is a series of conceptual earthen refugee housing projects proposed by eminent architect Le Corbusier in collaboration with his partner Pierre Jeanneret during the mid-20th century.[1] In the wake of Germany’s invasion of France and Belgium in May of 1940, France was partitioned into three zones: a military zone in the north occupied by Nazi forces, an Italian colony in the East, and the collaborationist Vichy government in the South.[2] This process saw millions displaced as a result of the German invasion, and forced many refugees into abject conditions bereft of housing or sufficient infrastructure.

Elevation of a “Murondins” unit showing facade and openings, attributed to Pierre Jeanneret, 1940.

Respondent to the devastation of the Second World War, Corbusier and Jeanneret began working on a proposal for refugee housing known as Murondins— a combination of the French words for wall (mur) and logs (rondins). Murondins prioritized earth and wood materials and construction techniques, owing to their accessibility and exceptional performance. Earth and logs did not require advanced industrial infrastructure in order to manufacture and assemble, meaning residents were equipped to construct Murondins themselves.[3] Furthermore, walls could either be constructed out of rammed earth, or blocks of earth combined with lime depending on the circumstances. In essence, Murondins sought to use whatever materials were readily accessible, and designed to be built quickly, without special expertise.

Sketches of the “Murondins” structural system by Le Corbusir, 1940.

This idea did not only operate materially through the use of earth and wood construction, but also formally through the use of long, rectangular walls, and an offset gabled roof— forms that ensured stability, and that those without technical knowledge or experience in construction could produce them. The internal structure of Murondins was proposed to be entirely constructed out of earth, arranged in L-shaped formations to ensure structural stability.

Roof Section of a “Murondins” Unit by Pierre Jeanneret, 1940.

As for the roofs, they were to be made out of logs and waterproofed using sod, plaster, and tar paper. For purposes of ventilation, roofs were also offset, with one side of the gable taller than the other, to accommodate for daylighting and passive ventilation.[4] With this Murondin system, a range of buildings accommodating whatever programs were necessary for life could be constructed for refugees, by refugees using natural and readily available materials. Although this proposal never made it to fruition, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jenneret’s Murondins continues to serve as an instrumental historical proposal for accessible, communal earthen construction.

Sources:

[1] McLeod, Mary, “To Make Something out of Nothing: Le Corbusier’s Proposal for Refugee Housing” in The Journal of Architecture, 421–47, 2018.

[2] Hart, B.L, “Battle of France,” in Encyclopedia Britannica, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-France-World-War-II.

[3] McLeod, Mary, “To Make Something out of Nothing: Le Corbusier’s Proposal for Refugee Housing” in The Journal of Architecture, 421–47, 2018.

[4] Mary McLeod, On the Maisons Murondins, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt94ZA8TkVw.

February 12, 2026

Umweltbildungszentrum: Rammed Earth as a Framework for Environmental Education

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg

The Umweltbildungszentrum (UBZ) in Augsburg, Germany, is a single-story, rammed earth (Stampflehm) building that realizes sustainable development at multiple scales. The UBZ was designed by the Munich-based firm Hess / Talhof / Kusmierz Architects, led by Thomas Hess and Johannes Talhof. The firm values architecture as an artistic statement that serves as an unmatched expression of aspects of the world which cannot be captured, quantified, or defined. Guided by this conceptual outlook, they believe architecture creates new apertures for understanding. Their work spans a wide range of context-driven projects rooted in community, education, and civic life.

Completed in 2023, the UBZ demonstrates the firm’s commitment to contextually informed practice. This environmental education center for sustainable development serves as a meeting and learning place on the grounds of the Augsburg Botanical Garden. Situated at the transition between city and landscape, it bridges nature and urban life, embodying its role as a landmark of sustainable development.

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Site Plan

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Building Plan

Through workshops, seminars, interactive exhibits, field trips, and community events, the UBZ offers people of all ages opportunities to learn about biodiversity, sustainability practices, and environmental stewardship.

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Seminar Room

The building’s rammed-earth walls are made from locally sourced material, significantly reducing its embodied carbon footprint. Cast and tamped on site, they showcase a labor-intensive craft process with a low environmental footprint (Fachforum Umweltbildungszentrum).

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Model

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Construction Process

Paired with the rammed-earth walls, wooden ceilings and a timber exterior façade establish a rich two-tone material contrast. A 90 kWp rooftop photovoltaic array further supports the building’s on-site renewable energy strategy (Lifeguide Augsburg).

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Entrance

The UBZ is organized around a roughly square plan, yet upon entry the space is shaped by its organically flowing rammed-earth walls that express the project’s commitment to natural form and sustainability.

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Interior

Within its approximately 10,700 ft² footprint, the building includes a central foyer and flexible exhibition space, two combinable seminar rooms, a teaching kitchen, offices, a workshop, and storage rooms.

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg Office Space

An additional 32,300 ft² of landscaped outdoor space extends the learning environment beyond the building, reinforcing its educational mission (Das Raumprogramm UBZ).

Hess / Talhof / Kumierz Website: Umweltbildungszentrum
Augsburg – Transition from Botanical Garden

December 14, 2024December 17, 2024

Quatre Cheminées Scale Model

This is a 1/2″ = 1′-0″ scale section model recreating Déchelette Architecture’s Quatre Cheminées project at 17 Rue des 4 Cheminées, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt in Paris, France. The modelers – Josh Kuh, Ezra Levitch, and Sean Strebel – were particularly interested in the hybrid construction of the building, which utilized concrete, stone, rammed earth blocks, and CLT. As noted by the architects, the use of concrete was minimized while the other three materials were sourced locally. Our interest in building this model comes, at least in part, by an interest in incorporating earthen building materials and techniques in a design and construction industry that does not yet fully embrace their use. Additionally, utilizing the strengths and aesthetics of earth in conjunction with those of other building materials highlights the benefits of each and results in a higher quality building overall.

Our model utilized actual rammed earth blocks at a miniature scale. The process began by recreating Quatre Cheminées as a 3D digital model in Rhino, from which dimensions were taken for modeling. Soil was sourced locally on the UC Berkeley campus, sifted, mixed with a small amount of water, and rammed by hand using a purpose built, adjustable wood mold. Blocks were then left to dry. The concrete and stone base was 3D printed in several parts, while wood, acrylic, foam core, and Bristol round out the remaining materials.

We assembled the parts using wood and Zap-A-Gap glues. The rammed earth blocks were then plastered over by hand with additional mud from the original earth mix. Gray and pink portions of the model were painted to show different materiality (insulation, concrete, stone, steel).

December 14, 2024March 17, 2026

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.

Resources:

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

December 4, 2024December 5, 2024

Digital Rammed Earth

A project by Yu-Shao Wu, Siyu Liang, and Rachel Sherr

Rammed earth is an ancient technology for building with earth. Though some modern rammed earth structures rely on additions like cement to increase compressive strength, rammed earth can, with the correct soil content, form load-bearing walls.

Timber formwork for rammed earth. Photograph from Rammed Earth Consulting.

Traditionally, rammed earth is created using timber formwork. Perhaps the most common is a mobile formwork module that is moved along a wall, compacting a few feet of earth at a time. Each layer is compacted successively, sometimes with overlaps, which can increase the strength of the structure.

3D printed earthen wall with embedded staircase, designed at IAAC and realized by WASP.

TOVA, a 3D printed earthen dwelling designed by IAAC and realized by WASP.

As earthen architecture moves into the digital realm, with 3D printing rigs capable of producing entire houses made of digital earth, rammed earth must follow. Rammed earth can be digital in two ways: 1. the earth is rammed via a digital process, and 2. the formwork for the rammed earth is created via a digital process.

Anna Heringer’s METI Handmade School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh.

Per current research on the subject, the first way of creating digital rammed earth is rare. It would require a high degree of sophistication in robotics and computer programming to create the automated processes required. The latter method is more common, and more achievable. This is also the method we settled on to experiment with digital rammed earth.

Speculative rendering of rammed earth by Scarlett Lee.

Inspired by a few precedents of various earthen architecture technologies, both digital earthen architecture and rammed earth, we created a new design. We incorporated elements from Anna Heringer’s METI school in Rudrapur, Bangladesh, and two projects by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), both realized using Crane WASP, a large scale 3D printer specifically designed to print earth. These two projects are TOVA, a small 3D printed dwelling, and a thesis project that embeds a staircase within a 3D printed earthen wall. Additionally, our digital formwork was inspired by the speculative renderings of earth artist/architect Scarlett Lee.

Splayed open 3D printed formwork for digital rammed earth.

Our model explores the tectonic relationship between timber and rammed earth, particularly the horizontal members that penetrate the rammed earth wall as part of the formwork. We elected to leave these members embedded within the wall, and they serve as supports for the roof and staircase. In this way, we have maximized the structural role of the rammed earth wall, while also exploring innovative ways of incorporating digital strategies into this ancient technology.

References:

Gomaa, Mohamed et al. “Automation in Rammed Earth Construction for Industry 4.0: Precedent Work, Current Progress and Future Prospect.” Journal of cleaner production 398 (2023): 136569-. Web.

December 4, 2024March 17, 2026

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:

Collecting the mud : Mud for the bricks was collected in the San Pablo coastline area, as well as a backyard in Elmwood, Berkeley.
Making the bricks: Mud was pressed into silicone molds, then left to dry in the sun for several days.
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.