Architecture, Art, Design, and Culture using of mud, clay, soil, dirt & dust.
Atelier Bow-Wow. Kiosk in Ruralscape. http://www.bow-wow.jp/profile/works_e.html
Klerksdorp Nursery. In September 2008 Blueprint Magazine. Page 23. http://www.getthatmag.com/digital/blueprint/
Francois Roche. Dusty Relief. http://www.new-territories.com/roche2002bis.htm
Earth Architecture, the best-selling book born from this blog, has received several reviews. Buy Earth Architecture and read what others are talking about:
“…an excellent and thoughtful survey of earthen structures across the world and throughout building history.”—Geoff Manaugh, BLDGBLOG
“…an excellent book that outlines the history and explores in-depth contemporary uses of earth in architecture….a powerful corrective to those commentators that view buildings made of earth, or the matter that constitutes earth buildings (mud, sand, gravel, soils), as primitive, poor, or crude.”—David Gissen, Architectural Historian
“Earth Architecture compellingly underscores the need for us to rethink how we can build sustainably by using old techniques in new ways.”—Azure Magazine
written in “simple, descriptive prose, each project is traced in a way that creates an anthology and motivates the reader to further study and research. The book is rich in content and draws in other authors, architects, historical buildings and periods.”—Building Design
“…a satisfying survey both for the professional “mudder” and for those who want a quick scholarly survey of earthen buildings from all over.”—Architects Newspaper
A “Must Have”—WorldArchitectureNews.com
“…contains a wide range of modern earthen residences from the simple to the stunningly opulent. A beautiful book for earth-based building enthusiasts.”—GreenMuze.com
“…brings to the fore earth architecture and its positive impact on architectural design….an important addition to any architect’s library for its important subject matter and the quality of projects included.”—A Daily Dose of Architecture.com
Earth Architecture “charts a grand history of architectural beauty crafted from one of the humblest of building materials”.—The Age, Melbourne
Buy Earth Architecture if you live in the following countries::
[ U.S. | Japan
“Más es menos”. Construir en barro. Una arquitectura de futuro, que se edita con la colaboración del Ayuntamiento de Benavente y la Obra social de Caja España, consta de 192 páginas con abundancia de ilustraciones a color. En el índice figuran los títulos de las diez conferencias pronunciadas por los expertos invitados (antropólogos, historiadores, arquitectos y promotores), precedidos de una presentación a cargo del coordinador, en la que se detalla el desarrollo de las jornadas.
The popular blog, A Daily Dose of Architecture, is selling the rare, out-of-print title (text in German), Architektur der Dogon, by Wolfgang Lauber. The book presents the traditional earth architecture of the Dogon in Mali. Studied drawings of Dogon habitats accompany the abundant photographs of the architecture and artifacts. While the book may seem expensive ($300), it is much less than the Amazon.com price of $458.24
The May, 2009 issue of AZURE Magazine reviews Earth Architecture.
EARTH ARCHITECTURE
“Our planet’s oldest building traditions continue to inspire and shelter us despite the complexities of the modern age,” writes Ronald Rael, author of this compact but mighty book of more than 40 contemporary buildings crafted from the most common building material in the world: the ground beneath our feet.
An architect and academic, Rael explores the relationship between industrial and non-industrial modes of production, so it is apt that this book simultaneously discusses the past and present. Carefully selected examples from recent decades share a primal quality, despite being of their time. The Nk’Mip Desert Interpretive Centre in Canada, by Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden, and the Chapel of Reconciliation in Germany, by Reitermann and Sassenroth both serve as powerful examples of how earth constructions can create a literal and material connection to the landscape, whether at the base of a mountain in the desert, or out of the ruins of a church.
The featured projects range from resorts in the highland villages of Bhutan to houses in the Arizona desert. Rael connects them through a rich historical and vernacular discussion about mud bricks, compressed earth blocks, and rammed and moulded earth. Ecological sustainability is one benefit of building with earth, but Rael also discusses cultural sustainability, as developing countries with strong earth-building traditions forgo domestic construction knowledge in favour of the growing use of concrete blocks and the Western ideals of “advancement” they represent. One exception is the Aga-Khan Award–winning Handmade School designed by Austrian-German architects Heringer-Roswag, where the structure improves on the durability of Bangledeshi cob culture. Throughout, Earth Architecture compellingly underscores the need for us to rethink how we can build sustainably by using old techniques in new ways.–Nova Tayona
Read the review at: www.azuremagazine.com/magazine/bookreviews.php
The Dachverband Lehm e.V. announces the availability of conference proceedings from the 4th and 5th International Conferences on Building with Earth from 2004 and 2008.
LEHM 2008: Conference proceedings
The conference proceedings were published on the occasion of the 5th international conference on building with earth in Leipzig. The book contains all papers and posters presented at the conference in both English and German languages. Central topics include earth building norms and regulations, education and training in earth building, current research into building with earth, information networks in earth building, current problems in earthen building practice and new projects and exemplary conversions.
Published by: Dachverband Lehm e.V., 288 pages with illustrations
ISBN 978-3-00-025956-2, October 2008, German and English
Price: 50 Euro + P&P
LEHM 2004: Conference proceedings
The conference proceedings were published on the occasion of the 4th international conference on building with earth in Leipzig. The book contains all papers and posters presented at the conference in both English and German languages. Central topics include UNESCO world heritage, earth in building conservation, new projects and reducing the seismic vulnerability of earthen buildings.
Published by : Dachverband Lehm e.V., ISBN 3 00 014864 7, 324 pages with illustrations, October 2004, German and English.
Price: 35 Euro + P&P
The conference proceedings can be ordered directly from the Dachverband Lehm e.V.
Dachverband Lehm e.V.
Postfach 1172
99409 Weimar
Germany
dvl@dachverband-lehm.de
www.dachverband-lehm.de/shop/index_gb.html
A few months before the release of this blog’s book, Earth Architecture, came a book with an equally notable title: Earth Architecture: From Ancient to Modern
Gestalten mit Lehm (Designing with Earth) is a new book from from Daniel Duchert and published by Farbe und Gesundheit. More information at the lehm.design.raum website.
The Spanish language journal, APUNTES, edited by the Carlos Arbeláez Camacho institute at the Facultad de Arquitectura y Diseño de la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia has dedicated Vol. 20 Núm 2, de julio – diciembre · 2007, to the topic of “Arquitectura de Tierra”. You may download the entire journal in PDF format at the APUNTES website here.
Adobe Conservation: A Preservation Handbook
Cornerstones Community Partnerships in Santa Fe, New Mexico is devoted to the preservation of the architectural heritage and community traditions in New Mexico and the American Southwest. Through its nationally honored technical assistance, applied learning and traditional building skills programs, Cornerstones has assisted more than 300 rural Hispanic and Native American communities with the preservation of historic and culturally significant earthen buildings. Cornerstones has developed and utilized the techniques in this book throughout the American Southwest since 1986.