Architecture, Art, Design, and Culture using of mud, clay, soil, dirt & dust.
The Adobe Repository for Buddha Statue was designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates in 2001-2002 in Toyoura-Gun, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is designed to accommodate and exhibit the wood carved statue of Timber Amida (Amidabha) Tathabata. The periphery walls of the site are constructed in hanchiku, or rammed earth, Kuma decided to further utilize this technique in the architecture by using what appears to be compressed earth block, even though it is called out as adobe (mud brick).
Built by architects Peter Sassenroth und Rudolf Reitermann in 1999, this small chapel made of rammed earth replaces the former Church of Reconciliation, a historicist church built in 1894 which happened to be situated on the death strip when the Berlin wall was erected in 1961. The old church stood there vacant and isolated, abused as a guarding tower for East German border patrol, until it was finally blown up by East Germany in 1987 – just two years before the wall eventually was torn down itself. the community of the former church decided it wanted to have its church back. The completed chapel is enveloped by a wall made of rammed earth, composed out of clay and smaller pieces of bricks of the exploded church. For more information visit the Chapel of Reconciliation home page.
“Mixing and applying mud plaster to adobe brick is more than a skill; it’s a tangible reconnection to the land – and the past.” Read about the restoration of the Casa de Estudillo, a historic landmark in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Many wineries and residences among vineyards employ earth in the construction of buildings. Often, the same earth to grow grapes is ideal for use as a building material.
Margan Tasting Room and Restaurant
The list goes on and on: [ Fetzer Winery Administration Building | Moorooduc Estate | Texas Hills Vineyard | Adinfern Estate | Wing Canyon Vineyard | Home Hill Winery ]
The Moroccan city of Aït Benhaddou is one of the most well-known earthen city in the world, at it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and because it is an extremely photogenic city, was the setting for numerous movies including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Gladiator (2000) to name a few.
French archaeologists have discovered an 11,000-year-old work of art in northern Syria which is the oldest known wall painting, even though it looks like a work by a modernist. Rectangles dominate the ancient painting, which formed part of an adobe circular wall of a large mud brick house with a wooden roof. The dating makes the designs at least 1500 years older than wall paintings at Çatalhöyük, the famous 9500-year-old Turkish village, among one of the first towns.
The Citizens’ Initiative Pavilion, known as El Faro, is the work of architect Ricardo Higueras. Designed to be constructed for the Expo Zaragoza 2008 the pavilion is to represent society’s vigour and ability to innovate in the face of the challenges posed by water.
The section gives information on the Pavilion’s onsite location, its spaces and building features. Inspired by traditional ceramics, the pavillion will be constructed with natural materials like bamboo and mud mixed with straw.
Design Build BLUFF has completed another house. This time a compressed earth block house called the Benally House. Visit the project blog to learn about the entire construction process. [ previously ]
The book, Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County
