Europe – Page 9 – EARTH ARCHITECTURE

December 27, 2004

Conference on Rammed Earth Construction

To coincide with launch of the new publication Rammed earth: design &
construction guidelines, a one-day conference on rammed earth construction
is to be held on Wednesday 9th February 2005 in the Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering at the University of Bath.

The conference will examine historic and modern use of rammed earth in the
UK and Europe, practical issues of construction applications, material
testing and selection, formwork and construction, engineering design,
architectural design and detailing, maintenance and repair of walls. The
workshop is open to architects, engineers, designers, building surveyors,
construction companies, property developers, researchers and interested
individuals.

Issues for discussion will include thermal performance, durability, material
strength, cement stabilisation, building control, quality testing and wall
finishes. Case studies from recent rammed earth projects in the UK and
Europe will be presented. Findings from recent research work will also be
outlined. The workshop will also include an exhibition and practical
demonstration of rammed earth construction.

Rammed earth: design & construction guidelines is the result of a DTi
sponsored research and innovation programme investigating the potential of
rammed earth for new construction.

Conference speakers include:

Martin Rauch, Baukunst GmbH
Lars Allan Palmgren, Architect
Rowland Keable, Insitu Rammed Earth Co. Ltd
Pat Borer, Architect
Gordon Pearson
Tom Morton, ARC Architects
Andy Simmonds, Simmonds-Mills Architect Builders
Mark Lovell, Mark Lovell Design Engineers
Jonathan Hines, Architype
Mark Swenarton, Architecture Today
Peter Trotman, BRE
Paul Ellis, Ecology Building Society
Joe Martin, JM Architects
Steve Goodhew, University of Plymouth
Peter Walker, University of Bath

To reserve a place please: email P.Walker@bath.ac.uk, telephone 01225
386646, or fax 01225 386691. Alternatively send your name and contact
details to Peter Walker, Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering,
University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK. Download the conference brief in .pdf format.

Preliminary programme:

Registration 8.30 AM
Opening presentations (Introduction; Historical bakcground; Applications;
Materials): 9.00-10.45 AM
Coffee break: 10.45-11.15 AM
Presentations (Construction; Design; Maintenance & Repair): 11.15 AM – 12.45
PM
Lunch: 12.45-2.00 PM
Presentations (Case studies I): 2.00-3.20 PM
Coffee break: 3.20-3.45 PM
Closing presentations (Case studies II; Research work) and discussion:
3.45-5.00 PM

Full day registration fee: £105.00
Concessionary registration fee: £80.00 (AECB members; full-time students)
Morning or afternoon half-day fee (without lunch): £65.00 (£50.00 conc.)
Registration includes a copy of the Rammed earth: design & construction
guidelines.

December 19, 2004

United Kingdom Earth Architecture

Despite the damp climate, there are thousands of earth buildings in the United Kingdom. The map above shows the concentration of earth buildings in the UK, some of which are over four hundred years old. Each region tends to have its own form of construction dependent on the nature of the materials available locally.

December 8, 2004

Hugo Houben and Hubert Guillaud Discuss Earth Architecture

An on-line survey of earthen architecture by Hugo Houben and Hubert Guillaud of CRATerre

June 25, 2004

Chia-Church

Artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey are filling a deconsecrated church with grass, grown from seed embedded in clay which is plastered to the walls of the church. Watch the project as it developed week by week here, and read their diaries of how, and why, this extraordinary project is came to be.

May 25, 2004

CENTROTERRA

CENTROTERRA is an organization committed to the advancement and dissemination of earth building in Italy

May 25, 2004

GEOLOGIKA

Interesting projects at the Italian organization GEOLOGIKA.

January 30, 2004

LEHM 2004 Conference on Building with Earth

In response to the earthquake catastrophe in Bam, Iran, and to reflect the participation of colleagues from Iran, a fifth theme will be added to the conference proceedings: “Earthquake resistant construction with earthen building materials”. The deadline for submissions for papers has been extended until the 15th February 2004. The Dachverband Lehm would like to give Iranian experts the opportunity for professional dialogue with international colleagues.

January 18, 2004

HABITAR A TERRA: A Arte de Construir em Terra Crua

Sponsored by an initiative of the cultural service of the embassy of France and Centro da Terra, is the lecture, HABITAR A TERRA: A Arte de Construir em Terra Crua (To Inhabit The Earth: The Art of Building with Earth) by Jean Dethier. The conference will be held on two separate dates and locations, Porto, Portugal January 17 and Lisbon, Portugal on January 19. Dethier has been investigating this topic for more than 60 years, having being associated the initiatives that have led to resurgences of this building tradition in industrialized countries. The subject of the lecture framed by a traditional perspective, archaeology, modernity and the future of earth architecture, which will include the publication of a book, as well as films for television, and an exhibition on the subject for 2005 that will offer an opportunity to learn about the buildings, cities and cultures that had used this material since the antiquity.

January 18, 2004

Centro da Terra

Portugal based Centro da Terra is an organization that promotes the study, documentation and dissemination of earth architecture. Portuguese language website.

January 1, 2004

Plano B

Plano B is a young architecture office from Portugal interested in architecture, design and earthbuilding.