Rammed earth is an amazing product, but even though it has been around for a million (give or take a million) years, people still have trouble believing what it is capable of. research.terra is a web site dedicated to the research of earth construction. It looks back to history of ancient earth building as well as modern engineering details. A much needed reference site.
March 7, 2010
February 25, 2010
WOW, buildings like this David Marchetti Architetto designed office building façade in Leeds, UK, is what makes us excited about modern rammed earth. As our friends at Inhabitat say “the result is a building built-to-last that showcases the best of passive and active green building strategies”. Please contact us if you have any projects like this!
February 10, 2010
Hi, we have been busy constructing lots of interesting rammed earth walls lately, and it is about time we updated our blog. We have added a gallery which you can view by clicking here or on the top navigational menu.
flowers and wall
Also we have added a poll below. We would love to hear what you like about rammed earth.
Feel free to email or call us if you have any questions!
Cheers
Justin and Luke
0416257024 0400091281
February 10, 2010
May 20, 2009
David Suzuki has released a new video, “The Nature of Things: Visions of the Future”.
He discusses the place rammed earth houses have in an ideal future.
August 9, 2008
The selection of soils is critical in the outcome of any rammed earth wall. We have a good supply of soil available, but you may wish to source your own material locally.
Good rammed earth soil is basically good road base, so the best place to start is usually the local quarries. It all depends on the final colour you are seeking. If you live in the city, recycled crushed clay bricks is a sustainable option.
We provide a service that involves testing soils at several different labs. We send soils to a soil Engineer to establish the optimum blend of materials and additives. This may include sand, clay, oxides, curing additives, silicon, recycled brick, cement and lime.
We then send the sample to a geotech soil testing facility to test for final strength, or compressive capacity. This laboratory also tests for level of shrinkage of soils, which helps us control cracking of walls.
The final test is the erosion test which proves that the walls will with stand driving rain. These tests give owners, engineers and councils confidence in Rammed Earth. Rammed Earth can last thousands of years and will outlast many proprietary building products.
Call us for more information about selection of soils.
July 28, 2008
We are an Australian company specialising in Rammed Earth Construction for the building and landscaping industries. What is Rammed Earth??… have a look at a quick video here (soon to be our own video!!!!!)….
or listen to what others have to say….
The use of rammed earth in architecture is a fascinating fusion of modern technology, ancient knowledge, and innovative construction techniques, and is increasingly attracting attention. Today, rammed earth is not only of interest for alternative or ecological applications, but established architects are also discovering the creative possibilities of this versatile material with its advantageous properties for temperature control. archinform
Viable alternatives exist to the expensive and scarce building materials that are currently used in house construction. Rammed earth, a construction material as old as time itself, is an environmentally friendly, sustainable, durable, load bearing, heat resistant, cheap, energy and cost efficient alternative to bricks, steel and cement. It’s also fast to produce, and prefabricated rammed earth walls can be churned out to meet the demands of the low-income housing commitment made by the prime minister without the costs and energy inefficiencies that would arise if the same buildings were made, as they are in current practice, of bricks and cement. And if anyone is concerned about how the walls and floors would look, don’t worry. New technology means that rammed earth construction materials can be polished and painted to resemble stone and marble, for instance. So the “the common man won’t agree because he wants a traditional pucca house” argument doesn’t hold its ground either. In fact, rammed earth should be a prescribed building material in our building regulations. The New Internationalist
