Design and Build with Rammed Earth
15th – 29th April 2018
During this workshop we built a small rammed earth library to suit the needs of the local community in Valverde de Burguillos, a small village located in Extremadura, Spain.
Rammed earth is a building technique based on an abundant resource located under our feet: soil. Carefully chosen and mixed with the right amount of water, it is compressed with a rammer into a formwork which in then removed in order to let the wall dry and reach its final resistance.
Often missed or despised, this ancestral building technique is however a key defining feature of the traditional architecture of south Extremadura (and other many places around the world). Because rammed earth has excellent characteristics as a building material (thermal properties, indoor air regulation, low-environment impact, etc), it makes sense to bring it up to date here in our region, as it is beeing done in other places since several decades.
In this workshop we investigated suitable ways of building with rammed earth, how to process the raw materials on site and how to design a rammed building able to last in time and meet current comfort and security standards.
The Design
The building has two entrances, one directly reachable by the visitors of the swimming pool and the other one closer to the cafeteria access.
The composition of the voids has been decided considering the orientation of the building in terms of energy efficiency (sunlight, ventilation, exposure) and the specificities of the construction system chosen.
The design of the building is inspired by Valverde’s vernacular architecture, understanding it not only through the strictly formal aspects, but also through constructive aspects. Several traditional building methods of the place have been implemented: of course rammed earth for the walls, but also stone and lime mortar masonry for the basement and wooden structure for the roof.
“Awesome team of instructors, very knowledgeable and accessible; Good vibes overall. Hard work in a relaxed and positive sphere.”
— Workshop participant
The Material
Rammed Earth
Making rammed earth consist in compacting ("ramming") earth layer by layer in a formwork which is subsequently removed to let the wall dry and reach its final resistance.
In addition to all kind of machines that can be used in earth construction process to prepare the raw material (to extract, crush, mix, etc), there are two tools specific to rammed earth indispensable for its implementation, formwork and rammers.
Workshop Resources
News from the workshop
Dehesa Tierra association is a diverse group of people gathered with a common goal of spreading and promoting earthen construction and architecture in Extremadura, Spain.
In Dehesa Tierra association we believe that becoming aware of the values of our traditional architecture is the first path to imagine it’s possible contribution to a sustainable way of building today. We are struggling as for earthen heritage conservation than for the values incorporated and its materiality, which have lost nothing of their relevance in our modern society.
Our young NGO is composed by 15 professionals (architects, engineers, masterbuilders), most of them working in earth construction field since several years (two of them graduated in CRAterre, another one in Auroville Earth Institute), with special skills in training and building. Although focused on dissemination activities in the first years, the association aims to go further in the future, implementing training and research activities that gives priority to hands-on approach and learning by doing on the building site.
Dehesa Tierra
Lucile Couvreur, Project Management and Research
dehesatierra@gmail.com
Team
Dehesa Tierra
Lucile
Alejandro
Jorge
Jesús
Javier
Marcelo
Jordi
Participants Partner Mobility
Susana | OC
Anna | HE2B
Nikolaos | AES
Laura | Ak0
Participants
Bruno
Jaime
Petrusjka
Joana
Claire
Diego
Katharina
Joana
Sezin
Viola
María
Participants BI0N Partner
Stefan | Ak0