Young architects are being trained in earth construction, they do a combination of temporary and permanent elements, experimenting with different techniques. The aim of the workshop is to complete a rammed earth decorative wall that acts as a space separator between the existing facilities at the farm and their future expansion. The wall is stabilized rammed earth and all the raw materials are locally sourced. Other elements of the workshop are the production of adobe bricks and some arches and maybe even a vault, as well as clay based plastering.

Critical evaluation of older projects is essential to the development of future projects. Having clear goals for the start and then then looking back to see how well these goals were achieved can only lead to a better understandings of one’s work. Often times social architecture projects that are meant to improve habitats and raise living standards in resource-poor areas tend to over burden the community they are meant to help, and tend to award the project designers over their intended inhabitants. I will talk about the NKCSOC House, a 2 room house using rammed earth and adobe brick, built for the Abetenim Arts Village in 2015. Although considered a success by many, further reflections reveal several missed opportunities the project could have yielded, in terms of serving the communities’ social and economic needs, inter-cultural and gender issues, and toll on local resources.

Nutan Jäger, M. Arch, Architect and Independent Researcher

Survivors and staff have been involved in the design and selection of space through an array of activities such as group interviews and games, design presentations, brainstorming sessions, individual and anonymous surveys.
Over the past months, with the guidance of survivors and shelter staff, we re-designed one communal dining room, one childcare and one outdoor play area, serving hundreds of survivor families. Construction will start very soon.

The homestay consists of 3 cottages for guests ( two two-room cottages and one studio with a pantry) and a 2-bedroom home for the clients.
Walls – stone, earth , Roof for cottages – bamboo green roof, Roof for the home – brick flat domes.
Stone was sourced from an old house that was broken down in a city 50km away, some from a quarry 1km away
Earth and rice husk for the COB is from the site itself
Bamboo was shipped from the state of Tripura.

This novel rammed earth technology is characterized by low energy consumptions and environmental impacts, and it is specifically designed for areas with a high seismic risk and severe thermal and energy regulations. This technology has been developed within my doctoral studies, on the basis of what I discovered on seismic resistant earth constructions during my secondment at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru and together with the local manufacturer Guglielmino Soc. Coop. I think this work is interesting because it gives some insight into the possible industrial application for naturally reinforced rammed earth construction.

In the ceramic production town of Jingdezhen, currently most of the waste is dumped illegally as there is no government policy to recycle the material. Since there is no solution in place to deal with waste, Yi Design has taken it upon themselves to initiate a community project. They reached out to factories in town to collect their waste material and are work with local authorities to help build a factory to realize their mission. They are also collaborating with local garbage contractors to go to factories and persuade them to separate the domestic garbage from the ceramics, collect it and deliver to the organization’s storage facility.

Caroline Cheng is Yi Design Co-founder, Artist and Designer

Becky and Tom started this adventure together with a team of specialist builders and craftspeople. They are using local materials and traditional techniques like cruck frame, turf walls, daub and heather thatch.

Alejandro’s research interests are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and focus specifically in Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities. He is mainly interested in the conservation of architectural heritage built with natural materials (earthen, fibers, timber and bamboo structures) including their historical research, inspection, diagnosis, intervention and monitoring. He is also passionate about the study of vernacular architecture, its ecological, social and economic sustainability aspects, and the understanding of how traditional construction techniques could be better preserved and adapted to create contemporary sustainable and resilient buildings.
Alejandro Jimenez Rios is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Since 2018 amàco has been creating furniture, objects and interiors with raw earth – from scenography walls with earth plasters to rammed-earth bar projects. This presentation will present in detail some earthen design projects carried out by the amàco team. The picture is taken from the project CURVE, depicting a detail of earthen furniture in a new office building in the Paris region (Saint Denis) realised by amàco. Gian Franco Noriega is a Peruvian and French architect. He is an architect researcher and trainer at amàco since 2013 and works mainly on the development of the constructive potential of natural materials in contemporary architecture and design.

BASEhabitat students learn to make rammed earth floors (Dominik Abbrederis), clay plaster (Carlos Covarrubias) and lime surfaces (Christian Giongo) and share the experiences of a week of construction site work.

Due to different biological benefits, IEQ and healthcare matters, cultural values and originality it is significant to reexamine traditional earth plaster techniques in contemporary architecture. We have tried to regenerate these plasters in different projects in recent years.
Aida Zare Mohazzabieh is a Lecturer at Shiraz University of Arts, Ph.D of Architecture, Master of Sustainable Architecture. She is the founder of Gel Studio: and architecture research and design studio. The primary focus in her research and projects is the creation of healthy, high-quality and eco-friendly spaces by applying innovative methods of architectural design and utilizing natural materials.

François will give us an update on his current work at the construction site of the Norman prototype that is under construction in the department of Manche.
François Streiff is architect and project manager in eco-materials and eco-construction, working in the Regional Nature Park of the Marshes of Cotentin and Bessin.