|
Rammed earth has been around for approximately
10,000 years, and over that time has been used to build every imaginable
type of building from single-family homes to monasteries, palaces and
fortresses. The Great Wall of China is 1/3 rammed earth; a testament
to its durability and strength. Over 3 billion people live in houses made of
earth and millions of people live in rammed earth buildings.
Rammed earth is used throughout the world thanks
to the virtually unlimited supply of raw materials; stone, sand and clay. The Romans used rammed earth to build
throughout Europe; Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France and England. In the
Rhone River valley of France rammed earth was the dominant form of construction
for centuries with over 250,000 buildings still in use.
Rammed earth has been used extensively in China for
thousands of years and is still being used to this day. During the Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) many Hakka built large enclosed
multi-story buildings, many housing around 300 people per complex.
In North America between 1780 and 1850 thousands
of rammed earth buildings were made. With the arrival of mass-produced brick
and lumber and the popular perception that new is better, rammed earth
construction faded until its resurgence after World War 1 until the early
1950’s. The industrial revolution’s influence in the construction industry saw
a decline in rammed earth building.
Within a couple of generations the art of building rammed earth had
faded and was virtually unheard of, thankfully it has been alive and well in
many parts of the world to keep this exceptional construction technique
alive. The tests that the US government
in the 1930’s and the literature from that have contributed to the revival of
rammed earth. Today in both Canada and the US the popularity of rammed earth is
increasing due to environmental, economic and social concerns. Modern rammed
earth buildings are built to the highest standards, following the local
building codes as any other building must and are approved by an engineer. We believe
rammed earth to be the strongest, safest, and most earthquake resistant of any
earth type of building.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes of rammed earth and
wanted to use this type of construction in his proposed Broad acre City
project. We like Frank Lloyd Wright and we love rammed earth, his generation
was not ready but ours is. The rammed earth renaissance is happening now!
|
