by Tarien Roux | Nov 17, 2016 | Q&A, Rammed Earth
Otto cottage treads very lightly on a pristine site and it restores our ancient connection to nature in its reconciliation with the site, from which the house is made. It recycles its energy and water and waste, creating a space for regenerative conscious living.
by Peter McIntosh | May 23, 2016 | Guest post, Rammed Earth
Rammed earth construction in South Africa has generally been stigmatised as a substandard and primitive building construction method reserved ‘for the poor’. Yet it is now gaining popularity for community social projects, as well as among wealthier clients. By Mary...
by Peter McIntosh | Jun 16, 2015 | African Vernacular Architecture, Guest post, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Natural Building Materials & Techniques
The first thing that must be understood about African vernacular architecture is the great diversity that exists with both materials and techniques. People build according to climate but more importantly, with what materials are available locally.
by Peter McIntosh | Jun 3, 2014 | Adobe, Clay, Cob, Compressed Earth Brick (CEB), Earth testing, Earth theory, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Peter McIntosh, Rammed Earth, Sand, Sandbag, Strawbale, Sustainable building
By Peter McIntosh (Please note that in order to understand what is written here you will need to have read my previous post on understanding earth) Earth requires two properties to make it strong enough for building, compressive and tensile strength. In much the...
by Peter McIntosh | Apr 20, 2014 | Adobe, Clay, Cob, Compressed Earth Brick (CEB), Earth theory, Mud brick, Natural building methods, Peter McIntosh, Rammed Earth, Sand
By Peter McIntosh One of the challenges of working with earth is that no two sites are the same. The recipes one learns on one site may not work on another, because the earths’ found there are composed differently. Most earth building relies on a mix of sand and clay,...
