ABSTRACT

TITLE OF THE BOOK

: BUILDING WITH EARTH

AUTHOR

: GERNOT MINKE

PUBLICATION

: BIRKHUSER PUBLISHERS FOR

ARCHITECTURE
2006

NUMBER OF PAGES

: 198

CONTENTS
Preface
1 Introduction
History, Earth as a building material: the essentials, improving indoor
climate, Prejudices against earth as a building material
2 The properties of earth as a building material
Composition, Tests used to analyze the composition of loam, Effects of water, Effects

of vapour, Influence of heat, Strength, pH-value, Radioactivity, Shelter against highfrequency electromagnetic radiation

3 Preparing of loam
Soaking, crushing and mixing, Sieving, Mechanical slurring, Water Curing, Thinning

4 Improving the earths characteristics by special treatment or

additives
Reduction of shrinkage cracks, Stabilization against water erosion, Enhancement of
binding force, increasing compressive strength, Strength against abrasion, increasing
thermal insulation

5 Rammed earthworks
Formwork, Tools, Method of construction, Shaping of openings, New wall construction
techniques, Rammed earth domes, Drying, Labor input, Thermal insulation, Surface
treatment

6 Working with earthen blocks

History, Production of earth blocks, Material composition, Laying earth blocks, Surface
treatment, fixing fasteners to walls, Lightweight loam blocks, Special acoustic green
bricks

7 Large blocks and prefabricated panels

Large blocks, prefabricated wall panels, Floor slabs, Floor tiles, Extruded loam slabs

8 Direct forming with wet loam

Traditional wet loam techniques, The Dunne loam loaf technique, The stranglehm
technique

9 Wet loam infill in skeleton structures

Thrown loam, Sprayed loam, Rolls and bottles of straw loam, Lightweight loam infill,
Infill with stranglehm and earth-filled hoses

10 Tamped, poured or pumped lightweight loam

Formwork, Tamped lightweight straw loam walls, Tamped lightweight wood loam
walls, Tamped, poured or pumped lightweight, mineral loam walls, Pumped lightweight
mineral loam floors, Loam-filled hollow blocks, Loam-filled hoses

11 Loam plasters
Preparation of ground, Composition of loam plaster, Guidelines for plastering earth
walls, Sprayed plaster, Lightweight mineral loam plaster, Thrown plaster, plastered
straw bale houses, Wet formed plaster, Protection of corners

12 Weather protections of loam surfaces

Consolidating the surface, Paints, Making surfaces water-repellent, Lime plasters,
Shingles, planks and other covers, Structural methods

13 Repair of loam components

The occurrence of damage in loam components, Repair of cracks and joints with loam
fillers, Repair of cracks and joints with other fillers, repairing larger areas of damage,
Retrofitting thermal insulation with lightweight loam

14 Designs of particular building elements

Joints, Particular wall designs, Intermediate floors, Rammed earth floorings, Inclined
roofs filled with lightweight loam, Earth-covered roofs, Earth block vaults and domes,
Earthen storage wall in winter gardens, Loam in bathrooms, Built-in furniture and
sanitary objects from loam, Wall heating systems, Passive solar wall heating system

15 Earthquake-resistant building
Structural measures, Openings for doors and windows, Bamboo-reinforced rammed
earth walls, Domes, Vaults, Textile walls with loam infill

II Built examples
Residences
Two semi-deatched houses, Kassel, Germany
Residence cum office, Kassel, Germany
Farmhouse, Wazipur, India
Honey House at Moab, Utah, USA
Three-family house, Stein on the Rhine, Switzerland
Residence, La Paz, Bolivia
Residence, Turku, Finland
Residence and studio at Gallina Canyon, New Mexico, USA
Residence at Des Montes, near Taos, New Mexico, USA
Casita Nuaanarpoq at Taos, New Mexico, USA
Residence and office at Bowen Mountain, New South Wales, Australia
Vineyard Residence at Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
Residence, Helensville, New Zealand
Residence, So Francisco Xavier, Brazil

Cultural, Educational and Sacral Buildings

Panafrican Institute for Development, Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso
Office building, New Delhi, India
School at Solvig, Jrna, Sweden
Kindergarten, Sorsum, Germany
Cultural Centre, La Paz, Bolivia
Mosque, Wabern, Germany
Druk White Lotus School, Ladakh, India
Mii amo Spa at Sedona, Arizona, USA
Tourist resort at Baird Bay, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Charles Sturt University at Thurgoona, New South Wales, Australia
Youth Centre at Spandau, Berlin, Germany
Chapel of Reconciliation, Berlin, Germany
Center of Gravity Foundation Hall at Jemez Springs, New Mexico, USA
Future prospects
Measures
Bibliographical references
Acknowledgements
Illustration credits

INTRODUCTION
Written in response to an increasing worldwide interest in building with earth, this
handbook deals with earth as a building material, and provides a survey of all of its
Applications and construction techniques, including the relevant physical data, while
explaining its specific qualities and the possibilities of optimizing them. Earth as a
building material comes in a thousand different compositions, and can be variously
processed. Loam, or clayey soil, as it is referred to scientifically, has different names
when used in various applications, for instance rammed earth, soil blocks, mud bricks or
adobe. This book documents the results of experiments and research conducted
continuously at the Building Research Institute at the University of Kassel in Germany
since 1978. Moreover, the specialized techniques which the author developed and the
practical experience he gathered in the course of designing earth buildings in a number
of countries have also found their way into this book.
While this is first and foremost a technical book, the introductory chapter also provides
the reader with a short survey on the history of earth architecture. In addition it
describes the historical and future roles of earth as a building material, and lists all of
the significant characteristics that distinguish earth from common industrialized
building materials. A major recent discovery, that earth can be used to balance indoor
climate, is explained in greater detail. The books final chapter deserves special mention
insofar as it depicts a number of representative earth buildings from various regions of
the world.
Also there has been various illustrative examples of various construction techniques
carried out in various projects and has been successful enough to be practiced further in
many more places. The Author is a German and most of his works has been published in
German Language only and his works are also a great deal practiced in Germany.