Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture

Rammed earth floorings

Illustration 14 .10shows three different ways

of using rammed earth as infill between

or on top of wooden beams. The ceiling is

formed of exposed timber boards, on top of

which moist earth is compacted. A layer of

straw is laid onto the boards to prevent

loam from falling through gaps. Nowadays,

oilpaper is used for the same purpose.

”Spalier“ decks

Illustration 14 .11shows the traditional Ger-

man spalierfloor where wooden lathes are

laid at a distance of 3 to 6 cm between the

floor beams. Straw loam is pressed from

above so as to form “tongues” between

the lathes. The tongues are later pressed

to cover the lathes from underneath by a

trowel so as to form an even surface as

shown in the figure. A variation of this floor

was also traditionally used where, instead

of using the trowel, a horizontally moving

formwork was employed.

Straw loam rolls

Another traditional German technique

employs straw loam rolls (German: Wickel)

made in the same way as described in

chapter 9, p. 81. A bundle of straw is dipped

into loam slurry and wound helically around

a stick, forming straw loam rolls. The sticks

in these rolls either rest on top of the beam,

or else are inserted into slots on the sides of

the beams (14 .12).

Modern loam floors

Today, instead of earth infill for wooden

beams and board floors, green bricks or

adobes without mortar can be used, which

eliminates drying time. Illustration 14 .13 A

shows a favourable design of such a floor,

which provides sufficient insulation against

airborne and structural noise. The design

shown in 14 .13 Bhas the same properties,

but also offers the advantage of lower

structural height and the disadvantage of

being more labour-intensive.

Illustration 14 .14shows various designs for

vaulted loam floors. Designs A, B and C use

earthen blocks, which transfer slab loads to

the beams by vault-action under compres-

sion. Design D shows a non-load bearing

loam vault made by pouring lightweight

loam over a curved reed mat.

111 Designs of building elements

14 .14

14 .10 14 .11

14 .12 14 .13

A B A B C D