Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture

1 kg alum, 1 kg clayey soil and about

40 litres of water.

In 1998 the BRL developed another rein-

forced rammed earth wall system that was

utilised for a low-cost housing project built

in cooperation with the University of Santia-

go de Chile in Alhué, Chile, in 2001 (see

15.30and 15. 31). Here too, the idea was to

separate the roof from the wall system and

to use U-shape and L-shape elements,

which stabilise themselves by their shape.

To obtain additional stability, they were rein-

forced by vertical rods of coligüe (similar to

bamboo), 3 to 5 cm in diameter. Wall ele-

ments were also always separated by light,

flexible elements, or by doors and windows.

The lower parts of the windows and the

parts above the doors were not built with

solid elements, but of light timber. The

gables were built in lightweight straw-loam

stabilised by wooden elements, similar to

the wattle-and-daub system.

143 Earthquake-resistant building

15. 31 15.30

15.32

Galvanized sheet metal

Wind barrier

Thermal insulation 100 mm

Vapour barrier

Post 5"

Wooden

reinforcement

Natural ground

Reinforcement (coligüe)

Footing (poor concrete)

Stones

Compacted earth

Coarse gravel

Fine gravel

Sand

Damp-proofing

Floor tiles

Damp-proofing

Rammed earth

Vertical reinforcement
(coligüe) Ø 3", d = 60 cm

Ring beam Ø 5"

Pine e = 2"

Lightweight loam

OSB e = 9 mm

Beam, pine

OSB e = 9 mm

Scale

Stone