Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture

Bamboo-reinforced rammed earth

walls

A bamboo-reinforced panelled rammed

earth wall technique was developed in 1978

as part of a research project by the BRL,

and successfully implemented jointly with

the Francisco Marroquín University (UFM)

and the Centre for Appropriate Technology

(CEMAT), both in Guatemala (15.25to

15.29).

In this project, 80-cm-wide and one-storey-

high bamboo-reinforced rammed earth ele-

ments were constructed using a T-shaped

metal formwork 80 cm wide, 40 cm high

and 14 to 30 cm thick (15.28). The stability

of the wall was provided by four built-

in bamboo rods 2 to 3 cm thick and the

T-shaped section of the wall element. These

elements were fixed at the bottom to a

bamboo ring anchor that was embedded

in the stone masonry plinth, and attached

at the top to a rectangular bamboo ring

anchor.

Due to the rib that was integrated into the

wall element, this element has about four

times stronger resistance against horizontal

forces than a 14 cm wall alone would have

had.

After drying, a 2 cm vertical gap appears

between these elements. This is then packed

with loam. This joint acts as a pre-designed

failure joint, allowing an independent move-

ment of each element during the earth-

quake.

This means that these joints can open and

the whole structure can deform (dissipating

seismic kinetic energy) without the wall unit

breaking or falling. The posts on which the

roof rests are located 50 cm away from the

walls (15. 27) on the inside, so that the roof

structure is independent of the wall system.

The rammed earth surface was not plas-

tered, but only smoothed by a trowel and

then painted with a mixture made of one

bag of hydraulic lime, 2 kg common salt,

141 Earthquake-resistant building

15.23

15.24

15.25

15.26