Z.O.P. – Institute for Spatial Design

Earth is one of the most sustainable building materials available. Using rammed earth could significantly reduce energy use and CO2 emissions during the construction and the lifetime of buildings. The biggest obstacle to the broader use of this material in Europe is the construction cost due to high labour costs. We set out to find a way of streamlining the building process, thus reducing the building time. By designing an easy-to-use and cost-effective method of building with rammed earth, we aim to promote the widespread use of this sustainable material. We will create a few building modules that can be part of a larger building or stand-alone structures. We will design a unique formwork system for each module, focusing on sturdiness and ease of assembly. The formwork for these modules will be easily transported and assembled on the building site. After its installation, it will be possible to use locally extracted soil to construct the module.