We can learn from the old': how architects are returning to the earth to build homes for the future

"From afar, the low-rise homestead perched in the Wiltshire countryside may look like any other rural outpost, but step closer and the texture of the walls reveal something distinct from the usual facade of cement, brick and steel. The Rammed Earth House in the Cranborne Chase is one of the few projects in the UK that has been made by unstabilised rammed earth a building material that consists entirely of compacted earth, and which has been used as far back as the Neolithic period."

"Today, as architects seek to improve the sustainability of a sector that is responsible for more than a third of global carbon emissions, the concept of using rammed earth sourced from, or near, the grounds of a proposed building site is attracting attention. The argument for a component that has been used for construction in places as meteorologically distinct as Spain and Japan is that traditional building techniques can be deployed to create a circular construction process and address contemporary problems."

"Climate change makes it even more important that rammed earth is framed as a mainstream material, says Emaad Damda, a lead architect at Tuckey Design Studio, which worked on the Rammed Earth House. The fact that our temperatures [in northern Europe and other temperate climates] are rising means that rammed earth, as a material, offers thermal mass, temperature regulation and moisture control."

A low-rise Wiltshire homestead demonstrates unstabilised rammed earth construction, a method using compacted local soil with ancient precedent. The material offers thermal mass, temperature regulation and moisture control, making it suitable as climates warm. Using rammed earth sourced on or near sites supports circular construction and reduces embodied carbon in a sector responsible for over a third of global emissions. Rising urbanisation and housing pressures increase demand for low-impact building approaches. Architects and engineers are exploring bio-based materials such as bamboo and earth to meet infrastructure needs while lowering the construction industry’s environmental footprint.

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