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Earth Architecture, by Ronald Rael
Princeton Architectural Press, 2008
Architectural publishers seem to
produce an infinite stream of books collecting contemporary
buildings, typically grouped by building types, such as
the ever-popular single-family houses but also office buildings,
hotels, retail spaces, housing, and cultural facilities,
among others. That these categorizations of architecture
take precedence over the means of construction employed
by architects in their design points to the ongoing importance
of typology in architectural design, but also to a gap in
architectural theory, stemming from a lack of creativity
in building construction. This doesn't apply to the overly
expensive buildings of Frank Gehry or others whose engineered
designs preclude anything but the most innovative approaches
to building. This applies to the other 99.9%, where considerations
of construction technique are more limited, or only apprently
so. Ronald Rael's book on some common techniques of construction,
ones not typically seen as contemporary, brings to the fore
earth architecture and its positive impact on architectural
design.
On Rael's popular blog Earth
Architecture -- a repository of projects and information
on buildings made from the ground we walk on and grow crops
in -- the author states that "one half of the world's population,
approximately 3 billion people on six continents, lives
or works in buildings constructed of earth." One can infer
from this statement that new first-world buildings must
consitute part of this quantity, even though our prejudices
may point to the vernacular buildings of the poor in third-world
countries. Rael's book puts to rest any notion that buildings
constructed of dirt -- in the form of rammed earth, mud
brick, compressed earth block, and molded earth (a la this
week's dose) -- are backward or only appropriate for
housing in poor rural areas. More importantly Rael frames
the presentation of the almost fifty projects in terms of
the ecological advantages that earth architecture entails,
but also the beareaucratic hurdles that architects and contractors
face in building with earth.
Of the four categories mentioned
above, the majority in Rael's book use rammed earth construction,
where soil is compacted in forms to typically create walls
with a distinctive striated texture, akin to sedimentary
rock. Projects made with the techniques of mud brick, compressed
earth block, and molded earth comprise roughly the second
half of the book, though less separates these four divisions
than the distinction between projects featured here and
those in other contemporary collections. The projects show
how earth architecture is utilized alongside more conventional,
modern materials, such as glass, steel (in some cases for
structural reasons, in jurisdictions unwilling to accept
the stability of earthen materials), and timber. This means
that rammed earth, or another such technique, does not necessarily
drive the aesthetic; in numerous instances one must look
closely to determine what aspect of the design warranted
inclusion in the book.
This collection is an important addition
to any architect's library for its important subject matter
and the quality of projects included. While the book lacks
the technical information to make it a reliable reference
on earth architecture, it doesn't try to be one. Nevertheless
the addition of technical drawings and construction photographs
would have helped elucidate these aspects that Rael capably
discusses in his introductions to the book and the four
chapters. Let's hope publishers of other contemporary collections
take note of the quality architecture being produced in
a manner least expected.
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