EARTH AS A BUILDING

MATERIAL
EARTH AS A BUILDING
MATERIAL
Introduction
 History
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• The development of soil takes time,
Types of Soil
between hundreds and thousands of
years, and consists of diverse
materials which are both inorganic
and organic.
• Loamy soil is one of the riches soil
types because of its composition.
Loamy soil is composed of a mixture
of clay, sand, silt, and decaying
organic materials (humus).
• Clay is one of the many unique soil
types due to its composition of a very
fine-grains and plasticity when moist
but hard when fired.

• Silty soil is composed of clay, mud, or

small rocks deposited by a lake or
river.
• Peaty soil is under normal
circumstances dark brown but it can
as well be black in color.
Wattle & Daub
•

•
 ADOBE
•

•
 Stacked Earth (COB)
•
 Rammed Earth
•

•
 Compressed stabilised earth
bricks (CSEB)
• CSEB, commonly called, Pressed
Earth Blocks, are construction
material made using damp soil
under high amount of pressure
to form blocks.
• CSEBs are made in-situ, reducing
the carbon-footprint. This also
reduces the cost of
manufacturing.

Soil for
cement Gravel=15% Sand=50% Silt=15% Clay=20%
stabilisation
Soil for
lime Gravel=15% Sand=30% Silt=20% Clay=35%
stabilisation
CSEB CONSTRUCTION
• Forming
compressed earth
blocks requires
dampening,
mechanically
pressing at high
pressure, and then
drying the resulting
material.
• Typically, around
3,000 psi (21 MPa)
is applied in
compression, and
the original material
volume is reduced
by about half.
COB(problems and their solutions)
PROBLEM
PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
•• Wood
Wooddoesn’t
doesn’tadhere
adheretotoloam
loam • Possible joint design of loam
surfaces
surfacesbecause
becauseof ofshrinkage
shrinkage filled hoses, adobes and
issueswhen
issues whenthetheloam
loamisiswet
wetand lightweight loam with posts of
and even
even after after
dryingdrying,so
, so one one
has to timber or brickwork, or with
has tofenestration
detail detail fenestration with
with care. door and window frames of
care timber. (horizontal sections)
ADOBE(problems and solutions)
PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
• Mud seems to be natural home • A one inch thick mortar layer
of termites so in areas where can be laid all over the top of
they are common the same the basement wall before
precautions have to be taken as building the mud walls above it .
in all buildings to prevent their • This is helpful keeping out both
moving up into the walls and termites and damp.
eating wooden frames.
WATTLE AND DAUB
(problems and solutions)
PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
• Technical problem is in regard to • Treatment applied to the surface
finishes . The walls and floors are of the wall with the aim of
finished with earth and painted protecting it against the weather
with dung-stabilised soil. and use.
• INCISIONS-before the first layer
incision are made using a metal
brush or nails. This improves the
adhesion of the second layer
onto first. Underlayer 10 to
20mm.
RAMMED EARTH
(problems and solutions)
PROBLEM SOLUTION
• Formwork without intermediary • One storey height panels ,with
spacer which are braced on both widths of upto 2.4 m,in a
sides require a lot of space and continuous ramming process.
hinder site movement. • This technique avoid horizontal
joints that occur are closed only
after shrinkage is complete.
• For lateral stability ,the vertical
joints are made in tongue and
groove pattern.
Rammed Earth construction
photos

MIXING

RAMMING
 MAINTENANCE
MAINTENANCE DURING
CONSTRUCTION
DAMP PROOF/FLASHING INTEGRITY OF DAMP PROOFING AND
FLASHING ALONG BASE COURSE
DOOR/WINDOW FRAMES

DRAINAGE LEAKING DRAINS,DOWNPIPES,GUTTERING,

BLOCKAGE OF DRAINS,PONDING OF
RAINWATER
FOOTINGS DAMP,FOUNDATION MATERIAL
ROOF/VERANDAS STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY,TIGHTEN HOLDING
DOWN BOLTS,LEAKS
TERMITES EVIDENCE OF TERMITE AND OTHER HARMFUL
INSECT ACTIVITY,INTEGRITY OF BARRIER
VEGETATION CUT BACK OVER GROWTH NEAR BUILDING
AVOID PLANTING LARGE TREES CLOSE TO THE
BUILDING
MAINTENANCE PROBLEM AND THEIR SOLUTION
PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
MAINTENANCE OF EARTH BUILDINGS WITH THE RIGHT QUALITY CONTOL
IS HIGH AND THEIR FOR IT IS LESS MEASURES IN PLACE 75 YEARS
CHOSEN AS MATERIAL AS SERVICE LIFE FOR AN ADOBE AND
CONSTRUCTION WATTLE AND DAUB IS A VERY SAFE
ESTIMATION
LOAM SURFACES ARE DIFFICULT TO CAN BE DEALT WITH BY PAINTING
CLEAN(ESPECIALLY IN KITCHEN AND THEM WITH CASEIN,LIME
BATHROOM) CASEIN,LINSEED-OIL OR OTHER
COATINGS WHICH MAKES THEM
NON-ABRASIVE
PROBLEM ARISE FROM THE ROOF • WATER RESISTANT MATERIAL
WHERE BY THE POOR DETAILING AND THAN EARTH BE USED FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION REDUCED FOUNDATION OF PLINTH WALL.
DURABILITY AND INCREASE • ENTIRE WALL NEEDS TO
MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.FOR PROTECTED USING A WATERTIGHT
THE WALLS AND INSIDE SPACES. ROOF WITH GENEROUS
OVERHANGS
SOIL ANALYSIS
• TO CHECK ITS COMPONENTS OR
GRANULOMETRY:HANDILING-SMELL.
• ITS PLASTICITY:THE CIGAR.
• ITS COHESION:THE PATCH RESULT OF THIS
TESTS SHOW US THE QUALITY OF THE EARTH.
• SOIL TEST FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS
OR ANY STRUCTURE IS THE FIRST STEP IN
CONSTRUCTION PLANNING TO UNDERSTAND
THE SUITABILITYOF SOIL.
• VARIOUS TESTS ON SOIL ARE CONDUCTED TO
DECIDE THE QUALITY OF SOIL FOR BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION.
SOIL ANALYSIS
1. HANDLING-SMELL

• WITH OUR SENSESWATER ENABLES US TO IDENTIFYTHE MAIN

COMPONENT OF EARTH.
• ORGANIC EARTH-GIVES OF A SMELL
• SANDY EARTH-ROUGH, CRUMBLY,NOT VERY STICKY
• SILTY EARTH-FINE,EASY TO REDUCE TO DUST,STICKY.
• CLAYEY EARTH-DIFFICULT TO BREAK;SLOW TO DISSOLVE IN
WATER VERY STICKY AND FINE.
SOIL ANALYSIS
1. THE CIGAR TEST

• REMOVE THE GRAVEL FROM THE SAMPLE.

• MOISTEN,MIX AND ALLOW THE EARTH TO SETTLE FOR HALF AN
HOURUNTIL THE CLAY CAN REACT WITH THE WATER.
• ON A BOARD,MOULD A CIGAR WITH A 3cm DIAMETER AND
• 20cm LONG
• SLOWLY PUSH THE CIGAR ONTO ONE EDGE.
• CARRY OUT THIS OPERATION 3 TIME THEN CALCULATE THE
AVERAGE LENGTH.
SOIL ANALYSIS
1. THE PATCH

• SANDY EARTH-No retraction,easy to convert to dust:

• SILTY EARTH-Retraction,easy to convert into dust:
• Clayey Earth-Significant retraction,very difficult to
reduce to dust.

Sandy Earth Silty Earth Clayey Earth

TECHNIQUES DURABILITY STRENGHT COST SIZES Max.FLOORS
HEIGHT

COB Oldest cob COMPRESSIVE Rs 900 per Irregular size 2 Floors

house 0.5Mpa Sq.feet elongated Intermediate
currently is Egg. floor mostly
10,000 Timber
Years old
ADOBE 1000 years if COMPRESSIVE Rs 1500 per 4x12x18 inches 3 to 4 floors
Well 0.6Mpa Sq.feet (according to
maintained moulds)
WATTLE AND 30 years the COMPRESSIVE Rs250 per 1.5x1 metre Not load
DAUB maintenance 0.4Mpa frame vary as Length by breadth bearing it is
Req. per req. 40 cm thickness partition wall
RAMMED 1000+ years COMPRESSIVE Rs 7500 per Vary as per wall size Upto 2 storey
EARTH If lime is 5to20 Mpa Sq.meter and scaffolding size
added
CSEB Same as COMPRESSIVE Rs 30 per 11x6x3.5inches 4 to 5 floors
Rammed SAME AS block (according to
earth RAMMED moulds)2
EARTH
Advantage and Disadvantage
ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGE

1. Low Construction Cost 1. Heavy rainfall and drainage

Problems.
2. Low Labour Cost
2. Maintenance
3. Low Material Cost
3. Large Space
4. Good Resistance to Fire
4. Affected by insects and animals
5. Good temperature insulation

6. Good Sound-Proofing
Reinforced Cement
Concrete (RCC)
Introduction
RCC : It is composite material contains CEMENT (acts as
bonding agent), fine aggregate (i.e. Sand, Which gives
smooth finished surface) and coarse aggregate (i.e. Crush,
which gives strength) in addition of steel which reinforced
the material providing tensile strength. Used to construct
building structural members like beam slab column
foundation.
HISTORY
• Concrete is one of our key construction materials and it has been used for over a
hundred years.
• During the late 1800s, the technique to reinforce concrete was developed.
• François Coignet used iron-reinforced concrete as a technique for constructing
building structures.
• Coignet built the first iron reinforced concrete structure, a four-story house at
72 rue Charles Michels in the suburbs of Paris.
• Coignet's descriptions of reinforcing concrete suggests that he did not do it for
means of adding strength to the concrete but for keeping walls in monolithic
construction from overturning.
• He was granted a patent for reinforcing concrete flowerpots by means of mixing a
wire mesh and a mortar shell.
The first reinforced concrete building in Southern California was the Laughlin
Annex in downtown Los Angeles, constructed in 1905.[
Raw Materials for RCC
1. Cement

2. Coarse aggregate

3. Fine aggregate

4. M.S. Steel bar

5. Binding wire

6. Water

7. Shuttering materials such as wooden Ballies, Planks,

and Iron Plates etc.
ADVANTAGES OF RCC
•Reinforced concrete has a high compressive strength
compared to other building materials.
•Due to the provided reinforcement, reinforced concrete
can also withstand a good amount tensile stress.
•Fire and weather resistance
•The reinforced concrete building system is more durable
than any other building system.
•reinforced concrete can be molded to any shape
required, it is widely used in precast structural
components.
•The maintenance cost of reinforced concrete is very low.
ADVANTAGES OF RCC
• The maintenance cost of reinforced concrete is very low. In
structure like footings, dams, piers etc.
• reinforced concrete is the most economical construction
material.
• It acts like a rigid member with minimum deflection.
• Compared to the use of steel in structure, reinforced
concrete requires less skilled labor for the erection of
structure.
RCC SPECIFICATIONS
Shuttering shall be done using seasoned wooden boards
of thickness not less than 30mm.
Surface contact with concrete shall be free from adhering
grout, nails, splits and other defects.
All the joints are perfectly closed and lined up.
Nowadays timber shuttering is replaced by steel plates.
All the props of approved sizes are supported on double
wedges and when taken out, these wedges are eased and
not knocked out.
All the framework is removed after 21 days of curing
without any shocks or vibrations. All reinforcement bars
conform IS specifications and are free from rust, grease oil
etc.
The materials proportion should be as per the
specifications of the concrete.
VARIOUS RATIOS OF RCC
RCC denotes Re-in forced Cement Concrete in which
cement, sand and aggregates are laid with the help of
mild steel. This is most important part of the structure.
Generally 1:2:4 and 1:1.5: 3 ratios of RCC are used in
construction work.
RCC STRUCTURE
DURABILITY
The lifespan of RCC generally is taken as 100 years.
However, there are some expected as well as prevalent
conventions about design life span, which are given here:
Monumental Structures like temple, mosque or church etc
- 500 to 1000 years.
RCC CONSTRUCTION
COST
The cost of brick without RCC can range between Rs 800
per sq ft to Rs 900 per sq ft approximately and the cost of
brick with RCC can range between 900 per sq ft to Rs
1,000 per sq ft
 CASE STUDY
SECMOL
STUDENTS EDUCATIONAL CULTURAL MOVEMENT OF LADAKH
INTRODUCTION
• SECMOL was started in the late 80s by a
dynamic young Ladakhi, Mr. Sonam Wangchuk.
He was pained to discover to what extent the
formal education system in Ladakh was
disempowering young Ladakhis.

• It was developed between 1994 and 1999 and

was inaugurated in 1998 by His Holiness the
Dalai Lama.

SECMOL SONAM WANGCHUK

 LOCATION
• SECMOL CAMPUS IS PERCHED NEARLY
11000 FT UP IN THE PREHIMALAYAN
MOUNTAINS.
• SECMOL CAMPUS IS LOCATED NEAR
THE VILLAGE OF PHEY IN THE INDUS
VALLEY 18 KM FROM LEH.
• THE STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL AND
CULTURAL MOVEMENT OF LADAKH
(SECMOL) WAS FOUNDED IN 1988 BY A
GROUP OF YOUNG LADAKHIS WITH THE
AIM TO REFORM THE EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM OF LADAKH.
MATERIAL USED IN
SECMOL
• MAJOR MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE USED IN SECMOL
IS MUD AND RAMMED EARTH TECHNIQUE.
• FOR WINDOWS THEY USED TIMBER ALSO BRACKETS
AT SOME PLACES.
CLIMATIC CONDITION

SUNNY SNOWY
 ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
• Mainly Ladakhi in character ,the architecture of building is
fusion of both traditional and eco-friendly.
• Main building comprises of teaching halls, classrooms,and
offices,small cell rooms for volunteers with kitchen,dinning
hall,and a separate bathing block and dry composting Ladakhi
toilets quite characteristic in this cold desert.
• The whole campus is planned linearly along the slope facing
south with an exception of the main building which is oriented
five degrees from south.
• It facilitates building to collect more heat especially in
winter.

SOUTH SIDE ELEVATION SECMOL PLAN

THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTIONS