Back To The Basics!

By Alternative Channel’s Youth Contributor Cody Larocque

Humans have three basic needs: food, shelter and clothing. Once these needs are met a person begins to flourish. Sadly, nowadays, shelter, our second greatest need, is becoming a valuable commodity. Housing is expensive both financially and environmentally as lumber and metal are de rigor in modern housing projects. We all know that these resources won’t last forever, but not many of us seek out alternatives to those classic building materials. Today, with a larger global population along with dwindling forests and mines, a 5000 year old approach to home construction is taking off again. Exit cheap and fast modern housing materials, rammed earth buildings may be the solution to the world’s housing dilemma, as it has been reincarnated in a new and modern way.

Dating back to China’s Longshan culture, which resided along the yellow river five thousand years ago, rammed earth buildings are made up of the Earth’s most sustainable resource…earth. Mixed with sand, clay, gravel and, nowadays, concrete for extra strength, rammed earth buildings are constructed by erecting a wooden frame into which the mix is placed, and then compressed to at least half its height by a hand or pneumatic tamper. The walls being compressed from the above force and the side pressure from the frames becomes as solid as rock and are able to bear heavy loads. Rains a lot in your neighbourhood? That’s not a problem; in wetter climates a sealant is applied to protect the walls from water damage and the elements.

So, how «green» are those brown houses, anyway? Earth is always readily available, so transportation fees or waste generated from construction are minimal, while wooden or metal frames used in the construction process can be reused or recycled, dropping dramatically the impact on these resources as well. And don’t worry about agriculture as these buildings use subsoil in there construction, which leaves behind the nutrient rich topsoil for agricultural use. All good reasons to love those eco-friendly houses. Right?

But here is one asset of this style of building that is as good for Mother Earth as it is for your wallet: its extremely high thermal mass. What this means is that due to both the density and thickness of the compressed earth buildings, whose wall’s average thickness is 12 to 14 inches, it takes a half day for either the heat or cold to penetrate the building, which keeps heating and cooling costs down. The thickness also greatly helps humidity and noise control and allows the air to be purified through the earthen walls.

The United States Department of Agriculture has observed that rammed earth buildings can last indefinitely and cost no more than two thirds of a house of equivalent size. That is also good for your wallet.

Now, would rammed earth buildings be the answer to so many problems that plague the modern world? Maybe not, but for sure they would offset deforestation in what is left of our precious forests and save us from using up our metal resources as they encourage recycling of older metal buildings. The only thing stopping us is the lack of knowledge concerning this construction method and the personal apprehensions of homeowners wondering if their earthen building will fit in with the white picket fences.

For more information please visit Rammed earth constructions.

Great piece of archeology ! The saying that “old is gold” I think it’s really true>

Great idea but how would these structures hold up under extreme weather condition over LONG periods of time? Just imagining how much resources we would save is just unbelievable!

Agricultural Production student Cody LaRocque (upper left in photo) was named OCSA President on March 15, after a record number of Olds College students turned out to vote. A total of eight candidates ran for executive positions this year, which is more than the college has seen in several years.

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great articale,looks like an amazing place

I would like to thank you and appreciate your efforts you have made in writing this article.

Amazing and exceptional architecture… its simply unbelievable that its dated 5000years ago and is it in a good state. Its really something to be preserved, and it adds up to the country cultural heritage.

wow, great architecture… the were wise men at that time, and their knowledge is simply formidable. Cheers

Thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed and informative article. It has given me a lot of inspiration and I look forward to more like this in the future. Much appreciated!

We need more attention to address issues like these! It’s good you are putting this in the spotlight.

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This is just another reason why I like your website. I like your style of writing you tell your stories without out sending us to five other sites to complete the story.
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This would be an excellent source for alternative housing, especially where wood is scare and there isn’t too much rain.

great, that is amazing work,right?

i really like your site its very nice information.