The Rammed Earth House (Real Goods Independent Living Book)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Rammed Earth House is an eye-opening example of how the most dramatic innovations in home design and construction frequently have their origins in the distant past. By rediscovering the most ancient of all building materials - earth - forward thinking home builders can now create structures that set new standards for beauty, durability, and efficient use of natural resources. Rammed earth construction is a step forward into a sustainable future, when homes will combine pleasing aesthetics and intense practicality with a powerful sense of place. Rammed earth homes are built entirely on-site, using basic elements - earth, water, and a little cement. The solid masonry walls permit design flexibility while providing year-round comfort and minimal use of energy. The builder and resident of a rammed earth house will experience the deep satisfaction of creating permanence in a world dominated by the disposable.

SYNOPSIS

For more than ten thousand years humans have been using earth as a primary building material. Rammed earth, as practiced today, involves mixing basic materials on-site-earth, water, and a little cement-then tamping the mixture into wooden forms to create thick, sturdy masonry walls. This method of building creates a structure of timeless beauty and Old World charm, a home that offers its inhabitants a powerful sense of security and well-being. Earthbuilt homes have a permanence and solidity altogether lacking in so many of today's modular, pre-fab stick-built houses.

Rammed earth houses have other advantages, too, including: Resource efficiency. A well built earth house will last hundreds of years, which means that the natural materials needed for construction are used wisely and sustainably Energy efficiency. Massive earth masonry walls retain solar heat in winter and cooler nighttime temperatures in summer, making rammed earth homes both comfortable and economical year-round Design flexibility and aesthetics. Rammed earth walls allow for beautiful interior detailing Site-specific qualities. A rammed earth home is made of materials indigenous to the site and is appropriate for every part of the United StatesThe Rammed Earth House offers clear and complete information for owner-builders, contractors, architects, and anyone interested in housing innovations that put into practice the philosophy of sustainability. Author David Easton is an experienced designer and builder of homes and commercial buildings, and one of the world's leading authorities on rammed earth construction. Complementing and enriching the book's text, Cynthia Wright's photographs capture the sensuous character and abiding appeal of this beautiful and appropriate style of building.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David Easton and Cynthia Wright own and operate Rammed Earth Works (REW Associates), a company that over the past twenty years has designed and built more than 100 rammed earth structures for residential and commercial clients around the world. They live in Napa, California.

FROM THE CRITICS

Harrowsmith Country Life

David Easton's is either just in front of the leading edge of architectural innovation or about 200 years behind it...

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

David Easton's thick-walled homes seem an ideal response to climate and site . . . Visually, they rise seamlessly from the building site, since they are largely made from its soil. Rammed earth structures combine handsome aesthetics with energy-efficient performance. (Peter Whiteley, Sunset) — Peter Whiteley