Building rammed earth structures provides a sustainable alternative to concrete. As a building material, rammed earth exhibits very varied physical and material properties depending on the proportion of constituting soil types. When very sandy soil is used in rammed earth production, the properties are different from when a clayey soil is used. This variability can be seen as a very great advantage in the use of rammed earth as a building material. Builders are able to adjust specific properties by changing mix proportions to obtain a desirable balance in the characteristics of the resulting rammed earth structure. This research work looks at selected mechanical and physical properties of different mixes of rammed earth. It describes typical range of values in density, thermal conductivity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, water ingress and compressive strength. It examines how these factors interrelate in the same soil mixes. Samples were prepared by blending various soil types in specific proportions to ensure that each definition of soil grade is as specific as possible. Unstabilised rammed earth was tested as was cement stabilised rammed earth. Rammed earth was tested at various levels of stabilisation and it was discovered that higher rates of stabilisation was not always beneficial to every material property. The research also looked into the potential disposal of waste materials in rammed earth. As rammed earth is a monolithic material that largely remains undisturbed throughout its life span, it was suggested that waste materials could be stored in an inert form inside of rammed earth rather than dumping it in otherwise agricultural landmass. Pulverised Fuel Ash and Palm Kernel Shells were identified as wastes to be disposed in rammed earth. Pulverised Fuel Ash, a by-product of industrial furnace is found in abundance in developed countries that burn carbonaceous materials in power plants. Disposals have been seen as a problem as only a small proportion of high loss on ignition (LOI) Pulverised Fuel Ash has found application. Palm Kernel Shell is a by-product of the oil palm industry and is currently a menace in many developing countries that need to dispose large quantities of the shell in landfills. At an early stage of the research, experimental trial runs quickly showed that these supposedly waste materials had a positive effect on some of the material properties of the rammed earth walls they were made into. This research effort evolved to look into exploiting these materials to improve the physical and material property of rammed earth and to suggest their effect on stabilised and unstabilised rammed earth. The extent to which these materials could be useful and the level at which diminishing returns set in was also investigated. It was discovered that soil mixes that would otherwise not be considered suitable for use in rammed earth wall production can now be utilised as their characteristics can be improved on simply by adding Pulverised Fuel Ash or Palm Kernel shell in the right proportion. Incorporating Pulverised Fuel Ash in rammed earth resulted in increased compressive strength. Palm Kernel shell improved thermal properties without compromising compressive strength.

This Diploma thesis deals with possibilities of utilizing earth as a building material for con-struction of detached houses using the rammed earth technology. Research in domestic and foreign literature led to description of the historical development of building from earth, overview of historical technologies and historical development of the technology of rammed earth. Subsequently, the thesis deals with nowadays very relevant problematics of sustainable construction, which is closely related to the use of natural materials, such as earth. Furthermore, the thesis describes the technology of rammed earth with examples of already realized buildings, both in the Czech Republic and other countries. The last part of the research describes selected methods of testing the physical-mechanical properties of rammed earth used abroad. The first section of experimental part deals with the design of earth mixtures for three specific sites (Dolany, Valchov and Dolní Těrlicko), using a computer model in Excel. The rest of experimental part contains the design of methodology for the production of test specimens for the pressure testing, and selected tests are performed for better knowledge of the physical-mechanical properties of the designed earth mixtures. The last part of the thesis discusses the problematics of legislative process of permitting rammed earth buildings and practical construction recommendations.

This thesis project is an attempt to learn from vernacular building traditions when designing sustainable homes for families in a contemporary rural setting. My proposal is a multi-generational home consisting of reused old log houses, which would otherwise be torn down, joined together through a composition of local materials for new rammed earth structures.  The site is located in Dalarna, a province known for its image based around traditions closely related to small-scale farming and tight knit local communities. Vernacular architecture has been, and still is, the icon of this region. Vernacular buildings in the north part of Sweden have been almost exclusively log houses. The widespread accessibility of good quality wood has enabled sturdy log structures to be built that may last for hundreds of years.  The construction method of stacking logs on top of each other, held together only by their own weight and the pieces interlocking, is a flexible building method. The house can grow if needed by adding on additional logs, or taken apart completely for easy transportation. This is something that has enabled me to gather existing building from different parts of Sweden and bring them new life. This proposal consists of seven log houses, all found for sale online.

“Kollektiv odling i kris - en antropocen trädgård"  visar en vision av hur ytor i en svensk stad har omformats och omplanerats, kanske som en konsekvens av samhälleliga beslut, kanske genom ideellt arbete - kanske bäggedera.   Bakgrunden till allt det här är såklart klimatförändringarna, som med stor sannolikhet om några år även kommer påverka matförsörjningen. Det blir då nödvändigt att odla mer lokalt, i Sverige och i våra städer där merparten bor och lever.   Idén är att odlingsmarken och växthus genererar grönsaker och baljväxter, som vi idag importerar, och som kommer att utgöra en större andel av vår kost i framtiden. Transporterna blir minimalt korta, och maten konsumeras i första hand av stadsborna runt omkring, samtidigt som avfallet från odlingen genererar värme och jord till växthuset och odlingen.   Runt varje trädgård går en mur av jord som skyddar odlingen från ljud och avgaser från motorvägen, och även från vinden. Muren blir en tydlig figur i stadslandskapet som ramar in och skyddar odlingen. Alla trädgårdar har en mittaxel där vattnet leds, och bredvid ligger odlingarna, som ramas in av jordväggar som värmer upp jorden. Strukturen förstärks av längor av växthus längs med jordväggarna.   Den antropocena trädgården är varken en utopi eller dystopi. Projektet handlar bara om hur framtiden kanske helt nödvändigt kan komma att se ut, och om hur staden kan planera för att möta framtida behov. / ”Collective cultivation in crisis – an Anthropocene garden” shows a vision of how the spaces in a Swedish city have been reshaped and restructured, perhaps as a consequence of societal decisions, perhaps through local initiatives – perhaps both.   The background to this project is obviously climate change, which most likely, in a few years’ time, will also affect food supply. It will then be necessary to grow locally, in Sweden and in our cities where most people live.   The idea is thus that the cultivated land and greenhouses will generate vegetables and legumes, which we today import and which will make up most of our food intake in the future. Transportation will be minimised, and the food will be consumed firstly by the city dwellers living around the cultivation, at the same time as the waste produced will generate heat and soil for the greenhouse and cultivation.   Around each garden, there is a wall made of earth that protects the cultivation from noise and exhaust from the motorway and also from the wind. The wall becomes a significant figure in the cityscape that frames and protects the cultivation. All the gardens have a central axis where the water is conducted and next to it there are the cultivations, framed by the walls which heat up the soil. The structure is strengthened by rows of greenhouses along the earth walls. The Anthropocene garden is neither a utopia nor a dystopia. The project is simply about how the future may necessarily come to look like, and about how the city can plan to meet future needs.

Compacted fill and rammed aggregate piers (RAPs) were separately installed adjacent to a 9-ft by 9-ft by 2.5-ft driven pile foundation founded in soft clay. The compacted fill used to laterally reinforce an area of 11 ft by 5 ft by 6 ft deep adjacent to the pile cap was clean concrete sand. The thirty-inch diameter RAPs were installed in three staggered rows to a depth of 12.5 ft below the ground surface adjacent to the pile cap to test the increase in lateral resistance afforded by their installation. The foundation was laterally loaded and load, displacement, and strain readings were recorded. The results of this testing were compared with similar tests performed with virgin soil conditions. The total lateral capacity of the pile foundation increased by 5 percent or14 kips due to compacted fill placement against the face of the pile cap. The passive force acting only on the pile cap decreased from 54 kips in the virgin case to 30 kips after installation of the compacted fill, a decrease of about 45 percent. The total lateral capacity of the pile foundation that was retrofit with RAPs was increased by 18 percent or 52 kips as compared to an identical pile cap in virgin clay. The passive force acting on the pile cap at 1.5 inches of pile cap displacement was determined to be approximately 50 kips, showing a slight decrease in passive resistance as compared to the tests performed on virgin soil. Both reinforcement techniques reduced pile head rotation and the bending moments in the shallow portions of the piles.

En grundskola för barn i årskurserna 4 till 9 i stadsdelen Årsta i Stockholm. Skolan är placerad i anslutning till ett nybyggt bostadsområde vid Årstafältet. Skolan ska inhysa drygt 500 elever och även innehålla en offentlig del med idrottshall. Programmet är uppdelat i två volymer på tomten, där den offentliga ligger som ett avslut till det aktivitetsstråk som planeras på Årstafältet. Skolan är planerad med trästomme med lerelement, och invändigt exponerat trä och lera. Tre massiva lerväggar går genom byggnaden och markerar ut elevernas hemvister. Varje klass har sin egen hemvist, bestående av kapprum, klassrum och grupprum, som är klassens gemensamt egna rum och är tänkt att fungera som en trygg bas varifrån man kan utgå eller dra sig tillbaka under skoldagen. Skolans studieytor och allrumsytor är planerade för att möta olika preferenser och sociala sammanhang. De gemensamma studieytorna består av utrymmen för enskilt arbete och för samarbete. Sociofugala ytor skiljer av eleverna från varandra i mindre nischer, medan centrerade sociopatala ytor ger samlande rum. / An elementary school for children aged 4 to 9 in the suburb Årsta in Stockholm. The school is located adjacent to a new residental area surrounding Årstafältet. The school will cater to around 500 students and a sport centre which will be available to the public. The program is divided into two volumes, where the sports centre is placed as the endpoint to an activitypath stretching across Årstafältet. The school is constructed with a wooden frame with adobe features, and interiorly exposed wood and earth. Three massive rammed earth walls mark the students abiding-places. Each class has its own abiding-place constituted by cloakroom, homeroom and a group activity room, which is intended to work as a safe base point throughout the school day. Workspaces and community spaces are designed to meet different preferences and social contexts. The shared workspaces consists of sociofugal spaces ment for separating the students from each other, while centered sociopatal spaces bring students together.

Le bâti ancien est aujourd’hui confronté à des enjeux normatifs, environnementaux et patrimoniaux qui favorisent sa réhabilitation et engagent une multiplicité d’acteurs dans cette activité. Ces engagements mettent en débat les savoirs, les mondes professionnels et les attachements que ces acteurs tissent autour des espaces édifiés. La thèse explore ces dynamiques autour du cas particulier du bâti ancien en pisé (bâtiments construits en terre crue damée dans des coffrages) dans le département de l’Isère. L’objectif de ce travail est de comprendre et de décrire comment et par qui ce bâti est mis en projet et réhabilité, dans un double sens d’amélioration physique et de revalorisation d’un objet aux significations multiples. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que les projets de réhabilitation, par les multiples formes d’engagement qu’ils construisent, participent à détacher l’expérience de ce bâti d’une expérience ordinaire. Ces projets mettent à l’épreuve les attachements que leurs porteurs développent autour du bâti existant et de la matière terre qui le constitue autant que les savoirs et les pratiques constructives qui s’y appliquent. Ces épreuves participent à l’émergence de collectifs qui tissent un maillage politique au sein duquel se composent des espaces de dialogue et d’appropriation des usages, de la pratique et du devenir du bâti existant.Pour explorer cette hypothèse, la recherche s’inscrit dans une perspective interdisciplinaire qui articule ressources théoriques et méthodes développées en architecture, en ethnologie et en sociologie. Elle développe une anthropologie pragmatique des cultures constructives qui compose une problématisation commune entre ces disciplines autour des questions soulevées par la réhabilitation du bâti ancien. L’exploration de ces questions se base sur un travail d’enquête qualitative multi-située. Il décrit les mondes de la réhabilitation en action, en suivant des parcours de projet portés par plusieurs catégories d’acteurs (habitants, professionnels, institutions). La thèse revient d’abord sur les différentes formes d’engagement qui participent à mettre le bâti ancien en projet, de l’intervention sur un bâtiment spécifique à sa mise en valeur de manière générale. Ces expériences de réhabilitation portent l’attention sur différentes qualités du bâti et contribuent à le faire sortir de l’ordinaire. Le bâti ancien en pisé est ainsi engagé – et engage lui-même – dans de multiples réalités. À la fois maison, lieu de vie, lieu de travail, patrimoine local ou architecture de terre, il fait agir, réagir et rentrer en relation les acteurs qui s’y intéressent. La deuxième partie de l’analyse décrit comment la difficulté d’appliquer des protocoles de réhabilitation entraine les porteurs de projet à s’engager dans des épreuves et à chercher des prises leurs permettant de mener à bien leurs projets. Ces épreuves entrainent les acteurs qui s’y investissent à ajuster leurs relations entre eux et avec le bâti au fur et à mesure du processus de projet. À mesure qu’ils s’approprient les savoirs de la réhabilitation, ils développent différentes formes d’attachement autour du bâti. Les projets de réhabilitation contribuent alors à l’émergence de collectifs plus ou moins pérennes qui se réapproprient les modalités d’intervention sur le bâti et les décisions qui le concernent. La thèse s’attache finalement à mieux comprendre les dimensions plurielles (matérielle, constructive, architecturale et interactionnelle) des cultures constructives du pisé et de sa réhabilitation et propose les éléments d’un dialogue à poursuivre avec les acteurs de terrain autour de l’intérêt et des conditions permettant de faire tenir un espace politique autour des usages et du devenir du bâti existant. / Ancient buildings face today normative, environmental and patrimonial issues which foster their renovation and engage a great diversity of actors. This multiplicity initiates a debate around knowledge, professional worlds and attachments which are woven around existing buildings. This thesis delves into these dynamics focusing on the case of ancient rammed earth building (raw earth compressed into an external formwork) in the French department of Isere, France. It aims at describing how and by whom rammed earth buildings are involved in retrofitting projects, considering both their physical and representational improvement. We make the hypothesis that retrofitting projects, through the multiple ways of engagement they imply, help to free the experience of this buildings from an ordinary experience. Indeed, they put on trial the attachments developed by the actors around existing buildings and earthen material as much as the building knowledge and practices. These trials bring out collectives that weave a political meshwork. At different scales, this meshwork composes spaces for dialogue and appropriation of uses, practices and futures of existing buildings.The exploration of this hypothesis follows an interdisciplinary perspective that connect theoretical resources and methods developed in architecture, ethnology and sociology. It develops a pragmatic anthropology of building cultures composing a common problematic for these disciplines to discuss ancient building retrofitting. The investigation is based on multi-sited qualitative ethnography. Following projects paths carried by different actors (inhabitants, professionals, institutions), it describes the retrofitting worlds in action. First, the thesis describes the various forms of engagement in retrofitting projects, from the intervention on a specific building to its evaluation as heritage. These experience draw attention on different qualities of the buildings and bring them out of their ordinary status. Ancient rammed earth buildings are therefore engaged – and engage themselves – in multiple realities: house, place of life, workplace, local heritage, earthen architecture. It makes the actors act, react and interact. Then, the analysis shows how the difficulty of applying strict rehabilitation protocols leads the actors to engage in trials and to develop holds to carry out their projects. As the project progresses, these trials lead them to adjust their relations with each other and with existing buildings. As they grasp knowledge about retrofitting, they develop different attachments. Therefore, retrofitting projects contribute to the emergence of collectives, more or less durable. At their own scale, these collectives reclaim the methods of interventions on buildings and the decision that concern them. The thesis eventually aims to better understand the plural dimensions (material, constructive, architectural and interactional) of rammed earth building retrofitting and propose components for a dialogue to carry on with local stakeholders around the interests and conditions that would make possible to hold a political space around the uses and futures of existing buildings.

L'utilisation de matériaux locaux, naturels et non transformés offre des solutions prometteuses de construction à faible impact environnemental. La grande variabilité spatiale de ces matériaux est cependant un obstacle à une utilisation à plus grande échelle. Les stratégies de construction développées par les anciens bâtisseurs ont été dictées par le climat local et la qualité ainsi que la quantité de matériaux de construction disponibles localement. Ces stratégies de construction peuvent être considérées comme une gestion optimisée des ressources locales, naturelles et variables et sont une source d'inspiration pour la construction durable moderne. Malheureusement, cette connaissance a été perdue dans les pays occidentaux au cours du 20ème siècle. La redécouverte des savoir-faire traditionnels requiert le développement de moyens rationnels d’analyse du patrimoine. Un autre problème concernant l'utilisation de matériaux de construction naturels et variables est leur conformité vis-à-vis de la réglementation du secteur du bâtiment. Le développement de procédures d’essais performantiels est proposé comme solution pour faciliter l'utilisation des techniques de construction en terre. Une approche multidisciplinaire est proposée, combinant micromorphologie, pédologie, géotechnique et étude du patrimoine pour analyser le bâti vernaculaire en terre. Cette approche fournit des outils complémentaires pour évaluer la source des matériaux de construction et identifier les caractéristiques géotechniques de la terre employées dans le patrimoine. Il fournit également une description détaillée des processus vernaculaires de construction. En utilisant ces résultats, il a été possible d'élaborer des cartes de ressources et d’estimer l’ordre de grandeur de la disponibilité des ressources à l'échelle d’une région. Deux procédures d’essais performantiels ont été proposées afin de tenir compte de la variabilité naturelle des terres dans le contexte réglementaire actuel. La construction en terre jouera un rôle important dans la construction durable du 21ème siècle si les acteurs du secteur adoptent des procédés de construction capables de répondre à la demande sociale, avec un faible impact environnemental et à un coût abordable. L'étude du patrimoine en terre a démontré la capacité des anciens bâtisseurs à innover afin de se conformer aux variations de la demande sociale et aux développements techniques. La construction en terre bénéficie d'un passé ancien et riche et il convient de tirer profit de ce retour d’expérience. L'analyse du patrimoine en terre et la redécouverte des techniques de construction vernaculaire est une source d'inspiration précieuse pour la construction contemporaine. La valorisation des connaissances vernaculaires permettra d’économiser du temps, de l'énergie et d'éviter de répéter les erreurs passées. L'avenir de la construction de la terre doit s’inscrire dans la continuité de la construction en terre vernaculaire. / The use of local, natural and unprocessed materials offers promising low impact building solutions. The wide spatial variability of these materials is, however, an obstacle to a large-scale use. The construction strategies developed by past builders were dictated by the local climate and the quality and the amount of locally available construction materials. These construction strategies can be regarded as an optimized management of local, natural and variable resources and are a source of inspiration for modern sustainable building. Unfortunately, this knowledge was lost in Western countries during the 20th century. Vernacular earth construction know-how rediscovering requires the development of rational built heritage investigation means. Another issue regarding the use of natural and variable building material is their compliance with modern building regulation. The development of performance based testing procedures is proposed as a solution to facilitate the use of earth as a building material. A multidisciplinary approach is proposed, combining micromorphology, pedology, geotechnics and heritage disciplines to study vernacular earth heritage. It provides complementary tools to assess pedological sources of construction material and geotechnical characteristics of earth employed in vernacular earth heritage. It also provides a detailed description of the construction process of vernacular earth heritage. Using these results, it was possible to draw resource maps and provide a scale of magnitude of resource availability at regional scale. Two performance based testing procedures were proposed in order to take into account the natural variability of earth in a modern building context. Earth construction will play an important role in the modern sustainable building of the 21st century if the actors of the sector adopt earth construction processes able to meet social demand, with low environmental impact and at an affordable cost. The study of earth heritage demonstrated the ability of historical earth builders to innovate in order to comply with social demand variations and technical developments. Earth construction benefits of an old and rich past and it would be a non-sense to leave this past behind. The analysis of earth heritage and the rediscovering of vernacular construction techniques is a valuable source of inspiration for modern earth construction. The valorisation of vernacular knowledge will save time, energy and avoid repeating past mistakes. The future of earth construction should be a continuation of past vernacular earth construction.

La détermination des comportements mécaniques des murs en pisé est d’une importance capitale dans un contexte où il y a un regain d’intérêt pour l’utilisation de matériaux de construction à très faible impact environnementaux. D’une part, cette étude contribue à trouver des moyens appropriés pour la conservation et la restauration du patrimoine bâti et, d’autre part, permet d’établir de nouvelles recommandations pour la conception de nouvelles structures en pisé dans le respect des règlements de la construction (réglementation thermique et réglementation parasismique).Dans ce contexte, cette thèse étudie le comportement des murs en pisé soumis à des sollicitations horizontales. Quatre murs de terre en pisé non stabilisés ont été testés sous une combinaison de charge verticale et horizontale monotone (type pushover) jusqu'à la rupture. Le comportement au cisaillement et les modes de ruptures de ces murs sont étudiés à l’aide d’une technique de corrélation d’images à grande échelle. Les résultats ont montré que le pisé est caractérisé par un comportement mécanique non linéaire très significatif et une ductilité remarquable. D’une manière générale, les murs ont subi une rupture de cisaillement due à une fissuration principale au niveau de la bielle de compression. Des fissures à l'interface entre les différentes couches ont également été observées.L'évaluation de la performance de ces murs a été effectuée sur la base de la méthodologie pushover. Le travail expérimental a été complété avec la détermination des caractéristiques mécaniques du matériau pisé en compression puis une étude en cisaillement directe (cohésion et angle de frottement) à l’aide de deux boites de Casagrande de tailles différentes. Enfin, l’importance de ces paramètres a été analysée en réalisant des simulations numériques à l’échelle du mur. / Determining the mechanical behavior of rammed earth walls is a highly important feature giving that there is a renewed interest in the use of the natural material in building construction. On one hand, it contributes to finding suitable and appropriate ways for the conservation and restoration of these building and on another hand, it draws new recommendations for the conception of new rammed earth structures with respect to new building regulations (earthquake building guideline, new thermal regulation).In this context, this thesis investigates the behavior of rammed earth walls subjected to lateral loading. Four unstabilized rammed earth walls were tested under a combination of vertical and monotonic pushover tests up to failure. The shear behavior of these walls is studied along with the failure modes by means of digital image correlation. Results showed that the response of the rammed earth is characterized by significant non-linear behavior with a remarkable ductility. In general, the walls experienced a shear failure due to the failure of diagonal struts. Cracks at the interface between the bottom layers were also observed.The performance of these walls was assessed based on the pushover methodology. The experimental work was completed with the determination of the mechanical characteristics of rammed earth in compression and an investigation of the shear components: cohesion and friction angle of the rammed earth through shear box tests on a different scale. Finally, the relevance of these parameters was tested by performing a numerical model that aims to simulate the experimental tests done on the scale of the walls.

La thèse s'inscrit dans un projet de recherche national (ANR Primaterre) qui a pour but d'étudier les performances (mécaniques et thermiques) réelles des matériaux de construction premiers à faible énergie grise que sont la terre crue et la limousinerie.Le travail de thèse se concentre sur les aspects thermiques et hygrothermiques de la terre crue, c'est-à-dire le couplage entre les transferts de masse d'eau (liquide et vapeur) et de chaleur au sein du matériau. Dans une première partie, une analyse des performances thermiques et hydriques d'une habitation comportant des murs en pisé (terre crue compactée) instrumentés a été réalisée. Cette étude a été complétée par la mesure, en laboratoire, des propriétés thermiques et hydriques du matériau. Le lien entre les paramètres matériaux mesurés et les performances (hygro)-thermiques a été appréhendé à la lumière d'un modèle numérique couplé, adapté aux caractéristiques particulières du matériau. Cette étude a mis en évidence que, de par leur aptitude à stocker puis restituer l'énergie solaire, leur capacité de stockage hydrique et la complexité des transports et changements de phases de l'eau se produisant en leur sein, les murs en terre crue présentent de nombreuses particularités qu'il convient de prendre en compte pour une bonne prédiction de leur impact sur les performances d'une habitation. / The Ph.D. is part of a national research project (ANR Primaterre) aiming at promoting real performances (mechanical and thermal) of primary construction materials with low embodied energy such as raw earth.This work focuses on the thermal and hygrothermal behaviour of rammed earth, i.e. coupled transfers of heat and moisture (liquid water and water vapour) within the material. On the one hand, an evaluation of the thermal and hygric performances of a monitored house with rammed earth walls is provided. This study is completed with laboratory measurements of the thermal and hydric properties of the material. A numerical coupled model, suitable for the specific characteristics of the material, provides a better understanding of the link between the characterization parameters measured and its (hygro)thermal performances. Because of their ability to store and release heat from the sun, their capacity to store moisture and the complexity of the transfers occurring in their pores, earthen walls display many distinctive features that are essential to count for in order to provide an accurate prediction of their impact on the global performances of a building.