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Architects: earthLAB Studio
- Area: 189 m²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Leo Espinosa
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Manufacturers: Escenium HAUS, Helvex, Teka, Ultiservicios Chulum, VALVO
Text description provided by the architects. The 189.3 m2 house is located 25 minutes away from the city center of Mérida. The intention of building with earth is to create harmony between vernacular and modern architecture, tradition and technology, past and present; creating a style that mix schools and trends. With the combination of earth and a conventional material like concrete the old and the new work together.
The rammed-earth walls are the heart of the house, they create a free space that receives guests between the massive soil structure and the Mexican brick vault. Earth is a natural and forgotten resource, it is almost for free and environmental friendly.
On the social and economic aspect, increasing the use of natural materials empowers people to be self-sufficient and use a resource that is virtually under their feet: soil. It is well known that earth regulates the temperature of an environment and improves the air quality – healthy spaces.
earthLAB started as an exploration towards discovering and pushing the limits of earth as a building material. As a group of architects, engineers and designers with the aim of developing earth building technologies, earthLAB organizes workshops in Sweden where participants and users are introduced into the basics of rammed earth, develops design and helps those interested realize their projects.
