Rammed earth is one of the oldest methods of constructing walls and still holds great potential for modern earth construction. One aspect of this potential is the gift of its colors and layers, which become visible as the formworks are removed, revealing a layered character. As a process that involves the layer-by-layer compression of gravel, sand, silt, and clay, its resulting appearance is a horizontal stratification of earth tones, material content, and curing procedures. This colorful appearance of rammed earth walls can be controlled and explored through patterns, texture, pigmentation, and natural clay colors, offering an opportunity to push its boundaries within architecture.
From the pre-Columbian period of the Americas –during which cultures such as the Olmec, Maya, Purepecha, and Mexica (Aztec) thrived– to the modern era where architecture has been influenced by social movements and even natural disasters, Mexican architecture showcases a valuable architectural expression, with its own unique voice and distinctive characteristics. Nobel Literature Laureate Octavio Paz argued that architecture is an incorruptible witness to history. Likewise, the materials used to shape it have acted as protagonists of that history, enduring in many cases over time and evolving thanks to the generations of architects who have contributed to it, from different perspectives.
To trace a timeline, it is possible to take as a starting point pre-Hispanic architecture, which exhibited a diversity of nuances due to Mexico's vast territorial extension. This allowed diverse cultures to find their niche and develop their characteristic architectural styles. Subsequently, the era of Spanish colonization, which itself drew influence from Islamic architecture, represented a noteworthy turning point in architectural development. This phase endured until the advent of Mexican Independence in the 19th century. In turn, this marked the initiation of social and cultural movements, both during and after the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century.
https://www.archdaily.com/1005554/materials-that-define-the-contemporary-mexican-architectural-aestheticEnrique Tovar
Composed of very fine mineral particles and formed through the weathering and erosion of rocks over long periods of time, clay has properties that make it useful for a wide range of applications. When wet, it becomes extremely malleable and plastic, and can be molded into different shapes. When dry, it is hard and rigid, and is widely used for construction and ceramics. Clay pavers are quite common for outdoor use due to their durability, resistance to weather and traffic, their natural hues and ease of installation.
EJS Presidential Center. Image Courtesy of Atelier Masōmī
Atelier Masōmī has just revealed its design for The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center). President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf chose an all-female team to work on the project with lead architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara of Atelier Masōmī, exhibition's architect Sumayya Vally of Counterspace, and the local architect Liberian architect Karen Richards Barnes. The EJS Center, located in Liberia’s capital Monrovia, will provide digital access to former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s personal and professional archives.
In an effort to address the architecture industry’s environmental impact, Henning Larsen is presenting the “Changing Our Footprint” exhibition at Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin. The event features the small but scalable steps that the office is taking to move towards a more desirable future through the projects they are designing and the research they are conducting. The exhibition aims to be an engaging event, inviting visitors to participate in the dialogue, to think critically about the proposed solutions and initiatives, and to ask difficult questions in the search for better outcomes. The exhibition is open until March 22, 2023. Henning Larsen will also host a series of panel debates at the Aedes Architecture Forum from February 22 to March 14.
The Chilean organization Ruta Pais Foundation has invited international architects and local artisans to design a series of architectural interventions in order to create 3 artisan routes in the Chilean Central Valley: Wicker Route in Chimbarongo, Clay Route in Pomaire, and Stone Route in Pelequén.
Local Collective has designed a seating made of clay for the London Festival of Architecture and Network Rail. Unveiled at London Bridge Station, the urban furniture is a result of a “competition organized by the LFA and Network Rail to create public installations that celebrate London’s shared spaces and connect people with playful encounters”.
Whether you're looking for an upgrade or to replace broken pieces for floors or walls, tiles are always an effective and readily available option for any project that you have in mind. With their relatively low production cost, tiles are rarely reused or recycled and, if they are, it's usually for their original function.
This installation is a bespoke attempt to simplify and reinterpret the concept of air-conditioning, understanding that standardized solutions may not be universally applicable given the constraints of cost and surrounding environment. Using computational technologies, the team at Ant Studio has reinterpreted traditional evaporative cooling techniques to build a prototype of cylindrical clay cones, each with a custom design and size.
Developed by researchers and students from the Faculty of Architecture at HKU and supported by Sino Group, the 'Ceramic Constellation Pavilion' is built on a wooden structure that supports a series of "walls" formed by about 2,000 clay bricks. Each of these individual components is unique and has been manufactured using robotic technology and 3D printing, allowing to generate different types of transparency and opacity in their different faces.
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Courtesy of Team Aesop (Josh Draper, Lisa Ramsburg, Powell Draper, Edward M. Segal, and Max Dowd)
Cast & Place has been announced as the winner of the 2017 City of Dreamscompetition to create a pavilion for New York City’s Governors Island. Held by not-for-profit arts organization FIGMENT, the AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee, and the Structural Engineers Association of New York, the competition called for a design to be the hub of FIGMENT’s free community arts festival during Summer 2017, based on questions of the future of New York, how design can confront environmental challenges, and how architecture can be built from recycled or borrowed material.
With these questions in mind, Cast & Place was conceptualized as a pavilion made entirely from waste. 300,000 recycled aluminum cans, cast into the cracks of dried clay, will form structural panels that assemble into shaded spaces for performance and play.
The installation is set at A/D/O's courtyard in Brooklyn. Image Courtesy of Sam Nixon
London-based architecture collective Assemble is set to transform an outdoor courtyard at A/D/O in Brooklyn into a ‘model factory’ to explore utopian ideals of work. The Turner Prize-winning architects will use their first site-specific installation in the U.S. entitled ‘A Factory As It Might Be’ to depict a vision of how society should build and function using abundant, malleable materials.
The Wienerberger Brick Award is a global award for modern and innovative brick architecture. Architectural journalists, critics, as well as architects, are invited to submit outstanding projects of modern brick architecture via an easy to handle submission tool until 20th April 2017. The official Brick Award ceremony will take place in Vienna in Spring 2018.
Rendered Interior View. Image Courtesy of Kéré Architecture
Kéré Architecture has placed first in a competition to design a protective shelter on the UNESCO-protected Meroe Royal Baths in Sudan, North Africa. Believed to have served nearby palaces from the great African Kingdom of Kush (now modern-day Sudan), the Meroe Royal Baths were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011 and is the focus of joint research by the German Archaeological Institute and the National Corporation for Antiques and Museums. Still marked by temples, palaces and over two hundred pyramids, the ruins of Meroe are a testimony to the exchanges of culture between the Mediterranean and Africa. Find out more about the proposal after the break.
In this TED Talk, Aga Khan Award-winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré explains how to build a community with clay. With his firm Kéré Architecture, the Burkina Faso native has achieved international renown by using local building materials and techniques to engage and improve local expertise. Watch as explains how he applied his personal success to benefit the small African village he grew up in.
