Rammed earth studies on the potential of the site as the origin of constructed space

Earth is embedded with life, Earth has been nourished by all living organism: the earth we stand on, the dust we live with, is inherently a dynamic matter. The binder of all things is gravity, that creates a solid piece by compressing layers together, in time. As a result, all places are special both in their nature and through the human activities that have transformed places over time.

If the site is the physical origine of any space, can we approach construction as the transformation of a place?

Using what is of the site, being pieces of scrapped concrete in a urban context, or coloured soil in the rural, we compress together what constitutes the site at a given moment in time.

Ramming the mixture together leaves traces of the process. The force inscribed on the material becomes visible in the horizontal layering of a rammed earth piece.

This technique highlights the potential of the site in the construction of spaces through the removal and transformation of material rather than additive processes. The project acts as an instrument to reveal what is the potential of a site, in order to bring us together and give awareness of the physical.

Design research conducted by Antonin Hautefort at the Architectural Association School of Architecture 2018-2019 as part of the diploma unit 17 led by Theo Sarantoglou Lalis and Dora Sweijd