● ARCHITECT’S ALPHABET ●

Do we need an earthquake or wait to be six feet under the ground to come down to earth and realize that we are only small earthworms from the fruit of the earth. It is time to move heaven and earth to find practices much more down to earth.

T for Earth.

The raw earth is the humblest, most ecological and most widespread of materials. It is a treasure within our grasp, under our feet, under our cities, that responds to the challenges of the ecological crisis.
Faced with the urgent need to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in order to curb climate change, this natural, abundant and energy-saving material is promising for the future.
Known empirically for millennia, its advantages for construction are multiple.

Its use as a building material does not compete with agriculture because the surface layer, rich in organic matter, is reserved for it, and only the lower layers, mainly mineral, are extracted.

Unlike industrial building materials that require a sophisticated and expensive implementation, raw earth is a raw material very little processed, accessible locally, and suitable for many construction modes: adobe or bauge, torchis or light earth, adobe or compressed earth blocks (BTC). It contributes to the preservation of non-renewable resources and rare materials, and reduces the use of fossil fuels (it spends very little grey energy) as well as industrial pollution.

It is a mechanically resistant material (several levels are possible) and compatible with all climates, even rainy. It is also a repairable material (easy and invisible connections) that can be recycled endlessly.
Its material guarantees a healthy indoor climate by offering a natural regulation of humidity and a good thermal inertia. Buildings remain like this.