Rammed Concrete

Abstract: Rammed Concrete is a material study of an old building technique called rammed concrete and its predecessor rammed earth. Rammed earth is a technique used for constructing foundations, floors, and walls with the use of natural materials. It can be found all around the world and is commonly known by its French name “Pisé” from piser which means “to stamp, pound”. In short, earth is extracted from the ground and compacted in layers inside a formwork. Rammed earth structures can be traced all the way back to ancient China, with parts of the Great Wall and Han Dynasty watchtowers utilizing this technique. An updated version of rammed earth also known as rammed concrete, was developed in 1820 by Francois Martin Lebrun. It replaces the clay as its binder with cement. Resulting in a more robust construction, making it more resistant to rain and snow. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, reinforced concrete was introduced and just like anything else deemed less superior – the technique was slowly forgotten and rarely used, at least not for another 100 years. This thesis explores the idea of whether we could build with this technique in a contemporary context.