Building from Tradition

Building from Tradition examines the recent resurgence of interest in the handmade building and the use
of local and renewable materials in contemporary construction. In the past, raw materials were shaped
to provide shelter and to accommodate the cultural, social, and economic needs of individuals and
communities. This is still true today as architects, engineers, and builders turn once again to local resources
and methods, not simply for constructing buildings, but also as a strategy for supporting social engagement,
sustainable development, and cultural continuity.

Building from Tradition features global case studies that allow readers to understand how building
practices—developed and refined by previous generations—continue to be adapted to suit a broad range
of cultural and environmental contexts. The book provides:

• a survey of historical and technical information about geologic and plant-based materials such as: stone,
earth, reed and grass, wood, and bamboo;
• 24 detailed case studies examining the disadvantages and benefits to using traditional materials and
methods and how they are currently being integrated with contemporary construction practices.

Elizabeth M. Golden is a registered architect in the United States and in Germany. She has contributed her
expertise to the design and construction of the Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School, the largest institution of its kind
in Afghanistan, and to Niamey 2000, an urban housing proposal for the rapidly expanding capital of Niger.
As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington, she teaches
courses focused on design, materials, and building technology, with an emphasis on sustainable systems.
She is also co-director of the Philippines Bamboo Workshop.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
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 Building from Tradition
Local Materials and
Methods in Contemporary
Architecture

Elizabeth M. Golden
ROUTLEDGE

Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2018 Elizabeth M. Golden

The right of Elizabeth M. Golden to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record has been requested for this book

ISBN: 978-1-138-90991-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-90992-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-69370-5 (ebk)

Typeset in Helvetica Neue by

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Contents
Acknowledgements vi
Figure Credits vii
Introduction: Building from Tradition ...................... 1
Part I: Material Fundamentals
1 Geologic Materials ............................................ 7
Earth............................................................... 8
Stone............................................................ 16
2 Plant Materials ................................................ 27
Reeds and Grasses...................................... 28
Wood ............................................................ 35
Bamboo ....................................................... 44
Part II: Material Strategies
3 Bespoke to Standardized................................ 59
3.1 Onjuku Beach House ............................. 63
3.2 Hostal Ritoque ....................................... 69
3.3 Niamey 2000 .......................................... 75
3.4 Base Affordable Housing ....................... 81
3.5 ModCell Straw Technology .................... 86
3.6 Ricola Kräuterzentrum ........................... 91
4 Local Engagement .......................................... 97
4.1 Opera Village and Center for .............. 100
Health Care and Social Promotion
4.2 Dungga Daycare .................................. 106
4.3 Common Ground Neighborhood ......... 112
4.4 Women’s Opportunity Center .............. 117
4.5 Esperanza Series ................................. 122
4.6 Ma’anqiao Village Reconstruction ....... 127
5 Materials and Place....................................... 133
5.1 Tåkern Visitor Center ........................... 136
5.2 Al Jahili Fort ......................................... 142
5.3 Jianamani Visitor Center ...................... 147
5.4 Bry-sur-Marne Social Housing............. 153
5.5 Wind and Water Bar ............................. 159
5.6 Haus am Moor ..................................... 164
6 Primitive to Performative............................... 171
6.1 Kargyak Learning Center ..................... 174
6.2 Pani Community Center ....................... 179
6.3 Haus Rauch ......................................... 186
6.4 Aknaibich Preschool ............................ 191
6.5 Blooming Bamboo Home .................... 197
6.6 Thread Artist Residency and................ 203
Cultural Center
7 Reflections and Looking Ahead .................... 211
Index ....................................................................221
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the support of David Miller, chair of the Department of
Architecture at the University of Washington (2007–2015). He, in addition to my colleagues Ann Huppert and
Vikram Prakash, offered encouragement and guidance at critical moments during the development of this
project. Research for this project was made possible by a grant from the University of Washington Royalty
Research Fund.

Several individuals deserve special recognition for offering their expertise on materials and building
traditions. Thanks goes to Ray Villanueva, Rene Armogenia, and Herbie Teodoro for furthering my
understanding of bamboo construction, and to Kent Harries, for bringing me up to speed on bamboo and
the ISO standardization process. I also owe a great deal to Mariam Kamara for enhancing my knowledge
of compressed earth block construction, as well as earth architecture in Niger. Thanks to Li Peipei Sun
who assisted with translations and advanced my work through her graduate thesis project, which included
research on counter-urbanization and building traditions in China.

I am extremely appreciative of the cooperation, enthusiasm, and generosity of all participating firms and
organizations. I would like to specifically thank Till Gröner, Corrina Salzer, Christina Jentsch, Lutz Nadia,
Clemens Quirin, David Barragán, Jordan Mactavish, Alejandro Soffia, Bruce Engel, Finlay White, Alastair
Townsend, Li Wan, Sandy Bishop, Takashi Niwa, Gerrit Schilder Jr., Hill Scholte, who spent time answering
questions and reviewing case study drafts.

I must also thank Nancy Later for her editorial assistance and Jacqueline Golden for her copyediting and
encouragement. And finally, I am grateful to my husband Philip Straeter; his unwavering patience and
support allowed me to complete this book.

vi Acknowledgements
Figure Credits
1.1 Mud brick ice house in Iran. Source: © Adam Jones
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
1.2 Contemporary rammed earth house in Arizona, USA. Source: © David Quigley
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
1.3 Traditional mud brick house next to contemporary concrete home in Al Huwayah, Oman. Source:
© Bart Dooms
1.4 Agadez, Niger. Source: © Russell Scott
1.5 Rammed earth construction. Source: © Steve Hoge
1.6 Making mud bricks. Source: © Frank Stabel
1.7 Compacting earth with pneumatic backfill tamper. Source: © Markus Bühler-Rasom
1.8 Cob combined with light wood frame construction. Source: © Natural Building Extravaganza
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
1.9 Making compressed earth blocks. Source: © Gustave Deghilage
1.10 Massive dry stone wall at Machu Picchu, Peru. Source: © Jorge Láscar
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
1.11 “The Slave” by Michelangelo. Source: © Scala/Art Resource, NY
1.12 Granite cobble stones. Source: © Onnola (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
1.13 Limestone wall. Source: © Martin Thomas (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
1.14 Marble flooring. Source: © Xlibber (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
1.15 Irregular stone wall. Source: © Stefan David (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
1.16 Stratified wall. Source: © Edgar Pierce (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
1.17 Squared ashlar wall. Source: © SEIER+SEIER (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
1.18 Emplecton wall. Source: © Harvey Barrison (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
1.19 Corbeled roof. Credit: Maxim Matusevich
1.20 Massive stone exterior of the Druk White Lotus School. Credit: Eryn Gaul
1.21 Massive stone foundations of the Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School. Source: © Sahar, Credit: Airokhsh
Faiz Qaisary
2.1 Traditional Japanese minka house in Japan. Source: © Tanaka Juuyoh
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.2 Reed structure built by the Al Shakamra tribe in Al Kuthra, Iraq. Credit: 318th Psychological
Operations Company, US Army
2.3 Common reed. Source: © The New York State Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell
University (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.4 Earth plaster with straw. Source: © Frank Stabel
2.5 Roof thatch installation. Source: © Bernard Marcia (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.6 Traditional thatched roof in Japan. Source: © Bryan (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
2.7 Straw bale house ca. 1926 in Nebraska, USA. Source: © Nebraska State Historical Society
2.8 Yusuhara Marche by Kengo Kuma & Associates. Source: © Takumi Ota Photography
2.9 Contemporary straw bale construction in Utah, USA. Source: © U.S. Department of Agriculture
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/)
2.10a Prefabricated CLT and straw elements for the Gateway Building. Source: © Make Architects
2.10b The Gateway Building at the University of Nottingham. Source: © Make Architects
2.11 Wood detailing of the Villa Sørensen by Arne Jacobsen. Source: © SEIER+SEIER
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.12 Wood under a microscope at 40x magnification. Source: © GorissenM
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
2.13 Log cabin in Kansas, USA. Source: © Luke Lienau (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.14 German Fachwerkhaus. Source: © Michael Pollak (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Figure Credits vii

 2.15a Mortise and tenon joint. Source: © Peter Alfred Hess (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.15b Half-lap joint. Source: © Peter Alfred Hess (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.16 Cross-laminated timber blocks. Source: © Oregon Department of Forestry
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
2.17 Haus Walpen, modified log construction. Source: © Lucia Degonda
2.18 Bamboo bridge in Vietnam. Source: © Vincent Hudry
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
2.19 Bamboo clump. Source: © Quinn Dombrowski (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
2.20 Bolo or Filipino bamboo knife. Credit: Elizabeth M. Golden
2.21 Bamboo shingles. Credit: Elizabeth M. Golden
2.22 Flattening bamboo culms. Credit: Elizabeth M. Golden
2.23 A contemporary bahay kubo before pegging and lashing. Credit: Kejia Zhang
2.24 Bamboo floor. Source: © Marlon E (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
2.25 Fish mouth joint. Credit: Buddy Burkhalter
2.26 Bahareque construction. Source: © José Antonio Rivas Ramírez
2.27 Laminated bamboo. Credit: Elizabeth M. Golden
2.28 Bamboo roof structure in vacation house by Mañosa & Company. Credit: Elizabeth M. Golden
3.1 Prefabricated rammed earth panels at the Ricola Kräuterzentrum. Source: © Markus Bühler-Rasom
3.1.1 Onjuku Beach House exterior view. Source: © BAKOKO
3.1.2 CNC precut timber members. Source: © BAKOKO
3.1.3 Structural framing plan. Source: © BAKOKO
3.1.4 Timber frame assembly. Source: © BAKOKO
3.1.5 Main floor plan. Source: © BAKOKO
3.1.6 Living room. Source: © BAKOKO
3.2.1 View of Hostal Ritoque from south. Source: © Pablo Casals-Aguirre
3.2.2 Site plan. Source: © Gabriel Rudolphy + Alejandro Soffia Arquitectos
3.2.3 Exterior view. Source: © Juan Durán Sierralta
3.2.4 Plans and axonometric drawings of communal living spaces. Source: © Gabriel Rudolphy +
Alejandro Soffia Arquitectos
3.2.5 Wood framing. Source: © Gabriel Rudolphy + Alejandro Soffia Arquitectos
3.2.6 View from guesthouse. Source: © Pablo Casals-Aguirre
3.3.1 Niamey 2000 from southwest. Source: © united4design, credit Torsten Seidel
3.3.2 Ground-floor plan and longitudinal section. Source: © united4design
3.3.3 Compressed earth block construction. Source: © united4design, credit Mariam Kamara
3.3.4 Southeast corner from street. Source: © united4design, credit Torsten Seidel
3.3.5 Earth masonry vaults. Source: © united4design, credit Torsten Seidel
3.4.1 Two-story duplex in Iloilo City. Source: © Base
3.4.2 Cement bamboo frame construction. Source: © Base
3.4.3 Prefabricated bamboo elements after installation. Source: © Base
3.4.4 Home interior. Source: © Base
3.5.1 Panel assembly. Source: © ModCell
3.5.2 BaleHaus. Source: © ModCell
3.5.3 LILAC cohousing. Source: © ModCell
3.5.4 Section showing ModCell units clad with brick. Source: © ModCell
3.5.5 Shirehampton homes. Source: © ModCell
3.6.1 Ricola Kräuterzentrum from southwest. Source: © Markus Bühler-Rasom
3.6.2 Ground-floor plan and longitudinal section. Source: © Herzog & de Meuron
3.6.3a Prefabricated rammed earth panels. Source: © Markus Bühler-Rasom
3.6.3b Panel installation. Source: © Markus Bühler-Rasom
3.6.3c Filling and tamping seams between panels. Source: © Markus Bühler-Rasom
3.6.3d Earth render application on interior. Source: © Markus Bühler-Rasom
4.1 Members of the Women’s Opportunity Center construction team. Source: © Sharon Davis Design
4.1.1 Bird’s eye view of future Opera Village. Source: © Kéré Architecture

viii Figure Credits

4.1.2 Center for Health Care and Social Promotion from northwest. Source: © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
4.1.3 Ground-floor plan. Source: © Kéré Architecture
4.1.4 Building section. Source: © Kéré Architecture
4.1.5 Exterior wall section. Source: © Kéré Architecture
4.1.6 Interior courtyard. Source: © Kéré Architecture
4.1.7 Members of the construction team. Source: © Grünhelme, credit Till Gröner
4.2.1 Students constructing the daycare roof. Source: © Estudio Damgo, credit Ray Villanueva
4.2.2 Dungga Daycare from northwest. Source: © Estudio Damgo, credit Ray Villanueva
4.2.3 West elevation. Source: © Estudio Damgo, credit Ray Villanueva
4.2.4 Floor plan and transverse section. Source: © Estudio Damgo
4.2.5 Daycare interior. Source: © Estudio Damgo, credit Ray Villanueva
4.3.1 Common Ground Neighborhood. Source: © Mithun
4.3.2 One- and two-bedroom flex units. Source: © Mithun
4.3.3 Energy systems. Source: © Mithun
4.3.4 Straw bale construction crew. Source: © Mithun
4.3.5 Straw bale wall foundation. Source: © Mithun
4.3.6 Straw bale plaster finish. Source: © Mithun
4.4.1 Demonstration farm at Women’s Opportunity Center. Source: © Elizabeth Felicella
4.4.2 Site plan. Source: © Sharon Davis Design
4.4.3 Brick production. Source: © Sharon Davis Design
4.4.4 Brick form. Source: © Sharon Davis Design
4.4.5 Brick kiln. Source: © Sharon Davis Design
4.4.6 Coursing plans. Source: © Sharon Davis Design
4.4.7 Classroom interior. Source: © Elizabeth Felicella
4.5.1 Esperanza Dos. Source: © Al Borde, credit Andrea Vargas
4.5.2 Diagrams of structural system. Source: © Al Borde
4.5.3 Tripod construction. Source: © Al Borde
4.5.4 Interior of Esperanza Dos. Source: © Al Borde, credit Andrea Vargas
4.5.5 Community workshop. Source: © Al Borde
4.6.1 Ma’anqiao after 2011 earthquake. Credit: Jun Mu
4.6.2 Ma’anqiao after reconstruction. Credit: Li Wan
4.6.3 Constructing the house prototype. Credit: Jun Mu
4.6.4 House improvements. Credit: Li Wan
4.6.5 Reconstructed homes. Credit: Jun Mu
4.6.6 Ma’anqiao village center. Credit: Jun Mu
5.1 Cutting wood for Haus am Moor in Vorarlberg, Austria. Source: © Bernardo Bader Architekten
5.1.1 Visitor center on Lake Tåkern. Source: © Christian Badenfelt
5.1.2 Main entry. Source: © Åke E:son Lindman
5.1.3 Exhibit space. Source: © Åke E:son Lindman
5.1.4 Floor plan. Source: © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor
5.1.5 Thatch façade of visitor center. Source: © Åke E:son Lindman
5.1.6 Section detail. Source: © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor
5.1.7 Thatch installation. Source: © Wingårdh Arkitektkontor
5.2.1 Al Jahili Fort courtyard. Source: © Torsten Seidel
5.2.2 Site Plan. Source: © Roswag & Jankowski Architekten
5.2.3 Reinstallation of timber beams. Source: © Roswag & Jankowski Architekten
5.2.4 Base layer application of clay plaster. Source: © Roswag & Jankowski Architekten
5.2.5 Environmental systems diagram. Source: © Roswag & Jankowski Architekten
5.2.6 Cooling system installation. Source: © Roswag & Jankowski Architekten
5.2.7 Café and arcade. Source: © Roswag & Jankowski Architekten
5.3.1 Visitor center exterior. Source: © Atelier TeamMinus
5.3.2 Diagram of significant sites surrounding the Jianamani Visitor Center. Source: © Atelier TeamMinus
5.3.3 Mani stones. Source: © Ken Marshall (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Figure Credits ix
 5.3.4 Ground-floor plan. Source: © Atelier TeamMinus
5.3.5 Stone masonry. Source: © Atelier TeamMinus
5.3.6 Viewing platform. Source: © Atelier TeamMinus
5.4.1 Courtyard elevation. Source: © Sergio Grazia
5.4.2 Main floor plans and longitudinal section. Source: © Eliet & Lehmann Architectes
5.4.3 East elevation. Source: © Sergio Grazia
5.4.4 Noyant quarry. Source: © Pierre-Yves Brunaud
5.4.5 Section and elevation detail. Source: © Eliet & Lehmann Architectes
5.4.6 Cut stone. Source: © Pierre-Yves Brunaud
5.4.7 Stone assembly. Source: © Pierre-Yves Brunaud
5.5.1 Wind and Water Bar exterior. Source: © Hiroyuki Oki
5.5.2 Plan and section. Source: © Vo Trong Nghia Architects
5.5.3 Bamboo framing. Source: © Hiroyuki Oki
5.5.4 Roof structure. Source: © Vo Trong Nghia Architects
5.5.5 Foundation connection. Source: © Vo Trong Nghia Architects
5.5.6 Bar interior. Source: © Phan Quang
5.6.1 Haus am Moor east elevation. Source: © Adolf Bereuter
5.6.2 Plans and transverse section. Source: © Bernardo Bader Architekten
5.6.3 Panel installation. Source: © Bernardo Bader Architekten
5.6.4 Studio interior. Source: © Adolf Bereuter
5.6.5 Foundation excavation. Source: © Bernardo Bader Architekten
5.6.6 Heating system installation. Source: © Bernardo Bader Architekten
6.1 Earthquake-resistant construction at the Aknaibich Preschool. Source: © Frank Stabel
6.1.1 View of learning center and Kargyak village. Source: © arch i platform
6.1.2 Collecting stones. Source: © arch i platform
6.1.3 Exterior of Kargyak Learning Center. Source: © arch i platform
6.1.4 Construction site. Source: © arch i platform
6.1.5 Diagram of wall construction. Source: © arch i platform
6.1.6 Diagram of wall heat capture system. Source: © arch i platform
6.1.7 Diagram under-floor heating system. Source: © arch i platform
6.1.8 Floor plan. Source: © arch i platform
6.2.1 Northwest corner Pani Community Center. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.2.2 Plaza. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.2.3 Classroom south elevation. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.2.4 Ground-floor plan and longitudinal sections. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.2.5 Bamboo column details. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.2.6 Work area. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.2.7 Brick pier construction. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.2.8 Classroom interior. Source: © SchilderScholte Architects
6.3.1 Haus Rauch west elevation. Source: © Beat Bühler
6.3.2 Rammed earth with tile inserts. Source: © Beat Bühler
6.3.3 Wall construction. Source: © Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst
6.3.4 Longitudinal section. Source: © Roger Boltshauser
6.3.5 Exterior wall detail. Source: © Roger Boltshauser
6.3.6 Heating system installation. Source: © Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst
6.3.7 Reed insulation installation. Source: © Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst
6.3.8 Interior walls finished with clay plaster. Source: © Beat Bühler
6.4.1 Aknaibich Preschool west elevation. Source: © Frank Stabel
6.4.2 Plan and transverse section. Source: © BC architects + MAMOTH
6.4.3 Classroom north elevation. Source: © Frank Stabel
6.4.4 Classroom interior. Source: © Frank Stabel
6.4.5 Detail of reinforced masonry piers. Source: © BC architects + MAMOTH
6.4.6 Classroom construction. Source: © Thomas Joos

x Figure Credits
6.4.7 Cork roof insulation. Source: © Frank Stabel
6.5.1 Blooming Bamboo Home exterior. Source: © H&P Architects
6.5.2 Floor plan and section. Source: © H&P Architects
6.5.3 Lower level living space. Source: © H&P Architects
6.5.4 Upper level living space. Source: © H&P Architects
6.5.5 Assembly diagram. Source: © H&P Architects
6.5.6 Exterior façade. Source: © H&P Architects
6.6.1 Thread from southeast. Source: © Iwan Baan
6.6.2 Thatched roof. Source: © Iwan Baan
6.6.3 Floor plan. Source: © Toshiko Mori Architect
6.6.4 Gathering space. Source: © Iwan Baan
6.6.5 Materials and water diagrams. Source: © Toshiko Mori Architect
6.6.6 Bamboo roof structure. Source: © Toshiko Mori Architect
6.6.7 Binding grass. Source: © Toshiko Mori Architect
6.6.8 Roof thatching. Source: © Toshiko Mori Architect
7.1 Agriculture Pavilion and Crafts Workshop in Pingtian, China. Source: © DnA Design and Architecture
7.2 Abandoned village of Dushang, Guangdong Province, China. Source: © Yu Wu
7.3 Pingtian Agriculture Pavilion and Crafts Workshop exterior. Source: © DnA Design and Architecture
7.4 Exhibit space. Source: © DnA Design and Architecture
7.5 Dandaji Mosque. Credit: Mariam Kamara
7.6 Axon of Dandaji Library. Source: © Yasaman Esmaili and Mariam Kamara
7.7 Interior of library. Source: © Yasaman Esmaili and Mariam Kamara

Figure Credits xi
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http:/taylorandfrancis.com
Introduction:
Building from Tradition
Over the course of the last decade there has been
a resurgence of interest in the handmade building,
as well as in the use of local and renewable
materials in building construction. This has come
at a time when concerns about the environment
and economic development are at an all-time high.
These volatile circumstances have either provoked
or encouraged some individuals to consider
methods of construction that are more responsive
to local conditions. In the past, raw materials were
shaped to provide shelter and to accommodate
the cultural, social, and economic needs of
individuals and communities. This is still true today
as architects, engineers, and builders turn once
again to local resources and methods, not simply
for constructing buildings, but also as a strategy
for supporting social engagement, sustainable
development, and cultural continuity. Building from
Tradition closely examines how building practices—
developed and refined by previous generations—
continue to be adapted to suit a broad range of
cultural and environmental contexts.
The relationship between materials and humans
began with the first attempts to build shelter.
Materials employed in construction rarely remained
in their ‘natural’ or raw state, and were transformed
from the moment they were exposed or extracted.
To understand the nature of a material meant to
work with it directly, and working with accessible
resources led to an understanding of their limits
and capabilities. As architectural historian and
theorist David Leatherbarrow notes, “No stone is
known in construction that is not first ‘grasped’
manually. Knowledge of the nature of materials,
on which selection depends, is a matter of manual
or at least bodily comprehension.”1 Materials
originated from direct methods of production—
worked by hand or formed using simple mechanical
equipment. This immediacy fostered a dynamic
exchange between materiality and people, each
influencing the other.
Building materials were the product of human
work, their ‘evolution’ occurring through manual
processes and the material itself acting as the
medium through which accumulated knowledge
was passed from one generation to the next.
Materials were selected not only for their functional
properties but also for their social, symbolic, and
ritual value. It is this process of discovery and
identification, when repeated over successive
generations, that can be identified as tradition.
Tradition is often understood as something that
is passed down through action, and in this case
specifically, through the act of building. Methods
and techniques were disseminated globally over
thousands of years; knowledge was transferred
via diverse routes and adapted according to the
regional climate and resources. Local identities and
building practices emerged out of this constantly
changing process.
Today, the builder’s immediate relationship
to the site and building process has given way
to construction systems dependent upon global
supply chain logistics and economies. Beginning
with the Industrial Revolution, building construction
has been radically transformed and traditional
methods have been superseded by construction
systems reliant on manufactured materials such
as steel and glass. After World War II, the use
of industrialized materials grew dramatically. In
the United States, for example, almost half of
the materials consumed in 1900 were based on
renewable resources such as wood and other
plant-based materials: by 1990, the consumption of
these resources declined to less than 8 percent.2
The shift from traditional to modern methods
has not occurred in all places equally, nor has it
transpired all at once. The reliance on large-scale
manufacturing and distribution—now the norm
in industrialized countries—has been periodically
challenged by (perceived and real) material
scarcity, causing brief returns to older, more direct
methods of construction. Such a revival of low-
tech practices occurred in the German Democratic
Republic during the Cold War period, when the
lack of resources and growing demand for housing
prompted the government to implement a large-
scale program reliant on earth-based construction.3
Introduction: Building from Tradition 1
The US government sponsored a similar program
during the Great Depression. In these instances,
economic necessity warranted an occasional
departure from industrialized systems. In so-
called developing nations, this is often still the
case; individuals with limited financial means build
with what is close at hand, rather than relying on
expensive materials imported from other areas.
Resources such as earth and bamboo are still
commonly used for construction in many parts
of the world, and yet these materials are often
labeled as ‘alternative’ and regarded as inferior to
industrially produced concrete or steel systems.
In the US and Europe, trade organizations and
producers of manufactured building components
promote the use of their products and support
new materials research and testing. With the
exception of wood, few traditional materials have
been developed and marketed in this way, mostly
because their composition and execution introduce
numerous variables that have not, until recently,
been well understood by the construction industry.
As a result, the predictability of these materials
hardly improved before the 1990s, and traditional
construction methods remained relatively
unaffected by modern advances in building
technology.
Current concerns about climate change
and a greater demand for healthier buildings
have fostered an interest in the use of minimally
processed and transported construction materials.
Consequently, some traditional materials have
experienced a modest resurgence since the
mid-1990s. More than a romantic revival of
anachronistic practices, recent developments
have focused on enhancing material performance
by contemporary means. Research and testing,
in addition to collaborative on-site training, are
providing a greater understanding of materials
whose properties have previously been difficult to
quantify. Studies focused on improving material
performance have been carried out with the intent
to develop and promote sustainable construction
practices. The German government, for example,
has funded research focused on establishing
guidelines for certain types of earthen construction;
consequentially, that material has obtained a higher
level of performance over the past two decades
than in the last thousand years.
Traditional materials offer several significant
advantages over contemporary building products.
Their production is often achieved through simple
processes, requiring minimal (or no) power,
2 Introduction: Building from Tradition
making them very attractive in countries where
energy costs are high. In addition, the materials
are commonly biocompatible—that is, non-toxic
and easily cycled between economic and natural
systems.4 Most are either renewable or derived
from resources so ubiquitous that their supply is
considered virtually inexhaustible. The application
of traditional materials in building construction
often relies on low-tech methods using manual
labor, reducing reliance on expensive power tools
and equipment.
In addition to having a low impact on the
environment, many of the materials can be
designed to fulfill multiple functions within a
building, reducing the number of discrete elements
typically required in a conventional construction
assembly. For example, straw shaped into bales
performs thermally as well as structurally, providing
a high degree of insulation. Similarly, heavy earth
masonry or rammed earth walls can function
simultaneously as structure and as temperature-
regulating thermal mass.
The multifunctionality of various traditional
materials often simplifies construction, making
it easier for non-experts to understand and
actually take part in the building process. Thus,
community participation frequently plays a key
role in projects incorporating traditional materials.
These efforts act as social and economic
catalysts, challenging accepted modes of spatial
production by disengaging from global markets
and connecting instead to local resource systems.
This is an important aspect for a number of
architects working in locations such as China and
India, where engaging tradition and local culture
through ‘old’ construction practices has become a
potential strategy for countering the uniformity of
contemporary development. Traditional materials in
these scenarios offer possibilities that conventional
ones cannot: materials originating in the
surrounding landscape create strong ties with the
local geography and culture, and their immediacy
provides valuable opportunities for engagement
and experimentation.
Although traditional materials may offer many
advantages, their potential is often limited by a
contemporary set of complex circumstances—
building regulations, environmental factors, and a
lack of skilled labor, to name but a few. As a result,
the materials are frequently modified, or combined
with industrial products, to make them more
suitable for current applications. In some instances
such adaptations might standardize material
behavior or improve certain physical properties,
such as moisture resistance, as is the case when
cement is added to rammed earth or when bamboo
undergoes lamination. However, the imposition
of modern technologies and processes can also
eliminate important attributes and characteristics.
The most compelling integration of ‘old’ and ‘new’
technologies occurs when a material’s inherent
properties are well understood and fully utilized
from a technical as a well as cultural standpoint.
Combining traditional and contemporary
methods is not new. Even Le Corbusier, one
of the most prominent figures of the modern
movement in architecture, experimented with
hybrid construction techniques that integrated
industrial with non-industrial materials such as
straw and earth. In Towards a New Architecture
of 1923, Le Corbusier argues “natural materials,
which are innately variable in composition, must be
replaced by fixed ones.”5 The architect fluctuated,
however, between a desire for the predictability
offered by standardization and mass production
and an enthusiasm for natural, locally sourced
materials.6 Evidence of this vacillation can be seen
at the Weißenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart, where Le
Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret used reeds as
permanent formwork for constructing the insulated
concrete slabs of Houses 14 and 15 (1927).7 The
architects also experimented with lightweight,
natural materials as a means of enclosure for steel
and reinforced concrete structures. Compressed
straw and cement rendered panels were installed
over the concrete framework of the Pavillon de
l’Esprit Nouveau (constructed in 1925) and were
also intended for use in covering the steel structure
of the Maison Sec (proposed 1929).
Le Corbusier’s earlier use of traditional
materials occurred mostly in response to economic
constraints: he disguised the qualities of the
natural materials by covering them with cement
plaster, thus limiting their role in shaping the
buildings spatially. Later, Le Corbusier combined
traditional and contemporary technologies in
more obvious ways, in his design for the Maison
de Weekend in La Celle-Saint-Cloud (1934) and
in his proposal for refugee housing, Maisons
Murondins (1940). Both projects demonstrate a
more conscientious use of local materials and
manual craft, with natural materials taking on a
deeper significance. Architectural historian Mary
McLeod attributes Le Corbusier’s shift in sensibility
to his disenchantment with both government and
industry after the stock market crash of 1929: “Just
as the rational, geometric forms of the twenties
were a manifestation of his faith in technology and
American systems of Scientific Management, the
rustic, more primitive works of the thirties were
a rejection of the supremacy of this selfsame
viewpoint.”8
In Maisons Murondins, Le Corbusier specified
pisé, or rammed earth, not only for its economy and
proficiency in regulating temperature but also for
its potential to relate the buildings to the landscape
and to the earth. Of this Le Corbusier writes, “Life
in these pisé buildings can have great dignity
and regain for man in the machine age a sense of
fundamental human and natural resources.”9 Le
Corbusier’s reasons for incorporating traditional
materials into his buildings were pragmatic, and
yet their inclusion also portrays a desire to evoke
symbolic connections to culture and place.10
Le Corbusier’s hybrid approach, combining the
‘variable’ with the ‘fixed,’ is an important precursor
to much of the work discussed in this book,
highlighting as it does some of the motivations that
inspire contemporary architects and designers to
use these same materials in their own projects.
This book serves a dual purpose. As a
materials reference book, it provides essential
information about the history, properties, and
traditional applications of common plant-based
and geological materials. This can be found in
Part I, Material Fundamentals. The second, and
arguably more central, intention of this volume is
to offer a critical analysis of traditional building
practices today. Part II, Material Strategies, serves
this purpose by examining the materials and
methods through the lens of the contemporary
conditions driving their development in recent
years. Diverse economic, social, environmental,
and cultural conditions (and often a combination
of these) have compelled architects, engineers,
and other professionals to return once again to
older, more direct forms of construction. It is clear,
however, that no place or practice has remained
‘pure’ or can be disentangled from external forces.
Each case study in the Material Strategies part
represents a particular intersection between what
could be identified as ‘tradition’ and outside
influences attributed to globalization.
Tradition and contemporary development
need not be seen as diametrically opposed
to one another. In the past, tradition has often
been perceived as a foil to the modern and used
to frame and define ‘the other’—that is, the
undeveloped, the rural, and at times, the non-
Introduction: Building from Tradition 3
Western. In this light, tradition was viewed as
conservative, backward-looking, and fixed in place
and time, its perceived rootedness and immutability
offering a means for preserving the ‘authentic’
in a changing, modern world. When examining a
majority of the projects featured in this book, the
(re)introduction of traditional building practices
does not necessarily insure their absolute
authenticity or continuity with the past. Instead,
tradition is liminal—continually calibrating to a set
of rapidly changing circumstances and values.
From this perspective, it is useful to reevaluate
the original meaning of the word tradition:
actions related to communication or knowledge
transmission. In the transfer of ideas from one
place to another, from one individual to the next,
changes were inevitable and processes were
modified along the way.
Even though the ‘traditional’ in most of the case
studies has been introduced through a synthetic
process, the projects facilitated communication
and knowledge transfer—among individuals and
between people and matter. In all cases, something
new emerged from this dialog, which defies
classification as either traditional or contemporary.
Perhaps these examples present a way forward for
traditional materials and methods, or conversely,
stand to critique their position within a globalized
society. Regardless of the outcome, it is clear that
the speed of their evolution is accelerating. Newer
technologies have been integrated with traditional
applications to form hybrid systems able to fulfill
the contemporary requirements of efficiency
and stability. Whether or not these ‘traditional
transformations’ will be accepted and adopted for
the long term still remains to be seen, but what is
certain is that they are progressive, forward looking,
and worthy of our study.
4 Introduction: Building from Tradition
Notes
1 David Leatherbarrow, The Roots of
Architectural Invention: Site, Enclosure,
Materials (New York: Cambridge University
Press, 1993), 159.
2 Kenneth Geiser, Materials Matter: Toward a
Sustainable Materials Policy (Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press, 2001), 259.
3 Ulrich Röhlen and Christof Ziegert, Lehmbau-
Praxis, Planung und Ausführung (Berlin:
Bauwerk Verlag GmbH, 2010), 190–191.
4 Geiser, Materials Matter, 4.
5 Le Corbusier, Towards a New Architecture
(1931: rpt. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2009), 232.
6 Flora Samuel, Le Corbusier in Detail
(Burlington, MA: Elsevier/Architectural Press,
2007), 19–20.
7 Heinz Rasch and Bodo Rasch, Wie Bauen?
Materialien und Konstruktionen für industrielle
Produktion (Stuttgart: Akademischer Verlag Dr.
Fritz Wedekind & Co., 1928), 175.
8 Mary McLeod, “‘Architecture or Revolution’:
Taylorism, Technocracy, and Social Change,”
Art Journal 43, no. 2 (July 1983): 143.
9 Le Corbusier, Oeuvre Complete 1946–1952,
ed. Willy Boesiger (Zurich: Editions Girsberger,
1955), 27.
10 Samuel, Le Corbusier in Detail, 32.