Elements and Materials

Rammed Earth

Material

Citation Formats

General Reference

Architecture and Design Atlas. "Rammed Earth." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/rammed-earth.

APA Style

Architecture and Design Atlas. (n.d.). Rammed Earth. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/rammed-earth

BibTeX

@misc{architectureanddesignatlas-rammed-earth,
  author = {Architecture and Design Atlas},
  title = {Rammed Earth},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/rammed-earth},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

A construction technique in which layers of moist earth, sometimes stabilized with lime or cement, are compacted within temporary formwork to build solid, monolithic walls. Used for millennia in vernacular construction, sections of the Great Wall of China among them, the technique has been revived in contemporary sustainable architecture for its thermal mass and low embodied energy.

Facts

Element Kind

Material 1

First Used Era

Neolithic, widespread historically across China, North Africa and Europe 1

Cross-Tradition Connections