Down to Earth & Back to the Future for Sustainable Buildings

Some of the oldest buildings on the planet are made of earth. It is estimated that one half of the world’s population – approximately three billion people on six continents – lives or works in buildings constructed of earth. With the future of the planet at stake, with carbon reduction and options for sustainable living at the forefront of consciousness across the world, the Earth Building Association of Australia (EBAA) meets this week to engage in both the philosophy and the practice of the safest and most sustainable option for building and community living.

Report from Ken Hickson:

Last year I was privileged to attend and speak at the EBAA conference in Victoria. They are such a wonderful bunch of creative and committed designers and builders. 

Having lived in a rammed earth home, which my wife and I commissioned and oversaw the construction, I am convinced it is building system worthy of much greater recognition today than ever before.

We provide in this issue the full programme for the EBAA event this year (this Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and urge all to attend and, if that’s not possible, visit the website and make contact with Australia’s leading earth builders.

We also found this interesting piece of information on earth building from an international website/on line publication.

Report from in Design Boom:

Some of the oldest buildings on the planet are made of earth. Currently it is estimated that one
half of the world’s population – approximately three billion people on six continents – lives or works
in buildings constructed of earth.

Earth is a 100% eco-friendly building material. It is neither manufactured nor transported.
A wall made from raw earth serves as a natural air conditioner, being warm in winter and cool in summer.  When the building is demolished, the earth returns to the soil and can be recycled indefinitely.

Largely shunned since the arrival of its close cousin ‘concrete’ in the 1950s, earth is now back in
fashion as its ecological and aesthetic benefits attract the attention of an increasing numbers of
contemporary architects and eco-builders. Industrial sectors devoted to earthen building are
currently emerging as this sustainable material wins over.

The misconceptions associated with earth architecture is that many assume it’s only used for housing in poor rural areas – but there are examples of airports, embassies, hospitals, museums, and factories that are made of earth. Current research efforts are focused on increasing its resistance and processing speed in order to make it a modern and competitive material.

Source: www.designboom.com

Here’s the programme for the Earth Building Association of Australia annual conference 2010 on 17th – 19th September at the Eltham Community and Reception Centre, 801 Main Rd, Eltham, Victoria.

Topics under discussion include Thermal Mass verses Insulation, Affordable Earth Housing, and Earth Buildings for Bushfires

DAY 1: Friday 17th September

8.30am Registration

9.30am Welcome by EBAA Patron: Professor Allan Rodger, Professor Emeritus,

The University of Melbourne

10.00am Conference Opening: Geoffrey London, Victorian Government Architect

10.30am Introduction: Peter Hickson, President EBAA

11.00am Morning Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

11.30am Keynote Address: Terry Williamson, Assoc Prof University of Adelaide, School of Architecture

Landscape Architecture and Urban Design More Politics than Science: The Dirt on Star Ratings

12.30pm Lunch (provided for all delegates & speakers)

1.30pm Linda Dvorak, Master of Engineering, Sustainable Energy, RMIT Housing in bushfire prone

areas: Assessment of exterior walls reveals optimal choice

2.30pm Garry Baverstock, AM. B.Arch, MSc, LFRAIA, MISES, MANZSES; Adjunct Professor, Murdoch

University, Role of the Built Environment in Addressing Climate Change

3.00pm Afternoon Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

3.30pm James Fricker, B.MechEng, CPEng, F.AIRAH, M.EngAust Independent Consulting Thermal

Engineer: Basics of the thermal comfort performance of buildings

4.00pm Forum: Question and Answer session with Expert Panel and Moderator

5.00pm Networking

6.30pm Dinner, Eltham Community Hall (provided for all delegates & speakers)

DAY 2: Saturday 18th September

8.30am Registration

9.30am John Moffin, CEO, Jack Thompson Foundation Housing homelands communities into the future

10.30am Morning Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

11.00am Anthony Pease, Some Structural and Technical Aspects of Earth Building

12.00noon Lunch (provided for all delegates & speakers)

1.00pm Veronica Soebarto, Associate Professor University of Adelaide, School of Architecture

Landscape Architecture and Urban Design: Challenges of Earth Buildings

2.00pm Angel Benson & Anthony Pease: Passive Solar Design, Bushfires and Earth Building

2.30pm Afternoon Tea (provided for all delegates & speakers)

3.00pm Dean Farago Earth Render Specialist Traditional surface treatments, and options today

3.30pm Daryl Taylor IntegralEvolution Green Cross, adobe & other green realities

4.30pm Rob Hadden Builder: Anyone can build a comfortable, sustainable home

5.30pm Networking

6.30pm EBAA Conference Dinner at Eltham’s famous and beautiful Montsalvat, with special Guest

Speaker Richard Glover of ABC Radio

Please book your place for what will be a very special and entertaining evening ($45/head).

Montsalvat is licensed with drinks payable on consumption

DAY 3: Sunday 19th September

8.30am Bush breakfast, 96 Mine Road Nutfield hosted by Rob Freeland, AMCER (provided for all

delegates & speakers)

9.30am Workshops & Trade Displays

- AMCER : Pressed Earth brick production and testing, & new model compact plants

- James Henderson, Henderson Clayworks: Raw earth rendering and finishes – a voyage of

discovery in clay and straw

12.00noon Lunch at 96 Mine Road, Nutfield (provided for all delegates & speakers)

Packed with excellent speakers and information on:

• Thermal Mass versus Insulation
• Bush fire bunkers and fire resistant house designs using earth
• Carbon Pollution and the Role of the Built Environment in Addressing Climate Change
• Affordable housing using Earth Building Techniques
• Appropriate Climate Responsive Design with Earth
• Earth Workshops

The Earth Building Association of Australia (EBAA) is an organisation formed to promote the use of unfired Earth as a building medium throughout Australia. 

Source:  www.ebaa.asn.au