RAMMED EARTH

Rammed earth as a building material has been utilized in many cultures and distributed via immigration. It normally requires a mixture of various sands, clays, and silts which are found in mountainous and hilly regions, in addition to loess plains.014 As seen in the Basgo Fort and Leh Fort in Ladakh - a union territory divided between India, Pakistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan - the lifts are stacked and stepped on a horizontal axis, allowing the structure, and thus the lifts, to become thinner as the height increases.015 Many of these structures incorporate large timber beams to increase structural ability and were scaffolded with smaller logs, as seen by the many putlog holes on all elevations.016 There are many different approaches to the construction of rammed earth walls, however the primary include vertical posts integrated into the structure, a stepped batter approach which do not call for vertical support and taper inwards, or horizontal timbers threaded through the construction period, then removed resulting in putlog holes.017 Previously constructed vernacular buildings have been standing for hundreds of years,018 showcasing the importance of this material and why it is still employed today. Rammed earth has great potential for thermal properties, especially in more arid regions, as it stores and releases energy depending on temperature differentiation. However, rammed earth as a mass building material only has an r-value of 0.4 SQ FT-HR-F/BTU, thus requiring extremely thick walls to comply with various local codes.019

Rammed earth is created by compacting a mixture of different soils and aggregates, like straw and lime, into a formwork, layer by layer. This form is then hoisted vertically, creating what is known as a lift. 020