atelier tekuto: earth-bricks

'earth-bricks' by atelier tekuto, chiba, japan image toshihiro sobajima

japanese architecture practice atelier tekuto has recently completed 'earth-bricks', a residential structure located in chiba, japan. the curved exterior wall is formed from 2,600 earth bricks comprised of a dense mixture of soil and magnesium oxide, an element which can be easily sourced from 'magnesite mineral', commonly found in oceans and land. originally used for the mortar joints of the pyramids and great wall of china, this structure aspires to reintroduce masonry construction sourced from local soil as a viable option for developing countries.

extended roof eave with exposed beams

the stacked rectangular bricks are slightly angled to produce the undulating and faintly segmented perimeter enclosure. a deep roof overhang extends to screen a ribbon clerestory window formed with glass blocks of similar proportions to the custom soil-based units. at night, the dwelling softly glows through the translucent glazing of the fenestrations. upon entering the central living space and kitchen, attention is directed to the exposed structure of the vaulted ceilings. rafters radiate downward from the main ridge element, which is reminiscent of a spine. the curved stairway attached to the exterior wall leads inhabitants to an open bedroom loft with views of the great room below. the bathroom and storage room are concealed within a partition behind the food preparation area and underneath the wooden steps.

(left) entrance facade

right) front door

(left) earth brick detail (right) upward view from great room images toshihiro sobajima

view of entrance and great room from kitchen

kitchen

great room

(left) corridor to bathroom

(right) space under stairway

bathroom image toshihiro sobajima

(left) bathroom

(right) view of ceiling from the loft

(left) stairs leading to the loft

(right) top of stairs from the loft

clerestory windows under roof eave

light emanates through translucent glass windows

illuminated at night image toshihiro sobajima

masonry wall under construction image courtesy atelier tekuto

site plan image courtesy atelier tekuto

floor plan / level 0 image courtesy atelier tekuto

floor plan / level 1 image courtesy atelier tekuto

section image courtesy atelier tekuto

elevation image courtesy atelier tekuto

elevation image courtesy atelier tekuto

elevation image courtesy atelier tekuto

elevation

block formation diagram

process to make the earth block mixture image courtesy atelier tekuto

wall section image courtesy atelier tekuto

project info: site area: 184.62 building area: 47.84 total floor area: 41.39 structure: masonry earth block architecture design: yasuhiro yamashita+masahiko takada+azusa ishii+ryo takagi/atelier tekuto structural design: jun sato+yuko mihara/jun sato structural engineer mechanical design: kazuhiro endo/eos plus lighting design: sueko kanaya/visual technologies experiment supervision: matsumura, fujita lab./university of tokyo, koshiishi lab./waseda university construction: atelier tekuto, yoshiro goda/ogawa kyoritsu construction photographer: toshihiro sobajima

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/16833/atelier-tekuto-earth-bricks.html