Professional Documents
Culture Documents
earthbag dome
BY ROB WAINWRIGHT
Earthbag building, also known as structure was designed to withstand practical book for anyone looking at
superadobe or flexible form rammed these climatic factors whilst providing building in earthbag.
earth building, is a newcomer to the a functional outdoor entertainment Some of the unique features
sustainable building scene in Australia. area and store room. It also provided us integrated into the design of the
The technique has been developed with some much-needed practice with dome include: a rubble trench footing
by several architects and builders local conditions and materials, before containing a French drain, appropriate
around the world; well known amongst tackling a larger project. passive solar design, rammed earth
these is Nader Khalili of Cal-Earth My wife Stephanie and I have both flooring and a living roof.
(California Institute of Earth Art and had former lives in the healthcare
Architecture). Although many load industry; Stephanie as a naturopath Site preparation
bearing straight walled structures have and myself as a pharmacist. Unhappy
been successfully built with earthbags, with the lack of importance placed on Rubble trench and French drain
it is in the curved form of domes and the natural and social patterns by the A rubble trench was chosen for its
vaults that the technique really excels. economically powered mainstream proven track history, low embodied
The beauty of these shapes, combined culture in which we were immersed, we energy and tick of approval from
with the low embodied energy of this moved to the foothills of the Border famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
building method and its excellent Ranges National Park. Here we’ve spent Using 20mm aggregate, this style of
thermal performance, led us to choose the past two years studying permaculture, footing, unlike conventional concrete,
earthbag as an appropriate human scale the last six months of which has involved is resistant to the movement of water
way to build. the building of the dome for our major by capillary action due to sufficient air
Unlike conventional rammed earth project. Stephanie studied superadobe spaces between the gravel.
construction, earthbag building is construction with Nader Khalili at Cal- Initial site levelling and excavation
well suited to sites where an ideal soil Earth in May last year, while I completed of the trench was achieved in a few
mix isn’t present, and the grunts and an intensive workshop in Belize, Central hours with the help of a backhoe and
laughter of human labour are able to America earlier this year with Kaki one very skilled operator. The trench
replace the roar of machinery. The Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer, authors was dug 700mm deep by 1000mm
basis of construction is the filling of of ‘Earthbag Building – The Tools, wide, and a thin layer of road base was
polypropylene or hessian bags with Tricks and Techniques’ (see Bookshop placed and tamped at the bottom to
a moist mix of soil, which is then pg 71). This book became our bible, create a consistent fall for drainage.
compressed by ‘tamping’ with hand helping us to plan and implement our Two lengths of polypipe were drilled
tools. Barbed wire is included between design and we recommend this highly at regular intervals, wrapped in silt
each row and has a dual purpose; to stop plastic, and run the circumference
hold the bags in place while tamping, Trench excavation was done with a backhoe. of the trench, exiting to daylight on
and to provide additional tensional the downhill side of the site. It was
strength in the wall. important to pay attention to the fact
The Northern Rivers of NSW is a that the holes in the pipe were pointing
region with a sub tropical climate, fairly somewhere between horizontal and
consistent rainfall of 1200–1500mm upwards to ensure the drain would
per year, warm wet summers and function properly. The trench was
cool dry winters. The sustainability then backfilled with more gravel, and
education centre where this earthbag compressed in 200mm lifts with a
dome is being built experiences mechanical tamper.
temperature highs of 40°C in summer, The combination of a rubble trench
with overnight subzero temperatures and French drain is an effective way to
in winter. The 4m diameter, 4m high remove any excess water that happens
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