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Freeform Rammed Earth Shell Construction

Guo, Jing
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5614-8053
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491312964445038

Abstract Details

2017, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture.
This study focuses on applying earth as a traditional building material to explore the possibility of new architectural language that considers the physical properties and cultural significance of earth architecture by using a computational-aid form finding method. Earth construction has been used for around 9000 years all over the world with different techniques. This low-cost, low-energy processing material has been abandoned and neglected by the mainstream construction industry since industrialization. After World War Two’s construction boom, innovations in new materials demonstrated the need for efficiency, standardization and mass production. Earth material has not been widely considered as a potential building material in recent urban construction. The purpose of this paper is to examine and explore the existing traditional material by applying digital form-finding methodology and fabrication techniques in order to test the new possibility of using earth material in both practical and aesthetic aspects. Instead of using rammed earth for vertical structure elements, these freeform shells can provide the entire envelope to achieve architectural and structural consistence. The proposed visitor center will be designed in the historical site of the Han Great Wall, Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China. The site was appropriately chosen for the earth wall construction technique since it was widely used in ancient times. This proposal exams the potential design methodology of shell structure to save the construction cost from economic aspect and represent the old technique with new aesthetic form and technical support.
Christoph Klemmt, A.A. Dipl. (Committee Chair)
Ming Tang, M.Arch. (Committee Member)
57 p.
Architecture
Rammed Earth; rhinoVAULT; Freeform Vault; Digital Fabrication; Vernacular material; Compression form

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Guo, J. (2017). Freeform Rammed Earth Shell Construction [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491312964445038

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Guo, Jing. Freeform Rammed Earth Shell Construction. 2017. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491312964445038.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Guo, Jing. "Freeform Rammed Earth Shell Construction." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491312964445038

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1491312964445038
708
© 2017, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Freeform Rammed Earth Shell Construction by Jing Guo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.