Rammed Earth Project – Volkenroda, Germany
In late August of 2009 I visited a monastery in Volkenroda, Germany where I observed and assisted with a rammed earth project. The structure will eventually become the living quarters of some of the brothers. The rammed earth technique was typical for Germany – first a two-story post and beam structure is built followed by rammed earth infill in the wall cavities. All of the earthen materials were supplied by Lehmbau Thilo Schneider and were of local origin. The company spent a day showing the brothers the rammed earth technique and then they were left on their own to complete the work. For more info on the potential of the rammed earth technique I highly recommend reading “Earth Architecture” and “Rick Joy: Desert Works”.
See the captions below each picture for more details on the construction process.
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