Evolution of traditional raw earth housing systems with recycling parts

This thesis developed from analysing composition and traditional technique solutions to optimise their features and to verify their capability of being done for a more complete implementation in case of a sustainable rebuilding due to emergency housing conditions. The most significant emergency of our time is the civil war in Syria.

The preferred building is a house with an enclosed courtyard, which has a multitude of functions. The Syrian courtyard was born from implicit proportion with the purpose of attaining a compositional balance. According to the smallest proportion of the courtyard, three types of house were designed, with dimensions proportional to the needs of their residents. The material chosen to realise the external walls was rammed earth, using the “pisè” technique. It is an excellent material with a lot of advantages but, on the other hand, is easily broken by weathering. The ruins resulted from bombing could be “cannibalised”, chosen and broken up in different measures and added to the mix in order to increase the resistance of the rammed earth. The other structural elements which characterised this project were the concrete beam and foundation wall, the wood and the straw for other walls, roof and flooring, using the dry assembly technique.