Earth Construction of the Future
Earth construction is one of the oldest building methods in the world and impresses with its minimal ecological footprint and complete recyclability. In Austria and Europe, this construction method is currently not economically competitive due to a lack of knowledge about soil as a building material and outdated manufacturing processes. At the same time, excavated soil represents the largest waste stream in Austria in terms of volume and causes considerable ecological, financial, and social costs.
The “Earth Construction of the Future” project addresses this issue. First, a local soil analysis and material characterization will be carried out. The investigations will focus on the municipality of Hollabrunn in the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria. The suitability of excavated soil as a building material, for the recultivation of agricultural and forestry land, and for landscape, road, and path construction will be investigated.
Building materials will be developed from the local excavated soil and their mechanical properties analyzed, with a particular focus on their suitability for automated processing. In addition, a concept for the optimized use of excavated soil will be developed.
Keywords: excavated soil, soil research, material characterization of loam, earth construction, automatization in earth construction
Contact:
Partner:
BOKU University (lead partner)
• Institute for Soil Research
• Institute for Building Construction, Timber Construction, and Circular Construction
Municipality of Hollabrunn (partner 1)
HTL Hollabrunn (partner 2)