Project development: Brazil and France
The combination of experiences and construction techniques around the world is making earthen houses increasingly economical, sustainable and beautiful!
These techniques and research are spread throughout the world. Here we have a glimpse of France, which, through Craterre/ENSAG, has a postgraduate program dedicated exclusively to earthen architecture and construction. A glimpse of other parts of the world, including Africa, our sister continent, where several techniques originated and blended with many others already used by the indigenous peoples of Brazil.
The contemporary Brazilian works on display here demonstrate the versatility of land use. The MST (Municipal Workers' Movement) mobilizes collective efforts to build earthen buildings in settlements. And some residences help break some of the paradigms still prevalent in Brazil. The houses can be high-end or nondescript, simply appropriate to their context. In short, earth is everywhere, being used in a wide variety of ways.
Our exhibition semicircle has materiality inside, in an arc greater than 180 degrees, because more than half of the houses on the planet are made of earth.
We've come together here to spread this knowledge as much as possible. There's no major industry interested in this topic, so there's no advertising. Land is almost always free. It's right under our feet. We're still few, but we're very confident in what we're doing. Not only is the house healthier, but we're emitting much less CO2 during and after construction. We, architects and builders, are extremely responsible for the planet's degradation. The construction industry is one of the largest contributors to the planet's CO2 emissions. It's up to us to decide which construction materials best suit the urgent need to change this situation.
CRAterre
The CRAterre association has extensive experience in the technical support of raw earth construction projects and housing projects for the largest possible number of people, in different contexts.
NAP PLAC – Research Support Center: Production and Language of the Built Environment / FAU USP
Argus Caruso Architecture
It is a studio specializing in Earthen Architecture and Construction. Directed by Architect Argus Caruso.
Laboraterra Architecture
It is a studio specializing in Earthen Architecture and Construction. Directed by Architects Alain Briatte and Luciano Bottino.
This exhibition was held with the support of the French Institute on the occasion of the Saison France – Brazil