Cement and Concrete Research: Discussion
Cement and Concrete Research: Discussion
Cement and Concrete Research: Discussion
Discussion
A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Reply to the discussion of the paper “Earth Concrete. Stabilization Revisited” by A.T.M. Marsh, A. Heath, P.
Earth Walker, B.V. Venkatarama Reddy, and G. Habert.
Stabilization
Social perception
Hydro-thermal comfort
Norms
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Van Damme).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2020.105992
Received 7 January 2020; Accepted 18 January 2020
Available online 28 January 2020
0008-8846/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
H. Van Damme and H. Houben Cement and Concrete Research 130 (2020) 105992
standard 3.36 × 1,30 × 0.45 m3 prefabricated rammed earth elements. inventive solutions may also help avoiding stabilization. Actually, the
The elements are manufactured using non-stabilized soil taken from the situation of cement use in earth is not that different from its use in low
near vicinity (contrary to what Marsh et al. claim, lime and volcanic tuff or medium performance concrete. In concrete also, unnecessarily large
was not used for stabilization; see below). As it should, the building is cement content is too often used as a way to compensate for a poor mix
equipped with “boots” (a concrete base up to ~0.6 m above ground design [5]. The scrutiny of large data bases [6–8] show that the cement
level) and a rather discreet “hat” (a roof with only 40 cm overreach), in content of a ~20 MPa concrete may vary from a remarkably low
order to comply with contemporary aesthetics. However, in order to ~20 kg/m3 to a wastefully large ~400 kg/m3!
control erosion in the rainy climate of Basel, Switzerland, thin (a few
cm) layers of a more resistant sand/lime/pozzolan mixture were in-
corporated every 60 cm during ramming (Fig. 1). After some minor 3. Broadening the panel of sustainability indicators
initial erosion of the most exposed facades, these harder layers are
protruding, slowing down water dripping and protecting the façade A second point raised by Marsh et al. is the necessity to use a
from further erosion. broader panel of sustainability indicators. The embodied carbon of the
Another exemplary project is the EU-funded Cycle Terre project in binder is undoubtedly the primary indicator to consider for a correct
Sevran, a suburb city of Paris [3]. As a new metro line around Paris is environmental assessment of stabilized earth and other cement-based
built, about 40 millions tons of excavation material will be available material – at least, as long as the cement industry has not succeeded in
over a period of about ten years. The project intends to turn this ma- decreasing drastically the clinker content – but many other “second
terial into a useful construction material instead of treating it as a rank” indicators should be considered for a proper life cycle analysis,
waste. In its demonstration phase covering the 2018–2021 period, the including land and resource use, transportation, and human labor. This
Cycle Terre project aims to transform 8000 tons of material yearly into is correct. As far as natural resources are concerned, aggregates - in-
compressed bricks, plasterboard-like natural fiber-reinforced panels, cluding sand - are indeed not everywhere available, either from local
and ready-to-use renderings, mostly without any stabilization. In the sources or via low impact transportation means (boat). Sand is parti-
longer term, the project is to organize a comprehensive professional cularly critical for concrete, especially in regions where industry is not
sector covering all aspects of construction with earth. In the same vein, yet producing large quantities of industrial sand from crushing larger
the Manufacture-sur-Seine project of several architecture agencies in- aggregates [9]. As pointed out by Marsh et al., this can make stabili-
cluding Amateur Architecture Studio of another Pritzker prize-winning zation of local earth a better option than the design of a concrete mix
architect, Wang Shu, will lead to the construction of > 300 apartments with from-far-coming aggregates.
and 20,000 m2 of office space in low rise buildings along the Seine Another “second rank” eco-criterion wisely suggested by Marsh
river, starting in 2021 [2,4]. This type of project, in a highly priced et al. is human labor or, more precisely, the social and economical
urban environment, may radically transform the perception of stabili- benefits of the human labor involved in construction. It is indeed true
zation-free earthen architecture. that the question “Who is most benefiting from the selected materials
Returning to the possible motivations for stabilization, there is no and construction method?” should be considered on equal foot with
question that there are indeed situations where stabilization is fully technical and strictly environmental parameters. In developing econo-
justified like, for instance, unsuitable soil quality and lack of aggregates mies suffering from high unemployment, giving people the opportunity
for correcting the soil grading curve, or extreme climatic conditions to use inexpensive local materials and to have a rewarding activity, at
(monsoon rains, floods). Yet, too often, stabilization with cement is least temporarily, may be a decisive criterion. It is all the more im-
chosen systematically as the easiest way to get away from optimization portant that giving people the opportunity to participate themselves in
of the soil grading curve or from more demanding architectural choices, the construction process is a strong way to build community. As ex-
the first of which still remains compliance with the basic “boots and pressed by B. King, “To do it yourself means to do it with other” [10]. In
hat” rule. As illustrated above for the Ricola Kräuterzentrum, simple more developed economies, the increasing number of “self-builders”
using bio- or geo-sourced eco-materials pertains to the same logic.
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H. Van Damme and H. Houben Cement and Concrete Research 130 (2020) 105992