Media

7 February 2018
We're in Idealog! 
There are a couple of things we'd like to clarify but we're super happy to have the interest in rammed earth rising and the word spreading...
So, just a few points:
- when you talk about rammed earth and energy efficiencies, you talk about thermal mass, not insulation - two very different types of value.
- the walls are man-made sedimentary rock.
- modern rammed earth homes aren't usually stuccoed - this happened in the past (Pompellier House in Russell, NZ and the City of Shibam, in Yemem). The modern age of rammed earth, which has originated primarily out of California and Western Australia typically uses soil/cement mixes that do not need rendering.
- labour intensive - it's not a bad thing - it's employment and it usually means that cost of material going onto site is less. Using more labour can have the effect of giving a community self-determination, rather than spending money on monopolised construction components built in factories own by corporations, not people...

All in all, the article is well written and has great photos. Thank you Idealog.

https://idealog.co.nz/urban/2018/02/are-rammed-earth-buildings-new-way-forward


 

7 February 2018
We're in Idealog! 
There are a couple of things we'd like to clarify but we're super happy to have the interest in rammed earth rising and the word spreading...
So, just a few points:
- when you talk about rammed earth and energy efficiencies, you talk about thermal mass, not insulation - two very different types of value.
- the walls are man-made sedimentary rock.
- modern rammed earth homes aren't usually stuccoed - this happened in the past (Pompellier House in Russell, NZ and the City of Shibam, in Yemem). The modern age of rammed earth, which has originated primarily out of California and Western Australia typically uses soil/cement mixes that do not need rendering.
- labour intensive - it's not a bad thing - it's employment and it usually means that cost of material going onto site is less. Using more labour can have the effect of giving a community self-determination, rather than spending money on monopolised construction components built in factories own by corporations, not people...

All in all, the article is well written and has great photos. Thank you Idealog.

https://idealog.co.nz/urban/2018/02/are-rammed-earth-buildings-new-way-forward


 

22 January 2018
Paul is interviewed on the National Programme by Jesse Mulligan
Thank you to Jesse and the team at RadioNZ. You can listen to the full interview on the link below.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018628981/the-case-for-rammed-earth-houses


 

23 January 2018
We're in Junction Magazine 
We're really pleased to have one of our home owners and their new rammed earth house featured in the Junction magazine (Matakana Coast, north of Auckland).
Good to see focus on the benefits of thermal mass and homes that breath.
We would like to clarify however that we are not the same price as conventional group housing (we simply do not have the purchase power of companies that build hundreds of short life-cycle houses each year). We do however compare, cost wise, very favourably to architecturally designed or bespoke housing. This cost is even mitigated further when you consider the durability and low maintenance impact of our homes.

https://www.junctionmag.co.nz/junctionmag/2018/1/23/rammed-earth-eco-house