Mock-up Case Study Steel House, ZHAW Winterthur, 2017

rammed earth

Place: Exhibition Zurich
Built: August-November 2017
Material: rammed earth wall, hybrikde construction with steel
Partners: Switzer Studio, Boltshauser Architects AG, Earth Clay Earth Architecture GmbH, Earthman Hanno Burtscher
Photos: Philip Heckhausen, Felix Hilgert

To rethink steel construction outside its usual areas of application and to sound out its architectural potential in combination with a second building material was the aim of the study, which was put out to tender by the ZHAW Winterthur. Boltshauser Architects dealt with the question of the extent to which synergies between steel and earthen construction can be achieved both structurally and spatially. The idea of combining steel with clay is based on the different properties of the materials with regard to statics, fire behaviour, sustainability and economy: It is precisely this discrepancy that opens up new possibilities, which were successfully tested on a mock-up made with students during the Summer School 2017.