VILLA

Set in the footprint of an abandoned building, this is the first new construction on an expansive tea estate in the hill country of Sri Lanka. I was responsible for construction documenting and on-site administering construction of the rammed earth walls.

The design of this house follows local vernacular traditions and offers a very open experience of the verdant surrounding landscape. The house is at one with its location and encourages the outdoors to flow inside with wide openings and large covered areas and deep eaves.

Rammed earth is one of the oldest building materials, but only recently has research gone into modernizing it. The walls for this project are stabilized rammed earth, meaning that a special blend of soils including 10% cement has been engineered for them. This engineered material is capable of supporting the same loads as concrete. Insulation can be inserted in between the two wythes allowing for r-values in excess of 40R. The compacted nature of the material also has great sound absorption and transmission rates and a high thermal mass. This modern rammed earth makes for a low-energy solution to construction needs.