This talk was given at the Earth Building Association Australia Conference 2017. Learn more at [ Ссылка ].

Earthen architecture has been very present throughout the history of France, with a peak during the 19th century, following the French revolution. However, its practice was gradually lost mainly due to the successive world wars. But in the 70s the first oil crisis led to a revived interest on its potential. This started with a group of students of the school of architecture of Grenoble who discovered an incredible heritage in the Rhône-Alpes Region. The result of their first studies led to the publication of a book ‘Construire en terre” which was the start of a still on-going revival. Today, new challenges tend to favour more applications, including in the capital city, Paris, though still to be confirmed. (Co-author: Thierry Joffroy)

Thierry Joffroy, Architect, CRAterre, France
Thierry has been involved in earthen architecture since the mid-eighties starting with a specific interest in arches vaults and cupolas with earth bricks (adobe, CEB). He has assisted many French self-help builders and companies particularly in developing countries. By the end of the 80s, CRAterre became contracted for many low-cost housing projects. Thierry has worked globally with UNESCO assisting in the conservation of the nearly 200 World heritage listed properties. He was the Chair of CRAterre from 2003 until recently becoming the Director of the AE&CC research unit at the School of Architecture of Grenoble which works on earthen architecture and other local building materials.

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