Gone to Earth – Martin Rauch's wave of Swiss earth works

In the last few years the Godfather of the European rammed earth scene, Martin Rauch, has been completing one after another project on Swiss soil, including the largest contemporary rammed earth building in Europe, the Ricola warehouse. With this run of projects coming to a conclusion - when the Basel Ozeanium is completed in 2017 - Unstructured 7 Extra examines these projects, highlights Rauch's Swiss collaborators, and showcases Rauch himself in an in-depth interview.

Interviews

Martin Rauch – the man who builds from Earth

Roger Boltshauser – Dubstrasse Earthworks

Four Swiss projects

Heavy Weight - LehmTonErde’s Ricola Herb Centre collaboration with starchitects Herzog de Meuron

Bilingual Bienne's young ;mlzd studio's Swiss Ornithological Visitor Centre

Firsts – Ilanz's Sil Plaz rammed earth cinema, by Graubünden's Capaul & Blumenthall

Rauch's loam cupola ETH Zurich student research project by Salis Gion

The man who builds with earth - in-depth Martin Rauch interview

Medieval Modern Electric Cinema – CapaulBumenthal's rammed earth cinema

Rauch's Loam Cupola student project at Zurich's ETH

Ricola – the Ricola Herb Centre – Rammed earth's new heavy weight highlight

Roger Boltshauser - Rauch's Swiss partner in earthworks

Further – Related rammed earth info; organisations, events, books

;mlzd's earthen bird's nest

Refined earth: LehmTonErde's latest book reviewed

Fourth Door Further - Related Fourth Door and other article features

Contributors

Gian Salis – is an architectural tutor on ETH Zurich’s Architecture and Construction course led by Professor Annette Spiro

All other pieces are by Fourth Door's Oliver Lowenstein.

With thanks to Daniel Walser, Clemens Quiran, Gunther Prechter and Anna Heringer