COLUMBUS DIRT
ILLUMINATING THE INVISIBLE
PROJECT BRIEF
This school concept project explored the challenge of supporting plant growth and new ecologies in unexpected environments. The central problem: how can living systems thrive in otherwise inert, structural materials? Our investigation led to the idea of a rammed earth wall as a medium, a sustainable building element made by compacting soils, sand, clays, and a stabilizer, like cement, within a temporary stucture. The combination of ancient and modern techniques creates a low-maintenance, dense, stone-like wall.
Example of a rammed earth wall
PART ONE - FALL 2017
Each student developed an individual experiment to introduce organic material into a wall. My proposal embedded lengths of oak logs within the rammed earth, each containing seeds. As the logs naturally decomposed, they would provide nutrients to the seeds. The goal was that, over time, the wall would cocntinue to serve as a funtional retaining structure while being partially covered in plant life.
I made a scale model of my experiment and left it outside for several months. In the spring, the models that help up the best would guide us to the final solution.
PART TWO - SPRING 2018
The project culmintaed in an exhibit in the Knowlton School of Architecture's Banvard Gallery. It showcased our collective experiments and answered the question: how can organic material grow in solid walls, and what are the potential applications? We concluded that a rammed earth wall with sufficient organic content could support growth, suggesting uses along highways or riverbanks, etc. Findings were presented through detailed modeling, technical drawings, soil samples from Columbus, and a 12 foot long rammed earth wall built specifically for the exhibit. It was so heavy that we had to bring in Ohio State University's structural engineers to make sure that the floor would not collapse into the basement below (it did not).
This project highlights the intersection of architecture, ecology, adn material experimentation, demonstrating how design can support living systems in unconventional contexts.
Layout of exhibit space
LEADER: Paula Meijerink
TEAM: Sophie Pawlak, Sam Haugh, Andrew Davis, John Bargiel, Bailey Moore, Clara Young, Yutong Wu, Linghui Zhang, Ben Kohls, Sicong Ma, Ruby Yen, Lizi Huang, Paul Maginnity,
Jennifer Fullenkamp, Anuja M. Girme