The Art of Earth Architecture

For almost ten thousand years, unbaked earth has been used to build remarkable structures, from simple dwellings to palaces, temples, and fortresses both grand and durable. Jean Dethier spent fifty years researching this landmark global survey, which spans five continents and 250 sites. The Art of Earth Architecture demonstrates the wide-ranging applications and sustainability of this building material, while presenting a manifesto for its ecological significance. Featuring raw-earth masterpieces, monumental structures, and little known works, the book includes the temples and palaces of Mesopotamia, the Great Wall of China, large-scale urban developments in Tenochtitlan in Mexico, the medinas of Morocco, and housing in Marrakech and Bogota.This definitive reference features many UNESCO World Heritage sites and contains essays on the historical, technical, and cultural aspects of raw-earth construction from twenty experts in the field, as well as hundreds of photographs, illustrations, and architectural drawings.

Jean Dethier has dedicated his life to the research, safeguarding, and development of earth structures around the world. Dethier worked at the Centre Pompidou as a curator of influential architectural exhibits for thirty years. Winner of the prestigious Grand Prix national de l'architecture, he sat on the jury of the 2016 Terra Award, the first international prize for contemporary earthen structures.

Editorial Reviews

Jean-Louis Cohen, historian of architecture, professor at New York University and at the College de France in Paris

With its stunning images, this book convincingly demonstrates that the renaissance of raw earth architecture is no longer merely a pipe dream but has become a tangible ecological reality. An intense passion comes across in this vision that spans centuries from Antiquity to the present time: it reveals an astonishing multitude of homes, architectural archetypes and cities, all built with the very earth that anchors them.

Designboom

The Art of Earth Architecture demonstrates the wide-ranging applications and sustainability of this building material, while presenting a manifesto for its ecological significance. Featuring raw-earth masterpieces and monumental structures, as well as other lesser known works, the 512 page-book includes the temples and palaces of Mesopotamia, the Great Wall of China, large-scale urban developments in Tenochtitlan, the medinas of Morocco, and housing in Marrakesh and Bogota.

The Wall Street Journal

Unbaked earth has been used to create architectural structures for nearly 10,000 years, from simple dwellings to palaces and temples. Jean Dethier, a former curator at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, has sepnt decades researching and safeguarding these structures In The Art of Earth Architecture, [Jean Dethier] explores the use of raw earth as a building material, surveying 250 sites across five continents.