Alluvium: Earthen construction in future urban area

Major component of raw earth construction, natural and reusable material, clays have amazing properties. They act as a binder in earthen materials and have enabled the building of cities since the beginning of the Neolithic revolution. However, their high sensitivity to the environment impacts the durability of clay-rich materials such as earthen ones. ALLUVIUM is a project supported by the I-Site FUTURE from the Paris Est University, and brings together economists, architects, researchers of historical sites as well as engineers to develop, test and apply at different scales reinforced earthen materials. The properties improvement is obtained by the addition of biopolymers or surfactants. The project aims to demonstrate the potential of earthen construction in future urban area as well as in the conservation of a traditional built cultural heritage.