Sustainable Construction Technologies: Earth Buildings in New Zealand

Earth-building construction in New Zealand is used since the nineteenth century. Despite the initial upsurge of earth-buildings, earth was not the preferred building material, giving way to popular construction methods for residential construction. The aim of this paper is to examine how earth brick construction technologies differ from conventional residential timber framed construction, focusing on the interrelated challenges of insufficient architectural and engineering design knowledge in the area, scarcity of experienced labour and adequate knowledge of the relevant legislation dealing with earthbuildings. Case studies of earth-buildings, in the Auckland region (New Zealand), are presented to support the points raised in this paper. They are complemented by site visits and interviews with design professionals and manufacturers. The paper concludes that whilst conventional building technologies have proved adequate for residential construction in New Zealand, the greater variety of sustainable construction systems on offer has not been adequately utilized as a viable alternative.