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 HISTORY….
Ever since mankind first congregated in villages almost 10,000 years ago, unbaked
mud has been one of the principal building materials used in every continent.
Over one third of the world’s population still lives in mud houses today. In ancient
times, unbaked mud was widely used in Mesopotamia and Egypt, while later on,
Romans and then Muslims built in mud in Europe, Africa and the middle east – as
did the peoples of the Indus civilizations ,Buddhist monks and Chinese emperors.
During the middle ages, construction in unbaked mud was practiced not only in
Europe, but in North America by the Indians, in Mexico by toltecs and the Aztecs,
and in the Andes by the mochica.
Archaeology has expanded its horizons into the mud is
perhaps the most commonly used building material,
particularly in ancient traditional communities. The
universal acceptance of mud is clear. Mud architecture
is enriched by the diversities of expressions, due to the
use of various techniques. Its compatibility with the
regional surroundings where it is found, along with the
local social and cultural overtones has given it many
distinctions. In spite of the constant nature of mud has
a material, it is used as a widely accepted natural
source of CONSTRUCTION.
introduction….
Mud has been the most essential of building materials since the dawn of the man. Nature
set the example: termites built tower above ground and developed air circulation which
prefigured modern ventilation processes

Unbaked mud is still the most viable building material for one –third of the world’s
population-predominantly the poor who remain on the side-lines of money –economy that
depends on manufactured materials. Furthermore, building with mud has become an
important factor in planning new development.

Over one-third of the world’s population

lives in mud houses, and this traditional
construction method continues to thrive in most
of the Third World. For modern Western
technology has failed both financially and
socially, to satisfy the increasing demand for
cheap housing. In countries recently enriched
by oil, these traditions have tended suddenly to
disappear as happened in Europe during the
1930s and 1950s.
 introduction….
Approximately 58% of all buildings in India are mud brick and a growing construction
boom in India.
Mud is a building material which has already being tested and tried for thousands of
years.
It is used in modern day construction and the method of using it is very different.

Mud has its own limitations which can be overcome.

The main advantage of mud is we do not need lot of energy to manufacture it unlike
brick, cement, steel, concrete, etc.
Mud construction is mainly found in places which are relatively dry and have mud in
abundance.

The mud – house uses minimal energy, is comfortable year round.

The mud – house construction uses only simple natural materials, which are any digging
soil from the earth mixed with water and added up with paddy or hay or any dried fiber or
even recycling garbage.
Mud house construction is durable and can be easily recycled .
Mud construction also provide air conditioning system which provide cool air from the
massive walls.
WHAT DOES A MUD HOUSE LOOK
LIKE?
IS THIS THE SORT OF PICTURE THAT COMES TO
YOUR MIND

THIS ALSO IS A MUD HOUSE

AND THIS TOO CAN BE A MUD HOUSE

(AND YES IT IS MULTI-STORIED AND HAS
CONCRETE ROOF!)
Different sort of soil….
Gravel: Small pieces of stone varying
from the size of a pea to that of an egg.
If you soak what you think is gravel for
24 hours in a bucket of water, and if it
disintegrates, it is not gravel.

Sand: Similar small pieces of stone

(usually quartz), which are small than a
pea but each grain, are visible to the
eye.

Silt: The same as sand except that it has

been ground so finely that you cannot
see individual grains.

Clay: Soils that stick when wet - but very

hard when completely dry. Some of
these clays shrink when they dry and
expand when wet, but there are also
clays, which do not shrink at all.
construction methods….
Various Construction Methods Are:
COB:
COB is good for anything except height. It is particularly good for curved or
round walls.

PISE OR RAMMED EARTH :

PISE OR RAMMED EARTH is strong and ideal for solid, squat, single storey
houses.

ADOBE:
ADOBE or SUN DRIED BRICKS can easily cope with two storey houses.

PRESSED BRICKS:
PRESSED BRICKS smooth and very strong and can build three storey.

WATTLE & DAUB METHOD:

WATTLE & DAUB is elegant and fine for Seismic Zones.
COB….

•A very stiff mud is prepared by mixing mud and water in the proportion of 1:3 and it is
moulded into huge elongated egg shape.
•The elongated egg shape mud is 12 to 18-inches, (30 to 40-cm) long and about 6-inches
(15-cm) in diameter.
•For making a wall ,a row of cob is placed in proper line and is pressed to avoid gaps n
crack.
•In this way two to three layers of cobs are placed one above the other and the sides are
smoothed to avoid cracks n gap.
•For making openings of door wooden frame or kerosene tins are used to make the openings.
 COB….

COB is good for anything except height. It is particularly good for curved
or round walls.
RAMMED
EARTH….
This is a method in which the
strength of the wall can be
increased by increasing the
thickness of the wall.
Two parallel planks are held
firmly apart by metal rods and
clips or bolts, or by small
crosspieces of wood.
Stiff mud is thrown in between
these two planks and rammed
down with either a wooden or
metal ramrod.
When one section is
completed and hard, the two
planks are then raised up and a
second course of rammed
earth is repeated over the first.
 RAMMED
EARTH….

PISE OR RAMMED EARTH is strong and ideal for solid,

squat, single storey houses.
ADOBE….
Blocks are kept covered with air
tight polythene sheets for first 48
hrs with relative humidity up to
100.
Polythene sheets shall be
removed after 48 hrs and the
blocks shall be kept in shaded
area like having enough air
circulation.
Sprinkle water over blocks daily,
as many times needed, during 28
days.
Write date of production on block
corner.
Cover stacks top with coconut
leaves or any other cover to avoid
direct sunlight.
Principle is that blocks shall not
dry for 4weeks.
ADOBE….

ADOBE or SUN DRIED BRICKS can easily cope with

two storey houses.
ADOBE….
WATTLE AND DAUB….

Wattle and daub method is an

old and common method of
building mud structures.
Bamboo and cane frame
structure that supports the
roof.
Mud is plastered over this
mesh of bamboo cane and
straws
Due to excessive rainfall the
Wattle and Daub structures
gets washed off.
However, the mesh of cane or
split bamboo remains intact
and after the heavy rain is
over the mud is plastered on
again.
WATTLE AND DAUB….

WATTLE & DAUB is elegant and fine for Seismic Zones.

WATTLE AND DAUB….
 Things to be remember…
Window sills are also a place where
water (driving rain), can soak down
into a wall.
Make sure there is a good over hang
of the roof and fix the window frame
on the outer edge of the wall with a
slightly projecting windowsill.
Avoid leaky sills.

Damp can also rise up from the

ground below into the walls shove
and make them unsafe. Always put
in some form of damp proof course
to prevent this happening.
 Things to be remember…

Provide a sloping apron at the

foot of the wall.

Provide trenches round the

house to receive
dripping water and drain it away.
 Things to be remember…

If you don't protect walls from the splash

of dripping water the bottom of your walls
will erode away like this.

FOUNDATIONS
 Things to be remember…

Stones bedded in the

base of a mud wall

Mud used
as a
mortar
For anchoring plaster to smooth compressed blocks at for burnt
ground splash level, use chicken wire mesh. brick walls
EXAMPLES ….

Taos Pueblo (New Mexico)

EXAMPLES ….

Arg-e bam (southeastern Iran,)

EXAMPLES….

Djinguereber Mosque (West Africa.) West Africa (Uzbekistan)

Chan Chan (Moche Valley of Peru) Bobo Dioulasso Grand Mosque

ADVENTAGES AND
DISADVENTAGES….
ADVENTAGES
Environmental impact
To save natural resources.
Using neither cement nor rock (Save our mountains.
To save building materials
Main materials are soil and water, mixed to be mud, if the mud is too sticky, we can
add up with paddy husky or rice straw or local fiber weed or bamboo.
Energy use
To save energy
Cool in summer (Inside building temperature is about 24°c to 26°c
Warm in Winter (Automatic control temperature by passive cooling system)
Capital Expenditure
To save money .
No air – conditioning, no electricity bills.

DISADVENTAGES
Humidity
Humidity is the crucial factor, mud-house will easily be fungus.
Foul odour
 The brand- new mud-house may have foul odor of crushed green leaves
 CONCLUSION….
•Mud – house construction, making use of the best appropriate technology
knowledge, conducive to people participation, compatible with laws of
ecology, harmonizes with the environment, gentle in its use of scare resources,
and minimal energy.

•Thus, hoping that “ Mud – house “ will help open our eyes to an architectural
alternative design for preserving the natural world not solely for its own sake
but to provide an environment hospitable to man which should be
environmental friendly design

Mud has :
Good sound insulation properties
Excellent fire resistance.
Capable of providing structural support for centuries but they need
protection or continuous maintenance.
Have the potential to provide the lowest impact of all construction
material.
 THANK
YOU

MUD WALLS MUST BE PROTECTED FROM WATER