Rammed Earth Finishes are pure, raw clay plaster wall finishes that can be used to create seamless and beautiful re-imaginations of one of the world’s most ancient of building techniques.

Neri and Hu designed Sticks n Sushi.                       

Made – like the real thing, from 100% natural clays, minerals, sands and coloured with natural earth pigments – this surface material is able to achieve the authenticity and feel of monolithic rammed earth. With a depth of around 10mm it also contributes to the performance of the building fabric: softened acoustics and thermal variations, moisture control and breathability.

Rammed Earth Finishes can be created in endless possibilities of colours and textures, often in response to a desire by architects and designers to replicate local geological conditions or to evoke cultural connections from Islamic, Native American, African, Moorish, Persian or Chinese vernacular architecture.

Clayworks Rammed Earth Finishes.

The handmade nature and variated colours and textures of raw clays perfectly express the beauty and authenticity of Earth Architecture. They are often used where the real thing is impractical. With textures ranging from silky smooth to coarse and craggy, the aesthetic is alive and expressive: at once light and dark, grey and brown or red and yellow, rough and smooth, old yet contemporary. The natural idiom of the materials endows interiors with an air of earthy softness.

Neri and Hu designed ‘Sticks n Sushi.

Rammed Earth Finishes are warm, welcoming and atmospheric. Each interpretation represents an encounter with something deeply natural. Our planet has an extreme wealth and variety of soils and clays and when it comes to Rammed Earth Finishes there is no single solution – each is custom developed.

Nando’s, Chesterfield branch.

Rammed Earth Architecture: Building on tradition

It is estimated that around half of the worlds population lives, works or worships in buildings constructed of raw earth. This makes it the most ubiquitous building material on the planet. Earth building has shaped the history of architecture and is now influencing the future of design.

The materials, the details of the process and equipment have evolved and refined over time, but the principles of the technique remain unchanged. Working at the limits of the material, at the threshold of what is possible with earth plasters while staying true to their raw imperfect and natural beauty, Clayworks has applied years of expertise with clay to create these surface finishes that evoke the beauty and simplicity of one of the most evolved and sophisticated building technologies in the world.

Rammed Earth is having a moment. It is making a comeback so strong that Dezeen have dedicated a Pinterest board to the subject. Around the world, some of the most beautiful buildings are being constructed from rammed earth.

The Agora Meeting Room, designed by Bompas and Parr.