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1. ATELIER TEKUTO'S
EARTH BRICK HOUSE
The Earth Brick House is a private residential
located in Chiba Perfecture, Japan which
was built by an architect which he calls
himself Atelier Tekuto. The house
has a strong concept whereby
"Construction materials
that can be made with any
soil in the world and can
be returned to the
nature 100%."
THE ARCHITECT
NAME : YASUHIRO YAMASHITA
COMPANY : TEKUTO ARCHITECTS
Yamashita was born in 1960 on the island of Amami Oshima,
perfecture of Kagoshima in the south of Japan. He completed his
studies at the Shibaura Institute of Technology in 1986. In 1991, he
set up his first practice, renamed in 1995 with the designation
which still carries today, Atelier Tekuto. His major works include
residential buildings in Japan like the Lucky Drops, Mineral
Reflections and Parabola House.
THE DRAWINGS
PLAN // GROUND FLOOR
ELEVATION 1
SECTION 2
SECTION 1
ELEVATION 2
SECTION 2
PLAN // FIRST FLOOR
BUILDING'S BACKGROUND
The project started in 2008, and has been developed together with Universities, corporate and specialists. The project started
when Yamashita got together with researchers and from two universities and several corporations to establish a study group
focused on making structures from soil. While carrying out the experiment, a client approached him about about designing a
house and he introduced to the client the experiment. Ultimately the client commissioned him to build the first house in the
world made out of earth mixtures.
BUILDING'S LOCATION
BUILDING MATERIALS (BLD 60103) PROJECT 1: FAMOUS ARCHITECT TUTOR : MR AZIM SULAIMAN
1. CLARA LEE PEI LIN (0324495)
2. SARAH BINTI MOHAMED ESA (0324805)
3. SHAZLEEN SHAFIQAH BT SHAHRUL ROZI (0324367)
1
MAP OF JAPAN SITE CONTEXT
*all drawings are not to scale

2. ADVANTAGES
1. Durable
- dense and suitable for kitchen use
- waterproof
2. Eco -friendly
- recycable and reusable
- materials to create the material are
naturally obtained form Earth, Eg. sand,
quartz, marble
3. Aesthetic
- - Shiny, smooth texture, elegant
- Beautiful for indoor use
- Versatile, easy to make into any shape
4. Good Sanitation- dense, moisture cannot
penetrate the surface, no bacterial growth
5. Low maintenance
- easy cleaning, never need replacement,
6. Non-porous
REASON FOR CHOOSING MATERIAL/
MOOD
1. White color gives the calm and
peaceful feeling and make the house
looks more spacious.
2. Smooth surface – balances out the
rough texture of the earth brick wall
DISADVANTAGE
1. Expensive
- initial cost of installing terrazzo flooring
is very expensive, puts off customers
- However will be cheap in the long run
2. Comfort
- not suitable for cold country as the
marble does not store heat, poor heat
insulator
3. Slippery if wet - smooth surface,
people will fall if water is spilled
4. Long installation
- require a number of layers of bases,
polymers and mixtures to correctly form
the floor
-Will further increase cost and time for
the floor to be ready
BUILDING MATERIALS
- Using glass blocks can produce eclectic feels to the
surroundings
- diffuse direct light
Glass Block
STRUCTURE: EARTH BRICK
REASON TO CHOOSE THIS MATERIAL/ MOOD
1. Green material. suits the architect's concept
2. First house in Japan to be built with this earth mixture ratio, proves that the
mixture is suitable to be used as a building material
ADVANTAGES
1. Eco-friendly- fully recyclable, can return to nature 100%.
2. Can be safely handled by untrained workers unlike concrete which needs
training.
3. Affordable. Locally sourced material.
4. Strong and durable. Strength of brick surpasses Japanese standards.
5. Aesthetic appeal. Sides are straight and uniform.
A decorative form of concrete made out of marble chips and
poured with cementitious binder, polymeric or both.
TERRAZZO FLOORING
Type of Glass: Rough Cast Glass
Type of Glass: Glass Block
FUNCTION: Window
CHARACTERISTIC
1. translucent
2. one side flat surface, the other side is patterned
3. thickness is 5­10 mm
FUNCTION: Part of the Wall Structure
CHARACTERISTIC:
1. translucent
2. comprise of two separate glass halves which are
3. heated and sealed together to forma a hollow unit.
4. made with electric glass (able to change tint of glass according
lighting of surrounding)
5. 10 cm­13mm
Type of Terrazzo: Cement Terrazzo
ADVANTAGES
1. helps to brighten the house with natural light
2. save electricity
3. durable
4. versatile
5. waterproof
6. non­porous
REASON OF CHOOSING MATERIAL/ MOOD
1. produce an eclectic feel to the surroundings
DISADVANTAGES
1. 30 days to dry.
2. Weather was a big issue esp when each brick was sun-dried and handmade.
MAKING OF THE BRICK
The soil is mixed with water and magnesium oxide (hardener). A plywood was
used to get the shape pf the rectangular shape of the brick. After dried the brick
can be used immediately. As time goes by, the brick absorbs carbon dioxide and
changes into a stone composition and hardens. When usage is over. the brick can
be broken and it will be soil again. The cycle can shown in Diagram 2.
HOW THE BRICK WAS USED
The bricks are stacked in a running bond order. this is suitable as the bricks
have studs on them which holds the brick on to the next brick. The binder used
is lime binder (lime, magnesium chloride, sand, loam, gravel). The cycle can be
seen in Diagram 1.
CHARACTERISTIC
1. Composition: Soil (clay) + water + Magnesium oxide (MgO) = Earth brick
-The chemical reaction creates unification between the grains of soil and
strengthens it for construction
2. 2500 bricks were used in construction
3. Handmade
4. Dimensions: 400mm x 250mm x 100mm
5. Air dried to ensure strength
6. Good accoustic and thermal insulation
7. Aesthetic Appeal: looks uniform, sides are straight as it is handmade, brownish-
gray, smooth face
DIAGRAM 1 DIAGRAM 2
2
1. CLARA LEE PEI LIN (0324495)
2. SARAH BINTI MOHAMED ESA (0324805)
3. SHAZLEEN SHAFIQAH BT SHAHRUL ROZI (0324367)
AESTHETIC/ STRUCTURE: GLASS
BUILDING MATERIALS (BLD 60103) PROJECT 1: FAMOUS ARCHITECT TUTOR : MR AZIM SULAIMAN
DIAGRAM 3: CROSS SECTION OF CEMENT TERRAZZO TILE