Earthen Tectonics: Material Explorations in Slip Cast + Rammed Earth Fabrication
Team: Jessica Rossi-Mastracci (co-PI), Molly Reichert (co-PI)
Program: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design
In Summer 2023, Jessica Rossi-Mastracci and Molly Reichert began researching material potentials of rammed earth and slip cast fabrication in landscape applications. The work modifies typical compositions to incorporate waste, bio-based, and on-site materials. Twenty-four experimental tiles in two unique forms were cast using slip cast and rammed earth: a convex module to shed water and a concave module to collect water and vegetal materials. Differing material compositions test ideas about aesthetic qualities, material permanence, and construction methodologies. The tiles were installed at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve to observe the impact of water, sediment collection, and vegetation growth over time. The Winter 2024 site visit documented and recorded initial changes, including decomposition, impact of water, and material collection. Future work will respond to these findings through iterative morphologies and material compositions, extending to on-site harvesting of soil, seeds, and other organic matter.
This project demonstrates the potential for earthen and ceramic material practices in the landscape, melding high-fidelity digital fabrication with a low-fidelity material process to develop custom site-based modules. It questions the necessity of permanence in the built environment, speculating on alternative temporalities and material compositions that might foster or encourage a range of landscape performative functions.
Keywords: digital fabrication, materials, landscape architecture
Funder: Imagine Funds
