Article: Standards and regulations in earth block masonry - the current situation in Germany Journal: International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation (IJMRI) 2016 Vol.1 No.3 pp.241 - 252 Abstract: In the last decade, the use of earth in construction has become increasingly widespread in many countries. Building with earth can contribute to sustainable development by reducing environmental impact compared with other building materials or systems. This new consciousness has given rise to a growth in the number of earth building standards in recent years, although, in absolute terms, the number is very small compared with other typical building materials and systems. Thirty-nine different earth building standards from 19 different countries were examined. The standards provide varying degrees of technical information. With regard to their scope of application, the documents can be classified into three types, each of them dealing with a particular aspect: soil classification, earth building materials and earth construction systems. In Germany, a revival of building with earth first came about in the 1980s as an awareness of ecological criteria grew. A product of this development was the elaboration of an earth building standard, the 'Lehmbau Regeln' by the Dachverband Lehm e.V., the German national earth building association. That part of the 'Lehmbau Regeln' concerning earth blocks and earth mortars was adapted to the circumstances of national DIN/European building codes and published in August 2013 as DIN 18945-47. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Standards and regulations in earth block masonry - the current situation in Germany

Authors: Horst Schroeder

Addresses: Dachverband Lehm e.V. (DVL), Dr. Horst Schroeder Am Weinberg 39, Weimar 99425, Germany

Abstract: In the last decade, the use of earth in construction has become increasingly widespread in many countries. Building with earth can contribute to sustainable development by reducing environmental impact compared with other building materials or systems. This new consciousness has given rise to a growth in the number of earth building standards in recent years, although, in absolute terms, the number is very small compared with other typical building materials and systems. Thirty-nine different earth building standards from 19 different countries were examined. The standards provide varying degrees of technical information. With regard to their scope of application, the documents can be classified into three types, each of them dealing with a particular aspect: soil classification, earth building materials and earth construction systems. In Germany, a revival of building with earth first came about in the 1980s as an awareness of ecological criteria grew. A product of this development was the elaboration of an earth building standard, the 'Lehmbau Regeln' by the Dachverband Lehm e.V., the German national earth building association. That part of the 'Lehmbau Regeln' concerning earth blocks and earth mortars was adapted to the circumstances of national DIN/European building codes and published in August 2013 as DIN 18945-47.

Keywords: DIN standards; earth block masonry; Germany; international standards; regulations; Germany; sustainable development; environmental impact; sustainability; earth building standards; soil classification; earth building materials; earth construction systems; earth blocks; earth mortars.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2016.080432

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2016 Vol.1 No.3, pp.241 - 252

Received: 05 Mar 2016
Accepted: 09 Jul 2016
Published online: 22 Nov 2016 *

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Title: Standards and regulations in earth block masonry - the current situation in Germany

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