Poured Earth: Matter at hand + Darwen Terracotta
Over the last two years, Matter at hand has been working with Darwen Terracotta to develop Poured Earth, exploring the potential for a new construction method in which earth buildings are cast in liquid form.
Earth has been used as a building material for thousands of years, but the tradition has largely been lost in the UK, where the slow, labour-intensive nature of methods like rammed earth are a barrier in our construction industry. Working in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, Matter at hand has developed fluid, castable earth mixes which can be poured like concrete, paving a way for earth to make its way onto mainstream building sites.
At Prism Contemporary, a series of clay models slipcast by Darwen Terracotta sit stoically in a row, like building blocks in the manufacturer’s production line. They present a vision for a low-carbon reimagining of the British mass housing solution – the factory terrace. The models are shown alongside drawings, and accompanied by new writing by Niamh Riordan exploring the legacy of 20th Century visions for liquid housing.
‘Single pour’ earth walls provide load-bearing support, with both thermal storage and hygroscopic properties. Curved cores contain stairwells, bathrooms and services whilst allowing each house to be designed and occupied uniquely around them. In generations to come, full-scale housing could be entirely compostable: shifting from liquid earth to solid house, and back to earth again if desired. A Poured Earth house is simply held in shape, for as long as it’s needed.
We are currently faced with a crisis in both our housing and our climate. The ambition of Poured Earth is built on the knowledge that unexpectedly inventive responses emerge when we reconfigure the familiar. When we stop thinking about the ground beneath us as an immovable foundation, and once-used material as waste, we might be in a position to reconsider the initial question; why not create new homes, cast from the ground beneath our feet?
Exhibition Talk
Lewis Jones in Conversation with Rosy Greenlees, National Festival of Making Chair, and Tom Coughlin, Technical Manager at Darwen Terracotta.
Prism Contemporary – This venue is accessed via a step.
Saturday 4th July, 3:15pm
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