Throughout history, earth as one of the most basic building materials of architecture, has stood out as a culturally and environmentally sustainable resource thanks to its local availability, compatibility with natural cycles and renewability. Increasing environmental concerns and the search for sustainability have led to the re-evaluation of traditional earthen structures and their use as an alternative solution in modern architecture with contemporary techniques. In this study, academic research on rammed earth in the context of sustainable building materials is analyzed through performance analysis. Based on publications obtained from the Web of Science database, publication trends by year, most influential authors, institutions and countries are analyzed. The data obtained reveals that the topic of rammed earth has been addressed with increasing interest, especially in recent years, and has become an interdisciplinary research area.  The study provides a holistic view of the place of rammed earth in sustainable architecture and aims to be a guiding resource for future research in the field.  

Keywords - Rammed earth, soil, building material, sustainable material, architecture

[1] F. Pacheco-Torgal and S. Jalali, “Eco-efficient construction and building materials research under the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020,” Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 29, pp. 512–519, Apr. 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.10.054.

[2] A. Pelé-Peltier, R. Charef, and J.-C. Morel, “Factors affecting the use of earth material in mainstream construction: a critical review,” Build. Res. Inf., vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 1–19, May 2022, doi: 10.1080/09613218.2022.2070719.

[3] P. Lourenço, J. de Brito, and F. A. Branco, “The use of compacted earth blocks (BTC) in modern construction,” in Proc. XXX IAHS World Congress on Housing, Coimbra, Portugal, Sept. 2002.

[4] Z. V.-Gaile, T. Teppand, M. Kriipsalu, M. Krievāns, Y. Jani, M. Klavins, R. Hendroko, I. Grinfelde, V. Rudovica, T. Tamm, M. Shanskiy, E. Saaremäe, I. Zekker, and J. Burlakovs, “Towards sustainable soil stabilization in peatlands: Secondary raw materials as an alternative,” Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 12, p. 6726, June 2021, doi: 10.3390/su13126726.

[5] (2025) CRATerre website. [Online]. Available: https://craterre.org/

[6] (2020) Earth – the oldest building material is also the most environmentally friendly. [Online]. Available: https://imtech.imt.fr/en/2020/05/14/earth-the-oldest-building-material-is-also-the-most-environmentally-friendly/

[7] (n.d.) Pinterest pin. [Online]. Available: https://tr.pinterest.com/pin/460070918154550130/

[8] (2007) Image: Mali Djenné Mosquée. [Online]. Available: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MaliDjenn%C3%A9Mosqu%C3%A9e.JPG

[9] G. Ç. Kıasıf and Y. D. Tas, “The effect of the construction industry on global warming and solution suggestions,” SSRN Electron. J., Jan. 2023, doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4662049.

[10] V. Mathur, M. M. Farouq, and Y. H. Labaran, “The carbon footprint of construction industry: A review of direct and indirect emission,” J. Sustain. Constr. Mater. Technol., vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 101–115, Sept. 2021, doi: 10.29187/jscmt.2021.66.

[11] D. E. Akbulut and R. N. Alibeyoglu, “Rammed earth construction: From tradition to a sustainable future,” in Modern Masonry Construction – The Fusion of Tradition, Technology, and Sustainability [Working Title], Apr. 2025. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.1010217.

[12] (n.d.) Rammed Earth Enterprises – Rammed Earth Information for Professionals. [Online]. Available: https://www.rammedearthenterprises.com.au/rammed-earth-information-for-professionals/

[13] D. Ciancio and C. Beckett, “Rammed earth: An overview of a sustainable construction material,” in Proc. 3rd Int. Conf. on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies, Aug. 2013.

[14] A. S. Calvillo, L. Rincón, E. Hamard, and P. Faria, “Bibliometric analysis on earthen building: Approaches from the scientific literature and future trends,” Buildings, vol. 14, no. 12, p. 3870, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.3390/buildings14123870.

[15] (n.d.) Sustainable Development Goals: 17 Goals to Transform Our World. [Online]. Available: https://www.un.org/en/exhibits/page/sdgs-17-goals-transform-world