OPTIMIZATION IN ENGINEERING ASPECTS OF CONSTRUCTIONS WITH EARTH BY LABORATORY TESTS. A proposed methodology for the proper soil. Examples of modern houses built with earth in Greece.

Earth is one of the most abundant, most locally available, cheapest and lowest energy input impact materials it‘s possible to build with.Τhe energy required to dig up and treat sufficient earth for a house, was all provided by humans and animals. Nowadays, mechanical extraction and mixing is the more likely method, but assuming the earth is sourced fairly locally to the site, it is still a very low-energy form of construction.Earth is a 100% eco-friendly building material, neither it is manufactured nor transported.Over 70% of landmass is either pure clay or laterite- clay (with some iron content). Α wall made from raw earth serves as a natural air conditioner, being warm in winter and cool in summer. When the building is demolished, the earth returns to the soil and can be recycled indefinitely. Currently it is estimated that one half of the world’s population – approximately three billion people lives or works in buildings made of earth.