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Earth-Based Eco-Efficient Architecture and Construction
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Earth-Based Eco-Efficient Architecture and Construction

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1645

Editors

Dr. Francisco Javier Castilla Pascual

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Mecánica aplicada e ingeniería de Proyectos, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Interests: earth construction; vernacular architecture; building sustainability; building information modelling; heritage
Dr. Alejandro Jiménez Rios

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
Interests: architecture; civil engineering; structural engineering; bridge engineering; building engineering; sustainability; resilience; human centrism; digital twins; built cultural heritage; conservation; masonry structures; earthen structures; regenerative design; nature-based solutions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paulina Faria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CERIS, Department of Civil Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Interests: building conservation; building technology; construction pathology; earthen building products; bio-based composites; by-products as building materials; low embodied energy materials; masonry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Maria Stefanidou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Civil Engineering Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Polytechnic School, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: cement; lime; bricks; stones; additives; coatings; bio-materials; nano-modification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The built environment is undergoing a pivotal transformation toward sustainability, low-carbon construction, and resilience; therefore, this Special Issue invites original research and review articles on earth-based materials and products, including earthen construction techniques, vernacular architecture, low-embodied-energy formulations, nano-modified and by-product-enhanced earthen mortars, and nature-inspired earthen composites that advance eco-efficient architecture and construction science.

We welcome earth-related contributions spanning the following topics:

  • Structural and building engineering;
  • Materials and products;
  • Heritage and conservation;
  • Earthen contemporary architecture;
  • Digital technologies.

The focus includes, but is not limited to, the following areas of interest:

  • Lifecycle assessment of earthen and secondary-material, products and systems;
  • Structural performance and durability;
  • Hygrothermal, acoustic, and energy performance;
  • Regenerative design and nature-based earthen solutions;
  • Integration of heritage and vernacular practices in contemporary earthen construction;
  • Innovative techniques using earth as main building materials;
  • Use of digital models for documentation, monitoring and management of earthen built cultural heritage.

By bridging traditional materials and cutting-edge technologies, the Special Issue seeks to highlight pathways for sustainable, resilient, and culturally meaningful construction. We encourage interdisciplinary contributions that reflect engineering, architecture, conservation, and sustainability perspectives.

Dr. Francisco Javier Castilla Pascual
Dr. Alejandro Jiménez Rios
Dr. Paulina Faria
Dr. Maria Stefanidou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

earthen structures; low-carbon building material; regenerative design; retrofit; digital heritage; nature-based solutions; mechanical–hygrothermal performance; stabilization techniques; fibre reinforcement; lifecycle assessment

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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24 pages, 2814 KB  
Article
Clay Content of Soils as a Predictive Factor of the Compressive Strength of Unstabilised Rammed Earth
by Álvaro Blanca-Hoyos, Ricardo A. Castro, Rafael Gallego and Esther Puertas
Buildings 2026, 16(11), 2239; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16112239 - 2 Jun 2026
Viewed by 422
Abstract
Rammed earth has long been recognised for its economic, environmental, and social advantages, and it is increasingly considered a sustainable alternative within the construction industry. Its primary benefit lies in the use of local soils, thereby minimising environmental impacts associated with material transport. [...] Read more.
Rammed earth has long been recognised for its economic, environmental, and social advantages, and it is increasingly considered a sustainable alternative within the construction industry. Its primary benefit lies in the use of local soils, thereby minimising environmental impacts associated with material transport. At present, the assessment of soil suitability relies primarily on particle size distribution (PSD) envelopes or the maximum dry density achieved in compaction tests. Although the mechanical performance of unstabilised rammed earth (URE)—most notably its unconfined compressive strength (UCS)—depends heavily on soil clay content due to clay’s role as a natural binder, clay-rich soils are often excluded by existing criteria, despite reports of acceptable strength in such materials. In this study, URE specimens were prepared from a single local soil by systematically varying its clay fraction. The optimum moisture content (OMC) of all mixtures was determined, and all specimens were cured under controlled conditions for 28 days before being subjected to UCS testing. One-way ANOVA confirmed a statistically significant influence of clay content on UCS, and a logarithmic regression model was developed and benchmarked against published data. The results indicate that, under the controlled material and curing conditions investigated, the clay fraction can serve as a practical first-order indicator of compressive strength and related physical parameters in URE, although its predictive capacity must be interpreted together with mineralogy, moisture state, compaction conditions, and soil fabric. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth-Based Eco-Efficient Architecture and Construction)
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26 pages, 9023 KB  
Systematic Review
Ecologically Active Soils for Regenerative Retrofitting of Existing Buildings: A Systematic Review
by Alejandro Jiménez Rios, Juliana Calabria-Holley, Francisco Javier Castilla Pascual and Anushka Gupta
Buildings 2026, 16(14), 2783; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16142783 - 13 Jul 2026
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Abstract
Approximately 80% of the buildings that will exist in Global North countries by 2050 have already been built, yet most perform poorly in terms of energy efficiency and fail to deliver net-positive outcomes. Ecologically active soils, which are engineered to provide the moisture, [...] Read more.
Approximately 80% of the buildings that will exist in Global North countries by 2050 have already been built, yet most perform poorly in terms of energy efficiency and fail to deliver net-positive outcomes. Ecologically active soils, which are engineered to provide the moisture, porosity, and nutrient conditions necessary for plant growth, offer a promising yet underexplored pathway for the regenerative retrofitting of existing building envelopes. This paper presents the rationale, objectives, and results of the Regenerative Retrofitting Via Ecologically Active Soil Structures (Reeco-Soil) project, which investigates the state of the art of ecologically active soil-based building retrofitting through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines, drawing on searches of the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Results confirm that bio-based clay composites can achieve significant reductions in thermal conductivity, and that robotic and spray-based fabrication methods are capable of depositing earthen materials onto complex building geometries. However, peer-reviewed evidence directly addressing biological component integration remains critically scarce. As conclusion, the review reveals substantial opportunities for integrating earthen materials, biological components, and digital fabrication technologies into regenerative retrofitting strategies, while also highlighting research gaps that must be addressed before they can be implemented at scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Earth-Based Eco-Efficient Architecture and Construction)
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