Sustainable urban design with EARTH
Stefan Pollak
Raw earth - a building material for both hemispheres
Raw earth is among the oldest building materials in existence. After years of neglect, it has recently been rediscovered as a viable option for modern sustainable construction. The presentation will highlight some of its ecological and social benefits like, short supply chains, reversibility, and a large potential for participation and experience sharing, and show how they can be adapted in different socio-economic contexts. The experience of the Italian NGO AK0 and specifically its international cooperation project ABRI (Architecture et Bioconstruction pour l'environnement Rural Ivoirien) run in Cote d’Ivoire between 2019 and 2024 serves as a framework to illustrate how simple construction techniques based on locally sourced materials can act as tools for development processes in Sub-Saharan Africa. This includes the experience made with ABRI’s Master 's-thesis programme, activated in cooperation with Uni Trento’s Talete Honours Programme.
Lisa Dalle Sasse
A case study of raw earth and bamboo project in rural village in the Ivory Coast research objectives, methodology, and results achieved
This thesis research focused on designing a soap factory for the Eau et Miel association in the Ivosry Coast. In this project, several aspects were analysed: the context, the architectural features, and the technical behaviour of natural materials. The field research allowed us to understand available resources, skills of local builders, traditional construction techniques, and the project's feasibility. The method was based on participatory planning with the interaction of different skills, expertise and experiences, involving users themselves among the stakeholders. This research in international cooperation experienced sustainable and circular building, which is a central issue not only for developing countries.
Stefan Pollak
AK0 - architettura a kilometro zero
Stefan Pollak is an architect, Ph.D.in Sustainable Urban Design and a founding member of AK0 - architettura a kilometro zero, an association that promotes sustainable architecture through building, training and research. He has been charged with building projects in Europe, Africa and Latin America.
His academic activities include research contracts, teaching assignments, seminars and workshops in Italy, Germany, France, Greece, Japan, Brazil, Peru and Rwanda. Stefan's research focuses on collective design methods and construction systems with low environmental impact, including the architectural applications of bamboo and other giant grasses as well as raw earth. On these issues, he has published and edited articles, conference papers and two books.
Lisa Dalle Sasse
University of Trento, Italy
Lisa Dalle Sasse is a civil engineer and architect who graduated from the University of Trento in 2022, specialising in sustainable constructions using natural materials. Her journey in this field began during her studies with the Talete Honours Programme, a professional training program focused on international cooperation and global development. She designed a raw-earth and bamboo structure for her thesis research in the Ivory Coast. In Italy, she experienced earth and straw buildings and timber structures. She currently works at FORWOOD, a company that designs and builds highly energy-efficient wooden houses.
After the speakers’ talks, there would be space for an inclusive discussion and a Q&A session.
We would like to remind those who wish to have type F credit that it is requested to attend the seminars in person, also out of respect for the speakers who will be physically in the classroom.
For further details on the next seminars, please visit ESIC’s webpage. We would like to inform you that the webinar will be recorded, and participants can independently turn off their cameras. Here you can find the playlist of the past edition.
For further questions, please contact us at: