Modeling Sustainable Deconstruction With the Raw Earth Sgraffito Pavilion
What would it look like to build in a way that leaves no waste behind? The Raw Earth Sgraffito Pavilion, inaugurated in May 2023 by Columbia Professors Lola Ben-Alon and Lynnette Widder, along with Greg Yetman of Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, set out to answer that question. Built from soil blocks excavated during the extension of the Paris RER rapid train and plastered with bi-color clay from Île-de-France, the installation provided shelter, shade, and seating for conversation and study. It stood for a full year, until its removal in July 2024, as required by the landmark preservation status of Reid Hall.
The deconstruction process was as low-impact and local as its construction. Working with Edifice Formation, an organization specialized in teaching ecological building techniques, the pavilion was carefully dismantled. Trainees learned how to chisel off plaster, preserving some of the Sgraffito surface, which detailed the routes taken by the materials used in the structure. Many of the earth blocks were saved and transported to Edifice Formation’s site in Versailles for use in future training. Broken blocks and unsalvageable clay plaster were bagged for use in a new raw earth foundation. These materials will be re-dissolved in water to form a slurry for another structure. Even the plywood, beautifully crafted by Patagonia woodworkers into curved panels to cover the walls and create seating, found a new life.
According to a 2022 study, some 70% of all solid waste in France comes from the construction sector, and almost half of that is generated by demolition (Diemer et al, 2022). That translates into 3.4 tons each year for each of the nation’s inhabitants. The materials reinvested into the Raw Earth Sgraffito pavilion amounted to 6.2 metric tons, about a year’s allowance for two Parisians. The high percentage of construction debris in the Paris waste stream reflects the challenges of reusing these materials compared to post-consumer materials such as glass, metals, some plastics, or even organic waste, which can be processed for new uses. A circular economy approach, where construction is conceived to permit recovery and reuse of materials, is considered the best solution. The collaboration with Edifice Formation to provide both the artisanal skills and the after-market applications for the earthen blocks demonstrates how a circular economy for low-carbon building products can function.
Local earth is, in Paris and in any major city, a limited resource. Excavated from deep soil layers unaffected by atmospheric change, climate shifts, pollution, and plant migrations, it is a window into the deep history of a place. As Agnés Bastin explained during a roundtable held at Reid Hall in November 2023, the quarries available for clean soil in the Paris region are becoming less viable, while the number of dumping sites for mixed excavation waste continues to grow. The pavilion and its deconstruction offer valuable insights into how soil can be viewed as a sustainable resource for the future.
---
Read about the Pavilion’s construction in Spring 2023
Watch the video of the Pavilion’s deconstruction in July 2024
---
Collaborators
Deconstruction: Edifice Formation, led by Silvia Devescovi and Lucie Allart
Deconstruction Logistics: Lynnette Widder
On-site coordination: Krista Faurie
Design: Lola Ben Alon and Lynnette Widder, assisted by Zina Berrada
GIS/Route mapping for Sgraffito: Greg Yetman, Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University
Article referenced: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainability/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.840091/full