Codes and standards on earth construction

Abstract

Earthen structures provide solutions to build green and sustainable buildings. Any engineered construction needs guidelines on the production of materials, construction of the structural elements, quality control methods and design guidance. There is lack of universally accepted standards on the production of earth construction materials and construction methods as compared to the standards available on conventional materials. The paper attempts to review the existing standards and norms on the earth construction, and bring out the need for comprehensive standard codes on earth construction. An analysis of the existing standard codes on earth construction has been provided. There are about 70 standards, but there is lack of coherence among the standards and globally acceptable terminology. The paper highlights the points needing attention while developing comprehensive globally applicable standards on different types of construction methods.