Are rammed earth buildings sustainable as their appearances? : the discussion about the New Earth Layer (새로운 지층) in Noeul Park (노을공원) in Seoul
- Scarlett Lee
- 21 hours ago
- 4 min read
The new earth layer (새로운 지층) is a newly built rammed earth pavilion in Seoul, completed last year 2025. It is at the top of the hill of Noeul Park (노을공원) to commemorate the site’s successful transformation from landfill to ecological park. KHY Architects (김효영 건축사사무소) utilised rammed earth for this project as an architectural element to mimic ‘the new earth layer’. I visited the pavilion last week and found that it is an interesting work, provoking me to think about some topics to discuss. It was surreal to see the heavy rammed earth was seemingly floating, especially when 7 rammed earth walls were disguised and out of appearance by shadows. The contrasted shadow and light in the middle of the day in May lent the pavilion a unique perceptual appearance. The dominant horizontality of the pavilion reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style.
Prairie style is an architectural language of organic architecture that Wright created. Wright advocated the architectural design that enhances, echoes, and unifies the geometry of the landscape. Therefore, Wright’s Prairie style is rooted in the flat and prairie landscapes of Taliesin East in where Wright’s own house was located. Horizontality and low-pitched roofs are dominant in his Prairie houses, echoing the landscape. However, the horizontal design could not be realised through locally sourced materials such as stone and wood though he used them extensively in his works. Therefore, he employed new industrial materials such as steel and concrete to have the cantilever effect.
Likewise, KHY architects achieved the horizontality of the new earth layer by using industrial materials. Concealed concrete and steel structures carry all loads, while rammed earth is only an exterior finish. These concrete and steel structures had to be thick and strong to carry the immense load of soil for the roof garden and the heavy weight of rammed earth. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the pavilion design and construction was highly carbon-intensive process by using industrial materials having high embodied energy and involving professional work labour to calculate the complicated structural analysis. For this reason, the construction process of the pavilion is not sustainable as its appearance.
Modern technology was also applied to the rammed earth construction. The rammed earth for roof finishes was prefabricated, while the rammed earth for wall finishes was built in situ. Although this project has made a good attempt to integrate modern technology in rammed earth construction, the project could have considered more to maximise the sustainable benefits of rammed earth and the sustainable life cycle of the building.
Despite this, it is exciting to see that this project opens the door to rammed earth construction, as it is the only existing rammed earth structure in the metropolitan city Seoul. (To my knowledge, it is the only and new rammed earth structures to date in Seoul, but please let me know if you know other rammed earth structures in Seoul).
What I love the most about the pavilion is the landscape design. The 7 walls of the pavilion have Celtis sinensis trees for each one, and greenery is carefully planted around the trees and rammed earth walls. This integrated landscape and architectural design gave me the impression that the space is connected with nature, while inviting people within it.
Because the pavilion location is not publically shown on Google map, I have placed the specific location of the pavilion on Google map for anyone who wants to visit the place, along with the shuttle bus ticket office location below. For the round trip ticket to the top hill of Noeul Park where the New Earth Layer pavilion is located, it costs 3,000 won as the price of the year 2026.
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