#47 About Clay Construction – Producing with Existing Resources

What if the soil excavated for a construction pit did not end up in a landfill, but was instead reused directly on site as a building material? And what would it take to turn this idea into a new building practice?

In the second episode of the mini-series LEHMBAU MORGEN, Jakobus Schwarz talks to Elisabetta Maria Schmidtlein about the interplay of timber and earth, local material cycles, and the potential of field factories. The conversation explores short transport distances, new forms of production, and the question of how earth construction can move beyond pilot projects and become a more widespread building practice.

Elisabetta Maria Schmidtlein is a lecturer at the Institute of Architectural Design at TU Wien and a PhD candidate specializing in earthen construction, low-tech architecture, and resource-efficient building in the Mediterranean region. As a certified earthen construction specialist, she combines research and practice through restoration and earthen construction projects in Austria and Germany. In her doctoral project, “From Soil to Structure,” she investigates the geological diversity of earth materials in Tuscany.

Jakobus Schwarz is an architect and university assistant at TU Wien. Since 2023, he has been contributing to the development of Juri Troy’s BMLUK Endowed Professorship for Timber Construction and Design in Urban Contexts. Following professional experience in Germany, Luxembourg, and Austria, his research and teaching focus on urban timber construction, excavated earth in multi-storey timber buildings, and the potential for CO₂ savings in residential construction.

Podcast Credits
Episode #47

Concept and hosts: Elisabetta Maria Schmidtlein und Jakobus Schwarz
Recording, audio and editing: Lisa-Marie Kramer, Elisabetta Maria Schmidtlein und Jakobus Schwarz
ZUKUNFT STADT Podcast production: Lukas Bast, Larissa Benk, Lisa-Marie Kramer, Lena Hohenkamp, Madlyn Miessgang and Nico Schleicher
Intro music: Jakob Kotal

The ZUKUNFT STADT podcast is a project of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at TU Wien. It is produced in cooperation between the future.lab and the Department of Local Spatial Planning at TU Wien.