Erosion Protection
Erosion checks can be used to reduce the speed of the water flowing on the façade, and thereby reduce the erosion. Protruding ceramic tiles have been used on House Rauch as seen below, but other materials such as stone, lime plaster or metal could also be used.
Erosion will still happen between the erosion checks. The outermost layer of finer particle sizes will wash away first (Rauch, 2015). The bigger stones and gravel then get exposed and stabilize the wall. When the earth seams between the stones get wet they expand and hinder the water from penetrating deeper. This will significantly reduce the pace of erosion.
If the erosion checks are put 5-10 mm deep into the wall they will be invisible at first. As erosion happens they will become visible. The difference in appearance will be big if the erosion checks are placed hidden likes this and they can be seen as ornaments that grow over time. I believe that people will then understand that the erosion was calculated and incorporated in the design. Hopefully this will help spread the view that erosion can be something beautiful and increase the acceptance for building with “weak” materials. My exploration in this project focused on this idea.
