Past and present of raw earth as an ecological material in art and architecture

Before people reached the level of knowledge to build houses, they painted the caves with earth-based materials and minerals. They depicted nature and themselves with reliefs and sculptures by mixing earth with water. In time, they painted the walls that they also built with earth and local materials; reflected their stories, observations on these earthen walls, leaving cultural traces. Following these traces until today, where we are facing environmental and health problems, together with sustainable design solutions with natural materials; ecological art and aesthetics, whose origins date back to 1960s are important to create environmental awareness. To be more sustainable and compatible with nature brings up ancient materials in a different discourse today. Although being a part of human life since ancient times, these materials've been pushed back in context of rapid production-consumption cycles. Earth combines harmoniously with variety of additives and has rich prescription feature. Thus It's flexible as a plastic material. During the shaping process of earth, the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the reciprocal relationship between human, environment and material are within the scope of this thesis. A picture of raw earth in human history, transformation of the material into an aesthetic and useful cultural tool with its limits and possibilities, various intersections with other materials are put forward by examining the materializing of earth through examples from plastic arts and architecture on the border of art and craft. The reason for choosing raw earth among various materials is its relation to the professional area of the author which is architecture with local and ecological materials and earth wall paintings. After Introduction and About the Research; In the third part of the study, the story of raw earth from prehistoric times; In the fourth part of the study, the importance of raw earth in plastic arts, design, architecture and exhibition are examined. To build a bridge between past, present and future through the material, various production techniques and partnerships with new technologies are explored through various examples. Contribution to this section is made through interviews with artists, architects, archaeologists, designers who practically or theoretically work with raw earth. By putting forth the importance, development and technical potentials of raw earth, It is intended to raise awareness to spread the subject for a sustainable future. As a result, the importance of social, cultural and artistic contexts and spaces like museums for the notice of raw earth are emphasized. Keywords: Raw Earth, Ecological Material, Sustainable Architecture, Plastic Arts, Art History