Earth building in Spain

This paper is a review of the state of use of the earth building in Spain nowadays. We present researching organisations, modern projects carried out or the existing manufacturers for compressed earth blocks. Besides, we offer an overview of the Spanish general building regulatory system to find that earth construction is not included in it, although there is a pair of non-regulatory guides that could act as national reference documents and whose provisions we examine. Although earth as a construction material is unknown for most people, a growing interest is noticed in two ways, for rescuing the heritage and as a rediscovered environmentally friendly building material. In these areas, we find the problems of how to carry out the conservation works of the great built heritage, usually adobe and rammed earth, as well as the lack of skilled people at all levels, from designer to masons, because it is a forgotten technique.