From Agritecture to Hemp: Reconnecting Agriculture and Architecture
Article written by Stephen Pearcy of Donald Insall Associates
When we think about the future of building, it’s worth pausing to look back. More than two centuries ago, in the late 18th century, a French educator named François Cointeraux asked a deceptively simple question: why separate farming from building?
Cointeraux believed that agriculture and architecture were two sides of the same natural economy. Farmers grew crops and worked the soil; those same materials could become walls, roofs, and shelters. He coined a new word for this way of thinking: “Agritecture.”
The Problem Cointeraux Saw
Even in his time, Cointeraux recognised that conventional construction was extractive and fragile. Timber shortages were common, urban fires destroyed whole districts, and rural housing was often unsafe. His solution was not to import costly stone or timber, but to turn directly to the soil beneath people’s feet.
His approach anticipated challenges we face today. The modern construction industry is the largest consumer of extracted minerals, generates mountains of waste, and accounts for around 47% of UK emissions. Like Cointeraux, we need to ask: can we build differently, using local, renewable resources?
The École d’Agritecture
To answer this, Cointeraux founded the École d’Agritecture (School of Rural Architecture) in Lyon in 1789. It wasn’t an elite academy but a school for farmers and builders, where he gave public demonstrations, published illustrated manuals, and created a curriculum that blended soil science with construction practice.
His aim was radical: to enable ordinary people to build durable, multi-storey houses with local earth, reducing dependence on imported materials and costly expertise.
Building with Soil: The Technique of Pisé
The technique Cointeraux promoted was pisé de terre, or rammed earth. Subsoil was moistened, poured into timber formwork, and compacted layer by layer. The resulting walls were:
- Fire-resistant
- Durable and weatherproof (with the right detailing)
- Thermally efficient with natural mass and breathability
Cointeraux stressed the importance of good detailing: a stone plinth to prevent damp, wide eaves to shed rain, and breathable finishes to allow moisture to pass through.
He even experimented with tools to make ramming quicker and more consistent — an early glimpse of construction innovation.
A Publishing Pioneer
Beyond teaching, Cointeraux became a prolific publisher. He wrote dozens of pamphlets, complete with diagrams, that acted as a DIY encyclopedia of earth building. His manuals explained everything from soil testing to mixing, ramming, and finishing techniques.
Because his works were translated, his influence spread across Europe and into America, inspiring experiments in earth construction long after his time.
Overcoming Prejudice
One of Cointeraux’s greatest challenges was perception. To many, earth was just “mud” — poor people’s material. He worked tirelessly to counter this prejudice by demonstrating that with the right details, earthen buildings could be beautiful, dignified, and long-lasting. Rendered and ornamented, they could stand alongside stone houses in both strength and appearance.
Why Cointeraux Matters Today
Fast forward to the 21st century, and we find ourselves revisiting Cointeraux’s logic. This time, instead of only earth, we look to hemp, timber, straw, and other bio-based materials. The principles are unchanged:
- Build from local and renewable resources
- Create supply chains that support regional resilience
- Design breathable assemblies that store carbon and work with nature
From Soil to Hemp: Natural Building Systems
This is where Natural Building Systems comes in. Where Cointeraux taught farmers to ram walls from earth, NBS takes a crop like hemp and transforms it into prefabricated wall systems.
The field becomes the factory, which becomes the façade.
- Crops grown in UK soil become construction-grade materials.
- Prefabrication delivers quality assurance, certification, and warranties.
- Panels are designed for demountability and reuse, reducing waste.
Just as Cointeraux connected agriculture and architecture in the 18th century, NBS is building a 21st-century agritecture — combining material honesty, regional economy, and breathable performance in modern, scalable systems.
Closing Thought
Cointeraux’s vision was simple but profound: a house should rise from the land that sustains it. Today, Natural Building Systems carries that ethos forward, proving that bio-based construction isn’t just nostalgic — it’s a pathway to a resilient, low-carbon future.
From soil to shelter then, and from field to panel now — the lineage continues.