The in-service Hakka rammed earth buildings, in the Fujian Province of China, are unique in design and performance. The UNESCO's inscription as World Heritage recognizes their artistic, cultural and historic significance. Sponsored by National Science Foundation of the United States, the authors have investigated the engineering values of those buildings in terms of low energy consumption but still comfortable living, sustainability, and durability. The objective of this study was to better understand the thermomechanical and aging responses of Hakka earth buildings under thermal and earthquake loads through nondestructive field evaluation including full-scale roof truss and floor testing, laboratory testing of field samples and finite element modeling. The scope of work included; 1) identification of constituent materials in rammed earth and investigation of durability of the constituents; 2) investigation of structural integrity of Hakka buildings for structural efficiency under extreme loads, including potential modes of failure and verification (if any) of the reported self-healing of cracks; 3) analysis of heat transfer process through rammed earth wall for thermal comfort and energy-efficiency; and 4) evaluation of potential benefits of the material in terms of embodied energy (consumed) and structural performance for potential implementation in modem constructions. This paper presents our findings from the field nondestructive evaluations while a second paper presents the results from laboratory testing of field samples and finite element analysis.
