ICSBE2016-55 The 7 th IŶterŶatioŶal CoŶfereŶĐe oŶ SustaiŶaďle Built EŶviroŶŵeŶt, Earl’s RegeŶĐy Hotel, KaŶdy, Sri LaŶka froŵ 16 th to 18 th December 2016 NEW EARTH WALLING MATERIAL: INTEGRATING MODERN TECHNOLOGY INTO ANCIENT MUD WALL Chameera Udawattha * , Rizna Arooz, and Rangika Halwatura Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa. *E-mail: udawatthe@gmail.com , TP: +9494777222658 Abstract: An emphasis toward more advanced admissions to building materials and life cycle performance continues to gain momentum to the whole idea of sustainable design. Sustainable building practice assays to identify how the built environment collides with the natural world and subsequently offers a balance with environmental integrity. However, instead of looking forward (expensive construction methodologies) consider looking backward and analyze methods and technologies that were existed and used by our ancestors for their building industry can be a grand saving in environmental impact. Starting from sun-baked brick and to using earth as the primary building material. And it was found mud can be developed as a sustainable building material or use as raw material for building blocks. Then again MUD has this greater weakness of decreasing the strength from time to time. In order to abolish this dandier impuissance, mud was combined concrete (from modern construction technology) and together produce new building material call Daub mixture block (MCB). Daub mixture block (Sri Lankan Patent 17616- 04|2016) is a result of cloning both past and modern construction technologies. The outcome of this research is the development of this novel walling material which may result in replacing modern expensive construction walling materials. Instead of a mere investigation, this product was developed into real world application. And the application and manufacturing framework was optimized by using scenarios and developed the most cost effective method of producing this walling material. Keywords: earth building; walling materials; ancient mud wall 1. Introduction Earth-based walling materials were used by civilizations to build their shelter[1][2]. And the greatest consequence with earth based walling materials is their inability to stand against environmental constraints such as rain, sun, and wind[3]. However, this is a very common condition in a tropical climatic condition where the sun is most powerful due to its position, and the rain is very heavy due to the tropical climate. Not only the sun and rain; but also humidity factor are comparatively higher other countries in the region. Therefore, most of the earth materials used to affordable buildings such as poor houses in the country have less amount of life span[4][5]. a. Background of the research The argument of earthen walling materials life span is contradictory[6]. Because there are some earthen walling materials built for centuries in the world (see the figure 1). The experiment was carried out to understand the durability factors of earthen materials including novel waling materials developed by the University and to compare earthen walling materials durability most commonly accepted walling materials such as brick, cement blocks. The Robert Knox stated that use of lime as a stabilizer for temples and other buildings instead of wattle and daub. “The palace is walled about with a clay wall, and thatched, to prevent the clay being melted by the rains, which are great and violent. Within this wall it is all full of houses, 'most of 24