ABSTRACT
In Spanish vernacular architecture earth is a major prime material which has made it possible to build highly resistant walls while saving greatly on costs. Gypsum, extracted and transformed for use in construction, is equally important. Therefore, these materials were used jointly in the execution of various vernacular construction techniques, as can be observed from surviving buildings. Historic constructions are undoubtedly the best possible database for the first-hand study of these techniques, in conjunction with treatises and manuals on construction written or translated into Spanish between the seventeenth and early twentieth centuries. This study compares the actual buildings with written theory in order to expound on Spanish traditional techniques which make joint use of earth and gypsum.
