{"id":152104,"date":"2026-03-27T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immo-invest.ch\/?p=152104"},"modified":"2026-03-25T16:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:19:53","slug":"schweizer-bauprojekt-setzt-auf-nachhaltige-lehmarchitektur-im-ausland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immo-invest.ch\/en\/schweizer-bauprojekt-setzt-auf-nachhaltige-lehmarchitektur-im-ausland\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss construction project focuses on sustainable earthen architecture abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

The go-ahead has been given for the construction of the new Swiss Embassy in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, and according to a press release<\/a>, Dietikon-based Oxara AG<\/a> is playing a key role in the project. The public building will be constructed using pressed clay bricks. Oxara is supplying its Oxabrick Loko stabiliser for the red raw material, which is available in abundance locally.<\/p>\n

The design for the embassy building is by the Basel-based architectural firms Caesar Zumthor Architekten<\/a> and Nord Architekten<\/a> and comprises an office block, a residence and a connecting building, all grouped around a courtyard. The buildings are to be constructed sustainably using local resources.<\/p>\n

On its website, Oxara – a company founded in 2019 – has launched<\/a> a series<\/a> reporting on the progress of the construction work. “In West Africa, clay is perceived as a sign of poverty and rurality, whilst concrete dominates in cities as a status symbol,” Oxara’s project manager Jonathan Ensslin is quoted as saying there. “It therefore sends a strong signal that the new Swiss embassy is being built with clay.”<\/p>\n

Oxara’s non-toxic mineral activator transforms clay into a stable and water-repellent building material. According to the company, this makes clay construction faster, less labour-intensive and scalable. At the same time, it is circular and low-carbon.<\/p>\n

Tests in the Oxara laboratory had shown that the material is well suited for use with Oxabrick Loko. However, the laboratory results could not initially be replicated on site. With the help of local materials researcher Berardin Beauderic Kenne Diffo, who had already got to know Oxara during his PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich<\/a>, the mixing ratios were adjusted. A test wall comprising around 7,000 clay bricks is currently being completed. Construction work on the new embassy is then set to begin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new Swiss Embassy in Cameroon\u2019s capital, Yaound\u00e9, is being built using locally sourced clay in an environmentally friendly way. A mineral activator from Oxara transforms the clay into pressed bricks. In this way, Oxara makes circular, low-carbon clay construction faster, simpler and scalable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22358,12476,12489,22698],"tags":[12525,12526,47025,12528,55413],"class_list":["post-152104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction","category-immonews","category-new-construction","category-sustainability","tag-immoinvest-en","tag-immonews-en","tag-lehmbau-en","tag-news-en","tag-zirkulaeres-bauen-2","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":{"bild_mit_ki_erstellt_worden":["Ja"],"lead":"The new Swiss Embassy in Cameroon\u2019s capital, Yaound\u00e9, is being built using locally sourced clay in an environmentally friendly way. A mineral activator from Oxara transforms the clay into pressed bricks. In this way, Oxara makes circular, low-carbon clay construction faster, simpler and scalable.","autor":"ce\/mm","ort":"Dietikon ZH","bildunterschrift":"","bild_im_grid":false,"gallerie":"","newsim":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t