ABOUT US
History
Rammed earth walls and buildings are ancient history. That’s right – thousands of years ago, builders in Asian, Middle Eastern and European civilizations were ramming earth into forms to create walls and buildings that have stood the test of time. Think the Great Wall of China, think castles and fortified homes, think temples and sacred spaces – carefully constructed and connected to their surroundings largely using Rammed Earth.
Somehow, our connection to the planet and mother earth was forgotten. Trees have been cut, natural resources drained, chemicals and toxins pumped into manufactured building materials to stabilize them. Buildings are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Over time, buildings have burned to the ground, rotted and devoured by natural forces and slowly polluted the air we breathe and spaces we occupy.
Fast-forward to the early 1990’s when a visionary and environmental entrepreneur, Meror Krayenhoff, abandoned current building practices and took lessons from ancient civilizations to create SIREWALLs (Stabilized, Insulated, Rammed Earth walls). Leveraging over thirty years of experience as a green builder, he intended to create homes and buildings that nourish our bodies instead of polluting them, stand the test of time, create a classic legacy for future generations and ultimately - he sought to develop a new standard for healthy, efficient buildings you and the planet will be proud of.
With tens of thousands of square feet of SIREWALLs built in the last fifteen years, Meror and the SIREWALL team have revolutionized a rammed earth system like no other. SIREWALLs are the only rammed earth walls with compressive strength and energy efficiency beyond the strictest codes, reusable forms and a design approach that enhances indoor air quality. The SIREWALL team has more experience leading insulated rammed earth crews than all other related builders combined. SIREWALL’s library of CADD tools are created specifically for insulated rammed earth by the team’s expert designers.
About the President
Quality of life has always been a core value for SIREWALL President and Founder, Meror Krayenhoff. Moving back to the West coast to start his family twenty years ago was a turning point to build a conscious, sustainable lifestyle that reflected his values.
An environmental builder over the last thirty years, Meror has honed his credentials as an Energy Systems Technologist, project engineer for the Canadian National Research Council, Advisory member of Canada’s R2000 program for energy efficiency, Indoor Air Quality Auditor for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Certified Residential Builder (CRB) and Registered Housing Professional (RHP) with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.
As the inventor, developer, and patent creator of SIREWALL (Stabilized, Insulated Rammed Earth) and President of Terra Firma Builders Ltd., he has won numerous awards with the Canadian Homebuilders Association including thirteen Gold CARE Awards (Vancouver Island) and six Gold Georgie Awards (BC) including “Best Homebuilder in British Columbia”.
Until recently, Meror thought he would continue to build SIREWALL homes on Saltspring Island, British Columbia, make a great living and retire there with his family. With mass awareness on environmental issues and demand for building alternatives on the rise, Meror realized that SIREWALL had the potential to develop a new standard for healthy, efficient homes and buildings – a standard that could be proudly shared with like-minded visionaries around the globe.