thanks mdler, i actually found that website too... It an interesting building system but I was just worried that since it is usually utilized for earth retention and exterior partition wall that special treatment (extra structure... integrated weather proofing?) would be needed for it to act as a sheer wall in a building that would be in close proximity to people

What won't the technical manuals tell you? Snakes like them. A lot.

I used them in a capstone design progect. We had to put glass between two gabion wall systems so you could feel the textures on the inside as well as the out. And the structural consultants we had in class for the project had us make a MASSIVE footing for the wall. Who'd a thunk baskets of rocks would get so heavy. But mostly they structural in the sense that flying butresses are structural. Meaning they werent required to keep the building skinned and weather proof, just to support a few things, and to look awesome.

Don't know if this helps, if was just a school desing project.

you should probably ask a structural engineer what the sheer capacity of a gabion wall is...you may be able to set up some type of moment frame and then use the gabions as infill

thanks for all the suggestions. the idea is that these gabion units will be standardized and the units would be infilled with other materials as you move along the wall and once its becomes non-structural (if it ever is in the first place) so you get something like lego blocks with different transparencies and materiality throughout the wall system... we are trying to keep steel out of this because of cost and avalibility on site... its a challenge but hopefully with interesting results

gabions aint cheap