11 Glorious Rammed-Earth Homes That Celebrate the Landscape

ByMyProperty Life

These resilient, rammed-earth homes show the soil’s true stripes.

A true expression of the landscape they rest on, rammed-earth homes are constructed of compacted soil molded in plywood forms. A robust and energy-efficient material, rammed earth also has a striking, striated appearance, taking on natural color variations. The residences below demonstrate how the impressive building technique has been adapted to environments all over the world.

A Sustainable Rammed-Earth Home in New Mexico

Marrying the interior with the outdoors informed the design, as did the concept of subtraction:

In the harsh climate of New Mexico, Studio eM Design created a rammed-earth home in Corrales, New Mexico, that updates the regional adobe archetype.

Read another article:Design Trends for Creating a Vacation Vibe at Home

Kirk Gittings

A Portuguese Home Fused to the Environment With Rammed Earth

Asked to find an ecologically sustainable building solution, blaanc turned to a vernacular building technique that still thrives in certain pockets of rural Portugal, rammed earth.

Asked to find an ecologically sustainable building solution, architecture firm blaanc turned to a vernacular building technique that still thrives in certain pockets of rural Portugal: rammed-earth construction.

Photo: João Morgado

An Off-Grid Rammed-Earth Home in the Colorado Plateau

Architect Hank Louis worked with Navajo tribe elders to secure a 66-year lease on a half-acre lot in the middle of Bluf, Utah, for Rosie Joe and her children. The facade of their off the grid house is made up of exposed wood, red rammed earth, and glass.
Read another article:Hot Trends: 20 Best Farmhouse Style Kitchens in White and Wood

Architect Hank Louis worked with Navajo tribe elders to secure a 66-year lease on a half-acre lot in the middle of Bluf, Utah, for Rosie Joe and her children. The facade of their off-the-grid house is made up of exposed wood, red rammed earth, and glass.

Daniel Hennessy

See the full story on Dwell.com: 11 Glorious Rammed-Earth Homes That Celebrate the Landscape

Similar Posts

  • Saddle Peak Residence

    A completely transformative renovation opened this former tract home up to views, light, and its stunning outdoor setting. It’s all about the views, but this residence wasn’t always this way. What is now a metal and cedar stunner situated on a private, hilly enclave above Calabasas, was once a darkly lit 1960s-era generic single family home. A two-year renovation made a total overhaul for an entrepreneur and his wife, empty nesters with kids living nearby. The architect, Brian Wickersham of AUX Architecture in Los Angeles, didn’t change a thing in terms of the home’s footprint and rooflines; he couldn’t. “We initially looked at building a new home, but quickly learned that because of an ancient paleolithic landslide, that the county requirements for restraining the hill would be cost prohibitive and time-consuming—potentially five or more years,” says Wickersham. “Instead, we devised a plan to work within the existing house footprint and building envelope for a project that would be classified as a renovation.” In addition to these parameters, the homeowners tasked him with throwing out all of the old—down to the last salad fork—and bringing in everything new—all the while designing something where they could entertain a growing gaggle of grandkids. The result is a modern home that transitions from indoors to outdoors with the ease this property was intended for. “It’s about striking a balance between modest down-to-earth people and helping them realize they can be living a luxurious lifestyle,” says Wickersham. It’s about them living at a higher level of luxury.” A composition of dark standing seam metal and vertical grain cedar give the appearance of three cut pieces, shifted side-to-side, the wood being the cut face. The cedar siding also carries from outside to in, bringing warmth to the home and reinforcing the inside-outside connection. Solar panels, thermal panels to heat the pool, and a thermally coupled HVAC system enable the home to largely function off-the-grid.