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.

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.

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

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