On the site of a former brickworks in rural Wiltshire, Tuckey Design Studio has completed the construction of a new residential project crafted from rammed earth, which is a compacted mixture of clay, sand and gravel used to form solid walls, resulting in highly durable, energy-efficient structures. The concept for Rammed Earth House emerged from the … Read more
In 1968, Charles Bello and his wife, Vanna Rae, moved onto 240 acres of redwood forest looking to live a simpler life off the land. They had spent their savings to purchase the land so they got to work building their home themselves. Their first structure was a panelized A-frame that they erected in 5 … Read more
Karie Sullivan lives in an earth-berm house, burrowed into the ground on three sides. The front is clad in stained wood clapboard with white-trimmed windows with a sun-drenched southern exposure. The house was built in 1981 and was influenced by Malcolm Wells, a well-known architect who championed earth-sheltered buildings. Wells was not involved in the … Read more
The Alice Lynch House in Los Angeles was built in 1922 and is a rare example of the true adobe building technique, made with traditional stacked sun-dried mud blocks. The house was built using Mexican craftsmen skilled in the old methods. This is a two-story, roughly 2,500-square-foot home organized in a U-shape around a central courtyard. … Read more
Jikyeong bought a deralict property that had been stripped back by a previous owner and renovation work had stalled before it had really begun. Many of the surrounding dry-stone walls had started to collapse. Jikyeong says, “Ever since moving to England in 2000, I had dreamed of owning a traditional Yorkshire stone house, There is … Read more
Gale Marsland fell in love with Arizona’s desert climate and eventually built an off-grid home with her husband using sustainable design, passive solar principles, and traditional Southwestern building techniques. Living without utility power, they relied on photovoltaic solar panels, batteries, propane, and innovative cooling systems, gradually upgrading their technology as renewable energy became more efficient … Read more