Salara Hotel, Baja California

Salara Hotel located in Baja California Sur, Mexico is a hotel that was designed by Taller Héctor Barroso, with the vision to connect living with what emerges from the sand. Consisting of various residences ranging from 14,000 to 20,000sqft, it establishes a shared environment of both community and nature.

Completed residential unit

All the buildings are created with rammed earth. Allowing the natural raw materials that are available on site such as earth, chalk, lime or gravel, allowed a cost effective method to creating these vacation homes. The rammed earth also regulates the interior heat within the residences.

Creating the foundation and establishing electrical.

Development of the rammed earth walls on site

Process of rammed earth.

http://https://youtu.be/URJH8uQTKL8?si=wngOB8NsXI2QHAeG

The main focus of the use of material not only focused on sustainability but allowing guests to interact with light shade and surrounding vegetation as well as highlighting aspect of the geological features.

Proposed space highlights the geography of Baja alluding to the material.

Exterior pathways to each unit

Pathways connect the various 10 spaces allowing those to relax in their lifestyle while accessing each others units in community. The sand covered court allows for local tournaments and spaces to bring one another together.

Continue reading “Salara Hotel, Baja California”

April 6, 2026

Diriyah, Saudi Arabia

Basic Information

Location: Diriyah, northwest of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Type: Historic earthen settlement / urban heritage site
Historic Core: At-Turaif District in ad-Dir‘iyah
Period: Founded in the 15th century; major political role in the 18th–early 19th century
UNESCO Status: World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2010
Primary Material: Traditional Najdi mudbrick / earth-based construction

Overview

Diriyah is a historic urban landscape shaped by earth construction. Its significance lies in the way architecture, settlement form, climate adaptation, and political history are bound together in one place. UNESCO describes At-Turaif as the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty and a witness to the Najdi architectural style specific to the center of the Arabian Peninsula. This means Diriyah is important not only because it uses earth as a material, but because it demonstrates how earthen architecture can operate at the scale of an entire city: walls, palaces, streets, courtyards, defensive structures, and urban hierarchy are all formed through related material and spatial logics.

Historical and Cultural Context

Diriyah’s importance is inseparable from its role in Saudi history. The official Diriyah site describes At-Turaif as the heart of the Emirate of Diriyah, the First Saudi State, built from traditional Najdi mudbrick and overlooking Wadi Hanifah and the Diriyah oasis. UNESCO likewise identifies it as the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty. These descriptions matter because they show that the architecture of Diriyah is not merely vernacular in the sense of being local and anonymous; it is also political, dynastic, and symbolic. Earth architecture here was used not only for domestic life, but also for governance, defense, and the representation of power. In other words, Diriyah demonstrates that earthen architecture can be monumental and state-forming, not only rural or modest.

Landscape and Settlement Logic

Diriyah is also a settlement shaped by its landscape. UNESCO and other heritage descriptions emphasize its position near Wadi Hanifah, where oasis conditions, topography, and defensive needs influenced how the city developed. This relationship to the valley matters because earthen settlements are often misread as isolated objects, when in fact their form emerges from water access, terrain, and patterns of protection and movement. In Diriyah, the historic district occupies an elevated position overlooking the wadi, which strengthened both its defensibility and its visual authority. The city therefore should be read as an environmental and territorial construction as much as an architectural one.

Material System

The material system of Diriyah is fundamental to understanding its architecture. The official Diriyah site repeatedly describes At-Turaif as built from traditional Najdi mudbrick, while tourism and heritage descriptions emphasize its mud-brick character at the scale of the entire district. Mudbrick construction relies on locally available earth, shaped into units and dried before assembly into thick walls. What matters here is not only that the material is local, but that it forms a coherent construction culture: the material, the wall thickness, the maintenance cycle, and the architectural language all depend on one another. Earthen construction in Diriyah is therefore not a superficial finish or a nostalgic aesthetic; it is the structural and cultural basis of the settlement itself.

Architectural Features

UNESCO identifies At-Turaif as a major example of Najdi architectural style, and this style can be understood through a set of recurring spatial and formal features: thick earth walls, carefully controlled openings, inward-oriented compounds, courtyards, and a dense urban fabric. These features are not isolated details; together they produce an architecture of mass, shade, privacy, and gradated enclosure. The city’s buildings do not rely on glassy openness or long-span structural expression. Instead, their character comes from the sculptural handling of mass and void. This is why Diriyah is so important within earth architecture studies: it shows how an entire urban language can emerge from the properties of earth itself.

Earthen Monumentality and Urban Scale

A deeper reason Diriyah matters is that it challenges a persistent misconception about earthen architecture: that earth belongs only to small, rural, or informal buildings. At-Turaif shows the opposite. UNESCO presents it as a dynastic capital, and the official Diriyah materials present it as a mud-brick citadel central to the making of the Kingdom. This means earth here operates at the scale of monument, palace, district, and capital city. Its essential to mention: Diriyah broadens the imagination of what earthen construction can be. It is not only a technology of shelter; it is also a technology of urban order, representation, and political centrality.

Contemporary Relevance

Diriyah remains highly relevant to contemporary architecture because it continues to function as a reference point for new work. Recent architectural coverage of projects in Diriyah, including Zaha Hadid Architects’ Asaan Museum, explicitly states that the site’s mud-brick architecture and centuries-old urban fabric are the source of inspiration, and that the project will use locally sourced clay mud-bricks. This is significant because it shows that Diriyah is not treated merely as a museum object frozen in the past. Instead, it acts as a living precedent for how local material intelligence, Najdi form, and climatic knowledge can be reinterpreted today. In that sense, Diriyah is both an origin and an ongoing design reference for contemporary earthen practice.

Conclusion

Diriyah is a foundational case in earth architecture because it demonstrates that earthen construction is not simply a matter of material substitution. It is a complete architectural and urban system in which politics, landscape, craft, climate, and form are interdependent. Its buildings are made of earth, but its significance goes beyond materiality alone: Diriyah shows how earth can generate a capital city, a heritage landscape, a climatic urbanism, and a continuing source of architectural knowledge. For that reason, it should be understood not as a relic of a premodern past, but as one of the clearest and most enduring demonstrations of earth architecture’s intelligence and relevance.

References

UNESCO World Heritage Centre, At-Turaif District in ad-Dir‘iyah. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1329
Diriyah official website https://www.diriyah.sa/en/history-and-culture
ArchDaily, Asaan Museum in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. https://www.archdaily.com/1030338/zaha-hadid-architects-breaks-ground-on-asaan-museum-in-diriyah-saudi-arabia
Islamic Architectural Heritage / IRCICA, background on ad-Dir‘iyah and Wadi Hanifa. https://www.islamicarchitecturalheritage.com/listings/historic-at-turaif-district-diriyah
Visit Saudi, At-Turaif World Heritage Site. https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/diriyah/attractions/at-turaif

April 6, 2026

Marfa Ranch, Lake Flato (Beyonce’s House)

Sandwiched between the inhospitable Chihuahuan Desert and the majestic Davis Mountains, the Marfa Ranch is situated on a low rise with dramatic views of pristine desert grassland in all directions.

The house, which cuts a low profile, comprises eight structures organized around a central courtyard shaded by native mesquites.

“The design leans into an early regional paradigm found commonly on the ranches of far West Texas, where casual, low-slung homes partially enclose an inner court”

“These homes are often stone, brick, or adobe, one room wide and U-shaped — opening to an inward veranda and surrounding the court that opens to the east, shielding against the seasonally persistent north-western winds.”

Borrowing from the area’s earliest structures, the rooms of the house are organized around a courtyard, a cool respite from the sun-drenched desert grasslands beyond the walls. The house embraces the expansive landscape with lightweight breezeways and porches made of recycled oil field pipe.

Built of two-foot-thick rammed earth walls, the home protects its inhabitants from the extremes of the region — heat, cold, and wind — while allowing them to connect with the landscape through lightweight breezeways and porches, a mirador perched above the main bedroom, and an outdoor walkway connecting to a pool and hot tub.

The studio used three million pounds of earth to create the rammed earth walls, which were chosen to reflect a connection to the landscape. This material was used for the structure as well as for the finishes.

“Rammed earth is a simple material that reinforces the connections to the land and the landscape,” said Harris. “It is a labor of love to commit to the use of earth when building, and the craft of the construction is evident throughout.”

“As a counterpoint, most all the surrounding rooms open to both the interior and exterior landscape and are positioned to accept the cooling breeze reaching out to the exterior foreground and distant horizon.”

The bedroom opens onto a covered porch with views of the surrounding land

Sliding rusted steel doors lead to additional semi-outdoor areas

March 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Gilbert Raby Therapeutic Workshops

Location: Meulan-sur-Yvelines, France
Year: 2023 | Built: 940 m²
Architect: Tolila+Gilliland
Client: Fondation l’Élan Retrouvé
Construction: timber structure with raw earth brick infill
Photos: Cyrille Weiner | Drawings: Tolila+Gilliland

Tolila+Gilliland is a Paris-based practice founded by Gaston Tolila and Nicholas Gilliland. Tolila holds a DPLG Architect Diploma from the Paris-Villemin School of Architecture and an engineering degree in civil engineering and urban planning from INSA Lyon. Gilliland holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University and an undergraduate architecture degree from the University of Kansas. The two met through a humanitarian architecture competition in 2001. They later established their practice, grounded in material logic, environmental response, and construction using bio-based and geo-sourced systems.

The Gilbert Raby Center sits within a campus of buildings dedicated to addiction medicine and treatment. The client, Fondation l’Élan Retrouvé, needed a building that could bring together adult therapeutic workshops and related support spaces while avoiding the rigidity typical of institutional care environments. The program includes therapeutic workshops, a day hospital, a laundry, a pharmacy, and medical offices, all organized within a new two-story building of 940 square meters.

The site is sloped and wooded. Each level meets the ground directly, allowing independent access and reducing reliance on vertical circulation. Movement is horizontal and legible, supporting autonomy within the therapeutic environment.

The plan is organized symmetrically around a central interior hall. This space acts as both circulation and environmental core. It is unheated but tempered through solar gain, thermal mass, and controlled ventilation. A linear skylight introduces diffuse zenithal light, moderated by removable shading. Raw earth brick walls stabilize temperature, with night cooling supporting summer performance.

Construction follows a clear material system. A timber structural frame is paired with raw earth brick infill and wood-fiber insulation. Timber provides structure and assembly. Earth provides thermal inertia and regulation. The exterior is clad in pre-greyed larch shingles, with exposed timber elements and wood joinery aligning the building with its wooded context.

Form is restrained and derived from site and program. The building adapts to slope, organizes around a central void, and maintains a consistent sectional logic. Workshops and medical spaces line the central hall in a clear rhythm. The architecture operates through clarity, proportion, and material presence.

The project demonstrates how therapeutic architecture can be shaped through environmental moderation and spatial legibility rather than institutional form. By aligning structure, climate, and circulation, it supports autonomy and stability. It also advances a model of low-carbon construction where timber and earth define both performance and spatial quality.

Written By: Hitiksha Bansal

Sources:

“Centre Gilbert Raby.” Tolila+Gilliland, tolilagilliland.com/projets/centre-gilbert-raby.

“Gilbert Raby Therapeutic Workshops / Tolila+Gilliland.” Dezeen, 13 Oct. 2023, www.dezeen.com/2023/10/13/gilbert-raby-therapeutic-workshops-tolila-gilliland-france.

“The Gilbert Raby Center.” Divisare, divisare.com/projects/498062-tolila-gilliland-cyrille-weiner-the-gilbert-raby-center.

“Hôpital de jour pour enfants.” Architecture et Précarités, architecture-precarites.fr/interventions/hopital-de-jour-pour-enfants-etablissement-psychiatrique-accueillant-des-enfants-de-4-a-14-ans-presentant-des-troubles.

March 31, 2026

Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School

Quai To commune in Dien Bien, Vietnam

The project was brought to life by 1+1>2 Architects, a Hanoi-based firm led by the renowned Hoang Thuc Hao.

Hao is widely considered a pioneer of “Social Architecture” in Vietnam. His philosophy revolves around the idea that architecture should not just be for the wealthy, but a tool to improve the lives of the marginalized. The firm is famous for combining traditional building techniques (like rammed earth, bamboo, and thatch) with modern structural engineering. They prioritize low-carbon footprints, using materials that are sourced locally. In an effort to harbor their social architecture approach, during the design and construction of the school, 1+1>2 often involved the villagers ensuring the community feels a sense of ownership over the finished school.

The Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School, located in the remote mountains of the Son La province in Vietnam, is a masterclass in how architecture can serve as both a functional shelter and a cultural bridge. Designed to serve the ethnic minority children of the region, the project is a testament to the power of “pro-bono” architecture that doesn’t compromise on beauty or utility.

The school’s design is heavily influenced by the rugged terrain and the traditional architecture of the local H’Mong people. Rather than leveling the land the architects opted for a stilted structure that follows the natural slope of the mountainside. The school is made up of various materials sourced locally and/or made on-site. Foundations are made of local mountain stone with adobe bricks stacked above. Some walls even being fully constructed of stone or adobe. Frames, fences and ceiling treatments are made with bamboo and natural wood to provide breathable interiors and soft boundaries that properly integrate this new building into the village. The roof materials somewhat break from tradition, using corrugated metal to provide proper insulation and ensure the building is watertight.

Traditional H’Mong architecture

The school’s roofline, the most striking feature, is made to mimic the surrounding mountain peaks, allowing the building to blend seamlessly into the landscape. The school is divided into distinct “blocks” for the kindergarten and primary levels. These blocks are connected by covered walkways and open-air bridges, creating a sense of a small, interconnected village rather than an isolated institution.

Although the primary purpose of the building is education, the school serves as the beating heart of the village. Often in remote Vietnamese regions, schools also become communal spaces for adults outside of school hours. The Hang Tau school serves to strengthen the sense of community that is heavily embedded in the Vietnamese culture. This is not only embodied by the programming of the school but the architecture itself as it also preserves the culture through the use of “local aesthetics”. Allowing the students to take pride in their culture and value their roots.

Given the tropical climate, the buildings utilize high ceilings and perforated walls (often made of local wood or brick) to allow cross-breezes, eliminating the need for mechanical cooling. These apertures also increase and incentivize connection the natural landscape which is a core value in Vietnamese culture and architecture. The school provides modern education while instilling the values of traditions of past generations. Giving the students access to successful futures and influential pasts.

Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School / 1+1>2 Architects

Hang Tau Kindergarten and Primary School: Redefining the Relationship Between Education and the Mountainous Environment

March 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Voute Nubian (Organization)

Voute Nubian (Association la Voûte Nubienne) is an organization founded by Berkinabe farmer Séri Youlou, and French mason Thomas Granier in 2000, serving to utilize the ancestral construction technique— the Nubian Vault— to meet the housing needs of rural areas in several Sahelian nations.

Owing in large part to the economic and environmental consequences of neocolonialism, which have engendered mass poverty and a scarcity of wood resources throughout the Sahel region, housing is often precarious or inaccessible for many. In response to this, the Voute Nubian organization seeks to utilize the Nubian Vault as a self-supporting construction technique that does not require cement, timber, or sheet metal and can create roofing systems entirely out of earth.

Nubian Vault construction has many additional advantages, including locally sourced and easily accessible materials, extreme durability, high thermal and acoustic performance, as well as its simplicity.

This process not only ensures that the readily available and inexpensive earth of the construction site can be used to create a comfortable and structurally sound home without the added costs of formwork or expensive materials, but also that workers can be professionally trained as experts in this production technique enabling the creation of skilled labor and the spread of the Nubian Vault as a technique.

For more information on the history of the Nubian Vault, and its revival as a contemporary architectural strategy in earthen construction:

What is the Nubian Vault?

New Gourna – Hassan Fathy

March 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Betil Dagdelen: Rammed Earth Side Tables

Betil Dagdelen is a Turkish artist born in 1978 that specializes in combining traditional weaving techniques and practices with a more improvisational strategy in her patterning. Dagdelen studied at Koc University, located in Istanbul, and graduated with a Bachelors in political science and international relations. She however, also attended design classes and used inspiration from her life to work on furniture design. Currently, Betil works in New Mexico, on the design and weaving of furniture in order to study and understand patterns, particularly through the use of already existing materials that she believes have a story to them, for example yarn that was created traditionally.

A lot of her work is displayed at the Cristina Grajales Gallery in New York. One of her exhibitions presented there is called OFF BY AN INCH, where part of the work presented includes the use of rammed earth to create side tables.

In this gallery showing, Betil brings together history and the art of weaving, she creates solid structures and then weaves around them to create and elevate the structural design of furniture. In these works Betil brings together modern design with a more traditional weaving method in order to have both a visual and tactile experience.

In this specific gallery showing, Betil includes three side tables made from rammed earth, continuing her exploration of patterns present in furniture design. In this case the rammed earth material, allows for an exploration of those combinations between texture, pattern, and material.

These three side tables are all made from the same materials, which are pumicecrete, portland cement, natural dyes, and lime. Additionally, these three side tables are part of the specific section on Pattern Studies in her showing, where the material element, in this case rammed earth, was used to explore how patterns present themselves differently through technique and design using the same material components.

Resources

https://cristinagrajales.com/artists-designer/betil-dagdelen/

https://cristinagrajales.com/collection/rammed-earth-side-table-c/

https://cristinagrajales.com/exhibitions/off-by-an-inch/

https://cristinagrajales.com/collection/rammed-earth-side-table-a/

https://cristinagrajales.com/collection/rammed-earth-side-tables/

https://betildagdelen.com/mp_01_v2

https://www.instagram.com/betildagdelen/

March 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Natural Mateirals Lab, Columbia University

Natural Materials Lab, Columnbia University

Overview

The Natural Materials Lab at Columbia University is a research platform dedicated to the development and application of natural and low-carbon materials in contemporary architecture.

The lab focuses on materials such as earth, plant fibers, and bio-based composites, investigating how these materials can be integrated into modern design, fabrication, and construction processes.

Rather than treating natural materials as traditional or vernacular remnants, the lab positions them as active components in future building systems—capable of generating new architectural forms, structural logics, and environmental strategies.

Research Leadership

Lola Ben-Alon is an Assistant Professor at Columbia GSAPP, where she directs the Natural Materials Lab and the Building Science and Technology curriculum.

Her research focuses on earth- and bio-based building materials, including their life cycle, fabrication methods, and environmental performance.

She received her Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University and holds degrees in Structural Engineering and Construction Management from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.

Her work has been widely published and exhibited internationally, contributing to the advancement of sustainable and low-carbon construction research.

Research Focus

Rather than presenting projects individually, the work of the Natural Materials Lab can be understood through a set of interconnected research directions, each demonstrated through selected projects.

1. Designing Material Systems: Earth–Fiber Composites

The lab focuses on developing composite material systems by combining earth with plant fibers and bio-based additives.

Projects such as:

demonstrate how these combinations improve:

structural behavior
flexibility
fabrication potential

Rather than selecting materials after form is defined, these projects suggest a shift toward material system design as a generative process.

2. Fabrication as Form Generation

A central research theme is the integration of fabrication processes into design logic.

Projects including:

explore how:

additive manufacturing
digital weaving
and analog forming techniques

can directly generate geometry and structure.

These works reposition fabrication not as a post-design step, but as a primary driver of form.

3. From Mass to Lightweight and Porous Systems

The lab challenges the conventional perception of earth as a heavy, monolithic material.

Projects such as:

investigate how earth-based materials can be transformed into:

porous systems
ventilation structures
lightweight envelopes

These explorations expand the role of earth from mass construction to environmental and spatial filtering systems.

4. Expanding Material Research Beyond Architecture

The lab extends material research beyond conventional building applications into broader ecological and bodily contexts.

Projects include:

These works examine how materials interact with:

philosophy of nature/culture
the human body
environmental systems

This expands architecture into a multi-scalar material ecology, where materials operate across building, body, and environment.

Teaching and Pedagogy

The Natural Materials Lab integrates research with teaching through a series of seminars, workshops, and technical courses at Columbia GSAPP.

Courses such as Making With Earth, Down to Earth, and TECH: Construction and Life Cycle combine theoretical frameworks with hands-on experimentation, allowing students to engage directly with natural materials across multiple scales.

Through material testing, full-scale prototyping, and environmental analysis, the lab promotes a material-driven design approach, where construction, performance, and fabrication are understood as integral to the design process.

Sources

https://www.arch.columbia.edu/research/labs/17-natural-materials-lab

https://lola-ben-alon.com/

Columbia Professor Takes a Down-to-Earth Approach to Building Materials

Lola Ben-Alon Encourages Compassion for Digitization

March 31, 2026May 21, 2026

Earth USA

Earth USA is the biennial international conference on earthen architecture organized by Adobe in Action (AinA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It brings together architects, engineers, builders, and researchers to share advances in clay-based construction. Earth USA began in 2003 as “Adobe USA,” first held at Northern New Mexico College by the Adobe Association of the Southwest and dedicated to Paul Graham McHenry, and it has continued on a biennial basis since then. In 2011, the name formally changed to Earth USA for the sixth conference, held in Albuquerque, and since 2013 all subsequent conferences have taken place in Santa Fe. Key milestones include the adoption of a broader earthen-material scope beyond adobe, as well as expanded international participation.

The Scottish Rite Center hosts the conference, reinforcing the event’s Southwestern adobe heritage. The Santa Fe venue also underscores the material focus: the Alhambra Theater is a pink adobe stucco building, and local expertise in adobe construction is abundant. Site tours have included Pueblo ruins, ancestral Spanish missions, and owner-built adobe homes throughout northern New Mexico. Typical Earth USA activities have featured on-site workshops, such as plastering demonstrations, as well as earthen installations; for example, past Earthbuilders’ Guild teams have built mud-brick stages and art displays on-site. In sum, the conference’s materials and form revolve around clay-rich architecture, celebrating both the traditional thick earthen walls of Santa Fe’s historic districts and cutting-edge earth technology.

Earth USA is run by AinA, a New Mexico 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to adobe and earthen-building education. AinA was founded by Mike Lopach and launched Earth USA to empower owner-builders. For Earth USA 2026, AinA’s Lisa Morey and Dan Krause co-preside on the board of AinA, and the Executive Director is Kurt Gardella, a certified adobe instructor who studied under Quentin Wilson at Northern New Mexico College. Gardella holds adobe construction certifications and leads AinA’s certificate program. He has been “a major organizer of Earth USA” while also teaching owner-builder courses. Lisa Morey is a civil engineer and designer, and co-founder of Colorado Earth LLC. She is the author of Adobe Homes for All Climates and holds a patent for reinforced adobe brick walls. Dan Krause is a retired ASU professor who became enamored with adobe while living in Arizona. He designed and built two of his own adobe homes, earning AinA’s Adobe Construction certificate in 2020. Collectively, the organizers combine academic and practical expertise to network experts, educate practitioners, and advance earthen construction worldwide.

Each Earth USA conference follows a structured program with three days of presentations and posters, along with associated social and field activities. The format typically includes a Friday welcome keynote, all-day podium and poster sessions from Friday through Sunday, and Sunday afternoon tours to regional earth-building sites. For example, Earth USA 2024’s schedule featured invited talks on topics ranging from flood-proof adobe shelters to waste-earth reuse and seismic earth block design, alongside panels on owner-builder case studies and clay plaster techniques. All conferences include a Friday night reception sponsored by the Earthbuilders’ Guild and guided tours to adobe missions, historic homes, and new earth projects on Sunday. The scope of subjects is broad, and organizers note that the program reflects a wide field of interest, including adobe, rammed earth, compressed earth block, cob, and essentially any method that uses clay as a binder.

Key themes encompass the use of sustainable materials, including earth plasters and stabilized blocks; advancements in modern fabrication techniques such as 3D printing and robotics in earthen architecture; building science considerations ranging from thermal performance to seismic resilience; historic preservation; and social projects focused on affordable housing and owner-builder training programs. For instance, Earth USA has featured a keynote from, “Mud Frontiers,” by Ronald Rael (UC Berkeley) on 3D-printed earth architecture, as well as a session on a Ghanaian rammed-earth housing prototype, “Kente House,” by Angeles Hevia. Other sessions have addressed codes and policy, including Ben Loescher on U.S. earthen masonry standards and Stephen Colley on adopting adobe in building codes. Topics also include education, such as introducing clay into architecture curricula, and innovation, including rotational tampers for rammed earth.

Earth USA is attended primarily by architects, engineers, and builders interested in sustainable construction, but also by anthropologists, code officials, and environmental advocates. The gatherings are intentionally international and multidisciplinary, as reflected in a speaker roster that includes talks on building practices from India, Japan, and Norway. Attendees leave with a sense of community, supported by nightly informal receptions and a vibrant email newsletter, EarthUSA News, which keeps participants connected year-round. In sum, Earth USA operates as a volunteer-driven conference in which the organizing committee handles logistics and content curation, while academic partners disseminate the findings.

The program is fully documented in the conference proceedings and often carries American Institute of Architecture (AIA) continuing-education credits. Speakers come from universities, nonprofits, governments, and industries worldwide, and recent years have seen participants from 15 to 20 countries. Poster sessions provide a venue for shorter papers on topics such as material testing, vernacular research, and life-cycle analysis. Throughout, the conference emphasizes process, including peer-reviewed abstracts, international volunteer committees, and field demonstrations, as much as the building form itself. Many sessions delve into construction processes such as mix design, compaction, and curing, while others focus on form-finding and earth structures shaped by heritage or innovation.

As an organization, AinA solicits abstracts internationally through a call for papers reviewed by experts and publishes proceedings. For 2026, for instance, abstracts were due in February 2026 and full papers in June 2026. Registration is open to professionals, students, and owner-builders. Earth USA’s inclusive approach is also reflected in its leadership; for example, owner-builder Ethan Novikoff both presented and served on the AinA board, bridging practitioner and organizer roles. Sponsorship comes from allied nongovernmental organizations and firms such as the Earthbuilders’ Guild, the SFCC Adobe program, supporting organizations, and architecture firms.

Earth USA presents a clear consensus that earthen materials are inherently sustainable, resilient, and culturally rich. Many presenters emphasize earth’s low carbon footprint and ease of reuse, as well as its climate-comfort benefits, thermal mass, and humidity buffering. There is a shared mission to reclaim these traditional techniques in a modern context. From an architectural perspective, the conference inspires both reflection and action. It demonstrates how ancient building methods can inform contemporary design, for example, how Pueblo-style thick walls inspire passive climate control, or how combining fibers and modern stabilizers can make cob livable in cold regions. On the technological side, sessions on 3D-printing clay and new tamping machines point toward a future in which even large-scale earth building is industrially feasible. The Earth USA community also exchanges practical solutions; one talk, for instance, detailed how to guide a cob house through building inspections, while others described integrating adobe into U.S. building codes. In conclusion, Earth USA galvanizes the earthen-construction movement. It has inspired new international collaborations, spurred educational initiatives, and reinforced advocates’ resolve to promote sustainable, beautiful architecture that can be made from the ground.

Citations:

March 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Clayworks

Introduction

Clayworks is a UK-based manufacturer of natural clay plasters and finishes. It is widely used by architects and interior designers to create low-carbon and healthy interior surfaces. The company is based in Cornwall and works on projects internationally.

Image may contain Clothing Footwear Shoe Adult Person Pants Child Hat Plant Furniture Table Head and People — Adam (centre) examines custom clay plaster samples made in the studio with Clayworks colleagues Alex Mulligan and Jessica Morris. Dean Hearne

Headquarters: Cornwall, United Kingdom
Founders: Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce
Core products: clay plasters, rammed earth finishes, and natural wall and ceiling coatings
Main markets: residential, retail, hospitality, restaurants, and cultural spaces

Background

Our Story Clayworks was developed from the founders’ background in natural building and earth construction techniques.

After working with traditional earth materials in different regions, they established the company in Cornwall around 2010.

Their goal was to combine traditional clay construction knowledge with contemporary architectural and interior design needs.

Products & Features

Interior Clay Plaster

Clayworks produces a range of clay plaster finishes focused on wellbeing, enhancing interior atmosphere.

Their finishes are available in a wide range of colours and can be customized for different project types and scales.

They offer both classic finishes with balanced texture and refined aesthetics, and custom finishes that explore more innovative and expressive surface effects.

Exterior

Clayworks’ exterior finishes combine clay and lime to improve durability in outdoor conditions, offering both classic and custom solutions, including rammed earth finishes, for flexible and high-performance applications.

Custom Clay Finishes

These custom finishes explore unique textures and effects, tailored to meet the specific vision of each project. They emphasize innovation and experimentation, creating distinctive surfaces that enhance both aesthetics and function.

Rammed Earth

Clayworks’ rammed earth finishes reinterpret traditional rammed earth construction, which is typically heavy and difficult to use in urban contexts.

Instead of thick structural walls, they offer a thin 7–10 mm surface layer that replicates the layered appearance of rammed earth.

This makes it a lightweight, customizable, and more accessible solution for contemporary construction.

Projects

Clayworks is used in hospitality, retail, restaurants, commercial and residential projects.

Across these spaces, their clay finishes create warm, tactile environments,
strengthen material identity, and improve indoor comfort.

Retail

Designed in-house and supported by sustainability, interior, and built environment specialists, the COS Flagship store in Mexico combines the country’s rich artisanal craft traditions with more sustainable design.⁠ Their rustic interior and exterior finishes draw inspiration from Mexico’s golden cornfields, adding depth, texture, and a strong sense of place.⁠