* Mud Brick – EARTH ARCHITECTURE

April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

Zawiyyet Al Mayyiteen, the City of the Dead

Zawiyyet Al Mayyiteen (also known as Zawyet el-Sultan or Zawyet el-Amwat) is located on the southern edge of the city of Minya and is situated between the Nile river and desert cliffs to the East. Often called the “City of the Dead,” it is considered one of the largest cemeteries in the world, measuring nearly 4 kilometers long and 300 meters wide, covering roughly 1.2 square kilometers. Zawiyyet Al Mayyiteen is not just a modern cemetery; it is built atop layers of ancient history spanning nearly 5,000 years.

The cemetery is 4 kilometers long and 300 meters wide and is situated between the Nile and Desert Cliffs.

The site is easily identifiable by the repetition of small scaled domes made of mudbricks and plaster. Each domed mausoleum belongs to a different family and ancestral lineage. The highly concentrated sea of domes is easily read as a single web structure or pattern resembling the geological landscape, its growth seems fairly gradual and responsive to the site.

Looking at the Nile from within the cemetery.

This style of burial is traditional for the region, used by both the local Muslim and Coptic Christian communities, making it a rare site of shared funerary heritage.

During religious holidays and annual festivals, thousands of people from Minya travel to the site to visit their ancestors, often staying in the mausoleums to share meals and offer prayers.

Mudbrick and plaster in various conditions.

The unique aesthetic of the domes has long inspired artists and photographers. The nearby village is also home to the museum of the famous Egyptian folk artist Hassan el-Shark, whose colorful paintings often depict the daily life and spiritual traditions of the Minya region.

Resources

https://www.jennyfaraway.com/el-minya-cemetery/

https://arquitecturaviva.com/articles/necropolis-de-egipto-de-manuel-alvarez-diestrohttps://www.egypttoursportal.com/en-us/blog/minya-attractions/the-great-attractions-of-minya/

https://egyptfwd.org/Article/6/2265/City-Of-The-Dead-An-Endless-Sea-Of-White-Conical

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/city-of-the-dead

https://www.google.com/maps/place/

April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

PK_iNCEPTiON, Hiwali School

Hiwali, Nashik, Maharashtra, 2025

Located in Hiwali – a small rural settlement of about 25 farming households deep in the Satmala mountain range in India – the Hiwali school was initiated by a joint venture by the Give Welfare Organization and Armstrong Robotics & Technologies. Every aspect of this project was unique – starting from the site being a narrow rural strip only accessible via a 50 ft hike from the village road to the actual use case of the building – not just a normal school but somewhat of a daycare functioning 10 hours a day, 365 days a year. The school serves as a “home base” for the remarkable teacher Keshav Gavit – known for his innovative teaching methods and his students who write with both hands and memorize over a thousand tables.

The design, starting with the water moat that protects the site from runoff, is extremely adaptive to the environment and sensitive to the materials that are easily accessible yet still retain desirable qualities. Modular blocks shown below house the office, computer room, science room, projector room, and library, each arranged diagonally to allow for both expansion towards the mountain and to protect and shape the sometimes aggressive winds.

The exposed brick walls of these modules share the load for a gently sloping roof that zigzags over the school, allowing for a very open, inside-and-out relationship everywhere within the school – shaping areas that are interconnected and flexible, while still maintaining focused spaces required for a school, spaces and volumes shifting between 5 and 8 feet – in scale for the children that use the space. Materially, the school is very interesting – the bricks that comprise most of the modules avoid the use of ubiquitous reinforced concrete to shift towards a local production, but also retain excellent thermal lag – absorbing the daytime heat and radiating it during the cool mountain evenings. These bricks are left entirely exposed on both interior and exterior surfaces, allowing for easy maintenance and the avoidance of commercial plasters, which degrade and are expensive.

The cow dung and earth flooring present in the high plinth allow for comfort for both sitting and sleeping. This application of mud and cow-dung paste, often called leepan, is an ancient practice known for not only thermal mass properties but for insect-repellent and antiseptic benefits as well. Every part of the building is designed to be used and maintained, even the exposed brick being an easy platform for nailing boards onto, was intentional.

Sources:

https://www.pkinception.in/hiwali-school

https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/escuela-en-hiwali

www.yatzer.com/hiwali-school-india-pooja-khairnar

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, 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 3, 2026March 17, 2026

Zabur in Yemen

The Architecture found in Yemen is among the most sophisticated and enduring traditions in human history – a monument to the reaches that people could build to even without modern, post-industrial materials and methods. These relics, often older than 500 years old, are more at risk than ever, due to socio-political issues in yemen.

Central to this architectural tradition is the “zabur” technique, which is among a collection of practices essential to earthen architecture in Yemen, from the coursed-clay methods in the highlands to the iconic “gingerbread” fired-brick patterns found in the capital, Sana’a.

The master builders “ustads” utilize several distinct systems based on the required outcome – each varying the preparation of the earth, the firing or not-firing of that earth, and the methods of application. This allows zabur to adapt to the various features of the yemeni landscape – optimizing from the humid coastal plains to the volcanic plateaus.

In technical literature, “zabur” is defined as a direct-forming technique – utilizing wet, straw-reinforced clay soil to build walls without the use of formwork or molds. This is reminiscent of the European technique of “cob.” This definition of the term, however, is limited – and many linguists and experts of old Sana’a argue that it’s also inextricably linked to the intricate patterns of the fired-mud bricks that comprise much of the city’s facades. This intertwines the later, post-Islamic styles of decorative brick-and-gypsum towers with the ancient past’s monolithic clay walls – what I’ll call “pure zabur.”

In the northern regions, zabur remains as a pure coursed-clay tradition. The material is prepared in pits and formed into balls, which are then thrown to the master mason standing on top of the wall, who settles the material into place. In Sana’a, the zabur is the fired mud-bricks that are adorned with ornamentation drawn of white gypsum.

These techniques allowed Yemeni to build stronger, and then eventually higher – leading to the creation of tower houses. These traditional tower houses in the old cities were set on stone foundations of basalt, on top of which carefully fitted, locally quarried tuffa and limestone up to 10 meters tall is laid. Above that, the zabur bricks are laid – and then on top of that an aged lime plaster called qadad is applied as an exterior waterproofing layer (atleast on the rooftops).

Yemeni Architecture reflects a “profound interaction between humans and their environment“(IJSDP), standing as a creative embodiment of beauty, simplicity, and the extents of human ingenuity of the past. Rapid urban development in recent years, however, has created disharmony and a detachment from societal traditions – something that looking at and preserving techniques from the past may help with reconciling.

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/16/mud-brick-palace-is-yemens-latest-heritage-site-facing-disaster

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/photo/yemenis-make-mud-bricks-unique-architecture-flna1c7186688

https://www.mutualart.com/Article/The-Yemen-s-mud-brick-buildings/573E9A38ED3968A1

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387526551_Form_and_Content_in_Yemeni_Architecture_Exploring_Continuity_Mechanisms_of_Heritage_-_A_Case_Study_of_Sana’a_City

https://newsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/toc-excerpt/Essential-Cob-Construction_excerpt.pdf

https://dev.earth-auroville.com/stacked-earth-cob/

Traditional Yemeni Architecture: Craftsmanship and Sustainability

February 24, 2026March 3, 2026

Tiébélé Houses, Burkina Faso

Tiébélé’s houses are an outstanding example of vernacular architecture as cultural art. They reveal how a community’s beliefs, social structure and environment can be woven into the very fabric of its buildings. The communal process with all villagers building and decorating each home is a model of collaboration and knowledge sharing.

In each family compound, men do the work of building in the dry season, while women handle all decorative painting and plastering just before the rainy season. Women are the sole keepers of the mural designs, they learn the motifs from elders and pass them to daughters through hands-on training. Because this is a vernacular tradition, there is no formal architect and knowledge is transmitted orally. Builders and painters all live locally in Tiébélé and nearby Kassena villages, motivated by communal duty and cultural obligation.

Because every villager participates, house building is a cultural rite. The communal construction and decoration serves as a vital means of passing Kassena culture across generations. Women, as the “sole guardians” of the mural tradition, use the process to teach daughters the ancestral patterns during large gatherings. In this way, intangible knowledge is preserved.

The core of the village is the Royal Court of Tiébélé, a walled clan compound that serves as the chief’s residence and ceremonial center. From this core, family compounds with painted houses grow outward in a roughly circular, fractal pattern. A narrow labyrinth of alleys links the houses, which aids communal life and defense, reflecting a tightly clustered form.

Tiébélé’s architecture is a living expression of Kasena culture. The built form and murals encode the community’s social organization, beliefs and history. For example, the compound is organized into five social domains and the choice of house shape immediately signals the occupant’s age, gender, and status. Dinia houses (30–40 m²) are irregular hourglass-shaped houses formed by two circular rooms joined by a narrow corridor reserved for elders, widows, unmarried women and children. These sprawling structures often form the nucleus of a compound.

Mangolo houses (20–30 m²) are a simple rectangular hut used by young married couples. It is a more recent addition to Kasena architecture signifying social transition. Interiors may have a clay bench or seating ledge along one wall. These rectangular houses line the edges of the compounds or fill remaining plots.

Adolescent or unmarried men live in Draa huts (9–12 m²), a round single‑room with a thatch roof and an opening at the top under the eaves for ventilation. The Draa keeps community youth together and allows elders to oversee them easily, and the low door and dark interior teach discipline and security. Each family compound also contains outside kitchens and hearths, granaries, silos, and small altars or shrines to ancestors.

Most strikingly, every wall is a painted canvas of abstract symbols. The facades display red, white and black geometric murals (triangles, crosses, zigzags, animal and plant motifs). These motifs have deep meanings referencing Kassena folklore, animism and daily life (stars for hope, arrows for defense, animals for fertility and protection). While the particular symbols vary, every Kassena home is elaborately painted to express identity and beliefs, and to distinguish it from others in the village.

The architecture also serves practical needs. Thick earth walls stabilize indoor temperatures and resist attacks, small openings protect privacy and security, and the annual repainting waterproofs the walls just before the rainy season. In this harsh environment, such design is both symbolic and sensible, a key reason the Kassena have kept it unchanged for centuries.

Houses are built entirely from local natural materials. Walls are made of earth mixed with chopped straw and cow dung, either molded by hand or formed into adobe blocks. The walls are around 30 cm thick to buffer heat and cold. Foundations use rough stone or fired laterite to protect from erosion. Ceilings are low, often two meters high or less to expedite plastering. Roofs are flat made with wooden beams overlain by layers of packed earth or clay then laterite. This layered roof when compacted and patched with dung sheds rain but must be periodically re-plastered.

Construction is communal and new houses are built during the dry season. Houses have intentionally minimal openings as a defense measure inherited from times of conflict, with almost no windows and doorways only about two feet high, forcing entrants to stoop. Just before the rainy season, all village women gather to plaster and decorate each house. They first roughen and coat the dry mud walls, then paint by hand in the planned design. Pigments are prepared from local minerals mixed with water and clay (red from laterite soil, white from chalk, black from charred basalt or plant charcoal). After painting, each color is burnished with a stone, and finally the entire surface is varnished with a boiled African locust bean fruit solution. Tools may include feathers, combs or sticks for patterning. Throughout the process, the oldest woman present directs the patterns and sequences, ensuring the motifs are executed properly. Because every household participates, the decoration of a house is as much a social ceremony as a construction task. Family members give food and drinks to workers as payment, ensuring communal participation.

Tiébélé values local materials, sustainability and cultural context. These houses teach that design can be participatory and deeply symbolic, not just functional. In a world of standardized construction, Tiébélé’s earthen buildings remind us of the beauty of craft, community and continuity. The result is an inseparable fusion of architecture and art, every building is a cultural statement, unique yet part of a grand communal ensemble.

Citations:

February 17, 2026February 24, 2026

José Cruz Ovalle: Bodega en Los Robles

San Fernando, Colchagua Valley, Chile

Bodega en Los Robles is located in central Chile, in a valley where the land is most suitable and prominently known for the cultivation of Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon. Designed by José Cruz Ovalle and associates Ana Turell and Hernán Cruz, this bodega stands as the first organic, autonomous, closed-system, non-contaminated vineyard in Chile.

José Cruz Ovalle, born in Santiago de Chile, is a Chilean architect that is well know for his use of wood and designs that beautifully integrate nature, creating a harmonious relationship between nature and man. Coming from a family of architects, Ovalle attended Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile where he studied architecture, later transferring to la Universidad Politecnica de Cataluña in Barcelona where he received his degree. During his time in Barcelona, Ovalle opened his own practice in 1975 where he worked for 12 years before returning to Chile to open his Santiago-based studio José Cruz Ovalle y Asociados with wife Ana Turell, Hernán Cruz and Juan Purcell Mena.

Part of Ovalle’s process consists of beginning with sculptures as a way of understanding the rhythm of material and form through physical senses. Much like his works, his sculptures display a complexity that he has very clearly mastered and is able to convey with ease. These dynamic forms are best seen in his manipulation of wood as both structural and sculptural elements in his designs. As a result, he has received many awards, one of them being the Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award in 2008 for his mastery of wood.

Built on Viñedos Santa Emiliana, the bodega was built between 2001 and 2002 and takes up approximately 3,385 sq.ft. of the vineyard. Ovalle and associates made use of natural and local materials to cultivate and emphasize the biodynamic unity between nature and man in the context of agricultural processes like wine production. The walls are made of zocalo de piedra con hormigon (base foundation of stones and concrete), adobe bricks and glulam wood. The main structure being made of laminated wood and topped with corrugated copper panels.

The form of the walls was created from the artisanal material, masa (paste/dough) typically associated with the adobe bricks and concrete. Here is where Ovalle’s sensibility makes its presence as the focus becomes the feeling of the masa with the hands and the body. Feelings that go beyond the construction process and later persist as the body inhabits and works in proximity to the material. In this case, however, the masa is not just the adobe or the hormigon, but the wood, the stones the copper roof finishings. Together these materials create harmonious spaces which users are able to connect with to the same capacity that they connect with the agricultural and vinification processes of their biodynamic practice.

Citations:

José Cruz Ovalle y Asociados

SciELO

Emiliana Organic Vineyards

February 17, 2026February 18, 2026

Lara Fuster Prieto: Earth House

Architects: Lara Fuster Prieto

Location: Boadilla de Rioseco, Spain

Year: 2022

Area: 142 m² (1,500 sqft)

Construction: Local Adobe

Earth House, designed by Lara Fuster Prieto, is located in the small town of Boadilla de Rioseco in rural Spain. The project explores how traditional building methods can still work for contemporary life. The house is designed as a permanent residence and focuses on sustainability, energy efficiency, and thermal comfort, while keeping its environmental impact low.

Aerial photo of the house and the town © Milena Villalba

The building has a simple rectangular shape made up of four parallel bays running east to west, which helps maximize sunlight throughout the day. The north façade faces the street and has smaller, unevenly placed windows, similar to traditional houses in the area. On the south side, the house opens up with large windows that act as solar collectors during the winter months. In the summer, wooden shutters and a pergola covered with deciduous vines provide shade and help prevent overheating naturally.

The structure is built using load-bearing adobe walls made from locally produced bricks measuring 33 × 15 × 10 cm, sourced within 40 kilometers of the site. These walls are insulated on the exterior with cork panels, creating an external insulation system that greatly improves energy performance. The gable roof is made from a wooden sandwich panel with cork insulation and finished with reused curved clay tiles, allowing the house to blend in with the surrounding village buildings. Instead of cement, lime mortar mixed with straw is used for the exterior plaster. This material is breathable, helps regulate moisture, and is more sustainable over time. Wooden doors and windows further reduce the home’s carbon footprint, while roll-up shutters act as passive sun protection.

Inside the house, the partitions are lightweight and built with exposed wooden slats, recycled cotton insulation, and medium-density wood boards. To bring in more natural light and create a sense of openness, the upper portions of these walls include polycarbonate panels. Some of the adobe walls are left exposed, highlighting the material and giving the interior a warm, earthy feel.

Thanks to the thermal mass of the adobe, the house maintains stable indoor temperatures between 22 and 24°C during the summer, even when outdoor temperatures reach over 40°C. Because of this passive performance, the house does not require any active cooling systems and achieves an A-rated energy classification. In the winter, underfloor heating is used, inspired by the traditional “glorias” heating system found in the region.

In summary, the Earth House project focuses on reducing environmental impact while using local, traditional materials to stay connected to its cultural context.

Exterior Photo from Street © Milena Villalba

Fuster Prieto, Lara. Earth House by Lara Fuster Prieto: A Sustainable Adobe Home in Rural Spain. UNI.xyz, 2 Apr. 2025, www.uni.xyz/journals/earth-house-by-lara-fuster-prieto-a-sust.

Fuster Prieto, Lara, and Milena Villalba. Casa de Tierra / Earth House Project Details. Divisare, 2023, www.divisare.com/projects/480657-lara-fuster-prieto-milena-villalba-casa-de-tierra

February 17, 2026March 4, 2026

Donald Judd and Adobe

Donald Clarence Judd (1928–1994) was an American artist best known for his role in the development of Minimalism. His work has had lasting influence on art, architecture, and design.

Judd was born in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. He studied philosophy and art history at Columbia University and later painting at the Art Students League in New York. He worked as a painter until the early 1960s, when he began producing three-dimensional works that challenged conventional definitions of sculpture. These works emphasized repetition, clarity, and structural logic rather than representation.

By the early 1970s Judd had become dissatisfied with the temporary nature of gallery exhibitions. He believed art needed a permanent and carefully defined setting. In 1971 he moved to Marfa, Texas, where he began purchasing buildings and land in order to establish long-term installations under his own direction.

Downtown Marfa, Texas, 1942. © Keith Archive. Courtesy Marfa and Presidio County Museum.

In Marfa, adobe was part of the existing building environment. Rather than bringing industrial construction methods from New York, Judd worked with local builders, reused salvaged adobe bricks, and sometimes produced bricks on site.

For Judd, permanence was not only about duration but about spatial stability. Works were meant to remain in fixed positions, in spaces with consistent proportions and light. Adobe, as a load-bearing and materially durable construction system, allowed the architecture itself to remain stable over time. The walls were not temporary partitions but structural enclosures, creating fixed spatial conditions for installation.

Adobe bricks for The Block/La Mansana de Chinati, 1975. © Jamie Dearing.

One of the clearest examples of this approach is La Mansana de Chinati, commonly known as “The Block,” located in downtown Marfa. Judd began to install work in the east building of the Block in 1973. Instead of demolishing the three existing buildings, he altered them to suit the purposes of living and working. He constructed a 9-foot adobe wall on the south side of the property using existing adobe bricks from the former Toltec Motel and Virginia Hotel.

Drawing for La Mansana de Chinati/The Block, October 29, 1982. © Donald Judd

Between 1973 and 1979 the remainder of the exterior wall enclosing the property was constructed, totaling 1,441 feet and approximately 30,000 bricks. Within this perimeter, a second U-shaped wall further articulated the courtyard. Together, these walls establish a sequence of outdoor rooms and reshape the relationship between street and interior space. Openings are carefully proportioned, and the thickness of the walls creates deep recesses and strong shadow lines.

Donald Judd, untitled, 1976-1985, adobe bricks and cement, La Mansana de Chinati/The Block, Judd Foundation, Marfa, Texas.

Winter garden at The Block/La Mansana de Chinati, 1982. © Lauretta Vinciarelli.

Interior view of the south room of Donald Judd’s, La Mansana de Chinati West Building (artwork © Judd Foundation / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York).
© 2024 Judd Foundation / JASPER, Tokyo E5493

The Block accommodates residence, studio space, a library, and open courtyard areas. Domestic life and artistic production are not separated but integrated within a continuous spatial framework. Adobe functions simultaneously as structure, boundary, and climatic mediator in the desert environment. The geometry remains restrained—rectilinear volumes, planar walls, orthogonal alignments—yet the earthen material introduces weight and physical presence distinct from Judd’s earlier industrial works.

Interior, Print Studio, La Mansana de Chinati/The Block, Judd Foundation, Marfa, Texas, c. mid-1980s. © Adam Bartos.

Interior, Second library, La Mansana de Chinati/The Block, Judd Foundation, Marfa, Texas, 2012. © Flavin Judd.

Another important project is the adaptation of what is now called the Chamberlain Building in central Marfa. Here Judd transformed former warehouse structures to house the permanent installation of works by John Chamberlain. Although the existing buildings were not constructed entirely of adobe, Judd introduced adobe elements to clarify enclosure and spatial hierarchy, including the construction of a new west-end wall. Roofs were rebuilt, skylights installed, and openings adjusted to refine the quality and distribution of light.

John Chamberlain Building, 2022. © Alex Marks

John Chamberlain Building restoration, 2022. © Alex Marks.

Courtyard of the John Chamberlain building with adobe wall. © Alex Marks.

Across his projects in Marfa, adobe was used as a structural and spatial material rather than as decorative reference. It serves as a means of achieving permanence and spatial definition. Its thickness reinforces enclosure; its method of construction shows labor and process; its mass anchors the buildings to the desert landscape. These interventions create measured and continuous spatial fields in which art, habitation, and landscape coexist.