Building Methods: Adobe

January 20, 2017

Adobe construction has been used since at least the 8th century and this ancient method endures, especially in the Desert Southwest.  In 200 CE at Mesa Verde, the Anasazi built incredible cliff side homes with adobe bricks.  Today, architecture in modern urban areas from Santa Fe to San Diego sport mud-made walls.  Beyond their beautiful sculptural quality, adobe houses have other advantages.  Since all it takes to make adobe is mud, water, and sun, materials can always be locally sourced.  Once built, adobe walls temper heat in the summer and cold in the winter, lessening the need for energy consumptive AC and heat.

At Las Campanas in New Mexico, we strove to adapt this pueblo idiom to fit contemporary needs while nurturing a strong aesthetic relationship between the landscape and the house itself.   Watch Sitio’s timelapse video for insight into the process of adobe brick production.