Adobe Brick Designs & Ideas

Photo: Danny Lee

Photo Credit: Larry Kantor

Michael Jensen

Mark Boisclair Photography

Nestled among native oak trees, architectural succulents make a strong welcoming statement by accentuating and contrasting the clean lines of this contemporary southwest residence. Permeable surfaces of decomposed granite concrete pavers and gravel add to the aesthetics and functionallity by allowing water to recharge the soil reminescent of the old pueblos.

Front entry

Entry gate

Our pioneer project, Casita de Tierra in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, showcases the natural building techniques of a rubble trench foundation, earthbag construction, natural plasters, earthen floors, and a composting toilet. Our earthbag wall system consists of locally available, cost-efficient, polypropylene bags that are filled with a formula of clay and aggregate unearthed from our building site. The bags are stacked like bricks in running bonds, which are strengthened by courses of barbed wire laid between each row, and tamped into place. The walls are then plastered with a mix composed of clay, sand, soil and straw, and are followed by gypsum and lime renders to create attractive walls. The casita exhibits a load-bearing wall system demonstrating that thick earthen walls, with no rebar or cement, can support a roofing structure. We, also, installed earthen floors, created an indoor dry-composting toilet system, utilized local woods for the furniture, routed all grey water to the outdoor garden, and maximized air flow by including cross-ventilating screened windows below the natural palm frond and cane roof. Casita de Tierra exemplifies an economically efficient, structurally sound, aesthetically pleasing, environmentally kind, and socially responsible home.

Photographer: Anice Hoachlander from Hoachlander Davis Photography, LLC Principal Architect: Anthony "Ankie" Barnes, AIA, LEED AP Project Architect: Timothy Clites

This southwestern style home features a large courtyard with custom wood and iron gates, Vigas stained a dark brown accent with custom colored stuccoed walls. Paul Kohlman Photography

Robin Stancliff