Building with rammed earth in the high desert

The clients for Yucca Valley House asked for a house that stays cool without running air conditioning all day. In the high desert, days are hot and nights are cold. Heavy walls suit that climate: they take in heat during the day and give it back at night.

We chose rammed earth because the soil on site was close to the right mix. Earth from the excavation was tested, blended with sand and a small amount of cement, and compacted in layers between timber formwork. The walls are 450 mm thick.

The hardest part was the schedule. Rammed earth needs dry weather and a crew that has done it before. We booked the wall crew a season ahead and planned the steel roof to go on as soon as the walls were finished, to protect them.

The deep roof is what makes the walls work. It keeps the summer sun off the glass and the earth, and lets the low winter sun reach the floor.