Great Earth Homes

"We originally proposed using concrete for the walls because we like the plain style and directness," the owners say. Instead of concrete, Smith suggested rammed earth, a material that combines some of the physical properties of concrete, but is less "psychologically cold." The 16-inch-thick walls' thermal mass helps to insulate the interior from heat in the summer and cold in the winter. "Rammed earth is complicated," says Smith, "so have the right expectations, do the research, and hire the right people." David Easton—who Smith calls "The Godfather of Rammed Earth"—headed the contracting team that built the walls.

Roger and Mary Downey’s 3,200-square-foot rammed-earth home seems to float next to the forest along the Rio Grande in Corrales, New Mexico. While the home’s design and materials nod to the neighboring adobe farmhouses and agricultural sheds, architect Efthimios Maniatis of Studio eM Design calls them an amalgam of “modern contemporary regionalism,” governed by Roger’s strict mandate for minimalism.

The house clearly displays its Sea Ranch–style touches.

The residents store wood in the facade’s recesses, which, when filled, help the building disappear into the surroundings. The architects used stone sourced from the site for the retaining wall.

A square hole in the ground and a concrete slab are all that demarcate Byoung Cho’s Earth House from the surrounding countryside.

Architect David Hertz has transported this idea of an ecological village to Venice, California, where he lives in a compound—four dwellings connected by bridges and clustered around a courtyard lap pool. On the right, the original house’s rammed-earth entry wall frames its concrete layers.

An interior of one of the superadobes. "You can never build one of these that doesn't look beautiful," says the architect.