During the fall of 2017, architect Dan Maginn and his son were on a hike through the woods when he took another kind of fall—getting a mouthful of mud. The experience, though humbling, also got him thinking about what dirt really is, and how humans have shaped it over the centuries. Dirt, after all, formed our earliest shelters, vessels, and writing tablets.

In this episode, Dan gives dirt gets the spotlight it deserves. We head to Heath Ceramics in San Francisco to see how local clay is shaped into dinnerware, tiles, and more; learn about a special type of black brick—manganese ironspot—and its role in a historic monument; and dive into the process that forms captivating, rammed-earth buildings in the desert.

Tune in to the full episode below, and keep scrolling to see the projects we talk about on the show.

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Featured Guests

Rosalie Wild, Heath Ceramics

Tim Hickman, Substance Architecture

Rick Joy, Studio Rick Joy

RM-3 is produced by Jenny Xie, edited by Jonna McKone, and hosted by Dan Maginn. Our theme music is by Slag Ralden. Special thanks to Rosalie Wild, Tim Hickman, and Rick Joy for being on the show; to Alex Donelson, Kevin Lee, and Ana Adlerstein; and to our sponsor Humboldt Redwood.