Reid Hayashi
Kristina Orchard-Hays
http://www.geocities.com/spiralsageranch 

Monolithic (Puddled) Adobe:  A Viable and Inexpensive Building Method for the Southwest

            “Adobe” has become synonymous with the neat, stacked bricks that the Spaniards first introduced to the Southwest in the 1500’s.   Long before the Spanish came to New Mexico however, native people were building sturdy structures of straw, mud and sand without adobe forms – a method often referred to as monolithic or puddled adobe.   Examples of these buildings, such as “The Oldest House in the U.S.”  next to the San Miguel Chapel in Santa Fe (circa 1200 AD), still stand and function today.    

            In recent years, the sustainable building community in the Pacific Northwest has re-introduced puddled adobe under the name cob and described it as a method“imported” from the United Kingdom and Middle East.  They have successfully built attractive and inexpensive cob cottages and studios in Oregon and Washington and in some cases have been able to adapt the local building codes to include the cob method.    While researching a sustainable building style to use on our acreage north of Taos, we discovered that cob and puddled adobe are virtually the same and have used many cob principles to build our studio.

            The advantages of skipping the brick step in the adobe building process are manifold:  it costs less, shortens the building time, and in some cases, allows builders to utilize dirt and sand directly from their sites.  This easy-to-learn process for first-time builders also allows them to add sculptural and artistic touches and to create more organic forms.  Puddled adobe is ideal for small structures such as sheds, artists’ studios and children’s playhouses but it can also be used to build inexpensive and beautiful homes.

            In our paper we discuss the southwestern history of puddled adobe, how it parallels the Northwestern Cob Revival Movement and how it can be used in the southwest to build affordable and beautiful structures.  We will use examples from our own building project, as well as show local examples of cob structures and historic puddled adobe buildings.