Adobe Architecture

Adobe architectural style has many features that set it apart from modern age home design.  Yaba Daba Doo! Fred Flintstone would be proud.  It is probably the oldest style for a permanent dwelling due to the readily available natural materials the earth offers.  Roofs lines have a flat profile with slightly flat sloped roofs hidden behind parapet knee walls with holes for water drainage.  Exterior walls are a nice break from the straight square lines of typical modern structures.  Edges are rounded with bull nosed square openings for the windows.  Large timbers called vigas protrude from the top of the adobe structure which gives it its quintessential appearance.  The adobe home will usually have an open courtyard and at times will be surrounded by an adobe type gated entry.  Adobe houses are normally earth tone in color due to the type of material used in its construction.

 

 

Adobe Construction & Materials

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Adobe is the oldest material still in use for homes today.   Site selection is of utmost importance due to the weight and materials used in an adobe structure.  If not placed on a solid footer the walls may settle into the weak soil and damage the walls.  Adobe is a very versatile material.   It is basically just a dirt and clay mixture that has been moistened with water, sometimes with chopped straw or natural fibers which give an added tensile strength.  It is then placed into forms of the desired shape, removed from the form, and allowed to dry.  Just like making mud pies when you were a child.  It can also be piled up while moist and smoothed by hand to form a structure, large rocks can be used as filler as the walls are constructed.  Adobe soil will have 15 to 30 percent clay in it to bind the material together, with the rest being mostly sand or larger aggregate. Too much clay will shrink and crack excessively, but too little will allow fragmentation to occur.  Due to the climate in which adobe houses are built, roofs are normally flat to gently sloping.  Traditional roofing materials are logs laid on the tops of the walls and then layered across in a grid pattern with smaller logs that are then covered with a layer of adobe.  Adobe mortar is laid between the bricks to ensure strength and significant moisture barrier.

 

Regions Commonly Found

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Built in hot dry climates the thick adobe walls capture the heat during the day keeping the interior cool.  At night the home releases its stored up energy within its walls which keeps the interior temperature comfortably warm.  This accounts for energy cost savings in areas that fight hot days and cool nights.  It is considered a green building due to its energy efficiency and materials used in its construction. This architectural style is extremely durable in dry climates. Without careful site selection and construction techniques, wet climates would cause structures to dissolve due to the construction materials used. Adobe style houses vary in size.  Adobe homes are probably the oldest form of architecture and can be seen throughout the world.  Adobe structures are normally found in the southwest United States, the Mediterranean region, Latin America, the Middle East and very dry parts of Africa and India.

Similar Styles

• Wattle and Daub
• Earth Lodge
• Sod House