Sandy Lawrence used rammed earth to form the walls of a home on the side of a rocky hill overlooking Napa Valley in California. Three caves on Lawrence’s property provided some of the materials.
The house was designed by San Francisco-based architect Michael Baushke and built by late Napa-based architect David Easton, who was a leading expert in the modern-day rammed earth method.
The walls range from 8 to 24 inches thick, and there is a rough side and a smooth side.
The texture adds to the house’s natural look and feel.
The thick walls are energy efficient and have reduced Lawrence’s heating and cooling costs. “The temperature inside the house is comfortable most of the year,” says Lawrence.
In 2010, Lawrence slightly expanded the house’s footprint using 18-inch-thick rammed earth blocks. “It looks like the rest of the house, but in a brick format,” she says.
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