Tuscon Mountain Retreat - Exterior

The Tuscon Mountain Retreat is a beautiful home in the Sonoran Desert that uses rammed earth composed of the local soil beautifully as a building material. The minimal impact construction and the passive solar design of this home makes it an extremely eco-friendly home. Strategies to create a connection between the inside and outside include concrete stepping stones, floor to ceiling glass windows, and lack of internal hallways. Operable sliding walls allow for breezes through the house in the hot daytime, while the rammed earth provides thermal mass that slows the transfer of heat, keeping the house warm in the cool desert evenings.