Kwi Road
Gila River Indian Community District Six, Arizona 85339
Back to project list
The School of Architecture at the University of Arizona and the Gila Indian Reservation partnered to design and build an affordable rammed earth house, drawing on Gila traditions of building with earthen materials. A faculty member and a group of students, supported by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, designed and produced construction drawings for the residence, and trained several Gila laborers in the techniques of building with rammed earth. The building’s shell was constructed collaboratively by the Gila laborers and the University of Arizona faculty and students. The Gila tribe's construction crew then took responsibility for completion of the framing and other trades.
Credit: Mary Hardin
View image gallery1040 N. Olive
Tucson, AZ 85721
p: 520-621-6751
f: 520-621-8700
e: mchardin@ u.arizona.edu
w: architecture.arizona.edu/ research/design-bu
Contain costs
Household & Neigh'd
Energy & resources
Contain construction and lifecycle costs:
The materials for the rammed earth walls were very cost effective; they came from the reservation’s resources of earth (sand, gravel, adobe, cactus ribs). The construction techniques also were designed to be cost effective - simple forms that could be assembled and disassembled by two people, and light weight tamping equipment. Note too that the cost of bringing conventional construction materials to the remote site would be very expensive.
Besides the low initial cost, the life cycle costs also will be low. Rammed earth walls and orientation to solar angles decrease to minimal the use of mechanical heating and cooling. The metal roof and concrete floors were chosen for ease of maintenance and longevity.
Support household and neighborhood fit:
The rammed earth residence was designed to fit into a long tradition amongst the Gila people of building with mud packed between wooden or cactus forms. The designers worked with the residents to achieve aesthetic effects that are valued on the Gila Reservation, such as thick walls, exposed cactus ribs, and arrow weed thatching of outdoor structures. The simple rectangular form also is similar to the traditional "sandwich" house of the past century.
Promote energy and resource efficiency:
Construction materials were chosen for reasons of environmental sustainability. Rammed earth is made from materials largely available on site. It has tremendous thermal mass, which is useful to resist intrusion of exterior temperatures in the extreme climate of the Sonoran desert. Rammed earth walls allow the interior of the house to be comfortable without the use of energy-consuming mechanical heating and cooling.
