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Skagit Valley Ramed Earth House
Skagit Valley Ramed Earth House
Skagit County, WA, United States
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Other Projects by Designs Northwest Architects
Skagit Valley Ramed Earth House
Skagit County, WA, United States
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2024
SIZE
1000 sqft - 3000 sqft
The clients for the Rammed Earth House approached the architects with a desire to build an energy efficient, near net-zero home on a residential lot adjacent to 40 acres of farmland they own in the Skagit Valley, Washington. They wanted to build a new home to live in while the couple managed their farm property. The husband had a keen interest in rammed earth construction and wished to use that technology for this new home. The architects worked closely with a rammed earth consultant during the design process.
The two-bedroom house features 2,600 square feet of living space, an attached 1,000 square foot garage and 930 square feet of covered patio facing to the southeast. The house was oriented with its main axis to the southwest to take advantage of territorial views and solar orientation for passive heating through the southern glazing. The large covered patio will shade the house during hotter summer months when the sun is at a higher angle and allow lower angle direct sunshine into the house in the winter when it is needed for heating. The house is efficiently heated and cooled by a heat pump. Solar PV panels generate most, if not all, of the electrical needs of the house on an annual basis. The rammed earth construction not only created a unique appearance for the walls but it also addressed the clients’ desire for longevity, low maintenance and energy efficiency. The form of the house with its low-pitch shed roof was designed to fit with the rural nature of the surrounding farmlands.
Unlike traditional rammed earth walls that are uninsulated, the Skagit Rammed Earth House walls have a center core of 8 inches of continuous rigid insulation sandwiched between two layers of 8-inch rammed earth to create a 24-inch-thick wall with an R-value of 32. The appearance of layered sandstone is the result of successive lifts of 6 to 8 inches of material compacted in the formwork. The material used is composed of specific local subsoil materials (sand and gravel) mixed with cement, damp-proofing material, iron oxides and a small amount of water. Special formwork is used that can withstand pneumatic compaction. The rammed earth is reinforced with steel rebar per a structural engineer’s specification. The result is a continuously insulated, structural wall that uses less cement than typical concrete yet meets the strength requirements of the structural engineer. As the walls will last for many years, the embodied energy over the lifetime of the building will be very low. Combined with the other durable materials used (metal siding, metal roofing and carbonized wood siding), the house will be very low maintenance.
The interior of the house is quiet and solid-feeling with the massive wall structure left exposed for its aesthetic beauty. The interior thermal mass of the walls moderates the temperature for a very comfortable, stable interior environment. In these days of resilient design, the insulated rammed earth method of construction is a good fit for a variety of climates and environments as it is energy efficient, fire resistant and long lasting.
The two-bedroom house features 2,600 square feet of living space, an attached 1,000 square foot garage and 930 square feet of covered patio facing to the southeast. The house was oriented with its main axis to the southwest to take advantage of territorial views and solar orientation for passive heating through the southern glazing. The large covered patio will shade the house during hotter summer months when the sun is at a higher angle and allow lower angle direct sunshine into the house in the winter when it is needed for heating. The house is efficiently heated and cooled by a heat pump. Solar PV panels generate most, if not all, of the electrical needs of the house on an annual basis. The rammed earth construction not only created a unique appearance for the walls but it also addressed the clients’ desire for longevity, low maintenance and energy efficiency. The form of the house with its low-pitch shed roof was designed to fit with the rural nature of the surrounding farmlands.
Unlike traditional rammed earth walls that are uninsulated, the Skagit Rammed Earth House walls have a center core of 8 inches of continuous rigid insulation sandwiched between two layers of 8-inch rammed earth to create a 24-inch-thick wall with an R-value of 32. The appearance of layered sandstone is the result of successive lifts of 6 to 8 inches of material compacted in the formwork. The material used is composed of specific local subsoil materials (sand and gravel) mixed with cement, damp-proofing material, iron oxides and a small amount of water. Special formwork is used that can withstand pneumatic compaction. The rammed earth is reinforced with steel rebar per a structural engineer’s specification. The result is a continuously insulated, structural wall that uses less cement than typical concrete yet meets the strength requirements of the structural engineer. As the walls will last for many years, the embodied energy over the lifetime of the building will be very low. Combined with the other durable materials used (metal siding, metal roofing and carbonized wood siding), the house will be very low maintenance.
The interior of the house is quiet and solid-feeling with the massive wall structure left exposed for its aesthetic beauty. The interior thermal mass of the walls moderates the temperature for a very comfortable, stable interior environment. In these days of resilient design, the insulated rammed earth method of construction is a good fit for a variety of climates and environments as it is energy efficient, fire resistant and long lasting.
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