rammed earth sunroom
albuquerque, nm
2023
this project extends an existing adobe home with an exterior sunroom built of rammed earth and timber. the addition responds to a desire for a dynamic yet calming retreat space that works with the yard's existing geometries.
materials
rammed earth
local aggregate
timber framing
steel connections
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This exterior sunroom is conceived as a threshold space rather than an enclosed interior room, using rammed earth as a stabilizing edge condition between structure and landscape. Positioned in Albuquerque’s high-desert climate, the project engages direct sun, wind, and seasonal temperature shifts as active design forces rather than conditions to be excluded.
Rammed earth walls define the outer enclosure - instead of sealing the space off, the material allows the exterior environment to remain present—filtered, moderated, and physically registered through the wall’s depth and density.
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Custom joinery mediates between the earthen mass and lighter structural elements, creating points of transition where enclosure becomes porous rather than fixed. The result is an exterior room that operates as a climatic extension of the site, grounded in New Mexico’s desert building logic where shelter is defined by modulation rather than separation.
