Carole Crews, is an artist, author, natural builder, and plaster guru near Taos, New Mexico. She has worked with mud and finishes for earthen buildings professionally for 25 years. She is also the creator of this incredible earthen building. The Dome is a work of art. Never before have I seen a building quite like this - it’s magic.
The Dome is roughly 550 square feet, made of adobe and cob. Carole started the project back in 1992, working sporadically over the years. The adobe bricks were laid one by one, cut to specific shapes and leveled with pea stones and adobe mortar or cob forming the adobe dome. Over time extra space was added including a kitchen, bedroom, and a outdoor space. The outdoor space, which is around 200 square feet, was originally meant to be room for her daughters, but in the end was left open-air. What a nice place to hang out and take in the view of Taos Mountain.
The Cob Mob, Karyn Stillwell Temple and Jason Temple, retrofitted their little cottage’s sheet metal fireplace with a Rocket Stove thermal mass heater.
The stove features a heated day bed/sitting platform and utilizes the existing chimney flue.
“The heated day bed/seat coming out into the room works well for this space; it gently partitions the room into two spaces. At the end of a hard day’s work the day bed is THE place to find me sprawled out on my back, healing my sore muscles. Our heat seeking Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy also covets the stove and spent every winter evening laying on it when we weren’t. In this photo he is forgoing the soft pillows in favor of the serious heat coming through the blanket (necessary after 4 hours of firing). This picture was actually taken the morning after a firing, everything is still hot.” - Jason Temple
Karyn and Jason live in Australia, where they share their knowledge and passion for cob. They offer design consultation and assistance to those involved with natural building projects, and work with schools and community groups to develop cob projects that improve their local environment, get people working together and having fun.
In August, I had a chance to sling some mud over at Kindra’s Mountain Cottage. This beautiful, 1200 square foot, fully permitted cob house is tucked away in the mountains of Black Lake, in northern New Mexico. It’s constructed from locally harvested round wood, straw bale, cob, and adobe. It’s a passive solar design with radiant ( earthen ) floor heating and a living roof. The quality is magnificent, like we have come to expect from Kindra’s work. Though the cottage is a bit of a family art project, with most of the labor provided by Kindra, her family and friends.
When I arrived, the work party was applying the exterior render to the walls. A mix of 2 red clay, 1 lime, 3 course sand, 3 fine sand and some chopped straw. Then washed with a color coat while still wet.
Recently on the Tiny House Blog, Kent Griswold posted a video on his site of Jay’s Tiny Home Tour. Jay Shafer of the Tumbleweed House Company is creating and living in houses of 65 to 774 square feet. I applaud his concentrated design skills. I’m a fan of the super small house - been living in 280 square feet pod for almost a year and have no complaints, except no closet! I’m inspired by the tiny house movement, doing more with less material. Constructing small leaves more time and money for the details, which can enhance the quality of a space. Not to mention removing the chores that come with the large house to-do list. How efficient is that?
It all starts with the need for shelter, sometime after food for our bellies. We need a place to live. A place where we can call home. Or at least a space that protects us from the elements. A outer skin. Somewhere to rest and recharge with systems that promote a fruitful life. A space that provides respite from the world.
