National Park Service White Sands Department of the Interior White Sands National Monument Adobe and Our Visitor Center dobe is the name for a style of building construction that uses bricks made Afrom mud. In the United States, the word “adobe” is most commonly used to refer to the Pueblo-style building technique that is found throughout the Southwest and is especially well-known in New Mexico. White Sands The White Sands Visitor Center, the The photographs above are historic Visitor Center fence between the visitor center and images of the construction of the the residential area, and three of the adobe buildings at White Sands homes within the residential area are National Monument that took place made of adobe. These buildings are an from 1936 to 1938. excellent example of Spanish Pueblo Adobe is an excellent building adobe, otherwise known as Pueblo- material at White Sands because Revival architecture. annual rainfall here averages about Lyle Bennett, who is considered eight inches, which is well below the the master of the Pueblo-Revival 20 inches of annual rainfall that will style, designed and worked on these endanger an adobe structure. The buildings. Work began in 1936 and sand, straw, and water necessary was completed in 1938. Various for construction is readily available, government agencies, including the and the architecture is regionally Works Progress Administration (WPA), appropriate. cooperated in the construction. Additional examples of Pueblo- The WPA was the largest of the New Revival architecture by Lyle Bennett Deal agencies created by President include the Painted Desert Inn at Roosevelt during his time in the White Petrified Forest National Park, the House, employing millions of workers historic district at Bandelier National via public works projects during the Monument, and buildings at Carlsbad Great Depression. Projects included Caverns and Mesa Verde national constructing public buildings and parks. roads and operating literacy programs. The History The word “adobe” is a Spanish word Africa, China, Peru, Spain and of Adobe that originally comes from the Arabic southwestern North America. The word “al-tub” meaning “the brick” Bam Citadel in Iran is the largest or “mud-brick.” It was introduced to adobe building ever built.The tallest the Spanish when Spain was ruled by is Huaca del Sol in Peru, which the Moors from 800 and 1500 C.E. used more than one million bricks. The Spanish then brought the word The most famous adobe buildings “adobe” with them to America in the in the United States are in Taos 1500s, using it to describe buildings Pueblo, New Mexico. Taos Pueblo constructed by the Pueblo people of is considered by many to be the the Southwest. oldest continually habited town in the United States and is a UNESCO Adobe construction has been used for World Heritage site. thousands of years in dry parts of the world, including the Middle East, This publication made possible with funds from the Western National Parks Association. How Do You The first step in building an adobe home the walls of the home are then Build with Adobe? or structure is to lay out the floor plan constructed. Once they are completed, and then determine how many bricks the wooden roof is laid on top and will be needed. For example, a wall that supported by large beams or “vigas.” is eight-feet high and 10-feet long will These vigas are the logs often seen require about 200 bricks. A single room sticking out of the sides of adobe could take 1,000 bricks or more, and buildings and are topped by wooden a small two-bedroom house may take cross pieces called latillas. Then, a more than 5,000. mesh of twigs or fabric is laid down. Once bricks have been made and dried, Finally, six inches or more of adobe other features of the home need to be is packed on top. Although adobe planned. These include the placement roofs are virtually flat, they do slope of doors and windows, as well as any downwards towards drains called special adobe features like adobe canales to allow for water runoff. benches or recessed shelves for books The final step of adobe construction is and display items built into the walls or to cover the entire structure in a layer of corner fireplaces. adobe plaster to protect the bricks and After all that planning and brick making, make the walls smooth. The Advantages One of adobe’s biggest advantages is it provides excellent protection from of Adobe that it is all natural and contains nothing both fire and noise. Adobe is also toxic. It also is made from materials an excellent insulater, so indoor that can be found anywhere and lasts temperatures remain fairly constant. a long time with relatively minimal Due to the widespread availability of maintenance. the materials, adobe construction is Adobe is also very inexpensive, as costly environmentally friendly and requires contruction equipment is not needed. very few resources. And thanks to its thickness and strength, What Do You Need The basic materials and tools to make Adobe bricks can be any size. It all to Make Adobe? adobe include: depends on the size of the wooden form or mold. The most common • Sand size is about four inches high, 10 • Mud with clay inches wide, and 14 inches long. Brick • Straw (or animal manure) makers often use molds that make • Water four or five bricks at a time. • Mixing tools: stick, hoe, rake, pitchfork A wide, level outdoor area for • Wooden molds to shape bricks laying and drying the adobe bricks Once all the materials are gathered, is essential. This area should be the clay, sand, and straw (or manure) sprinkled with sand or straw to keep are mixed together. It takes a bit of the bricks from sticking to the ground experience to know exactly how much during the drying process. of each component to add to the Once the adobe is mixed, brick mixture, but a formula of roughly three production is simple. Lay the mold on parts clay, seven parts sand, and one part the prepared ground, pack the mold straw produces the best bricks. Adding full, and pull off the mold. Clean the too much of any one item will affect the mold with water and repeat. After quality of the adobe. Too much sand three or four days, the bricks will be will make the bricks crumble easily, and safe to handle. Turn each brick on its too much clay will make them crack edge to continue drying. After about when they dry. The amount of water six weeks, the bricks will be ready to needed varies, but the mixture should use in your project. have the consistency of bread dough. More The following websites provide more • Green Home Building Information in-depth information about adobe: http://www.greenhomebuilding. com/adobe.htm • Preservation of Historic Adobe Buildings • Adobe Builder http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/briefs/ http://www.adobebuilder.com/ brief05.htm • Save With Green • Pueblo de Taos, New Mexico, USA http://www.savewithgreen.com/ http://www.cr.nps.gov/ greenhome.html worldheritage/taos.htm • Hybrid Adobe • The Bam Citadel, Kerman, Iran http://www.hybridadobe.com/ http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1208 For more information on White Sands, visit http://www.nps.gov/whsa Revised 10/1/2011.