"A hundred years ago, all the buildings in this area had earthen walls," said Tom Wuelpren, co-owner of Rammed Earth Development Inc. in Tucson, Ariz., a design-build construction firm specializing in rammed-earth residences.
Though rammed earth and other alternative construction techniques have been in use around the world for hundreds of years, they are not well known outside a small but growing community of architects, designers, contractors, and owner-builders who are exploring more ecologically friendly and energy-efficient methods of making living spaces.