El Rito, New Mexico, USA
Northern New Mexico College
NNMC’s Adobe Construction Department takes you through the process of building an adobe home from foundation to roof. The program is unique – the USA’s only full-fledged certification program in building with adobe. It generally takes two semesters of classroom and field work to earn a Certificate in Adobe Construction. While focusing primarily on a hands-on, apprenticeship-type experience, the program includes sufficient theory and classroom instruction to ensure complete, critical coverage of all aspects of building adobe structures.
Adobe is a building material that anyone can learn to work with. Past students of the program include:
- owner/builders wishing to complete a good portion of the home construction process on their own
- architects and architecture students wishing to gain hands-on experience with a natural building material and add a sustainable architecture focus to their portfolios
- renewable energy students and specialists wanting to learn more about the energy-saving potential of passive solar adobe design.
Teaching
Students receive hands-on adobe experience through: new construction work at adobe construction sites around Northern New Mexico, renovating existing adobe homes and working on individual projects in the department’s adobe laboratory.
In addition to the live instruction classes offered in El Rito, New Mexico, we also offer adobe classes via the internet. This is a great way to get started with adobe construction regardless of your location.
Curriculum for live and internet instruction is based on both lecture sections as well as extensive hands-on laboratory sections. Some of the classes offered are:
- Traditional Building Design
- Adobe (Mud Brick) Wall Construction
- Interior Finishes (earthen plasters)
- Exterior Finishes
- Foundation and Floor Construction for Adobe Structures
- Passive Solar Heating and Design of Adobe Structures
- Adobe Remodel Theory and Practice
- Roof Design and Construction
- Clay Oven Design and Construction