Arkin Tilt Architects have two projects in the new book Down to Earth: Rammed Earth Architecture - a book featuring firms all over the world who incorporate this ancient technique in modern designs. High mass and low carbon, durable and evocative, building with earth is a great “tool” in the architectural tool-box. Check out our projects Canyon Road Bridge and Sweetwater Springs.

We are thrilled that the AIA East Bay has recognized our Blue Dot Farmworker Housing project with an Honor Award in the small project category. Designed on an efficient low carbon, low energy prototype that honors agricultural workers using primarily agricultural products. Read more here: https://aiaeb.org/2022-design-award-winners/

Our two-day bale raising for the Pie Ranch Farmhouse fire rebuild was a success! We used the “Green Machine” bale saw to cut bales to fit in tricky areas between studs and windows, speeding up the Bales on End Between Studs (BOEBS) construction method. Once installed, the straw bales provide nearly twice the insulation potential of standard 2x6 frame walls. The high density of the bales and non-combustible exterior finishes make for highly insulative fire resistant walls.

Principal David Arkin provides our firm’s perspective on the subject of Embodied Carbon in this interview with William Richards, also featuring Vanessa Hostick of HOK and Kit Elsworth of KieranTimberlake.  Architects working with bio-based materials (wood, straw, hemp and bamboo) have long maintained we can store carbon in our buildings, and be a part of climate change solutions.  

https://www.aia.org/pages/6476475-buildings-must-become-the-earths-sixth-car 

Pie Ranch was deeply impacted by the CZU Complex Fires of 2020, including losing their historic farm house, built by the Steele family in 1863. 

The goals of the rebuild were to honor the past and model a sustainable future, while meeting the current needs of the Pie Ranch staff and apprentices. The farmhouse is recreated, integrating the ecological indigenous wisdom of the native peoples who tended the land for centuries with curved outdoor communal spaces and earth and wood materiality. The interior layout was modified, and detailing for fire resistance paramount. 

Interview with ATA Prinicipal Anni Tilt along with some photos of our projects are part of this very well written article by Paul Miles for the Finanicial Times, regarding storing carbon in buildings. Also featured are our UK friends Craig White, Barbara Jones and Pete Walker. As Craig says in the bottom line: "[Building with plants] is ‘carbon capture and storage’ in the built environment. The best thing you can do with carbon is to build with it."

On October 8th ATA Principal David Arkin presented a Fine Homebuilding Webinar, sponsored by Rockwool, on the topic of ‘Building Homes to Survive Wildfires’. With several dozen of our firms projects having either survived a wildfire or being on a site where one burned, David was able to illustrate the webinar with details as well as stories of survivors.  

arkin tilt vida verde

After years of crafting relationships with neighbors and county staff, a capital campaign that raised nearly $7M for purchasing their property and constructing the barn, and 2 anxious years of planning department review, we are pleased to announce Vida Verde Outdoor Education has received Planning Department approval from San Mateo County!! The planning commission voted in favor of adopting the mitigated negative declaration and approved a coastal development permit, a planned agricultural district permit, and a farm labor housing permit.

The East Bay Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) held month-long series of events in August, around the theme of Shelter and Arkin Tilt Architects participated in three out of the five of these.  First, on August 14th David Arkin led a virtual tour of our Canyon Road Bridge House located in Santa Fe New Mexico, one of 10 projects toured over two weekends.  On August 26th Anni was one of the panelists on the Innovations in Housing Symposium.  At the end of the month Dev

arkin tilt straw ale

We recently had the pleasure of raising some organic straw bales at Blue Dot Farm using our Bales On End Between Studs (BOEBS) construction system. This system uses conventional stud framing with plywood sheathing to allow for flexibility in the choice of exterior finishes that can greatly reduce the cost of a straw bale building. The bales went in quickly in this system, pushed between the studs as carbon sequestering thermal insulation. 

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