No. 47, May 2000
Desert Architecture for a New Millenium

McHenry: Gardendale house

During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration in the United States undertook several housing projects. Seven of the houses in this Gardendale, Alabama project were built with rammed earth rather conventional wood framing. The earth was dug from the site and the walls were rammed by hand. Residents of these rammed earth houses have stated that their houses are cooler in summer and warmer in winter than the "conventional" houses in the project.

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