Rammed Earth Homes Australia

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Best of est | Rammed Earth Homes

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St Kilda Residence by ADDARC | Photography by Timothy Kaye

In this Best of est round-up, we explore five enduring homes crafted from rammed earth, one of the world’s oldest building methods celebrated for its tactility, resilience, and seamless dialogue between architecture and landscape.

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St Kilda Residence by ADDARC

Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung and Bunurong Country / Melbourne, Australia

Through its distinct rammed earth form, an inner-city Melbourne home designed by ADDARC mediates a considered balance between presence and privacy, cultivating nurturing moments within.

Imbued with the warmth of materials and light, the home is organised around a series of enclosed courtyards that each offer aspect and integral amenity. “An underlying tranquillity resonates,” ADDARC director Rohan Appel says. Robust materials are incorporated throughout, but the hero and focal element is undeniably rammed earth—chosen for both its thermal performance and striking aesthetic value.

“Rammed earth is one of the most beautiful building materials; we refer to it as being perfectly imperfect,” Appel shares. “Once you embrace the imperfections, you begin to appreciate them and the material’s natural beauty.

Beyond the passive qualities that optimise thermal performance, sustainable construction methodologies were employed to ensure an environmentally sustainable outcome. This included the implementation of dual heat pumps, thermal mass, enhanced insulation, automation control, an extensive solar array with battery storage provision, rainwater reuse, thermally improved glazing and car charging facilities. “Our clients were strongly committed to building a home that was both architecturally beautiful, to be enjoyed by passers-by, but also good for the environment,” Appel reflects.

St Kilda Residence by ADDARC | Photography by Timothy Kaye

Vipp Todos Santos by PPAA

Todos Santos, Mexico

Set along the Pacific Ocean amid the Mexican desert, Vipp Todos Santos fuses traditional architecture with a Scandinavian design approach to highlight the landscape from within.

The guesthouse was designed to honour the region’s biophilic design language, featuring dynamic volumes and exterior stairways that respond organically to the natural contours of the site. The architects applied local, traditional building techniques, designing the home with raw rammed earth walls that respond to the extremities of the climate by providing natural insulation. Blurring the lines between the architecture and its desert surroundings, large, open windows frame views of the coast and towering Cardones, or cacti.

“Todos Santos has a very unique blend of topographies, history, and influences,” architect and PPAA founder Pablo Pérez Palacios reflects. “We wanted to respect these traditions while creating our own architectural language—one that merges harmoniously with the surrounding landscape,” he adds.

The guesthouse features an interplay of natural tones and textures, with the subtle palette of earth, wood and concrete enhanced by handcrafted details such as the Palo de Arco shutters that cast shadows throughout the day.

Vipp Todos Santos | Photography courtesy of Vipp

Tembo Tembo Lodge by Studio Asaï

Kruger National Park, South Africa

Set within Elephant Point Private Reserve in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, Tembo Tembo draws on the site’s rugged beauty and extremes. The house sits with a brutalist-like clarity in this desert landscape, with rammed earth defining its structure. Formed from the ochre-hued soil excavated on-site, the thick walls provide both insulation and an intrinsic connection to place.

The architecture plays on elements of the landscape, where sandbanks of the nearby Sabie River inform the shifting tones of the compressed earth, now solidified as part of the home’s foundation. The form is stark, textural and deeply grounded, yet softened by how the materials blend throughout.

The house is elevated slightly above the ground. This is a practical response to local wildlife and seasonal flooding, but it also adds to the sense of lightness in what would otherwise appear as a dense form. When moving inside, a concrete slab floor wraps up the walls to meet the solidified layers of rammed earth.

Part of Studio Asaï’s attraction to using rammed earth is that if one day the home was to be dismantled, its walls would return to the earth. Water conservation, simplified electrical systems and a minimalist approach to functionality reflect the homeowners’ desire to engage with nature as intimately as possible. Tembo Tembo is designed to disappear rather than impose. It is intended to exist within the land, not dominate it.

Tembo Tembo Lodge by Studio Asaï | Photography by Adrien Dirand

Terra Firma by Luigi Rosselli Architects

Gadigal Country / Sydney, Australia

Overlooking the harbour in Longueville, Sydney, Terra Firma by Luigi Rosselli Architects embodies its Latin name, meaning ‘solid ground’. The expression, traditionally used by mariners to describe their yearning for a solid foothold on land, inspired the homeowner and architect to design a space that would find balance between adventure and stability—longing for the sea while loving the warmth and permanence of one’s home.

“The young family who now reside in Terra Firma had long desired to live by the water,” Luigi Rosselli says. “Deeply attached as they were to their boat, which lies at anchor in the sheltered bay just a few meters from their front door, they were fortunate enough to be able to purchase a cottage on the shore overlooking their mooring,” he adds.

On a sandstone outcrop overlooking one of the many bays throughout the tidal estuary of Sydney Harbour, the home features a robust rammed earth base with a warm sandy colouring. Two levels up from the base, bricks salvaged from the demolition of the cottage that originally occupied the site form the brickwork construction, while recycled terracotta roof tiles assembled in geometric patterns shade the sun and provide privacy for the residents and their guests.

“A concerted effort was made to reuse and repurpose materials from the original cottage wherever possible, including the bricks, roof tiles, and sandstone footings reclaimed from the demolition,” Rosselli explains. “All these elements were thoughtfully supplemented with rammed earth to enrich the design.”

Terra Firma by Luigi Rosselli Architects | Photography by Prue Ruscoe

House on the Hill by Robson Rak

Bunurong Country / Mornington Peninsula, Australia

On Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Robson Rak have penned the next chapter of a 40-year-old mud-brick home by incorporating a rammed-earth extension, artfully blending old and new.

Perched atop a hill overlooking rolling green hills and lush forest, the home provides an idyllic retreat for a multi-generational family seeking an escape from the city. “Meticulously integrated into its natural surroundings, every aspect of the design reflects a deep appreciation for the landscape,” architect Kathryn Robson says—from the instinctive palette of rammed earth, polished concrete and black aluminium to the extensive glazing that wraps around the living spaces and draws the outside in.

The restrained palette takes cues from the neighbouring forest, with aluminium cladding and rammed earth forming an exterior that contrasts with and complements its surroundings. These foundational materials extend into the interiors, where they’re accompanied by soothing blues and greys accentuated by freshly painted white walls and ceilings.

“Designed with an eye for balance and attention to detail, the House on the Hill epitomises a symbiotic relationship between architecture and environment,” Robson reflects. “It stands as a testament to timeless design principles, harmonising with the land upon which it rests and offering a sanctuary for generations to come.”