Our Designer/Builder, Susan Clellen
Susan overseeing installation of stem wallSusan E. Clellen, B.F.A., M.F.A.
Presently I am working as a general contractor and as an advocate for natural, sustainable building systems. The exploration of what is environmentally appropriate in building designs and materials will be an ongoing task for the human race. My contribution as an artist/builder is to challenge and explore the myths of what a “natural” structure is, can be and historically ...was. The renewed interest in adobe, rammed earth, cob and straw-bale construction that started in the 70’s and 80’s proved to be quite a progressive movement. Building codes now include most of these and the internet provides an international network of technical support.
In 1991 I was totally immersed in historic restoration work in North Carolina. It was at this time that I became aware of sustainable construction. Recycled, reclaimed and salvaged building materials were required for much of my restoration work and were readily available from condemned older buildings in the rural South. Historic millwork profiles that I needed could also be replicated locally from indigenous and local lumber. Small family- owned sawmills were plentiful and a great source for rough-sawn, milled and untreated lumber.
As a preservationist I had to use all the resources around me. Essentially I was a sustainable preservationist. I also had friends and clients who were living off the land and in intentional communities. It was through these contacts that I began doing alternative construction. Rammed tires, straw-bale, cord-wood, earth- berm, passive solar, and envelope houses were among the many projects.
Over the next six years I was involved in six different straw-bale projects which included the first (experimental permit) house in North Carolina as well as the first official code approved house. I started research on alternative building materials being used all over the country. Straw-bales are great for insulation, are a recycled material, are very labor intensive and require special maintenance. Adobe is good for thermal mass, is easy to build with, requires less maintenance and must be insulated in cold climates. Pumice-crete which is the best of all worlds, has insulation and thermal properties but is only available in volcanic regions. Rastra block is an expensive product, uses recycled materials and has limited availability. Rammed tires are very labor intensive. “Super adobe” is still a work in progress. As I learned more about alternative construction, I felt the need to be in an environment where all these materials were available. I chose Taos, New Mexico.
Upon arriving in Taos I was immediately introduced to adobe and rastra block construction and a short time later pumice-crete. The mix of traditional building materials and modern alternatives is embraced and nurtured in this community. Northern New Mexico is a wealth of historic buildings. The early Spanish churches and Native American pueblo buildings are proof of the longevity of simple indigenous materials. Stone, puddled adobe and traditional adobe buildings are still standing, still occupied. Traditional materials were and are mined regionally. Traditions were handed down through families for hundreds of years. There is something to be said for the survival of those communities in the harsh high desert
environment; what was sustainable then can still be today. Over the course of six years in Taos, I designed and built three homes and helped build two others. What I learned in that time is that there are so many solutions and so few reasons to not pursue them. We need to look for local alternative building resources. We need to build things that last. We need to rethink what was traditional and how it can still be. We need to re-empower people to build and think for themselves.
Presently I am working as a general contractor and as an advocate for natural, sustainable building systems. The exploration of what is environmentally appropriate in building designs and materials will be an ongoing task for the human race. My contribution as an artist/builder is to challenge and explore the myths of what a “natural” structure is, can be and historically ...was. The renewed interest in adobe, rammed earth, cob and straw-bale construction that started in the 70’s and 80’s proved to be quite a progressive movement. Building codes now include most of these and the internet provides an international network of technical support.
In 1991 I was totally immersed in historic restoration work in North Carolina. It was at this time that I became aware of sustainable construction. Recycled, reclaimed and salvaged building materials were required for much of my restoration work and were readily available from condemned older buildings in the rural South. Historic millwork profiles that I needed could also be replicated locally from indigenous and local lumber. Small family- owned sawmills were plentiful and a great source for rough-sawn, milled and untreated lumber.
As a preservationist I had to use all the resources around me. Essentially I was a sustainable preservationist. I also had friends and clients who were living off the land and in intentional communities. It was through these contacts that I began doing alternative construction. Rammed tires, straw-bale, cord-wood, earth- berm, passive solar, and envelope houses were among the many projects.
Over the next six years I was involved in six different straw-bale projects which included the first (experimental permit) house in North Carolina as well as the first official code approved house. I started research on alternative building materials being used all over the country. Straw-bales are great for insulation, are a recycled material, are very labor intensive and require special maintenance. Adobe is good for thermal mass, is easy to build with, requires less maintenance and must be insulated in cold climates. Pumice-crete which is the best of all worlds, has insulation and thermal properties but is only available in volcanic regions. Rastra block is an expensive product, uses recycled materials and has limited availability. Rammed tires are very labor intensive. “Super adobe” is still a work in progress. As I learned more about alternative construction, I felt the need to be in an environment where all these materials were available. I chose Taos, New Mexico.
Upon arriving in Taos I was immediately introduced to adobe and rastra block construction and a short time later pumice-crete. The mix of traditional building materials and modern alternatives is embraced and nurtured in this community. Northern New Mexico is a wealth of historic buildings. The early Spanish churches and Native American pueblo buildings are proof of the longevity of simple indigenous materials. Stone, puddled adobe and traditional adobe buildings are still standing, still occupied. Traditional materials were and are mined regionally. Traditions were handed down through families for hundreds of years. There is something to be said for the survival of those communities in the harsh high desert
environment; what was sustainable then can still be today. Over the course of six years in Taos, I designed and built three homes and helped build two others. What I learned in that time is that there are so many solutions and so few reasons to not pursue them. We need to look for local alternative building resources. We need to build things that last. We need to rethink what was traditional and how it can still be. We need to re-empower people to build and think for themselves.
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