Adobeisnotsoftware

04/01/2026

Ummmm Adobe can we talk? 🥺👉👈

02/12/2026

We’re offering two hands-on adobe workshops with the Yucca Valley Material Lab – designed for curious beginners, builders, artists, and anyone interested in natural materials and climate-responsive design.⠀
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Intro to Adobe, April 26 | 9 am – 1 pm⠀
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A four-hour, hands-on crash course in adobe blocks, soil testing, and earthen construction basics ⁣with Eric Linnert and Lucy Lloyd. Fees: $95⠀
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Adobe Horno Building, May 15–17 | 9 am – 4 pm⠀
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Build a working earthen oven from the ground up and learn techniques you can take home and use anywhere, with Ben Loescher. Fees: $445⠀
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Both workshops are tactile, immersive, and rooted in place-based knowledge – perfect for DIYers, designers, and the earth-curious alike.⠀
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Spots are limited. Link the link below to register.

Cancellation Policy: Students must notify YVML of cancellation 30 days before the start date of the workshop for a refund (with the exception of credit card fees). No credit or refunds will be given within 30 days.

02/06/2026

Did you know that, in addition to our in-person workshops, we also offer a variety of online, self-paced, AIA-accredited courses on our website? Now you do 🤠

https://www.adobeisnotsoftware.com/education-events

10/21/2025

A few months ago we hosted UC Davis Design students on a field trip centered around earthen building. The trip was supported by the Green Initiative Fund, and took place in and around Pioneertown, where we visited different types of earthen dwellings, Ron Rael’s 3d printed adobe sculpture for Desert X, and hosted a workshop teaching the science and methods behind adobe construction. This concluded with an exhibition showcasing the students’ material experimentation using a variety of different forms.

We had the best time, and look forward to future collaborations! We’re currently working with Woodbury School of Architecture and the Regenerative Rebuild Collective on their Natural Building Workshop. Stay tuned for updates!

10/20/2025

Discuss

09/19/2025

Ben will be taking the stage at the Rocky Mountain Natural Building Conference, tomorrow, September 20th in Bozeman, Montana. Held biennially by the Natural Building Alliance since 2003, the RMNBC focuses on natural materials, methods, and philosophies.

Ben’s presentation titled “The Future of Dirt: Barriers and Opportunities” looks at the current state of earthen regulation within the United States, current initiatives with promise to reduce the barriers to earth building’s widespread use, opportunities for practitioners and members of the public to influence approval processes, as well as the relevance of earthen construction in urban and wildland fire risk areas.

08/13/2025

Tickets are available for our next Making Adobe workshop in Pioneertown, CA, on Sept 14th 🧱

The class is a condensed introduction to adobe block and construction, where participants will get hands-on experience and learn everything from soil selection to brick laying techniques 🪏

We keep class sizes small to give everyone a chance to participate, so don’t hesitate to sign up. See the link below to register! 🔗

https://adobeisnotsoftware.com/product/making-adobe-1-2-day-intensive-in-person-sept2025/

07/02/2025

We are so pleased to share that, along with our incredible client and partner, Yucca Valley Material Lab, we have been selected as a 2025 Frankenthaler Climate Initiative awardee! This crucial funding will go towards the technical planning phase of YVML's new Sustainable Studio, an ADA-accessible artist workspace constructed from low-carbon, fire-resistant adobe bricks made with soil found on-site.

Designed by LMA, the new studio will serve as the centerpiece of YVML’s expanding facilities, offering safe, climate-adapted workspaces that reflect the organization’s mission: to provide underserved artists with space, tools, and community while championing material exploration and alternative educational models.

05/12/2025

Thanks Dwell and Sara Solovitch for getting the word out! Since 2008, we've been working to appropriately improve building codes to make adobe construction more accessible. Thoughtful articles like this one help to shift public perspective and push the needle that bit further.

"In 2010, Smithsonian Magazine predicted the revival of adobe construction, when it listed mud building as Number One among the '40 things you need to know about the next 40 years.' Today, that prediction is coming true—largely because adobe construction isn’t only energy efficient and locally sustainable; it’s fireproof"

As blazes burn our homes, a smattering of mud evangelists are resurfacing the ancient, fireproof building style as a solution for the future.

05/02/2025

Interview excerpt from the publication Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design (Craft Contemporary), edited by Kate Yeh Chiu and Jia Yi Gu and conceived as a companion piece to the exhibition that was on view at Craft Contemporary. Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design examines the role of nature as a starting point for material experimentation in the domains of architecture, craft, and science.

Interview excerpt from the publication Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design (Craft Contemporary), edited by Kate Yeh Chiu and Jia Yi…

04/30/2025

Places are still available for our upcoming workshops! Learn how to build from the earth in a historic homestead ranch in Pioneertown 🧱

• Intro to Earthen Wall Building
• Sunday, May 18th

• Horno Building - 3-Day Intensive
• Friday, May 23rd - Sunday, May 25th

These workshops are open to all experience levels and backgrounds. Both workshops are AIA accredited, giving architectural professionals the chance to earn HSW Learning Units.

See the link below for more info!

https://adobeisnotsoftware.com/education-events/