Best Practices in Sustainable Desert Architecture

Jan 4

At Mojave Architecture, we prioritize using eco-friendly architecture in all of our unique, environmentally-oriented, efficient, and beautiful home designs. We know that more and more, our clients are interested in seeking out home designs that are both stunning and comfortable, as well as friendly to the planet.

This article will discuss the key concepts of the architectural sustainability and design that we use so that our clients can make informed decisions about their dream home!

What Is the Architectural Sustainability Concept?

At our architect firm, we design sustainably built homes to limit our impact upon the planet and approach building, from design to materials to finishing touches, in an environmentally friendly and conscious way.

We consciously choose our building materials, design the home for maximum eco-friendly efficiency, and incorporate wind and solar power into our designs.

We prioritize building in harmony with the unique and precious landscape we call home. We're locals to this stunning area, and building in harmony with the land and all the living beings who call it home is at the heart of what we do.

Why Is Architectural Sustainability So Important?

We know that now, more than ever, earth-friendly architecture presents a tangible answer to living harmoniously with our planet and the fellow beings who inhabit it. Using environmentally friendly architecture is often a process of learning from ancient designs that have always been in harmony with the planet, and incorporating them into modern green building technology.

This synthesis of ancient and new knowledge provides healthier buildings that prioritize the health of not only the inhabitants of the building, but the health of the entire ecosystem in which the building is situated.

The Urban Heat Island Effect

According to the EPA, this effect occurs as natural landscapes are replaced with dense concentrations of pavement, urban buildings, and additional human-made surfaces that absorb and retain heat. The result of the replacement of our natural environments results in increased energy costs, air pollution, and an increase in heat-related sickness and death.

Desert Cities

Cities that exist in the desert and arid environments are situated to use sustainable development to protect the natural world as they are at the same time at some of the greatest risks of suffering from detriment to the planet.

City-funded and private development can focus on urban design that utilizes local materials, natural vegetation, open space, the arts, and local relationship building with various experts in sustainability in the creation of city spaces that will protect the future of our world.

Four Fundamental Features of Sustainability-Oriented Design

In addition to enjoying the lovely aesthetic of our sustainably built homes, our clients reap many significant benefits of our eco-friendly sustainable architecture. We use these four fundamental features: materials, energy, water, and health.

Materials

When clients choose our architectural firm, they can be assured that our building materials are made from natural and renewable sources. We locally source these materials as much as possible to further limit our carbon footprint on the planet.

We choose non-toxic materials, have low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) content, and allow our structures to properly ventilate.

Minimizing Energy Consumption

We work with the climate and landscape of this unique environment to incorporate alternative, green energy sources into our building design.

From the first day of construction of our buildings, we ensure that our design process reduces energy costs and generates less waste for our alternative energy home projects.

Our sustainably built architecture uses fewer resources to build and thus puts less of a strain on the natural resources of our local landscape. We design both active and passive systems that heat, and at the same time, cool, the home in an efficient, energy-conserving, and harmonious manner with our environment.

Through the use of wind turbines, direct sunlight, and passive temperature regulatory systems, we ensure that our buildings are working harmoniously with our ecosystem and surroundings, and offer alternative energy home use sources.

Incorporating alternative and passive energy sources, such as sun and wind power, into our design, allows for the use of smaller and more efficient HVAC systems and appliances.

Water

Our buildings are designed with environmentally friendly waste management that protects the desert's water supply. As permitted, we can incorporate water catchment systems and greywater and low-flow toilet systems into our designs to implement water-saving and greener wastewater management.

Health

Our building process is rooted in the health of both the planet and our clients. At our sustainability-oriented architect firm, our building designs result in improved air and water quality and reduced energy waste.

We achieve improved air quality inside our building by avoiding high-Volatile Organic Compounds in our materials. These practices improve indoor air quality, while eco-friendly waste management designs prevent polluted water from draining into water sources.

So, Can You Build in the Desert?

The answer to this question is a resounding “yes!”. Not only can we build in the desert, but people have been doing so for thousands of years. Ancient homes have been constructed right into the sides of desert rock formations and adobe homes have been constructed for thousands of years.

Like today’s sustainably built desert houses, these ancient homes were built to provide passive thermal regulation, keeping its residents warm in the winter and cool during the warm season.

At Mojave Architects, we synthesize these ancient environmentally friendly building styles with modern green building technology to create gorgeous desert homes that will endure the desert climate and provide a stunning oasis for our clients.

If you're looking for sustainable Joshua Tree desert architecture, then look no further than the Mojave Architects. We implement architectural conservation and sustainability engineering in every design to maximize the beauty and potential of energy-efficient desert homes.

What Kind of Houses are Built in a Desert and Why?

The arid, hot, sunny environment of deserts necessitates unique house design and construction. Traditional desert homes are often built with thick walls (often made of adobe) to provide passive thermal regulation of the home. Floors are often made with adobe or tile which helps keep the floors cool.

Ventilation design is extremely important due to the low moisture content of the desert air and the natural significant temperature fluctuation of the home. This temperature fluctuation can cause condensation build-up in the home. Proper ventilation ensures that the air inside your home stays fresh and free from condensation.

Covered outdoor areas or courtyards are often a feature of desert homes. These outdoor areas are designed as a built environment that seamlessly builds with the natural landscape elements while providing shade and coolness. Often, courtyards are made with gorgeous tan or red adobe tile and feature beautiful desert rocks or stone, cactus plants, and sometimes a water feature to create an oasis-like feel.

Passive Energy Design in a Desert Climate

At Mojave Architects, we consider the desert climate of our local landscape and build sites when designing passive energy systems in our builds. A passive house in a desert climate provides a beautiful synthesis of sustainable design architecture and natural incorporation of alternative energy for home use.

Properly placed South-facing windows, thick walls, high-quality insulation, and eco-conscious materials that increase the home's thermal mass are all a part of designing a passive system that efficiently allows the home to heat and cool.

Living in a high desert environment, it is common to see significant differences in temperatures between the day and night. We make sure that the space is designed to utilize sunlight to passively regulate indoor temperatures to ensure the thermal comfort and wellbeing of our clients.

Solar Power in Desert Architecture

Of course, in addition to using the power of the sun's light and thermal mass to heat and cool the space, we at Mojave Architects also often incorporate solar panels into our architectural design.

Desert climates present a fantastic environment to utilize the clean, renewable energy of the sun for alternative home energy solutions. In the Joshua Tree, California area, residents typically enjoy almost 300 sunny days every year.

Solar energy and passive heat designs are built into homes to work in harmony with this sunny environment by using solar energy and passive heat designs. Not only is using the sun one of the best alternative energy sources for your home that is helpful to the planet, but it's also a great example of how to save money on consumption costs.

Harmonious Design with the Desert Landscape

At Mojave Architects, we want to provide eco-friendly architecture design in sync with the nature of the gorgeous Joshua Tree area deserts.

Our design takes inspiration directly from our landscape. Our architecture design considers the color palette, flow, weather, nature, vegetation, East-West sun movement, and terrain of the desert environment. We strive to design an artful house that is modern but still touched and inspired by the warmth and ancient majesty of the landscape.

Desert Building Materials for the Desert Climate

Choosing the best materials to suit our desert climate is of the utmost importance at Mojave Architects. As a good example, we must consider that thick, durable walls are often necessary to withstand the arid climate and absorb heat to ensure the space stays comfortable during the summer. We must also consider how to use the site to maximize shade in outdoor areas.

Light-Colored Paint and metal materials

Using light-colored exterior paint and reflective surfaces like steel help ensure that some of the sun's solar radiation will be reflected off the house. This is a good example of easy solutions to thermal regulation in desert buildings.

Our architects know considering the use of sunlight reflecting materials is important to keeping a structure cool and comfortable during hot days. Light-reflecting colors and materials will also endure far better in the super sunny, arid elements than materials that absorb a greater amount of sunlight.

Stone

Stone can be a fantastic architectural material as it holds a lot of thermal mass from sunlight and helps passively regulate the temperature of a building. For our clients who love the use of natural arts in design, stone also blends beautifully with the landscape and can provide much aesthetic inspiration.

Adobe

Adobe, normally comprised of a specific proportion of sand, clay, water, and straw is an ancient material used in buildings in arid, dry environments. Adobe can form walls and floors, is non-toxic, has high thermal mass, and allows structures to ventilate.

Architects still use adobe in many modern sustainability-focused buildings due to being environmentally friendly, cost-efficient, temperature regulating, and simply stunning.

What Can Clients Expect from Mojave Architects?

At Mojave Architects, we are passionate about earth-oriented architecture. When clients approach our firm to help with the construction of their sustainably built dream house, we bring a high level of experience, knowledge, and passion to the project.

We are always happy to patiently answer all questions in detail, and provide personalized service and designs for every project.

Our Desert Dream House Design Process

At Mojave Architects, our first step in a project is always to have an initial conversation, often at the planned site, where we can get a true image of the client's future dream house.

Secondly, we discuss any possible obstacles and considerations of the particular landscape and its form to make sure we know what the client wants to achieve.

Finally, we design a package, price, and list of services personalized to meet that client's project goals. These services can include:

Architectural design
Physical and computer-generated 3D modeling and image
Project renderings and perspective views
Construction drawings
Sustainable material selection and interior design
Coordination with engineers and local building authorities
Onsite supervision and efficient, positive problem solving

William Mount