"A very special thanks also goes out to Quentin Branch who provided the consulting services for the rammed earth walls. Quentin offers a hands-on workshop near Tucson, AZ and is probably the best resource in the country for this construction type. He and his wife Julie welcomed me into their home and spent many hours reviewing drawings and details of the design. Quentin's son, Toby Branch was onsite for the first couple of days of the project as well, helping instruct the crew in the process."
At our home, on the north side of Tucson's Santa Catalina Mountains, elevation 4,600.
With his loyal crew, Quentin Branch has been building rammed earth projects for 40 years – from patio walls to highway sound-barrier retaining walls, and from guest homes to a 38,000-square-foot television studio named one of the 18 top architectural achievements in Arizona.
Branch has built throughout Arizona, with occasional out-of-state forays. His work has been featured in innumerable magazines, including in March 2009, on the cover and 10 inside pages of Metropolitan Homes magazine, lauding the first rammed earth home in Aspen, Colorado.
Branch consults with architects and engineers world-wide on design and construction specifications. He sometimes holds workshops for students and do-it-yourselfers.
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Founder, Rammed Earth Solar Homes Inc.
Rammed earth wall construction for homes, businesses, gardens, art projects.
Passive-solar-design and rammed-earth-technology consultation for architects, engineers and owner-builders.
2001 — 4,000 tons of earth were rammed into a 38,000-square-foot TV studio. Above the 20’ wide, 16’ tall window, a steel I-beam and concrete bond beam are hidden in a four-foot-tall lintel of rammed earth.