Dive summary:

• Clients who came to Ward + Blake Architects in Idaho had a villa in mind for a four-bedroom home on land they had bought in a former meadow in Squirrel, Idaho.
• The firm, which strives to blend structures to the land where they are built, persuaded the clients that a one-story home built of rammed-earth from the area and a sod roof was the way to go for both aesthetics and heat and sound insulation on the windy plain.
• To get the right mix for the walls, soil from the site was mixed with crusher fines from a nearby rock-crushing facility and a little Portland cement, all of it strengthened by steel to help it withstand seismic activity.

From the article:

The very sensitive material combination includes selectively placed swaths of cedar and concrete cladding, whereas interior accents include a fireplace assembled of stone from an abandoned schoolhouse. ...