Santiago Adobe

Location

Landers, CA

Project Type

Single Family Home

Building Type

Adobe New Build

Area

399 SF

Completion

Estimated 2026

Services

Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documentation and Construction Administration, Landscaping

Architect: Terrain
Structural Engineers: Verdant

This award-winning project was located in the unincorporated community of Landers, in the Mojave Desert. Approached by a client who wished to build his own home at low cost and utilizing locally available materials, Terrain devised a design that saw adobe bricks fabricated on-site using local soil. The project’s design included not just the highly efficient one-person dwelling, but also the construction process and sequencing. Excavated earth from digging the foundation was mixed and molded in wooden forms set in the sun to dry. The project’s pergoral was constructed first, providing a sheltered area for construction staging.

The home consists of a simple rectangular volume with an open floor plan and split-level loft bedroom perched above the bathroom and utility area. As the building is designed around California’s Tiny House Code which limits the building area to less than 400 SF, the layout employs an incredibly efficient use of space, with custom furniture and clever storage solutions which make the most of spatial constraints.

Santiago Adobe has received an AIA Los Angeles Next LA Merit Award, and an AIA Inland California Honor Award.