Earth USA 2026

The Thirteenth Conference

Date: September 18 to 20, 2026
Location: Scottish Rite Center, Santa Fe, NM
Organizer: Adobe in Action

Earth USA 2026 Group Photo by Jeremy Zilar

About Earth USA 2026

Earth USA 2026 was Adobe in Action’s 13th International Conference on Architecture & Construction with Earthen Materials. The formal conference took place from Friday, September 18 to Sunday, September 20, 2026 at the Scottish Rite Center's Alhambra Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Earth USA 2026 indicate ad wider field of interest than previous conferences and included adobe, rammed earth, compressed earth block (CEB) and monolithic adobe (cob). Any material or method that uses clay as a binder was considered. Activities included:

Three days of Podium Presentations and Poster Sessions on topics related to the current state of architecture and construction with earthen materials.
Friday Evening Reception sponsored by The Earthbuilders' Guild.
Tours to local earthbuilding sites of interest in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico.

AIA Members: 16 AIA/CES credits (LU|HSW) were available for the Earth USA 2026. Adobe in Action (the official organizer of Earth USA 2026) is an Approved Continuing Education Systems Provider through the American Institute of Architects (AIA). More details about AIA/CES credits for Earth USA 2026 can be found here.

Congratulations to the 2026 Fred Webster Prize Winners

Winner

Author: Juan Manuel Casillas Pintor (Mexico City, Mexico)
Podium Presentation: EARTH AS PEDAGOGY: DESIGN–BUILD EDUCATION AND SOCIOENVIRONMENTAL ACTION THROUGH EARTHEN ARCHITECTURE
Institutional Affiliation: Universidad Iberoamericana CdMx

Honarble Mentions

Author: Bob Estrin (Alpine, TX, USA)
Podium Presentation: THE SCHOOL OF CONSTRUCTIVE ARTS - EARTH, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNITY
Institutional Affiliation: School of Constructive Arts

Authors: Mateo Salinas Clarke & Laura Clarke (Taos, NM, USA)
Podium Presentation: COMMUNITY AS A CONSTRUCTION DETAIL: OWNER BUILDER CASE STUDY FROM TAOS
Institutional Affiliation:: Student at SFCC & UNM-Taos

Author: Hyacinth Pinto (Goa, India)
Poster Presentation: ADAPTIVE REUSE OF EARTHERN STRUCTURES - EXAMPLES FROM GOA, INDIA
Institutional Affiliation: Goa College of Architecture, Goa University