Earth USA 2026 - Preliminary Conference & Podium Presentation Schedule

Last Updated August 7, 2026

Friday, September 18, 2026


9:00 - Conference Check-in
9:00 - 9:45am - Morning Coffee in Scottish Rite Ballroom & Courtyard
9:45 - 10:00am - Podium Welcome by Ben Loescher & Quentin Wilson (Adobe in Action Board Members)

10:00 – 10:30am (Slot #1)
Authors: Eric Liefeld, Dr. David Rockstraw, Pat Taylor (Mesilla, NM, USA)
Podium Presentation: TRACKING AND MODELING MOISTURE AND SALTS IN UNSTABLIZED ADOBE
Institutional Affiliation: Mesilla Valley Preservation

10:30 – 11:00am (Slot #2)
Authors: Robin Elkin, Francisco Uviña-Contreras (Bernalillo, NM, USA)
Podium Presentation: ADOBE AND HEMPCRETE: TRADITIONAL MATERIAL IMPROVED WITH LIME BIO-COMPOSITE
Institutional Affiliation: University of New Mexico

11:00 – 11:30am (Slot #3)
Author: Xin Gao (New York, NY, USA)
Podium Presentation: BIO-BASED ADDITIVES IN TIBETAN EARTHEN ARCHITECTURE: MATERIAL PRACTICES AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
Institutional Affiliation: Columbia University

11:30 – 12:00noon (Slot #4)
Authors: Steve Goodhew, Kevin Owen, Matthew Fox (Plymouth, UK)
Podium Presentation: LOW CARBON STABILISERS FOR THE INCREASED USE OF ON-SITE SUBSOILS
Institutional Affiliation: University of Plymouth

12:00 - 1:30pm - Lunch Break

1:30 – 2:00pm (Slot #5)
Author: Stefania Puntaroli (Firenze, Italy)
Podium Presentation: ITALIAN EARTH HOUSE: CREATIVITY, SELF-BUILDING, AND MATERIAL EXPERIMENTATION FOR AN ARTIST’S STUDIO
Institutional Affiliation: Academy of Fine Arts Lecce

2:00 – 2:30pm (Slot #6)
Author: Michael Schuldt (Taos, NM, USA)
Podium Presentation: REALITIES OF OWNER-BUILDER COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCK CONSTRUCTION

2:30 – 3:00pm (Slot #7)
Author: Angeles Hevia (Santiago, Chile)
Podium Presentation: CASA FRAGMENTOS: A METALLIC, LIGHTWEIGHT QUINCHA HOUSE DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THERMAL COMFORT IN CHILE
Institutional Affiliation:: Archinergia

3:00 – 3:30pm (Slot #8)
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

3:30 - 4:30 - Poster Presentation Session #1 + Coffee Break in Scottish Rite Ballroom & Courtyard

4:30 – 5:00pm (Slot #9)
Author: Bruce King (San Rafael, CA, USA)
Podium Presentation: EARTHEN CONCRETE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Institutional Affiliation:: Ecological Building Network

5:00 – 6:00pm
Panel Discussion #1: Earthen R & D - Fire & Design
Moderator: Ben Loescher

Participants:

Authors: Lucy Lloyd, Adam Ballard (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Panel Contribution: REIMAGINING ADOBE DESIGN: MATERIAL, PROCESS, AND PLACE IN MODERN CALIFORNIA
Institutional Affiliation: Terrain, Adobeisnotsoftware

Authors: Anthony Dente, PE, K. Ben Loescher, AIA (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Panel Contribution: FROM FIRE TO EARTH: RESILIENT REBUILDING AFTER THE EATON FIRE
Institutional Affiliation: Terrain, Adobeisnotsoftware

Author: Miguel Arambula (Fresno, CA, USA)
Panel Contribution: USING PREAPPROVED PLANS TO JUMPSTART ADOBE PRODUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION
Institutional Affiliation: Valley Adobe

6:00 - 8:00pm - Friday Evening Reception in Scottish Rite Ballroom & Courtyard for all registered attendees presented by The Earthbuilders' Guild

 

Saturday, September 19, 2026


9:00 - Conference Check-in
9:00 - 10:00am – Poster Presentation Session #2 + Morning Coffee in Scottish Rite Ballroom & Courtyard

10:00 – 10:30am (Slot #10)
Authors: Tyler Survant, Anna Leshnick (Bozeman, MT, USA)
Podium Presentation: TIGER TRACK CONSERVATION LODGE: EARTH ARCHITECTURE AND COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN BARDIYA, NEPAL
Institutional Affiliation:: Building Bureau + Montana State University School of Architecture

10:30 – 11:00am (Slot #11)
Author: Mark Chalom (Santa Fe, NM, USA)
Podium Presentation: CASE STUDY, SUSAN NEILSEN HOME

11:00 – 11:30am (Slot #12)
Authors: Lianxu Zhou, Prakash S Badal, Nitin Kumar, Michele Barbato (Davis, CA, USA)
Podium Presentation: SIMULATED WILDFIRE TEST OF A FIRE-RESISTANT EARTHEN SHED
Institutional Affiliation:: University of California, Davis

11:30 – 12:30pm
Panel Discussion #2: Earthen R & D - Seismic
Moderator: Anthony Dente

Participants:

Author: Camila Cassundé (West Lafayette, IN, USA)
Panel Contribution: LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF RAMMED EARTH FOR DISASTER HOUSING RECONSTRUCTION: AN APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY FRAMEWORK TO ENHANCE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY NATURAL DISASTERS
Institutional Affiliation: Purdue University

Authors: Carlo Citto, PE (Lafayette, CO, USA), Douglas Porter, Ronald Anthony
Panel Contribution: METHODOLOGIES FOR THE SEISMIC EVALUATION OF HISTORIC ADOBE STRUCTURES
Institutional Affiliation: Atkinson-Noland & Associates, University of Vermont, Anthony & Associates

Authors: Rachel Tove-White, Rachel Cohen, Francisco Ordenes, Anthony Dente (Berkeley, CA, USA)
Panel Contribution: ADOBE AND CEB IN HIGH SEISMIC REGIONS: A CURRENT CODEBASED APPROACH AND ASSOCIATED TESTING USED FOR PERMIT ACQUISITION
Institutional Affiliation: Verdant Structural Engineers

12:30 - 2:00pm - Lunch Break

2:00pm – 2:30pm (Slot #13)
Author: Francisco Hernández Spínola (Mexico City, Mexico)
Podium Presentation: LEARNING SCENARIOS AROUND CONSTRUCTION WITH EARTH IN HUAVE CULTURE
Institutional Affiliation:: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México UNAM Faculty of Architecture

2:30 – 3:00pm (Slot #14 / Tentative)
Authors: Cinthia Gimenez, Lucia Otero, Francisca Sepulveda (Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
Podium Presentation: A SHARED LEARNING EXPERIENCE BASED ON TRAINING IN THE RESTORATION OF HERITAGE HOUSING IN LASANA, CHILE
Institutional Affiliation: Fundación Altiplano

3:00 – 3:30pm (Slot #15)
Author: Bob Estrin (Alpine, TX, USA)
Podium Presentation: THE SCHOOL OF CONSTRUCTIVE ARTS - EARTH, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNITY
Institutional Affiliation: School of Constructive Arts

3:30 – 4:00pm (Slot #16)
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

4:00 - 5:00pm - Poster Presentation Session #3 + Coffee Break in Scottish Rite Ballroom & Courtyard

5:00 – 6:00pm
Keynote Presentation: Panel Discussion #3: Building Community through Earth
Moderator: Ethan Novikoff

Author: Ethan Novikoff (Silver City, NM, USA)
Panel Contribution: FREEDOM IN THE MUD: HOW EARTHEN CONSTRUCTION SUPPORTS DE-CENTRALIZATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION

Author: Robert Gregorio (Aztec, NM, USA)
Panel Contribution: DIY COMPRESSED EARTH BLOCK HOME

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

Authors: Tonia Sing Chi, José Galarza (Oakland, CA, USA)
Panel Contribution: EARTHEN MATERIAL PRACTICE IN “SLOW” HOUSING ON THE NAVAJO NATION
Institutional Affiliation:University of California, Berkeley | Nááts'íilid Initiative

 

Sunday, September 20, 2026


9:00 - Conference Check-in
9:00 – 10:00am – Poster Presentation Session #4 + Morning Coffee in Scottish Rite Ballroom & Courtyard

10:00 – 11:00pm
Panel Discussion #4: The Multidisciplinary Future of Earth Materials
Moderator: Lola Ben Alon

Participants:

Authors: Lola Ben-Alon, Wil V. Srubar, Shiho Kawashima (New York, NY, USA)
Panel Contribution: THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY FUTURE OF EARTH MATERIALS
Institutional Affiliation: Columbia University

Authors: Mahan Motalebi, Marcus Shaffer (State College, PA, USA)
Panel Contribution: DEVELOPING A DURABILITY–VULNERABILITY SPECTRUM IN EARTHEN CONSTRUCTION: A CONTEXT-BASED ASSESSMENT INFORMED BY VERNACULAR, SELF-TAUGHT, AND STANDARDIZED PRACTICES
Institutional Affiliation: Pennsylvania State University

Authors: Eda Begum Birol, Siqi Zhao, Phoebe Anagnos, Sophia Wang, Laia Mogas-Soldevila (Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Panel Contribution: MATERIAL CONVERGENCES: BIOMATERIAL STABILIZED EARTHEN COMPOSITES
Institutional Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania

11:00 – 11:30am (Slot #17)
Authors: Marcus Shaffer, Mahan Motalebi, Tiffanie Leung (State College, PA, USA)
Podium Presentation: TWO DECADES OF EARTHEN CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
Institutional Affiliation: Pennsylvania State University

11:30 – 12:00noon (Slot #18)
Authors: Chenxiao Li, Kristof Crolla, Garvin Goepel, Nripal Adhikary (Hong Kong)
Podium Presentation: AUGMENTED-REALITY–GUIDED COB MASONRY FOR NON-STANDARD EARTHEN CONSTRUCTION: A 1:1 STUPA DEMONSTRATOR IN NEPAL

12:00 – 12:30pm (Slot #19)
Authors: Devendra N. Contractor, Deirdre E. Harris (Santa Fe, NM, USA)
Podium Presentation: THE GEORGIA O'KEEFFE MUSEUM: A CASE STUDY IN THE USE OF ADOBE IN COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION
Institutional Affiliation: DNCA Architects

12:30 – 1:00pm (Slot #20)
Award Presentation: 2026 Fred Webster Prize
Conference Closing / Final Wrap: Ben Loescher & Quentin Wilson

1:00 - 3:00pm - Lunch Break

 

Monday, September 21, 2026


8:00am - 8:00pm - Full Day Monday Bus Tour to Taos Adobe Sites