(Wrote this for @theearthbuildersguild newsletter last year – this remarkable home is now part of @nmhistoricsites)

Many thanks to Pat Taylor for his wonderful tour in Mesilla, New Mexico last weekend. We toured several properties that Pat has either worked on or is continuing to work on. He has dedicated his life to the preservation of historic earthen buildings both in the Southwest and internationally, but his work in Mesilla clearly has a special place in his catalogue. The tour was part adobe restoration lesson, part history lesson. Historic restoration of any type of structure requires a particular kind of skill set: while one must possess the attributes that any builder must have (the ability to estimate, schedule, and manage, for example) they must also be able to “read” a structure in a very intimate way. Since the original builders are no longer with us, all we have left is the building to explain itself — but of course, buildings do not speak loudly. It is a fact that most people would look at any of these buildings in disrepair and nervously say, “that looks bad…” and most contractors would agree, and go on to say “and that’s why we should tear it down…”. This is where a particular kind of builder — the historic restoration specialist — becomes so important. After having worked on so many of these old buildings, Pat has developed his ability to hear that soft voice; and only with this ability is one able to reanimate its stories, see its problems, and offer up appropriate interventions to keep that building alive. It might seem easy to just say, “well, they built it with mud and lime and stone, so obviously you must fix with like materials,” but nearly a century’s worth of cement plaster and concrete contra-pareds will attest that many skilled builders have failed this test before. The allure of “more durable” modern materials that offered to be “maintenance free” and more easily installed proved too great a temptation for these people, and they have caused the degradation of many an earthen structure in the southwest. Because it is a softer material, adobe in particular has been harmed by these modern interventions.

Jan 24, 2023