The use of adobe in construction
Adobe is a material used for building that is made of organic materials such as earth, clay, straw, and so on. In Spanish, ‘adobe’ translates as ‘mudbrick’, and buildings that are constructed from adobe have a similar appearance to cob or rammed earth buildings.
Adobe bricks are traditionally made in open cast moulds and left to sun-dry rather than being kiln-fired. They are laid using an earth mortar and smoothed down when the wall is finished before a clay render is usually applied as a surface coating. This production process, as well as the nature of clay, means that adobe bricks have advantageous water resistance. However, buildings that are exposed to a lot of wet conditions should be provided with eaves to protect the walls.
Adobe bricks have similar properties to other forms of earth construction – fire-resistant, flexible, durable, provide sufficient thermal mass to ensure good energy efficiency, and good sound insulation.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Arup and Better Shelter at the Working Together For Disaster Relief conference.
- Brick.
- Brick wall.
- Clay.
- Cob building.
- Construction materials.
- Daub.
- Earth building.
- Earthen construction.
- Green building.
- Hempcrete.
- Mud brick in Iran.
- Practical Building Conservation: Earth, Brick and Terracotta.
- Rammed earth.
- Recyclable construction materials.
- Shelter.
- Straw bale construction.
- Unfired clay masonry: An introduction to low-impact building materials.
- Vernacular earthen architecture.
Featured articles and news
We're expanding our collaborative mission by launching DB Intelligence, an exclusive market research advisory panel. Built environment professionals can now get paid to share their expertise on industry trends, products and services.
Panel members receive direct financial incentives for participating in research projects like short surveys, 1-2-1 interviews and focus groups. Register today to shape the future of the construction sector.
Planning condition discharge in England and Wales
A brief exoplanation from a building compliance expert, with further links.
Overheating guidance and tools for building designers
Guidance for dealing with element of building fabric control that have increasing importance.
Shading for housing, a design guide
From the Good Homes Alliance and British Blind and Shutter Association.
UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC)
A shared framework for describing skills needs.
Social media ban consultation comes to close
CIOB urges UK Government to consider social media’s role in careers guidance in ban debate.
The latest of eight Skills England apprenticeship units
The addition of battery manufacturing welcomed by ECA with a warning about the risks of fast-tracked apprenticeship units.
Building Control Independent Panel final report
A precis of a key report led by Dame Hackitt with full recommendations and link to the government response.
Building Safety recap April, 2026
A short and longer run-through of the month, with links to further information and sources.
CIAT May 2026 briefing.
From medieval scribes to modern word art.
ECA welcomes crackdown on late payment and push for clean energy, whilst CIOB seek fixed cladding removal timeframes.
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: A CIOB Academy TIS.
Managing competence in the built environment
ITFG publishes new industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles.
The UK's campaign to reduce noise pollution: Mythbusting, articles and topic guides.
Comments
Just FYI, adobe is not a Spanish word. It comes from Arabic and was incorporated into the Spanish language.