In Mesilla, New Mexico, a group of graduate students traded traditional Spring Break leisure for hard labor under the desert sun — all in the name of historic preservation and climate-conscious building.

Eleven students from the Historic Preservation program participated in a hands-on Adobe Preservation Workshop, where they learned to restore historic adobe homes using sustainable, locally sourced materials. The workshop, held during Spring Break, was led by Debora Barros, a visiting assistant professor in the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment (GCPE), and co-organized with Kurt Gardella, executive director of the nonprofit Adobe in Action.

The site for the immersive experience was Mesilla, a town rich in adobe architecture, where students got their hands dirty mixing lime plaster, applying limewash, and repairing historic walls under the guidance of adobe conservation expert and native Mesillan, Pat Taylor.

“The students benefited from having the tactile experience of making adobe and preparing materials to restore these beautiful historic structures,” said Vicki Weiner, academic director of the Historic Preservation program, who supported the planning of the trip and participated in the workshop.

During the workshop, students applied lime-based finishes to facades of 19th-century homes, restoring both structural integrity and historical appearance. Beyond learning technique, they experienced the deeper environmental and cultural significance of earthen architecture.

Barros emphasized the workshop’s value: “They were solving real problems and helping people. They learned all kinds of things about earthen building technologies and construction, and had the opportunity to apply that knowledge to helping the local community.”

Adobe construction relies on indigenous knowledge and natural materials like earth, straw, and lime, offering a sharp contrast to modern industrial construction, which often depends on carbon-heavy materials like cement. Inappropriate repairs using such materials have worsened deterioration in many adobe structures — a phenomenon students observed firsthand in Mesilla.

The workshop was more than a skill-building exercise; it was a philosophical experience that encouraged students to rethink their relationship with the built environment.

“It’s so important to have these hands-on experiences where students can touch the material and be present with it,” said Barros. “It’s a sensorial experience that provides a reawakening. It’s an invitation to step away from the hyper technological world in which we live and reconnect with nature, self, and each other, building a sense of community within the classroom. By fostering the students’ understanding of earthen building techniques with a global perspective, both philosophically and practically, we work to nurture a generation of critical thinkers in the field, and encourage them to employ these concepts and methods in their own future practices towards modes of production of the built environment that integrally respond to the needs of people and the planet.”

The experience has already influenced future scholarship. Inspired by the trip and Barros' course Indigenous Building Technologies as Climate Solutions, student Kaylee Johnson (Historic Preservation ’25) is now researching the impact of a tax policy on adobe buildings in Marfa, Texas, for her thesis.

With adobe building’s relevance growing amid climate change and interest in sustainable design, this hands-on approach is preparing students not just to preserve the past — but to shape a more sustainable future.

Originally reported by Pratt.