The Strawbale Cottage Building this little structure was our project for the first summer on the land. We got it finished just in time for snowy weather.  It has endured and enjoyed much experimenting with different earth plasters. It has passive solar design features such as appropriately sized southern windows, insulated window coverings, thermal mass in the form of stored water to regulate indoor temperatures, and of course plenty of insulation. The roof is supported by a post and beam structure and the ceiling is insulated with straw and sawdust. The strawbale walls were erected in a weekend with the help of several friends. The inside and outside of the strawbales have been covered with a mud plaster. The interior of the strawbale is 170 square feet.  The interior has many personal touches which have creatively come into being and will continue to, as it becomes 'finished' over the years and with the different hands that care for it. Amanda and Andy lived in this house for 4 years while working on the 'Mothership'.   Now we rent it out to people who want to be a part of our little learning community.

The Yurt

We purchased this from a disreputable company and getting a semi-functional product was like a migraine for over two years. Thankfully it's finally a decent structure. The wind doesn't blow in and all forms of precipitation are now kept outside. We recently constructed a functional skylight, just in time for the historic snowfall in this picture. Now we use it for sleeping quarters for interns and volunteers in the summer, as a library, and storage space.   While yurts are somewhat popular for off-grid locations, they require a fairly constant heat input in the winter to keep them warm.  We prefer structures with more thermal mass and insulation that don't require active heating systems as much.  The yurt is basically a tent, but a little better insulated.  But not much better.

The Shell This is our summer kitchen and living room. It is equipped with running water, a propane stove, and kitchen cabinets that were picked up off the curb in Santa Fe. We used mostly salvaged lumber for this project, just as we did for the strawbale. The Shell was an excercise in timber framing techniques. One post is from a dead pinon tree from the property, and one is a large piece of driftwood which flowed down to us during a flood event. The view can't be beat, as far as living rooms go. Many an hour has passed under this shelter in the beanbag chair contemplating the curves of sandstone and sky.

The Guest House
	Several dedicated Ampersand family members have devoted time and money to make this structure possible. It's the second little strawbale on our land, and is still in process. Knowing these folks, the finished product is going to be quite stylie. The construction consists of framed walls supporting the roof, a south facing sliding door, and other passive solar considerations.

The Mothership

This is the largest building at Ampersand, around 1400 square feet, which includes a small attached greenhouse.  It is a hybrid structure of rammed earth, strawbale, and salvage post and beam construction for the south side with the greenhouse.  The main floor is a poured earth floor finished with linseed oil and beeswax.  The interior finish plasters are all earth, as well as the exterior plasters.  We are quite proud of the passive solar aspect of this building.  The structure is earth bermed, using the stable temperature of the earth for keeping us comfortable.  The pantry is built into the northern wall, mostly underground, and keeps wonderful root cellar temperatures during the winter months. The bathroom is along the south side, housing a solar water heating system. The sunken attached greenhouse makes use of greywater from the kitchen and bathroom, and acts as a solar heater as well as a food garden. There is a small wood stove in the house for additional heat during winter storms, but it hasn't seen much use.  Amanda and Andy live in this house and use it to host workshops and other events as well.