Episode Details

What does it look like when Building Biology, building science, and natural building are integrated from the beginning of an ambitious, health-focused project in the American Southwest?

In this episode, guest host Zara D’Cotta sits down with Ray Clamons, architectural designer, natural builder, licensed general contractor, certified Passive House consultant, and founder of Natural Building Works in Tucson, Arizona. Zara first met Ray on site at the Dancing Raven project last year and returned for blower door test day, and the conversation they have here is rich with the kind of real-world detail that only comes from someone who has actually built the thing.

Dancing Raven is the vision and deeply personal project of Amelie, a French Canadian woman who spent ten years navigating mold illness before deciding to build the healthiest home she could possibly create in the Sonoran Desert.

Ray explains how the project team came together around Amélie’s brief and how rammed earth, straw bale, natural plasters, moisture-aware detailing, airtightness and mechanical ventilation were brought together within a climate that moves between extreme dry heat and monsoon-season humidity.

Zara and Ray explore the project’s blower-door testing, post-construction monitoring and what the data is beginning to reveal about the performance of the rammed-earth and straw-bale areas. They also discuss VOCs, ventilation, caulking, installation sequencing, and the necessary collaboration between designers, builders, and trades.

This is a conversation about pursuing an ambitious healthier-building vision while working through real-world sequencing, material and construction challenges. For anyone building new, working with natural materials, or seeking to understand how Building Biology and building science translate into decisions on site, Dancing Raven offers an exceptional case study.

THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• How To BUILD A RAMMED EARTH WALL: Sustainable & STRONG: https://youtu.be/VA-9d9_OhLk
• How To Get Started With Rammed Earth Building: https://youtu.be/3RyHy1bNJuU
• Dancing Raven project Instagram: @elated_raven
• Intello Plus air barrier by ProClima: https://proclima.com/products/internal-sealing/intello-plus
• Passive house principles applied in hot arid desert climate: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/16/14/2753
• Eliminate, ventilate, respirate framework for healthy indoor air: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123024014129
• Zara’s Healthy Building Materials Mastermind: https://www.thehealthyhome.com.au/healthy-building-materials-mastermind
• Ashley’s Conscious Construction Container: https://courses.awakeningspaces.com/ccc

CONNECT WITH ZARA
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Zara D'Cotta is a Building Biology New Build Consultant, Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist, and founder of The Healthy Home. After navigating two cancer diagnoses and years of environmental illness across multiple water-damaged homes, Zara made it her mission to bridge cutting-edge research and real-world building practice. She holds both the BBNC and EMRS certifications, placing her in a small group of building biologists globally qualified to integrate EMF awareness with