Private Sonoran Desert Home - 2025

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A private home in Cave Creek, AZ. Designed with beautiful, curved entry walls with cantilevered ends. 

Architect - Shelby Wilson

The Univision Arizona Studio project (KTVW-DT at 6006 S 30th St, Phoenix, AZ) highlights our expertise in specialized commercial construction for broadcast facilities. Completed in 2001, this approximately 39,414-square-foot, single-story building was purpose-built as a modern television studio and operations center for Univision's Phoenix market, serving as the hub for Arizona's premier Spanish-language television station. Designed with the functional demands of live production in mind—including sound-isolated studios, control rooms, editing suites, and administrative spaces—the facility incorporates efficient layouts for high-volume broadcasting and community engagement. Built by Chanen Construction and recognized for its award-winning design, the project demonstrates our ability to deliver durable, high-performance structures tailored to media industry needs while integrating seamlessly into the southern Phoenix landscape. This landmark development supported Univision's growth in the region, enabling expanded programming reach to Arizona's diverse Hispanic community since the station's original 1979 launch. 

Architect - Swaback Partners PLLC 

The Phoenix Zoo Entry Oasis project showcases our expertise in rammed earth construction through the creation of a striking, sustainable entrance for the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation (Phoenix Zoo). Completed in 2013, this redesign features robust rammed earth walls crafted from native Arizona soil, blending seamlessly with the surrounding desert landscape inspired by iconic formations like Camelback Mountain and Hole-in-the-Rock. The mottled, natural variations in color and texture of the earth provide an authentic, timeless aesthetic that synthetic materials cannot replicate, while alternating solid and perforated roof panels offer essential shade without blocking the expansive Arizona skies. By separating ticket sales from entry processing and expanding queuing areas across approximately 6,000 square feet of structures on 1.5 acres, the project dramatically improved visitor flow for the zoo's 1.6 million annual guests—eliminating long lines and enhancing the overall experience. This landmark initiative marked our pioneering use of rammed earth in a high-profile public setting, demonstrating its durability, thermal mass benefits, and harmony with the environment in one of Phoenix's most beloved attractions.

Architect - 

Built in 1998, the Thompson Peak Parkway sound barrier wall began as an 18-inch thick 8-foot-tall sound barrier wall, but the highway had to be raised 4 feet, so it turned into a 2000 ton retaining sound barrier wall with a base of 4 feet thick and 12-feet-tall. We set and filled approximately 100 feet of wall a day to the 4-foot level. The project took just over 2 months. 

Architect - City of Scottsdale

The Holy Trinity Monastery Chapel project marks one of Quinten Branch's earliest endeavors in rammed earth construction, laying the foundation for his lifelong craft and deep expertise in sustainable earth building. The Chapel, initially completed in 1974, now stands at the heart of the larger Holy Trinity Monastery complex (as part of the cloisters designed 1993–1995 by Vint & Associates Architects), this serene sacred space features thick reinforced adobe (rammed earth) walls crafted from local Arizona soil, delivering exceptional thermal mass that naturally regulates interior temperatures—keeping the chapel cool in summer without mechanical cooling by drawing and circulating air from the adjacent lake. Working under general contractor Tom Schmidt of Schmidt Builders, Quinten gained hands-on experience pioneering these techniques on a high-profile religious build, honing skills that would evolve over decades into masterful, award-winning projects. The simple, elegant design prioritizes natural light, quiet contemplation, and seamless harmony with the 132-acre landscape near St. David, Arizona, offering lake views and distant mountains for profound tranquility. As a cornerstone of the Benedictine (Olivetan tradition) monastery complex—now the Holy Trinity Monastery Center—this chapel endures as a testament to rammed earth's durability, eco-friendly advantages, and timeless beauty in retreat and spiritual environments, reflecting the early roots of Quinten's enduring commitment to earth-based architecture. 

Fun fact - the entire chapel was designed and built as a parallel disaster shelter for local and nearby residence. 

General Contractor & Designer - Tom Schmidt