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Articles

Read what magazines are writing about Soledad Canyon Earth Builders, their clients and their homes.


 Energy Efficient and Delightfully Detailed

Soledad Canyon Earth Builders is known for environmentally friendly houses, but when it comes to unique designs and custom details, one of their latest homes in the Talavera Subdivision captures the best of both worlds.

The energy efficient 3,085 sq.-ft., three bedroom, two and a half bathroom home is a rammed earth masterpiece. The exterior 18-inch rammed earth walls create a home that provides a sense of security that is felt upon walking into the home.

“The walls have the excellent thermal mass qualities of an earth wall plus the thermal resistance of the foam board, which is attached to the exterior,” Pat Bellestri-Martinez, owner of Soledad Canyon and licensed contractor says. read more…


Continuing the Earth Builders Dream

After using rammed earth to construct their home, Mario Bellestri and Pat Bellestri-Martinez fell in love with the green product so much that they decided in 1985 to open their own construction company, Soledad Canyon Earth Builders.

“We had just married and we had learned about rammed earth,” Bellestri-Martinez said. “We fell in love with it. The walls start at 18 inches thick so the home space gives a feeling of security and strength. It also controls the interior of the home, making it very energy-efficient.” read more…


Numerous Challenges Of An In-fill Lot

For years, the lot on the corner of Armijo Street and Court Avenue remained untouched, becoming one of the only vacant lots in the historic Alameda-Depot District. Like a blank canvas waiting to be painted, the property sat in limbo as its surroundings changed. Bought by William and Kathryn Stowe in the 1970s, it was their son Bill Stowe and his wife Jeannie who would finally alter the in-fill lot. With the help of Soledad Canyon Earth Builders, Bill and Jeannie Stowe constructed one of the most energy-efficient homes the historic neighborhood has seen to date. read more…


Environmentally Sensitive Construction

Those who spent their weekend touring the Las Cruces Home Builders Association Spring Showcase of Homes might have visited a unique home built by Mario and Pat Bellestri, owners of Soledad Canyon Earth Builders.

While 4311 Isleta may look like an ordinary house, this rammed-earth home is very much in a category all its own. According to Mario Bellestri, this is the first home in New Mexico to incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. read more… 


The Rammed Earth Cult

Take one ancient, environmentally friendly building technique, mix it with modern technology and some good old-fashioned customer service and you get Soledad Canyon Builders, a custom-home business owned by Pat and Mario Bellestri of Las Cruces.

“We end up being real close to our clients,” Mario Bellestri said. “It’s almost like we’re married for nine months, then the project’s finished, and we have to split up, but amicably.” read more…


Building A Home On The Range

For Barbara and Irv Ross, having a new home built was as stress-free as a lazy summer afternoon watching quail and roadrunners scurry across their back patio. And their home , 5025 Silver King, fits them and their lifestyle perfectly – even their dogs and cats match the home ’s décor and color scheme of earth tones and sunset hues. read more…


Down on the Ranch

The choice to locate at Lake Valley Ranch and then to build a rammed earth home was a well thought out process for Randy and Anna Gray. Environment, protection of the land, energy efficient green building, and the rammed earth building technique were all priorities in their decision making process. read more…


New Mexico Farm House

Mike and Ruth Hand were on a mission. They were in Kansas and Mike was about to retire. Nothing against Kansas you understand, but there was really nothing there to hold them. They weren’t from Kansas and had no family in Kansas and they were looking to relocate. They wanted a dry climate, a little warmer than the Midwest and close to the mountains. They wanted to live in a university town, not overly large but close to some of the amenities of larger metropolitan areas such as an airport. With all those requirements the list was rather small. read more…


 Building Friends

In writing about Mario and Pat Bellestri the potential subjects are numerous. When you first meet Mario, you might think he was a “Viking Warrior” time-traveling in the 21st Century. It doesn’t take long to find out this is a home builder dedicated to both to his clients and to the Las Cruces Home Builders Association.He follows in the footsteps of other dedicated local building industry leaders who feel it necessary to give back to and protect the industry. One side of consumer protection is to ensure over-regulation does not drive the price of a home beyond the reach of the consumer. read more…


Seeking Alternatives

Pat and Mario Bellestri have always sought an alternative.In fact, when they met in the early 1980s, she was the general manager of a natural foods co-op and he was a food buyer for a natural food warehouse in Tucson.They married in 1983.And true to form, when it came to their home, they sought an alternative to traditional frame and lumber construction. Though Mario had always worked with home remodeling, it wasn’t until they attended a seminar on rammed earth construction that they found what they were looking for.Now their 14 sided, rammed earth home appears like a sculpture pressed against the blue sky of Soledad Canyon in east Las Cruces. read more…


 From Dirt To Home

Pat and Mario Bellestri of Soledad Canyon Earth Builders build a different kind of house. Using a centuries-old rammed earth technique, the Bellestris build homes that are beautifully Southwestern yet environmentally friendly.

“We were building green when everyone else was brown,” Mario Said. read more…


A House Made of Dirt

Rammed earth construction is unusual, even in New Mexico, but it is definitely not a gimmick.

Do you listen to opera in the kitchen? Own a life-size R.C. Gorman? Prefer German shepherds? Mario Bellestri and Pat Bellestri-Martinez will need to know these things if they build you a custom home. Actually, they don’t care whether or not it’s opera, they just want to know if you need the kitchen wired for stereo, a wall reinforced, or a security system built in. read more…


 

             
             

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Soledad Canyon Earth Builders
949 S. Melendres Street
Las Cruces, NM 88005

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