Resume

Born in Germany, Joaquin Karcher graduated in 1988 with a master’s degree in Architecture from the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg Germany.

While studying he had specialized in earth architecture and traveled to the Middle East to study their extensive and highly developed adobe skills. In Germany he worked with several architectural firms on environmental design projects, gained experience in renovating 400 year old post and beam renaissance houses and worked briefly with the renowned French group Cra Terre (Construction d’ Architecture de Terre).

He participated in an international art and architecture exhibit in Hamburg where he built and then fired an underground Kiva and turned it into a ceramic dwelling.

In 1991 he came to the US and worked with the Navajo tribe on a master plan for urban housing and economic development for a community near Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. After having a contracting business for many years he founded the architectural design firm ONE EARTH DESIGN with office in Taos specializing on green built custom homes and clustered developments. With 20 years of real Green Building history, European training, and international experience, he is now one of the most experienced green architectural designers and Compressed Earth Block builders. As such he has been elected to the board of the US Green Building Council in New Mexico, is founding member of The Earth Builder’s Guild (TEG) and co-author of the new  IBC-Code (International Building Code) for Adobe, Compressed Earth Block and Rammed Earth which has been adopted by the State of new Mexico.His work is featured in both national and international publications.