KIVA PROCESS
The phase changes of fire and water constitute the elemental energies that have enhanced the evolution of life force since time immemorial. Fires and floods are the gifts of creation. But they are feared by urban dwellers and suburbanites who have only experienced their destructive powers. Kiva builders summon their energy, work harmoniously with them, and treat them as allies.
Kiva architecture utilizes local resources and nature’s processes instead of a predetermined plan that depends upon imported materials and industrial techniques. Kiva is served by the very powers it honors. A fire pit marks its core and initiates the process of excavation. Water softens and sifts the earth. Stone and vegetation provide the structure. Topography and geology determine the shape. Solar access and climate establish the orientation.
In enacting kiva process, each period of activity is preceded by a period of observation. Observations are essential for gaining familiarity with the site and determining successive courses of action. Thus, exploration and planning develop a partnership that is ongoing and evolutionary.
Kiva process begins by determining a site for your edifice. This decision is based on the information you have gathered by observing slope, orientation, wind patterns, rock formations, exposure to sunlight, neighbors, and access. Next, dig a circular hole in the earth in the approximate center of your chosen site. Observe this hole. Observe the earth you have displaced in the process. Observe the responses of the elements to your transformation of the topography. Note the changing shadow patterns, the distribution of moisture, the critters, textures, smells, and so forth. Then fill the hole with water, thereby initiating another period of observation. Focus on the inevitable receding of the water. Evaporation into the atmosphere proceeds at a rate determined by temperature, wind, and humidity. Percolation into the substrate progresses at a rate determined by crevices in the bedrock and the porosity of the soil. Information about the soil is gained by monitoring the residues that remain in the bottom of the hole after the water has disappeared. They may be sand, or pebbles, or clay, or organic matter. The nature of the earth is further revealed by observing the textures and shape of the walls that were altered by the earth washing out between the pebbles. Water and observation are essential tools for kiva process.
Fire is another valuable implement of kiva. The heat of the fire serves by splitting stone and loosening roots to aid the digging process, by hardening the earth to make it strong and supportive, and by offering light and warmth.
The oscillation between water and fire loosens the matter that will constitute the building material. As this material is removed from the hole, it is laid upon the outer lip of the hole to form its walls. Stones that are excavated contribute strength and substance to the kiva’s developing berm. When all the loosened material has been used up, more building material is produced by creating new fires wherever the earth is resistant and by refilling the hole with water by washing down the walls. But water and fire perform double duty. They not only loosen the material, they also function to solidify it. When the wet earth is compacted and heated, it hardens like a clay pot. Transportation of these construction materials is measured in human footsteps, not 16 wheeler miles. There is always just enough. There is never any waste because the hole descends as the walls ascend in perfect one/to/one ratios. Of necessity, the work proceeds according to inherent time tables set by percolation and evaporation, two processes that don’t abide by eight hour work days.