Teo Briseño in Southern California is an artist with many natural materials as his pallet. You can see the range of his work on his website: Brisenoarts.org
One of his most recent works is this dome made with natural stone and wood. The locally harvested wood was cured for 2.5 years. Thin shell dome is constructed of 1”-thick cement over Basalt rebar and mesh without metal, so it will not rust, corrode or block natural bio magnetics between the Earth and ourselves.
Planters sculpted into the wall include drip irrigation and recycled water is used to flush toilet. Carbon sequestering natural lime gives a bacteria resistant finish. The shower is of the finest natural lime plaster, giving a smooth, burnished, monolithic finish called Tadelakt that sheds water as ancient Moroccan bath houses do.
The oculus lets in a superb amount of light and is covered, so it can be enjoyed year-round. The dome has hosted films, lectures, dancing, yoga, and a wedding. The first sandbag dome at CalEarth was built using 60 lb rice bags filled with pure earth. The material was untamped and unstabilized, and each bag was individually sewn shut. Nader Khalili used to tell a famous story about how one day a group of fire fighters drove by and wondered what was happening so he invited them in to see his work. After a conversation with the fire fighters about their use of sandbags for flood control, Khalili realized his builders had been laboring intensely to fill the bags then lift them in place whereas the firefighters place them, THEN fill them! From this moment forward Khalili began teaching the “coffee can technique” which allows the bags to be filled in place one coffee can at a time, making it simpler for any one to build their own home.