Steve Demarest took advantage of the huge boulders covering his land in the Cascade Mountains to build a home that is part cave and part megalith dwelling. The location was originally a cave where his children played, but when they outgrew it, he moved in with his tools and began to craft the rock into … Read more
Over a decade ago there was an active Natural Building Network that maintained a website with a membership directory where natural builders could find each other and communicate. There was a board of directors that coordinated the organization as a non profit membership association promoting natural building principles, materials and practitioners worldwide. They supported ecological … Read more
Chinmay Pareek of Brzee Studio in India just sent me some construction photos of his current projects. These are in Rajasthan: These from Uttarakhand: You can see more of the work of Brzee Studio on these posts: Brzee Studio Earthbag Farmhouse Precise Earthbag Building in Urban India Earthbags in Urban India Update
The walls in Gregory Ferembach’s public housing building are lined with one of nature’s best insulation materials: hemp. “We’re never cold in winter,” Ferembach said in French. “The kids walk around barefoot all the time, or even in their underwear.” It helps that their apartment is on a middle floor, and their building is sandwiched … Read more
The Stoltz Bluff Eco-Retreat is a monolithic cob house that’s completely off-grid. It has a 1-kilowatt solar power system and a backup generator for electricity, a propane radiant in-floor heating system and a Rumford fireplace for heat, and a constructed wetland for natural wastewater treatment. Many cob homes are built with a timber frame structure, … Read more
The ‘The Hill’ in Middleton Springs, Vermont is fantasy architecture on 12 lovely green acres. This unique 1100 sq. ft. home was a design/build project completed in 2018. This earth-sheltered, Hobbit-like home is filled with antiques and special touches that will transport you away. It combines old-world charm with modern conveniences. The cottage has a … Read more