I have just finished another piece of wood sculpture (see this post, or this one, or this one for some of my other works). This one is titled The Tipping Point and shows our Earth home precariously balanced on the tip of one finger. It is a metaphor for how the future of our species … Read more
This is a lovely video showing some wonderful cob creations and interviewing folks who know how to do it and how significant building naturally really is. You can watch it at www.youtube.com
This 18th century barn near Fairfield, Connecticut was converted into a 10-room residence in 1982, 200 years after it was first built. The property had a large red barn with two horse stalls, two hay lofts, and a stove to dry the onions that were grown in local fields. It also had two sliding barn … Read more
While this is far from being an example of natural building, it does demonstrate an interesting concept for habitat that automatically responds to weather. Professor Weiguo Xu of Tsinghua University and his team have built a tourist reception center in China that opens and closes in response to the weather.The structure is used as an … Read more
In an effort to preserve an ancient building technique, Vista Grande High School in Taos, New Mexico is working toward adobe certifications for students interested in learning this original Southwest building style. Shop teacher Keaton Karvas (at left in the above photo) is engaging the students in his class with the finer points of adobe … Read more
I have been familiar with biochar as mainly an agricultural soil amendment that helps provide habitat for beneficial microbes and sequesters carbon in the ground. It hadn’t occurred to me that it could also be used as a building material, until a reader suggested that I check out this article at www.biochar-journal.org Biochar is a … Read more