Tucked outside of Sanmenxia City in China’s Henan Province is a 4,000-year-old Chinese town nicknamed the “mole town.” More than 3,000 people live in underground dwellings known as yaodongs (or “house caves”). They’ve only recently become accessible to tourists looking to experience them firsthand. The yaodongs originated during the Bronze Age—a period when it was … Read more
Austin Maynard, the Australian architects who designed this St Andrews Beach House say that, “Beach houses exist for simple relaxation, an escape from the city, for quietude and downtime with family and friends. It should provide contrast from day-to-day normality, be super low maintenance, relatively self-sustaining and basic, but not without simple creature comforts.” This … Read more
Sometimes you can get some good ideas and have fun browsing through listings of houses for sale. Here are a bunch of isolated rural properties that might be worth a second look, available through Zillow on-line real estate.
If you ever travel near Kinstone outside of Fountain City, Wisconsin it is worth a stop to visit this marvelous site. Kinstone is a 30-acre haven of peaceful beauty filled with stone sculpture, natural buildings, restored native prairie, oak savanna and spectacular views over the Mississippi River. This modern megalithic site with its three stone … Read more
In Detroit colorful little homes are intended to help solve desperate urban problems. “Every single house is different on purpose,” said the Rev. Faith Fowler, the executive director of Cass Community Social Services, a nonprofit group that is building the two dozen tiny homes. Low-income adults, including people formerly homeless or incarcerated, are moving into … Read more
Kateryna Zemskova from Good Earth Global wrote me, saying, “In Nepal we have an on-going Earthbag Building project: Houses for Widows. In Nomabhuda village, Kavre District we are building Earthbag homes for widows, single women and their children. All were displaced by the 2015 earthquake, and many now live in tin shacks. We work in … Read more