Colombian company Conceptos Plásticos saw two pressing issues in the world and decided to tackle both with recycled building materials. One issue is the housing crisis, prevalent in Latin America where 80 percent of the population now resides in urban areas. The second is the overwhelming amount of plastic crowding landfills. To combat these issues, Conceptos Plásticos recycles plastic into LEGO-like building blocks that families can use to easily construct their own homes.
Owen Geiger
Family Flourishing on an Urban 1/4 acre Permaculture Plot
Creatures of Place is an insight into the wonderful world of Artist as Family: Meg Ulman, Patrick Jones, and their youngest son, Woody. Living on an urban 1/4 acre section in a small Australian town, Meg and Patrick have designed their property using permaculture principals. They grow most of their own food, don’t own cars and ride their bikes instead, use very little electricity, and forage food and materials from their local forest. We found their story super inspiring and we think you will too!
Organica Straw Bale House
We are a group of craftsmen enthusiastic about natural materials. Our goal is to use local resources to build healthy housing. We revive traditional building crafts and combine them with modern knowledge of natural construction. We can build a new building and renovate an old house.
The Greenest Building is the One Already Built
I have had some recent email communication with a reader who writes, “My wife and I are nurturing an Academy of Building Conservation, following research by Donovan Rykema that the greenest building is the one already built because of the embodied energy of materials and past investment. We have an embarrassment of riches which I think of as the blessing and the curse; a blessing because of magnificent historic context, and a curse because the sheer number of sites overwhelms available resources. One example is Woodburne Mansion which is crumbling because the County says they lack the resources to stop the leaks.“
I responded by writing, “I agree with you that the greenist building is an old one that has been restored. I live in an old adobe home that I have fixed up. My father, nearly single-handedly restored this building: http://mormonhistoricsites. org/oneida-stake-academy/ . It is painful to see beautiful old buildings crumble to the ground.”
Earthbag Canteen Project in Kathmandu, Nepal
Yesterday we got a comment by an earthbag builder who was harassed and given the ‘run-around’ by building code officials while building his earthbag home. Here’s part of my response to what Phil had to endure.
Family of 5’s Modern Tiny House Packed With Clever Design Ideas
Francois and Sarah-lee live in a stunning, modern tiny house together with their 3 children. At only 21 m2 (226 ft2) fitting a family of 5 into the home was no easy task. Thankfully, Francois, a tiny house designer and builder was up to the challenge!