Running from July 1–4th permies.com is offering a Permaculture Adventure Bundle to help with your sustainable journey. For $35 you can get over $600 worth of merchandise, including Owen Geiger’s Roundhouse Studio Plan (and his Earthbag Building Guide ebook), which is worth $150 in its own right. This comprehensive package of e-books, movies, plans, presentations, … Read more
When Dan Price returned to his home state of Oregon in 1990 he was determined to avoid mortgages or rent (he and his family had just finished care taking a mansion with a heating bill of $500/month). He found an unused meadow in Joseph, Oregon, and began renting it from his neighbors for $100/year (in … Read more
Stuart Absalom and Philip Mawer’s home in Australia has wonderful views in every direction. The living area faces north, while the two bedrooms and bathrooms face south. The house follows the principles of passive solar in that region, including its northerly aspect, thermal mass through masonry walls, and windows thoughtfully placed for ventilation and cooling. … Read more
CobBauge House in the UK, designed by Hudson Architects, is the first code-compliant form of cob building, making an ancient building technique fit 21st century requirements. It combines hemp and mud in a unique way. Traditional cob walls would have to be more than one meter thick in order to comply with contemporary building regulations. … Read more
Tono Mirai Architects of Japan completed Tioletowa in Miyoshi City as an example of recycled, regenerative architecture. The main idea behind the toilet project is the circle of life: ‘Everything comes from the earth and eventually returns to it.’ The rammed-earth building embodies this philosophy through its use of recycled materials and its wastewater treatment … Read more
The first step to cutting construction costs is “affordability by design,” which means ensuring the basic blueprint of a building is optimized to minimize costs from the outset. Biologist Carl Bergmann noticed that larger animals tended to live in colder climates, where their size helps them retain heat more efficiently. This observation suggests that larger … Read more