I am a big fan of masonry heaters. For additional heat during the cold season using wood as a fuel, these are extraordinarily efficient and produce almost no emissions, with minimal effort. Plus they can be used for cooking, like this beehive dome masonry heater. You can find out much about this heater and how … Read more
An Australian biotechnology company known as Mirreco has recently shared its plans to 3D print hemp homes. They have developed a way to produce hemp panels which can be used in both residential and commercial building projects. They say that these 3D printed panels are structurally sound, easy to produce, and provide superior thermal performance. … Read more
On a rural farm near Bear Lake, Michigan, builder Thomas Hirsch and architectural designer Ellis Wills Begley are embracing sustainable methods by incorporating materials like straw-clay insulation, black locust wood, and foamed glass aggregate. The studio they are building is in a circular form because round shapes are inherently natural and create a sense of … Read more
Kelley Lowe is a passionate environmentalist. Her interest in creating a sustainable future for material culture drew her to the work of Re:Purpose Savannah, where she is helping to build a regional market for reclaimed lumber. Learn more about why she is an ardent supporter of deconstruction and recycled building materials, and why this practice … Read more
For thousands of years survival in Norway’s countryside, where farms were miles from each other, meant complete self-sufficiency. Farmsteads were like small villages with several families living together and building their homes from logs and turf. At Oslo’s Norwegian Folk Museum, entire farmsteads have been transplanted log-by-log by master carpenters who use traditional joinery techniques … Read more
Cempedak is an island hotel built in Indonesia entirely of bamboo, recycled teak and rubber wood and topped with grass-thatched roofs. There are no walls, not even in the second-floor bedroom and shower, in order to catch the sea breezes and be lulled to sleep by the lapping sea. The architects converted the conceptual drawings … Read more