Hal Hinkle Embraces Bamboo for Building

At fifty-one, Hal Hinkle was winding down a successful career on Wall Street and he was trying to figure out how to spend his retirement. He owned some property in Oregon, and launching an initiative to reforest the area seemed like a great way to reduce America’s carbon footprint. He recruited volunteers and sponsors for … Read more

Earth House in Gujarat, India is Net Zero in Energy

This well ventilated home with plenty of natural light in Gujarat, India has three bedrooms and a pool. The layout is a simple one, divided in two blocks, one with all living areas and the other with bedroom spaces for a family of four. Between the two sit the leisure components of the pool and … Read more

The Build-a-thon and Symposium at City of the Sun

My friend B Sitkin recently uploaded this video he and his wife made many years ago at City of the Sun in Southern New Mexico. It documents many of the key events at the Build-a-thon and Symposium and features a number of my friends and fellow builders from that time. This event followed on the … Read more

Colorado Earth Builds with Compressed Earth Blocks

Colorado Earth was founded by engineer and architectural designer Lisa Morey. After moving to New Zealand in 1999 to study architecture, Lisa was inspired to begin creating homes out of mud bricks. She met and began working with a local architect who was building homes this way. During her time in New Zealand she co-authored … Read more

Test Hempcrete and Seaweed Building in Iceland

Iceland’s first building made from hempcrete was designed by Lúdika Architects and was funded by several grants. Given the size and height limitations of this BioBuilding project,  Lúdika drew inspiration from the philosophy of Japanese tea houses, which emphasize craftsmanship, are often made of natural materials, and are very small. It is only 15 square … Read more