In January 1973, when Fred Black was a first semester student at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture, the overwhelming sentiment in academia was that we had an environmental emergency in progress. Humankind had been burning fossil fuels at an alarming rate since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and there was hard, … Read more
In 1996, Raghava inherited a coconut plantation from his grandfather. Unlike his ancestors who had practiced agriculture for seven generations, Raghava, then an undergraduate, had no connection with the soil. “I grew up on a healthy diet of inspiring stories of local and international entrepreneurs. This was one of the reasons that motivated me to … Read more
A week long straw bale workshop near Ann Arbor, Michigan had 43 participants. “Building a straw bale home isn’t much different than a conventional home,” said Andrew Morrison, who created the workshop. “It uses regular foundations and floor frames, with posts and beams, and from there, workers stuff straw bales into the walls instead of … Read more
Elliston, a tiny town in Newfoundland, Canada’s most eastern province, was traditionally a fishing community. Cod was king, until in 1992, the Canadian government imposed a cod fishing moratorium. Overnight, thousands of livelihoods were wiped out. Many locals left for work in other provinces. Some enterprising residents decided to put some of the legendary Newfoundland … Read more
The pavilion at the Luum Zamá development in Tulum, Mexico, will host a variety of programs, such as yoga, meditations, workshops and other community gatherings. The open-air structure was created by CO-LAB Design Studio with bamboo chosen for its sustainability credentials as well as its ability to resist hurricane forces. “Due to the carbon bamboo sequesters … Read more
In 2016, at the peak of his career in the Silicon Valley, San Francisco-based Vivek Shah decided to quit his job and return to India with his wife Brinda. “Living in San Francisco made us a lot more aware of our surroundings. Being full-time professionals ourselves, we started realising how our lifestyle was fluctuating toward … Read more