Mark Young has been living a self-sufficient lifestyle on a remote off-grid island in British Columbia for the past 21 years. He has built 9 experimental buildings on his 20-acre property using local and natural materials like wood, stone and cob, including: a cabin for himself, utility buildings for his solar power systems, a sauna … Read more
This project was commissioned by a Waldorf school in Nairobi. The buildings needed to be constructed quickly, cost-effectively (achieving a cost of $250/m² or $23/sf), and with a temporary lifespan, as the plot lease was set to expire in 10 years. The concept was to create a small village for children nestled within the woods, … Read more
The Great Mosque of Djenné, located in Mali, exists thanks to a delicate balance between mass, geometry and continuous human intervention. Rebuilt in its current form in 1907 on older foundations, the mosque occupies a roughly square floor plan, approximately 75 meters (246 ft.) on each side, forming a compact volume that dominates the flat … Read more
In 2021, Mathieu Munsch walked away from the “normal” script— rent, bills, loans, a regular job— and headed for a sloping meadow in northeast France to build something radically simple: a small home made from the earth under his feet, wood from nearby, and straw bales from local farmers. He kept it to 50 m² … Read more
Located in Eastern Ghana, Barnwood is a residential project by Symbolic Spaces. The development consists of clay-pigmented, monolithic villas emerging from the red earth landscape characteristic of the area. The studio has explored climate-responsive strategies for this region. This construction tries to promote economic efficiency, while using color and surface texture as integral components. The … Read more
An 18-day outdoor annual cultural event that combines film, music, folk traditions, and contemporary art takes place in Guangdong Province, China. For this event a temporary coastal space was created capable of accommodating multiple programs, including a theater, stage, exhibition area, and public garden. The design team utilized a long-standing local construction method based on … Read more