This video shows how a straw bale house in Thailand might be built. There are a number of unique aspects that are different from the standard approach in the Western world, so things can be learned that might be useful. I didn’t notice anything that would raise a red flag in my mind. You can … Read more
This article shows how traditional materials, such as tiles, rocks, bamboo, wooden sticks, timber, rammed earth and bricks are being used in current architecture in China. The Qingxiao Residence uses green tiles, rammed earth, masonry blocks, bamboo, old stone slabs, old rubble, and terrazzo recycled from demolished villages. Not only were the traditional building materials … Read more
Professor Janis Birkeland is an honorary professor at the University of Melbourne who has taught sustainable planning and architecture at several universities. Previously, she worked as a planner, architect, and lawyer in San Francisco to gain insights into the impediments to sustainability. The following are her thoughts about green buildings and the rating systems that … Read more
German architect Anna Heringer is very fond of rammed earth and its potential to replace the ubiquitous use of concrete. She feels that it can help reduce the dominance of lobbies and preserve and enrich local know-how, and thus transform construction into a tool for reducing inequalities. The Anandaloy Building, a center for people with … Read more
At Cornerstone Housing on the outskirts of Leeds is a six bedroom house that is part of a co-operative where the participants have been able to buy the house and then rent it at an affordable price back to themselves as tenants. Nearby, Chapeltown Cohousing plans to build build an eco-community of up to 30 … Read more
With walls made from old tires packed with earth, as well as upcycled glass bottles and cans, Earthships have always been built with mainly found materials. The home provides its own energy (with photovoltaics, passive solar and geothermal tubes), water (rainwater and even dew-water capture) and grows food in the greenhouse (necessary for temperature regulation … Read more