The Oceanspray Townhomes project in Ashland, Oregon was organized by the California Straw Bale Association (CASBA). This project is the first multi-story, multi-family straw bale construction in the United States. Designed by Arkin Tilt Architects and Verdant Structural Engineers, Oceanspray Townhomes aims to be a model for using low-carbon and carbon-storing materials, passive solar design, … Read more
The Jalmanjar Farmhouse in India aims to optimize climatic efficiency through passive and active strategies suited to the region’s hot and dry conditions. The key design elements, including the orientation, spatial configuration, material selection and windcatchers, work in coordination to enhance thermal comfort while minimizing energy consumption. The farmhouse features a perforated gable-end wall made … Read more
Colombo-Colonial architecture in Columbia is a style characterized by rammed earth walls, stone masonry, and tile roofs. Architect Alejandro Saldarriaga recently designed a country home where “The closest airport is a three-hour drive,” he says. The 2,600-square-foot home reinterprets the Colombo-Colonial vernacular, but he was challenged to work with a sloping site with extreme topography. … Read more
The cold desert region of Ladakh, India is characterized by harsh winters, minimal rainfall, and sparse vegetation. The residents have been forced to adapt to the environment, optimizing the limited available resources for sustenance. At an altitude of 3,500 meters (11,500 ft.) and over 300 sunny days per year, it is well positioned for passive … Read more
This video shows a DIY tiny house built using natural, reclaimed materials in France. It’s packed full of storage and multi functional design ideas and all for a budget of US$20,000. This is an example of a tiny home that cuts to the very core of the tiny house movement. It’s grass-roots, do-it-yourself driven with … Read more
Barbara Jones is a passionate advocate of building with natural materials and has been a leading exponent of straw-bale construction since the mid-1990s – designing affordable, straw-bale houses. She has designed, built, or trained people to work on more than 300 projects using the material. She co-founded The School of Natural Building and trains a … Read more