Proposal Design for Arts Village at Abetenim, Ghana

This architecture competition entry is from the Nka Foundation website. The design is by architects Gediminas Ratavicius and Raimundus Zidonis, and students Margarita Pantelejeva and Brigita from Lithuania. “According to one of the most appealing goals of Open ARchiTecture Challege, we have made an attempt to integrate art to architecture so that new built structures … Read more

Nka Foundation ARchiTecture Challenge

This post was submitted by Japanese architect Kikuma Watanabe, who’s engaged in one of the Main Jury’s at the Ecovillage project in Ghana. The text below is from the Nka Foundation website. “Nka Foundation is pleased to announce the results for the Ghana: 2011 Open ARchiTecture Challenge. Entries were received from over 30 countries. The … Read more

Akio Inoue Dome Photos

Professor Akio Inoue in Japan is one of the most experienced earthbag dome builders in the world. I just learned he has retired from Tenri University. Thank you sir for all your great work and for inspiring the next generation of builders. For more information: The Earthbag Domes of Professor Akio Inoue

Spiral Dome Magic 1 and 2

I’ve recently completed two new house plans. There’s nothing else like them that I’ve seen. They combine spirals and domes — the Peace Dome and Spiral Houses, which are also available separately. There are two versions available – one bedroom and two bedroom designs. The combination of shapes creates a very exciting organic design. More … Read more

Rubble Bag Houses

I’ve pulled together the recent posts on rubble bag houses, expanded and edited the info, and published a new blog post at Mother Earth News. It includes details on how to build and reinforce rubble walls. Concrete rubble from collapsed buildings is a huge problem in Haiti. It is blocking roads and hindering reconstruction. Instead … Read more

Kay Hybrid

Like many other designers, architects and engineers who are working to help rebuild Haiti, we’re constantly trying to create new house designs and improve previous efforts. This new hybrid design for Haiti is based on our Transitional L Kay design. The Kay is the most common house style in their country. Both versions provide immediate … Read more