Craig and Connie Cook to sailed into early retirement aboard an Earthship. “We would still be working,” Craig said. “We left at 55 because we have no bills.” A lack of utility bills for their home, coupled with a lack of ongoing maintenance costs, allowed the Cooks to build a home for $70,000, and minimize … Read more
Co-founder of the Natural Building Collective, Peter McIntosh has shared this progress of a building at the Helderberg Nature Reserve in Cape Town, South Africa. This building will be a multi-purpose center for the City of Cape Town and Cape Nature. They have used tires, rammed earth, eco-bricks and natural plasters to build the center. … Read more
This tiny house was originally built to be a canvas-covered bow top wagon but was recently renovated to add insulation in the round walls as well as a metal roof. The woodwork in this home is absolutely stunning, with a custom standing desk, a curved kitchen counter, a sofa that converts to a bed, handmade … Read more
Earl Forlales’ grandparents, like generations of Filipinos, lived in a “Bahay Kubo” — a traditional, boxy, single-story bamboo hut on stilts. “Filipinos have been using bamboo even before colonial times, for thousands of years,” he says. Realizing the Bahay Kubo could be adapted to create a contemporary home, Forlales began designing his own bamboo houses … Read more
Insu-ram is a system of assembling blocks inspired by the cells in the wing covers of certain beetles that allow internal air flow to circulate. Insu-ram both cools and insulates a space from external heat without the use of machinery. The external pattern of the block generates a micro-shading effect that reduces the solar contact … Read more
Kisawa Sanctuary is a new beach resort located on Benguerra Island, off the coast of southern Mozambique. “I wanted the architecture guided by what we saw around us,” says Nina Flohr, referring to the waves of the Indian Ocean and the giant dunes that surround the property. There are 22 bungalows, spread out across 750 … Read more