Many of our houses are defined by a pattern of consumption, from the raw materials to build them, to the fuel required to sustain them, and the waste generated by them. Despite an improvement in building energy efficiency, 2021 saw carbon emissions from building and construction hit an all-time high. Suppose that a house could … Read more
Localworks has created the Mustardseed Junior School in Uganda with organically shaped classrooms built from natural and locally sourced materials. The earthbag walls are filled with soil from the site. The 1,146-square-meter (12,335 sf) building is used as both a kindergarten and primary school for local children. No two rooms are the same, which means … Read more
I recently discovered that a supplement to the 2019 California Residential Code approves the use of superadobe construction (as established by CalEarth). It requires the use of cement stabilized earthen fill material. You can read this supplemental document at icc-es.org
The folks at Vanirah Farm in India have been building an earthbag/superadobe dome that will function as a winter community kitchen. Building the main structure with earthbags was fast, but the finishing work has taken a lot of time. They are also building a large earthbag rainwater harvesting tank. This video shows some of the … Read more
My last blog post was about a free online version of Making Better Building by Chris Magwood. In reading through some of his introductory comments about foundations, I came across this statement: “In much of North America, foundations have been twinned with conditioned, subgrade living space: the basement. In many markets, having a basement is … Read more
Chris Magwood’s classic book, Making Better Buildings, is now available for free online! This is a comparative guide to sustainable construction for homeowners and contractors. It is also a masterpiece of research and experience folded into an encyclopedic reference book for anyone interested in sustainable approaches to our built environment. Clearly a labor of love … Read more