About 15 years ago, Antonio Gutiérrez took a wrong turn and ended up in the mountains of Cantabria surrounded by cabins. Beginning in the 16th century these “housebarns” were built in the region’s high valleys to house livestock on the ground floor and people or hay on the floor above. Enamored with the lush greenery … Read more
According to Orin Hardy, founder of bamboo training course Bamboo U, “There was a time when nobody would want to be seen to live in a bamboo house.” In the heart of the Balinese jungle, IBUKU’s fairy tale headquarters offer a window into the future of bamboo construction: multi-story, open-air housing with electricity, water and … Read more
The designs of Biome Environmental Solutions in Bangalore are often built with earth sourced from the site or construction debris, harvest water, treat waste on the site and manage their energy through passive construction and active energy generation. The firm introduced the use of stabilized earth block for construction. Now many architects as well as … Read more
Western Solar has completed three innovative housing projects using a special low-energy design that was pioneered at Wales’ first solar village in Glanrhyd, Pembrokeshire, in 2017. There are a range of projects to develop new solutions to the climate crisis and the urgent need for affordable public housing. The houses use locally grown timber frames … Read more
This is a full tour of a cozy cob micro cabin built by Marie France Roy, a professional snowboarder from Canada. She wanted to build a home with natural and reclaimed materials so the main floor is built with cob – a mix of sand, clay, and straw – and the upper floor is built … Read more
Rebecca Tasker, with a crew of apprentices, is building two straw bale houses near Escondido, California. So the building project is also a teaching site. “Using straw fits in with permaculture. People like sustainability,” Tasker said. “When you talk of energy used for building materials, that energy was already used in growing the food that … Read more