Ashish Shah and his wife, Nipa, always wanted to build a farmhouse in the countryside. The couple and their two daughters lived in Mumbai. Nipa owns a brand that produces and markets organic, farm-sourced food, so they sought to set up a farm within a two-hour drive from Mumbai. Eventually, they came across a two-acre … Read more
Most bamboo species reach full height in three to five years compared to at least a decade for traditional timber, making it incredibly renewable. The fastest-growing bamboo species can grow up to 35 inches, or 91 centimeters, in a day! During its rapid growth phase, bamboo absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide and releases lots … Read more
Cob building is a method in which clay, sand, and plant fibers (usually straw) are mixed manually and molded directly in place. Unlike bricks, blocks, or concrete walls, cob doesn’t use forms, doesn’t require molding and allows for the creation of curved walls, niches, arches, built-in benches, round windows, and sculpted details. There are cob … Read more
Woodstock is a self-sufficient, private house in Belgium, conceived as a vessel anchored along the riverbank. The project embodies the core principles of architecture as a form of transition within the construction culture towards a regenerative and post-carbon world. The architects say, “We believe systemic change in architecture must be learned through making. Woodstock became … Read more
Barns provide a multi-purpose system of storage built to accommodate living things. Barns are houses for activities that involve humans, but are not built exclusively for them. Barns are storehouses that operate as supply infrastructure for crops. The annual cycle of grain crop production often entails specific rituals or agricultural rites— procedures that entangle human … Read more
When a Danish couple found a small rural property, all they saw was a dead field with exhausted soil, devoid of earthworms, the result of years of monoculture of grains and corn sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. So they began a patient process of building, rebuilding, and regenerating the soil. They started observing the … Read more