Straw Bale Building in Pennsylvania

Diane Ferguson, a former environmental health professor, has always dreamed of building a house made of natural materials. Her ideal home has about 650 straw bales stacked together with bamboo stakes driven through them. The straw is then plastered on the interior with an earthen plaster and the exterior with limestone plaster. Diane worked with … Read more

The Institute of Nomadic Architecture

The Institute of Nomadic Architecture is a rich source of information on the traditional architecture of nomadic peoples. They have been researching nomadic architecture for over fifteen years and have over 40,000 images and 500 hours of video clips, as well as detailed notes from all around the world. They record the structure itself, and … Read more

Rustic Underground Homes in France

René Douma and his mom Marianne began building houses into the hillside on the family farm without any experience in underground construction. Relying on books and online forums, they excavated a knoll behind their farmhouse and used 45 acacia trees from the property to shore up the walls and roof. After a waterproofing layer of … Read more

Building a Survival Mini House in the Woods

This video made by Athos shows him building a completely natural small dream house with dead wood, pine needles, thorns, moss, rocks and clay. It took him over two weeks and there are still some finishing touches he plans. You can watch the video at www.youtube.com and you can find out more at his channel: … Read more

Bioceramic Dome Technology

Bioceramic dome technology opens a new world of possibility in architecture. The current construction industry uses four primary material families – wood, metal, concrete, and organic polymers (plastics). Chemically bonded ceramics (bioceramics) are a new class of geopolymers that enable a different kind of innovation in construction. The new material family bridges the gap between … Read more