Ten years ago when Tim Kroeker’s last child finally graduated high school, he and his wife decided it was now or never to follow through on their many years-long dream of building a house…an alternative house…in “the country”. They had investigated a number of construction methods…straw bale, cordwood masonry, rammed earth, Earthship, log, etc. …and … Read more
Teo Briseño in Southern California is an artist with many natural materials as his pallet. You can see the range of his work on his website: Brisenoarts.org One of his most recent works is this dome made with natural stone and wood. The locally harvested wood was cured for 2.5 years. Thin shell dome is … Read more
In the last post I referenced the work of Sindhu Bhaskar as part of the Thannal Mud Homes Trust in India. She and her architect husband Biju built their own earthbag home made almost entirely with natural materials. In this video you can see how they made this 550 Sq Ft home in one and … Read more
Over one-third of the world’s population still lives in mud homes made with mud, but their popularity has been steadily declining. A recent survey conducted by scientists from India and The Netherlands found that cement’s popularity and availability were the main reason. It is a matter of “societal image” that is the key barrier to … Read more
This man built a beautiful off-grid cabin with the help of friends for $65,000 CAD including the cost of the land. There was no road access to his lot so he had to bring in all of the building materials using a 4-wheeler with a small trailer, and then load them on a material elevator … Read more
Baltimore-based nonprofit Second Chance salvages unwanted building materials from single-family homes and other buildings. Founded in 2001, Second Chance “provides people, materials, and the environment with a second chance.” The social enterprise deconstructs old buildings, salvages usable materials and uses the revenue generated to provide job training and workforce development for people with various employment … Read more