In the late ’90s and early 2000s, the LEED designation, awarded by the US Green Building Council to recognize leadership in energy and environmental design, was generally revered only by architects devoted to reducing the carbon impact of the built environment. But corporate greenwashing has transformed LEED into a badge of status. But really, the … Read more
Daniel and Katherine Ray first came across cob houses when they were in college. “We stumbled across a photo of a cob house in Wales and we got really interested, so we started collecting lots of pictures of other people’s cob houses. It was a pot-shot dream that we really wanted to do,” Ray said. … Read more
Freya’s House is an off-grid green building that showcases multiple natural building techniques from straw bale, cob, and rammed earth walls, to earthen floors, a green roof, and reclaimed, salvaged and locally sourced materials. It uses solar power for electricity, a legal composting toilet, and on-site greywater filtration. The house is located at O.U.R Ecovillage … Read more
Stone is strong, plentiful and fireproof, as well as beautiful. Using stone requires low levels of energy and low emissions of greenhouse gases. It is one of the most ancient building materials known to humanity, the stuff of dolmens and temples and cathedrals. Unfortunately stone has been supplanted in the industrial era by steel, concrete … Read more
Manisha Lath Gupta and her family wanted to live in an environment where they grow their produce, and living with nature meant living in a home built using natural materials. Aanandaa house is built using sustainable materials like rammed earth, stone, lime, brick, and traditional roofing systems. These materials were sourced locally and they hired … Read more
This hand crafted round-house is packed full of wonderful design features. It is surrounded by abundant permaculture food forest gardens and all of this has been accomplished on just a quarter acre section. Tim and Carmen have built this round house to maximize the function of the home while minimizing its impact on the surrounding … Read more