Japanese architect Shigeru Ban’s Paper Log House has been added to a Glass House and a Brick House at architect Philip Johnson’s former estate in New Canaan, Connecticut. It’s a small house — just one room — and it’s made mostly of paper, but it’s more resilient than it looks. The foundation is made of … Read more
Nigeria’s housing deficit currently stands at about 28 million units and it will take an investment of about $47 billion over 20 years to meet the country’s housing demand. Currently Nigeria imports 90% of the materials used in construction across the country. This fact, along with the foreign currency crisis in the country, makes housing … Read more
The first step to cutting construction costs is “affordability by design,” which means ensuring the basic blueprint of a building is optimized to minimize costs from the outset. Biologist Carl Bergmann noticed that larger animals tended to live in colder climates, where their size helps them retain heat more efficiently. This observation suggests that larger … Read more
At the end of 2011, after deciding to go to France for a “gap year”, Australian Karen Stride arrived in the country with a 12-month long stay visa with nothing but a desire to soak in the sights and sounds of her favorite European destination. “I didn’t come to France with the intention to buy … Read more
The Cape is a residential community located in southern Victoria, Australia that boasts 130 homes that all feature passive solar, solar power and rainwater harvesting, as well as EV charging infrastructure. The residences are purposely designed for year-round comfort, oriented to maximize natural light and ventilation. Strait House (pictured above) is designed for the Australian … Read more
Kajal Pradhan Banepali, Civil Engineer & Impact Officer at Build up Nepal, explains that compressed stabilized earth bricks has a proven record for its strength and also produces less air pollution than conventional bricks. “More people are starting to seek an alternative to fired bricks, they’re starting to understand the benefits of our eco-bricks for … Read more