At a recent symposium, Bakar Labs for Energy and Materials convened experts from industry, academia and government to discuss the true carbon cost of construction. A common thread throughout the symposium was that humanity can rise to the challenge of creating sustainable buildings. Bruce King — founder of BuildWell.site, a nonprofit drawing awareness to … Read more
This project was commissioned by a Waldorf school in Nairobi. The buildings needed to be constructed quickly, cost-effectively (achieving a cost of $250/m² or $23/sf), and with a temporary lifespan, as the plot lease was set to expire in 10 years. The concept was to create a small village for children nestled within the woods, … Read more
In 2021, Mathieu Munsch walked away from the “normal” script— rent, bills, loans, a regular job— and headed for a sloping meadow in northeast France to build something radically simple: a small home made from the earth under his feet, wood from nearby, and straw bales from local farmers. He kept it to 50 m² … Read more
Located in Eastern Ghana, Barnwood is a residential project by Symbolic Spaces. The development consists of clay-pigmented, monolithic villas emerging from the red earth landscape characteristic of the area. The studio has explored climate-responsive strategies for this region. This construction tries to promote economic efficiency, while using color and surface texture as integral components. The … 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
Housing NOW is a modular bamboo housing system that provides rapid, affordable homes in Myanmar’s conflict- and disaster-affected regions. They use small-diameter bamboo bundled into structural frames that interlock to form the backbone of each house. This method uses abundant, low-value bamboo culms from local sources and transforms them into load-bearing construction elements through bundling, … Read more