On a rural farm near Bear Lake, Michigan, builder Thomas Hirsch and architectural designer Ellis Wills Begley are embracing sustainable methods by incorporating materials like straw-clay insulation, black locust wood, and foamed glass aggregate. The studio they are building is in a circular form because round shapes are inherently natural and create a sense of … Read more
Kelley Lowe is a passionate environmentalist. Her interest in creating a sustainable future for material culture drew her to the work of Re:Purpose Savannah, where she is helping to build a regional market for reclaimed lumber. Learn more about why she is an ardent supporter of deconstruction and recycled building materials, and why this practice … Read more
Matts Myhrman, co-founder of The Last Straw Journal and a natural building legend, passed away peacefully on October 15th 2024. I first met Matts and his wife Judy Knox at the 2000 Natural Building Colloquium in New Mexico and was immediately captivated by the sparkle in their eyes. Matts is an elder statesman in the … Read more
For thousands of years survival in Norway’s countryside, where farms were miles from each other, meant complete self-sufficiency. Farmsteads were like small villages with several families living together and building their homes from logs and turf. At Oslo’s Norwegian Folk Museum, entire farmsteads have been transplanted log-by-log by master carpenters who use traditional joinery techniques … Read more
Students at the University of Stuttgart in Germany have developed a hybrid flax fibre/cross-laminated timber (CLT) roof for a prototype pavilion in Germany which enables column-free spans and demonstrates the structural application of a bio-based alternative to timber. This system forms the wave-like roof of an experimental building designed for a garden show on the … Read more
The United Nations Development Program is planning to utilize advanced 3D printing equipment from WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) in Colombia, to help address housing shortages. They will use the Crane WASP that can print directly using natural resources like agricultural waste and nearby dirt instead of requiring concrete. This equipment is versatile and mobile, … Read more