The founder of 3 Moons Earthbag Community in Nevada, Jeanne Rucquoi, is now 92 years old and ready to hand it over to the next generation. The key is to find someone who believes in the dream. The 3 Moons project is a magical place an hour from Las Vegas in the desert. It includes … Read more
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