London-based New Makers Bureau has built a new Kampala art center in Uganda from materials excavated from the site itself – earth, wood and reclaimed brick. “We took cues from the idea of archaeology and excavation, literally mining the site for material,” says founding director James Hampton. New Makers Bureau collaborated with Localworks on the … Read more
There are three groups of stone used for construction: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary stones. Igneous rock, such as granite, is mainly composed of volcanic material. Magma beneath the earth’s surface hardens as it combines with mineral vapors and liquids to form a variety of geological formations. This coarse-grained stone is predominantly composed of quartz and … Read more
Adobe is the oldest building material in the world, found throughout the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, South America, Europe and, of course, the Southwestern United States. Adobe often requires replastering, which explains how adobe structures often change over time. Taos Pueblo, for instance, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the nation, … Read more
Architect Jim Hubbell has created works in San Diego and Tijuana, including an elementary school and a park. And he has been slowly filling his remote property with creative designs over the last 60 years, starting with a small home he built with his wife Anne, when they were first married in 1958. Marianne Gerdes, … Read more
Jaya Thursfield and his Japanese-born wife, Chihiro, moved to Japan from London in 2017 with their two young sons and a dream of buying a home with a big yard. What they found was a house that had been abandoned about seven years earlier — one of the millions of vacant houses known as akiya, … Read more
Straw Bales for Shelter: a guide for building emergency shelters with bales is available for download now. This new guide is free to download and share courtesy of Matts Myhrman, David Eisenberg and Robert Cook. It offers clear explanations and excellent details for straw bale shelter construction. Table of ContentsIntroduction 3Site preparation and moisture barrier … Read more