Research shows that, even in cloudy areas, a large chunk of our heating needs could be met with a few well-positioned (and well-managed) skylights. “I’ve been interested in passive solar heating for quite a number of years, but we live in a cloudy climate. And there has been a lot of skepticism about how well … Read more
A recent study in pre-Hispanic northern Peru shows the use of adobe brick building as early as 5,000 years ago. The research shows how the adobe blocks were formed from compacted clay deposits created by El Niño flooding events. Adobe architecture was applied across the pre-Colombian Andes in the building of “early sacred monumental pyramidal … Read more
A tower, assembled from 10,000 bricks, has been made from mushrooms. “This is a hybrid of what I call an ancient technology of mushrooms and a totally new technology of computation and engineering,” says architect David Benjamin. The 40ft (12m) structure he is referring to currently sits in a courtyard at MoMA PS1, an art … Read more
Co-founder of the Natural Building Collective, Peter McIntosh has shared this progress of a building at the Helderberg Nature Reserve in Cape Town, South Africa. This building will be a multi-purpose center for the City of Cape Town and Cape Nature. They have used tires, rammed earth, eco-bricks and natural plasters to build the center. … Read more
Earlier this month I participated in a webinar titled Designing Highly-Sustainable Buildings featuring the Sketchup software team, along with Sefaira, a plugin that calculates various aspects of energy use pertaining to the design. A representative from an architectural firm that uses the software explained how they go about their designing, which is mostly for commercial … Read more
I’m standing on the Community Rebuilds campus. Today they’re hosting events for the Natural Building Conference, a gathering of those interested in construction using materials like straw bale, soil and lime mortar… which is being mixed now. Moab has a housing problem… like other tourist-orientated towns in the region. Amanda Jane Albert is an instructor … Read more