Peninsula House has curved walls of charred timber and rammed earth resembling Australia’s windswept coastline. It has long arms that wrap a driveway and swimming pool terrace. “The exterior texture reflects that windswept, weather-beaten form, whilst also referring to an organic mammal, reminiscent of whale carcasses which often wash up on the beach,” the designer … Read more
I just finished reading Building an Earthbag Round House by Morgan Caraway of the Sustainable Life School. This PDF ebook describes Morgan’s experience of building his first attempt at earthbag construction some 15 years ago. As he says, there are many ways he would do things differently these days, but he basically got most of … Read more
Verena Maeder is an earth building artisan with 32 years experience constructing earth buildings. She first fell in love with natural building as a teenager, but because of the lack of formal training opportunities in this field she decided to pursue an education in architecture as well as building biology and ecology. In 2002 she … Read more
Li and Michelle Tane spent seven years living off-grid in their “happy place” – the Canterbury high country of New Zealand. First they lived in a tent, then in a mud hut, and then two timber huts. Now, with two daughters, Thea and Juniper, they are finally building a house on their land. They are … Read more
Young communards in the backwoods of Vermont and high plains of Taos knew that surviving in frigid climes meant something better than teepees and log huts. With well-worn Whole Earth catalogues as guides, they began figuring it out. Back then “Save the Trees” was a mantra uniting the movement. Northern New Mexico’s earthen homes were … Read more
Maison Melba is a unique architectural project that involves the renovation of a rural building nestled in the heart of the meadows and orchards of the Village of Frelighsburg in southern Quebec. The former 1970s automobile garage has been transformed into a living space that is open to the community and the development of collaborative … Read more