Straw has a long history as a building material, finding application in thatch roofs, as a binding agent in adobe bricks and cob, as insulation, and in straw bale construction. Straw, a renewable, recyclable, regionally available, and low-cost material, offers a climate-friendly alternative to conventional building materials. Indeed, straw provides a viable solution to decarbonizing … Read more
Along a volcanic crater in Ecuador, the town of Shalalá is committed to living in symbiosis with the environment, which extends to its architectural endeavors. A new project for the town, known as the Chaki Wasi handicrafts center, has been designed to exemplify the spirit of the place and its cultural heritage. Chaki Wasi, meaning … Read more
Tono Mirai Architects of Japan completed Tioletowa in Miyoshi City as an example of recycled, regenerative architecture. The main idea behind the toilet project is the circle of life: ‘Everything comes from the earth and eventually returns to it.’ The rammed-earth building embodies this philosophy through its use of recycled materials and its wastewater treatment … Read more
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban’s Paper Log House has been added to a Glass House and a Brick House at architect Philip Johnson’s former estate in New Canaan, Connecticut. It’s a small house — just one room — and it’s made mostly of paper, but it’s more resilient than it looks. The foundation is made of … Read more
The first step to cutting construction costs is “affordability by design,” which means ensuring the basic blueprint of a building is optimized to minimize costs from the outset. Biologist Carl Bergmann noticed that larger animals tended to live in colder climates, where their size helps them retain heat more efficiently. This observation suggests that larger … Read more
From the earliest times the only way for humans to build shelter was to use locally available raw materials. Rammed earth is estimated to have been used since around 5,000 B.C., often enclosing a wooden framework with a mixture of raw earth combined with plant fiber. Thin wooden sticks can be driven into the ground … Read more