Chris Magwood’s classic book, Making Better Buildings, is now available for free online! This is a comparative guide to sustainable construction for homeowners and contractors. It is also a masterpiece of research and experience folded into an encyclopedic reference book for anyone interested in sustainable approaches to our built environment. Clearly a labor of love … Read more
The Rocky Mountain Natural Building Conference will be held in Moab, Utah from October 14 to 16 this year. The conference is coordinated by the Natural Building Alliance, and the program includes podium presentations, breakout sessions, round-tables, and outdoor workshops. Moab’s Community Rebuilds, a local organization that builds straw-bale, energy-efficient, affordable homes, is helping with … Read more
I received an email from Susan Johnson titled “Owen my friend” and she has given me permission to post it here: I met Owen so long ago. In the early 70’s, Owen built his first house. He began coming to Colorado from Nebraska to spend the summers. He was hanging out in Breckenridge back when … Read more
Rob Avis with Verge Permaculture interviewed me on his YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago, and it is now available for you to see at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGXrWnoviCw The program runs almost an hour and is primarily about earthbag building, partly to promote the book I wrote titled Essential Earthbag Construction, published by New Society Publishing.
I came across an interesting article at www.bbc.com that outlines several intriguing alternatives to materials that have toxic consequences. “Stone wool” comes from igneous rock and slag which are melted together and spun into fibers. Unlike fiberglass insulation, or foamed plastic, stone wool can be engineered to be fire resilient, provide good insulation, be water … Read more
The www.archdaily.com featured this informative article about Brazilian vernacular architecture. The regional expressions of a country’s culture are vital in helping us understand the relation between context and specific conditions of social manifestations. These nuances and singularities inside the realm of construction are translated into what can be called vernacular architecture. Although it has always existed, … Read more