Matts Myhrman, co-founder of The Last Straw Journal and a natural building legend, passed away peacefully on October 15th 2024. I first met Matts and his wife Judy Knox at the 2000 Natural Building Colloquium in New Mexico and was immediately captivated by the sparkle in their eyes. Matts is an elder statesman in the … Read more
For thousands of years survival in Norway’s countryside, where farms were miles from each other, meant complete self-sufficiency. Farmsteads were like small villages with several families living together and building their homes from logs and turf. At Oslo’s Norwegian Folk Museum, entire farmsteads have been transplanted log-by-log by master carpenters who use traditional joinery techniques … Read more
The marvelous Great Wall of China is a cultural icon deeply entwined with myth and legend. The Wall has been a military defense structure, a symbol of imperial power, and now a tourist monument. Ancient stories tell of a powerful sorcerer who shaped the Wall to ensure its invincibility with the aid of earth spirits … Read more
Reminiscent Home is a century-old residence in Spain that has recently been renovated by the founder of architecture practice Funcionable and it happens to be the where he was born. “Many of the transformation operations have resulted in involuntary restitution of very ancient previous states, prior even to the author’s brief period of residence in his … Read more
In 1958, James and Anne Hubbell bought cheap land in the Cuyamaca Mountains east of San Diego to build a home with their own hands using materials from the land. Over the next several decades, they built a cluster of unique homes across the property to accommodate their growing family and working needs. Using only … Read more
Didi Contractor, a self-taught architect from Dharamsala, India, left an indelible mark with her innovative approach to building with natural materials. Didi Contractor (1929 – 2021) whose real name was Delia Kinzinger, was born in the USA. Her father was a German and her mother was an American, who were both renowned painters belonging to … Read more