Stone is strong, plentiful and fireproof, as well as beautiful. Using stone requires low levels of energy and low emissions of greenhouse gases. It is one of the most ancient building materials known to humanity, the stuff of dolmens and temples and cathedrals. Unfortunately stone has been supplanted in the industrial era by steel, concrete … Read more
The McCloskeys and Burzells were honored by the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation for their part in preserving Adobe Flores, the 184-year-old structure considered by many as the birthplace of equal rights in California. Known as South Pasadena’s oldest building, El Adobe Flores was added to the National Register of Historic Places 50 years ago. It … Read more
SunRay Kelley, the barefoot builder of fantastical handmade castles, yurts, temples, spirit lodges, tree houses, etc., died on July 16 in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. He was 71. I first met SunRay at one of the Natural Building Colloquia, and you can read an article I wrote about this at greenhomebuilding.com. Bonnie Howard, Mr. Kelley’s longtime partner, … Read more
This year’s Venice Architecture Biennale has as its theme “The Laboratory of the Future.” The laboratory part of the title suggests experimentation and radical rethinking. The National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia shows a series of more traditional yet still alluring spaces with arches on either side of a rectangular central room that feels almost cave-like and … Read more
The Kasbah Taourirt is mostly made of rammed earth and mud brick. It is a fortified residence complex that overlooks Ouarzazate in south-central Morocco, which is often called “the door of the desert”. It is one of the best-preserved examples of this kind of earthen building, with three stories, balconies and big rectangular towers at … Read more
During the California heat wave of 1906, Baldassare Forestiere dug a home underground with just a pickax and shovel. He spent 40 years excavating 10 acres of rooms, tunnels, a chapel, an underground aquarium, and courtyards to experiment with underground farming. With no budget, he mixed mortar from the dirt he dug out, creating his … Read more