Biobased Creations CEO Lucas De Man believes that natural building materials such as timber, hemp, straw and mycelium could completely replace polluting, non-renewable materials such as steel, plasterboard and cement. Buildings can be made exclusively from plant-based products plus natural mineral materials such as earth and lime. An all-natural show home built at this year’s … Read more
The Australian government has provided an excellent guide to achieving passive solar heating in your home that is available online at www.yourhome.gov.au Just be aware that because they are in the southern hemisphere they orient solar exposure to the north rather than to the south, as in the northern hemisphere. This guide covers these topics: … Read more
New Frameworks, a construction company in Vermont, specializes in natural and local materials. A vital part of its mission is to “draw down” carbon in its projects to reverse emissions. “Climate justice and climate response is not a theory to us; it’s a practice,” Ace McArleton, who cofounded the company in 2006, said. “And we … Read more
When built, designed and maintained properly, green roofs have many more advantages than disadvantages. The vegetation reflects most of the direct sunlight rather than absorbing it, and the moisture prevents heat gain from the structure, providing energy savings for cooling. In arid climates, the increase in thermal inertia will increase comfort and reduce temperature fluctuations … Read more
The School of Architecture, established by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1932, has graduated the first generation of experimental structures, or ‘shelters’, built at the school’s new campus at Arcosanti, USA. The graduating students have re-imagined what a dwelling structure might look like through a broadened range of materials, uses, and degrees of permanence. Jessica Martin … Read more
Three small cob homes (about 100 square feet each) cost around $500 each, not including labor. Quail Springs Permaculture, an educational non-profit in Southern California, built the houses over the span of a few months. According to their natural building director, Sasha Rabin, the structures were made using — along with reclaimed fixtures such as … Read more