Pedro Pedrosa and his wife Sofia left city life over a decade ago to live in a mostly-abandoned farming village in Central Portugal. After creating their home from several small outbuildings, they continued to experiment with local building materials- cork, pine, lime, and slate- by transforming three stone storage sheds into “Nature Houses.” Their town, … Read more
This is not your typical completely buried, stone-encased, hand-dug cavern from the 19th century. This is a much simpler, quicker, and more modern method yet still effective. Things you’ll need: 3 steel cans with lids, a shovel, plywood, scrap wood, roofing screws, 6-inch deck screws, scrap insulation material, straw, sandbags, and lots of dirt. Step … Read more
“This is a living house,” says owner Doug Rellstab of Pinedale, Wyoming. “When you go through, it just seems alive. If you look at all the curves that are built into the window wells and places, it’s got its own feeling to ’em, you know. It’s just not squared off and flat.” Rellstab and his … Read more
An Australian biotechnology company known as Mirreco has recently shared its plans to 3D print hemp homes. They have developed a way to produce hemp panels which can be used in both residential and commercial building projects. They say that these 3D printed panels are structurally sound, easy to produce, and provide superior thermal performance. … Read more
On a rural farm near Bear Lake, Michigan, builder Thomas Hirsch and architectural designer Ellis Wills Begley are embracing sustainable methods by incorporating materials like straw-clay insulation, black locust wood, and foamed glass aggregate. The studio they are building is in a circular form because round shapes are inherently natural and create a sense of … Read more
On the coast of British Columbia, Ryan Leech and Krysta Powers are building their two-story post-and-beam family home using light straw/clay for insulation. They are hoping to inspire change in the construction community, to build as ecologically ethically as they can. They have used as much recycled and reclaimed material as possible. The owners have … Read more