The Build-a-thon and Symposium at City of the Sun

My friend B Sitkin recently uploaded this video he and his wife made many years ago at City of the Sun in Southern New Mexico. It documents many of the key events at the Build-a-thon and Symposium and features a number of my friends and fellow builders from that time. This event followed on the … Read more

The Earth Building Academy in New Zealand

Verena Maeder is an earth building artisan with 32 years experience constructing earth buildings. She first fell in love with natural building as a teenager, but because of the lack of formal training opportunities in this field she decided to pursue an education in architecture as well as building biology and ecology. In 2002 she … Read more

An Artists’ Studio Extension of a Stone Cottage

Studio Weave’s extension of a cottage in Devon, England on a secluded property is a double-story artists’ retreat. The extension, called Made of Sand, seeks to transform the traditional Devonshire stone cottage,  drawing on the historic origins of the site as a local sandpit. The flexible, open-plan spaces of the studio contrast the otherwise boxed … Read more

Bioconstruction is becoming Popular in Mexico

The Imagina cultural center on the outskirts of León, Mexico, is housed in a big, multistory facility, constructed mostly from locally dug adobe soil;  it is engineered using bioconstruction techniques, a holistic building technique that aims to achieve a circular economy, minimizing waste and benefiting people. In fact, all 3,500 square meters (about 37,700 square … Read more

The Values of Straw Bale Houses

Straw bale houses are gaining popularity due to their ecological and sustainable nature. These unique homes are built using straw as either the primary structural element or insulation or both, providing a natural and renewable way of building. Straw bale homes offer exceptional insulation properties that help you keep your house warm during colder months … Read more

The Ecological Renovation of an Old Garage

Maison Melba is a unique architectural project that involves the renovation of a rural building nestled in the heart of the meadows and orchards of the Village of Frelighsburg in southern Quebec. The former 1970s automobile garage has been transformed into a living space that is open to the community and the development of collaborative … Read more