Many of our houses are defined by a pattern of consumption, from the raw materials to build them, to the fuel required to sustain them, and the waste generated by them. Despite an improvement in building energy efficiency, 2021 saw carbon emissions from building and construction hit an all-time high. Suppose that a house could … Read more
Joe Lyth and his family live in a passive house near Auckland, New Zealand, which is a big change from their former home in London. The ethos that made this architect design such an eco-friendly home for his own family applies to all aspects of their life. “We hardly ever buy anything new,” architect Joe … Read more
Jerome Osentowski, the founder of the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute is known the world over as a gardening guru. But now he is facing a challenge from a pest he never anticipated: zoning. Around Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley, the legend is well-known: An eccentric old man living on Basalt Mountain had grown bananas at … Read more
Located in Burkina Faso the Lycée Schorge Secondary School shows what is possible when you mix traditional techniques and new materials. The school consists of nine modules arranged around a central courtyard that is protected from wind and dust. Each module is built out of locally sourced laterite which is cut into bricks and left … Read more
On the island of Sumu Yakushima, Japan, designer Tsukasa Ono turned to regenerative architecture as his primary concept. An experimental housing cooperative jointly created by eight owners, this project in the woods was adapted to fit the surrounding landscape without cutting down large trees or leveling the ground; they raised the wooden buildings off from … Read more
Stephanie and Joel share their 14-year journey of building a home from reclaimed materials, living off-grid with solar power, and growing a lot of their own food, from fruits and veggies to milk, meat, and honey. They built their home on shared land using materials they salvaged from the dump, wood from a building they … Read more