The trend of taking shipping containers and recycling them into architectural elements for homes hit Phoenix in the fall of 2015, when Containers on Grand opened. It already had a waiting list upon completion. Brian Stark, founder of Local Studio and one of the architects behind Containers on Grand, began working on a second installment of shipping … Read more
Uganda has a deficit of 2.1 million housing units, growing at a rate of 200,000 units a year; by 2030, the deficit is expected to reach three million units. The goal of the Kampala house project is to provide dwellings to middle to lower income families. The team behind the Kampala house project is Marc … Read more
Chris Magwood’s classic book, Making Better Buildings, is now available for free online! This is a comparative guide to sustainable construction for homeowners and contractors. It is also a masterpiece of research and experience folded into an encyclopedic reference book for anyone interested in sustainable approaches to our built environment. Clearly a labor of love … Read more
Craig and Connie Cook to sailed into early retirement aboard an Earthship. “We would still be working,” Craig said. “We left at 55 because we have no bills.” A lack of utility bills for their home, coupled with a lack of ongoing maintenance costs, allowed the Cooks to build a home for $70,000, and minimize … Read more
Research shows that, even in cloudy areas, a large chunk of our heating needs could be met with a few well-positioned (and well-managed) skylights. “I’ve been interested in passive solar heating for quite a number of years, but we live in a cloudy climate. And there has been a lot of skepticism about how well … Read more
Co-founder of the Natural Building Collective, Peter McIntosh has shared this progress of a building at the Helderberg Nature Reserve in Cape Town, South Africa. This building will be a multi-purpose center for the City of Cape Town and Cape Nature. They have used tires, rammed earth, eco-bricks and natural plasters to build the center. … Read more