A group of engineers visited a remote mountain village tucked deep into Kashmir’s rural land. They came hoping to learn from what they found, and what they first noticed was an old, broken mud house, abandoned and half-swallowed by wild grass. The roof had caved in. Wooden beams, once solid and proud, were now warped … Read more
An odd doughnut-shaped structure, resembling a thatched UFO, rises from a field on the outskirts of a rural town in central Colombia. Bamboo lattice walls curve up from the ground to form its bulging shell, tapering to a central chimney where wisps of smoke waft into the sky. Through the mesh walls, it is possible … Read more
After buying an old, rundown stone house in Italy, architect couple Maddalena Cerruti and Vincent Baisnée set about transforming it into the ultimate sustainable home. Renovating the building from scratch, room by room, they used natural and locally sourced materials to turn the crumbling structure into a property that respects their health, the environment and the building’s … Read more
Inspired by desert dunes and ocean waves, this earthen home in Kazakhstan is a self-built eco dream, seemingly straight out of a fantasy novel, but this surrealist cob house is far from fiction. “When people first encounter our house, they struggle to believe it’s a residence,” says Dilyara Mazhitova. “Most assume it’s a public space … Read more
From the outset, Casa AYA aimed to be built in the most sustainable way possible and is the first straw bale home built to PassivHaus standards in Uruguay. The use of concrete was reduced by 93% compared to conventional construction by using raised foundations. This technique allowed the ground profile to remain unaltered, respecting the … Read more
Rammed-earth houses are a distinctive cultural feature of the Hmong people living in the Dong Van Karst Plateau, the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, Vietnam. Traditionally, these homes are considered a measure of a family’s wealth and heritage, reflecting how long a Hmong lineage has settled in the region. You can read the original … Read more