Daryl and Maria Cleary were living in a four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot home when they decided it was time to downsize. “It was too much house for two people,” Maria said. The Clearys knew they wanted their home to be energy-efficient. They found a house plan that they liked and purchased it, increasing the square footage, and … Read more
Dapur Naga, located within the lush tropical environment of Bali, serves as a communal kitchen and dining space, capable of hosting more than 50 people. The main conceptual inspiration for Dapur Naga came from the graceful form of a whirling Sufi skirt, reflected in the building’s undulating roof. The roof is designed to capture stunning … Read more
Pete Bissonette has one of the about 650 homes Earth Sheltered Technology has built since it began in 1981. The company has houses in Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as in California and Alaska. “I loved every bit of building it,” Bissonette said. “I’m glad I made the decision to build it. I have no … Read more
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
I have become friends with David Stone, the inventor of Ferrock, a carbon negative thermal mass material that consumes both CO2 and the residue of steel manufacturing. You can find out more about this at his website carbon-bound.com or see a video about it at www.pbs.org David has shared with me some photos and description of … Read more
Some birds’ nests are cup-shaped, some have domes, others have been likened to apartment complexes. How do birds build their nurseries? Captain Cook collected a hummingbird nest during his trip to Brazil. That nest, just 6 cm (2.4 inches) high was in the fork of two branches, camouflaged with lichen, lined with fluffy seeds and … Read more