Shwasam, which denotes breath, is a mud structure that is breathable. This community center has a central main hall which is flanked by a semi-basement storeroom on one side and a small sitting and working space on the other. The passive design is well-lit and breezy during the day and cozy and comfortable at night. … Read more
The Stray Birds Art Hotel is part of a cliff side ancient village in China. In 2016, it was designated for the ‘Save Old Houses Campaign’ in China, marking the beginning of significant efforts toward cultural preservation and renewal. Chenjiapu Village, with 640 years of history and a selection of rammed-earth and timber-framed dwellings, became … Read more
While most countries are losing many cultural elements, Bhutan is retaining most of theirs. This is largely due to their current king and the ones that came before him. The Ministry of Works and Human Settlement published the Bhutanese Architecture Guidelines in 2014—a comprehensive manual that makes it easy for architects, engineers, planners and craftsmen … Read more
CobBauge House in the UK, designed by Hudson Architects, is the first code-compliant form of cob building, making an ancient building technique fit 21st century requirements. It combines hemp and mud in a unique way. Traditional cob walls would have to be more than one meter thick in order to comply with contemporary building regulations. … Read more
The Open Space Visitor Center in Albuquerque, NM has erected an all-natural hut for children to gather in and use during field trips to the center. Willow branches had were collected from a nearby field over several days for this purpose. “We can definitely use this hut as an opportunity for a learning space or … Read more
The first step to cutting construction costs is “affordability by design,” which means ensuring the basic blueprint of a building is optimized to minimize costs from the outset. Biologist Carl Bergmann noticed that larger animals tended to live in colder climates, where their size helps them retain heat more efficiently. This observation suggests that larger … Read more