The ancient city of Machu Picchu, perched among the peaks of southern Peru, flourished for just over a hundred years between the mid-15th and mid-16th centuries. It is famous for its intricate, masterful stone masonry. But often invisible to the untrained eye is masterful drainage infrastructure and slope stabilization. Ruth Wright, a historian, travel writer, … Read more
Building with adobe — a material created by mixing clay-rich soil with straw, sand, and other organic materials — has been in use since 8300 BC. It is popular in arid and semiarid places where wood is scarce. The word “Adobe” derives from the Arabic “al ṭūb” meaning “the bricks.” Adobe buildings are low energy, … Read more
Here are some fun examples of playful architecture in Europe: The Cube Houses in Rotterdam were designed by architect Piet Blom, and are based on the concept of “living in an urban roof.” The houses are a set of angled cubes tilted at 45 degrees. This unusual design theoretically optimizes the available space inside the … Read more
There is a tiny chapel, no bigger than a garden shed, hidden in the woods of Cornwall dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. It was built almost 100 years ago with local Constantine granite and Delabole slate on the roof. The first thing visitors are met with as they open the … Read more
Bamboo, rammed earth, and adobe bricks were used by Chiangmai Life Architects to form a new Science and Music Center in Thailand. The Science Lab is L-shaped and the bamboo roof looks like a heart from above. The earthen instrument storage room reduces the humidity fluctuations experienced in northern Thailand. The music center has two … Read more
“It’s an earth-sheltered home. Not necessarily built into the ground, but it’s earth-covered on the roof and on a couple of sides,” explains Jennifer Rios, the listing agent for a house in Madison, WI. “It’s in a kind of older neighborhood, with typical mid-century homes and older.” “We went into it not really knowing what … Read more