The on-going fire storm in Australia has sparked new interest in ways to build more fire resistant houses. Architect Sean O’Bryan, who designs “earth sheltered” homes has been inundated with requests since the bushfire crisis escalated. “I’ve had about 20 emails since Christmas and a lot are from people who have had houses burnt down,” … Read more
Anzhenbao is a 19-century residential building, in Yong’an, southeast China’s Fujian Province. Construction of Anzhenbao started in 1885 and took 14 years to complete. The massive rammed earth building has more than 360 rooms, with some 6,000 square meters of floor space. This residential complex resembles another tradition in China that I wrote about in … Read more
Avid blog reader Phil Dodd wrote, “Are you aware that in mid-Wales, UK, a sustainable-living practitioner is now coming to the end of his second earthbag build on his land? Kris Harbour has now nearly finished building a large workshop with earthbag walls, and a turfed timber roof. One of the notable features of the … Read more
Architect Vinu Daniel of Wallmakers is focused primarily on sustainability. Using mainly mud blocks, rammed earth and burnt bricks he designs spaces in their raw, natural state. He met the legendary Laurie Baker while studying architecture. “Baker made me understand that a building can co-exist with nature and be built with minimal wastage.” For awhile … Read more
Justin & Linda Tyers bought a lot in the Exmoor National Park for £50k, which left them a budget of £67k to build a beautiful, off-grid, timber-frame, straw bale home. A truly inspirational self build. You can watch the video at www.youtube.com
Four years ago, architect Richard Morris co-founded Pounamu, a bamboo design and construction company in Myanmar, with Soe Win Zaw, a Burmese structural engineer. Before this he had no knowledge of bamboo construction. When he was asked to design a new school in Shan State his bamboo education began. Following Rudolf Steiner principles, the school’s … Read more