A Unique Adobe Home in Australia

Tom and Carol Ann Fisher are selling their longtime home in the environmentally conscious community on Melbourne’s northeastern fringe to downsize. They spent most of the 1980s building this with help from their neighbors. The Fishers handmade about 6000 mud bricks. They were laid by one of their neighbors, brickie-turned-historian and “local legend” Mick Woiwod, … Read more

Australian Fires Spark Interest in Underground and Mud Homes

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

Old Communal Rammed Earth Buildings in China

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

Building an Earthbag Workshop in Wales

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