At a recent symposium, Bakar Labs for Energy and Materials convened experts from industry, academia and government to discuss the true carbon cost of construction. A common thread throughout the symposium was that humanity can rise to the challenge of creating sustainable buildings. Bruce King — founder of BuildWell.site, a nonprofit drawing awareness to … Read more
This project was commissioned by a Waldorf school in Nairobi. The buildings needed to be constructed quickly, cost-effectively (achieving a cost of $250/m² or $23/sf), and with a temporary lifespan, as the plot lease was set to expire in 10 years. The concept was to create a small village for children nestled within the woods, … Read more
If you break open a chicken bone, you won’t find a solid mass of white material inside. Instead, you will see a complex, spongelike network of tiny struts and pillars, and a lot of empty space. It looks fragile, yet that internal structure allows a bird’s wing to withstand high winds while remaining light enough … Read more
Below are listed several ways homes can be provided with renewable energy. There’s a good reason that solar panels appear first and foremost on this list. Converting to solar power for your entire home is the ultimate way to reduce your carbon footprint. This method offers to save you the most money over time. Many … Read more
Located in Eastern Ghana, Barnwood is a residential project by Symbolic Spaces. The development consists of clay-pigmented, monolithic villas emerging from the red earth landscape characteristic of the area. The studio has explored climate-responsive strategies for this region. This construction tries to promote economic efficiency, while using color and surface texture as integral components. The … Read more
The Canelo Project, a family ranch in Sonoita, Arizona, uses the most basic of resources, dirt and straw, to build houses. Bill and Athena Steen, the husband and wife team that founded the project in 1989, use strawbales as the building blocks for their homes. They stitch together the bales, and plaster them with a … Read more