For many years I have had a link to the building of Marcia Gibbon’s earthbag project in Arizona at earthbagbuilding.com, so I was particularly interested when I noticed that the place is now for sale. The 18-acre ranch has 12 fruit trees, an organic garden that grows flowers and nuts, and a private well, but … Read more
Stone is strong, plentiful and fireproof, as well as beautiful. Using stone requires low levels of energy and low emissions of greenhouse gases. It is one of the most ancient building materials known to humanity, the stuff of dolmens and temples and cathedrals. Unfortunately stone has been supplanted in the industrial era by steel, concrete … Read more
The Green Village, iCircl and the Province of South Holland opened a new living lab, called Biobased Boulevard, part of The Green Village on TU Delft Campus. The intention is to use bio-based building materials in construction and renovation on a large scale. Natural raw materials such as hemp, bamboo, mycelium and seaweed are renewable, … Read more
Castell de Llaés in Catalonia, Spain dates back to the 10th century. The castle is owned by an elderly Catalan couple who bought the crumbling building from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vic in 1994. Joan Tarrida i Miquel and Esther Capdevila spent 16 years restoring the castle and were looking for its next stewards … Read more
Growing modular building blocks from fungi could help decarbonize the construction industry, according to London-based design consultants at PLP Labs. You can watch the video at www.youtube.com
This environmentally friendly house was built with durable, empty bags filled with raw earth. The structure employed rice bags with local soil from the site (with additives), along with barbwire acting as tensile strength. Earthen plaster was then applied to the exterior for a smooth finish. Earthbag construction has remarkable strength and longevity. It can … Read more