Building a Straw Bale Home in Luxembourg

Marc Neu, a passionate advocate for sustainable building, has built his own home in Luxembourg using natural materials such as wood, straw, clay, and lime. He says, “A straw bale like this, about 1.1 metres long, costs five or six euros. I managed to insulate my entire house, from the floor slab up to the … Read more

A Community Meeting Place in Belgium

Students at Hasselt University in Belgium built a pavilion and an outdoor earth oven as communal gathering spaces. The structures are located in the garden of an abandoned vicarage. The design process prioritized natural and reclaimed materials. It serves as a model for architecture that integrates environmental considerations with social engagement. The design team collaborated … Read more

The Earth Building Academy in New Zealand

Verena Maeder is an earth building artisan with 32 years experience constructing earth buildings. She first fell in love with natural building as a teenager, but because of the lack of formal training opportunities in this field she decided to pursue an education in architecture as well as building biology and ecology. In 2002 she … Read more