Glacial Lake Lugano in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton of Ticino features some grottoes lining its shore. These natural caverns represent authentic Ticino and define the lifestyle of its people. Grotto Descanso is a village tavern housed in a simple stone building with a shaded terrace overlooking the lake. There is a huge wooden door near the … Read more
Clay, sand and a little bit of straw. Add some water, pack the mixture into bricks and let them bake under the hot summer sun. Adobe is an ancient building material that has become more popular in recent years because it is environmentally friendly, according to the Earthbuilders’ Guild, an organization that promotes and aims … Read more
The 15th-century Chhode monastery is tucked into a side valley of remote Mustang, a district in northern Nepal. The monastery, with walls formed of clay and gravel, blends in with the wind-beaten cliffs; its towering roof is held up by wooden pillars. Inside the monastery, a monk is performing a ritual prayer ceremony before a … Read more
When Pete Holmberg wanted a log house on some property in Minnesota he found a company that could build such a house with logs sourced from an old-growth forest of red pines planted in 1831, more than 120 years before the evergreen became the official state tree. “I was originally going to do milled logs, … Read more
The trend of taking shipping containers and recycling them into architectural elements for homes hit Phoenix in the fall of 2015, when Containers on Grand opened. It already had a waiting list upon completion. Brian Stark, founder of Local Studio and one of the architects behind Containers on Grand, began working on a second installment of shipping … Read more
Flow House is a contemporary home with a unique facade that embraces sustainable design and passive air flow. It is located just outside of Da Nang City, Vietnam (known for its high temperatures and humidity), and is made up of three structures that aid the flow of air from one section to the other. The … Read more