After spending years cycling around the world, Martijn Doolaard was ready for a more permanent home and he wanted something with a view. Remembering the rough beauty of the peaks of Dry from a bike trip, Doolaard discovered dozens of “dirt cheap” abandoned homes for sale and bought two at the top of a mountain … Read more
The Plastic Flamingo is a social enterprise that collects and transforms plastics in the Philippines into better products. Their aim is to fight the country’s plastic waste crisis — the philippines is the third-biggest polluter in the world — by turning bottles, soft plastics, etc. into planks that can be used as a building material. … Read more
Intermediate House in Paraguay, designed by Equipo de Arquitectura, is a fusion between the inside and outside, light and shadow, natural and artificial. A vaulted roof made with compressed earth blocks covered by a thin layer of concrete rests on floor-to-ceiling furniture, making up the perimeter of the property. The favorite space in this region … Read more
The remains of a settlement on the windswept northern tip of Newfoundland reveals eight timber-framed structures that resemble Viking buildings in Greenland. Scientists now believe that this site, known as L’Anse aux Meadows, was inhabited by Vikings who came from Greenland. By analyzing the imprint of a rare solar storm in tree rings from wood … Read more
Biobased Creations CEO Lucas De Man believes that natural building materials such as timber, hemp, straw and mycelium could completely replace polluting, non-renewable materials such as steel, plasterboard and cement. Buildings can be made exclusively from plant-based products plus natural mineral materials such as earth and lime. An all-natural show home built at this year’s … Read more
This 385-square meter (4,144 sf) four-bedroom residence, located on the New Zealand North Island settlement of Ūpokongaro, was constructed with cob. Known as the Matatara Cob House, it took several years to build to New Zealand Earth Building Standards – with its original owners completing the process by hand in 2012. An estimated 80-tons of … Read more