Architect and designer Jenna Yu’s home in Providence, Rhode Island features wooden siding on an addition connected to the original 19th-century home. The addition was built with panelized straw. The walls were plastered by her family and friends with earthen plaster, and the light fixtures were handcrafted by her mother and step-father. With two young … Read more
When Riyadh-based Syn Architects organized workshops on rammed earth construction recently, it was amazed by the level of interest. Hanno Burtscher of Earthman led the workshops; Syn had worked with him on its recent Desert X rammed earth installation in AlUla. He also oversaw the rammed earth construction on a visitor pavilion in Riyadh. 2000m² … Read more
Heidi McCullough is a building specialist for Clean Energy Economy for our Region, or CLEER. “I provide technical support for people looking to build high efficiency or high performance buildings, as well as people who’re looking to improve or upgrade the buildings they already have,” she said. She also helps people and businesses find grants … Read more
A store in Beijing features compressed tea-earth bricks, which cover 80 percent of the walls. The bricks are made using tea processing leftovers, making them both biodegradable and reusable. The store has an open, airy sales area, a secluded lounge, and a hidden VIP tea room. The versatility of tea-earth brick allows it to be … Read more
At 89, Lloyd Kahn has been building his own homes for over six decades, crafting spaces that include a few domes, at least one tower, and plenty of hand-split shingles. He’s documented his builds, as well as the makeshift homes of thousands of alternative builders all over the US and the world, with whom he … Read more
Larissa Touloupas and her husband Ondrej Pekarovic live near Kalamazoo, Michigan where they built a straw bale house, powered by the sun. They are homesteading with fruit trees, vegetable beds, bee hives, goats, and chickens, and call the place Solfed Farms They have two kids, five and six, who they take to a babysitter’s occasionally. … Read more