“Ken Kern, author of The Owner-Built Home and The Owner-Built Homestead, is an amazing fellow and everyone interested in decentralist, back-to-the-land, rational living should know of his work. Back in 1948 he began collecting information on low-cost, simple and natural construction materials and techniques. He combed the world for ideas, tried them and started writing about his experiments.
Okay, maybe you don’t have the money to pay a dozen workers for two years to build a house like this, but you have to admit the design and craftsmanship on this stone house is amazing. There’s a lot to be learned from showhomes like this. Study the details and maybe you can include some similar stonework in your dream home.
“We build lightly on the land, redefining the meaning of luxury with a clear conscience. Bamboo is uniquely strong, beautiful, and flexible, and with it’s four-year growth cycle and carbon sequestration it is a uniquely efficient resource. Though bamboo has traditionally been used throughout Asia in short-term structures, new treatment methods have given it a capacity for long life. We harvest and treat all of our own bamboo, selecting for density and maturity, then lab test to confirm its integrity.
World Hall community building by Lincoln School of Architecture Sculpting Earth Blog
Reciprocal roofs are growing in popularity among natural builders. The latest trend is to build more complex reciprocal roofs. The ones shown here are state of the art.
From the Jacket:
“The first comprehensive consideration of the residential design of the back-to-the-land movement, “Handmade Houses: A Century of Earth-Friendly Home Design” exposes the roots of “green” architecture as it travels across North America and to the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, and Australia. From deep in the redwood forests of Big Sur, California, to the craggy, pink-sand beaches of Sardinia, Italy, this book visits houses in which cost-cutting DIY improvisation, eco-consciousness, art, and craft harmoniously converge.
Open air designs with rooms that open to the outdoors are practical in certain mild and tropical climates. Unconstrained by interior walls, cooling breezes can freely flow throughout the home. In addition to improved ventilation, open house plans look and feel larger than homes divided up with interior walls. If one large space isn’t appealing, a good compromise might be primarily open space with some privacy walls for the sleeping and bath areas. Also, plan for ways to protect the home from wind, blowing rain and insects. Roll down shutters are one popular solution. They can be lowered as security doors at night and when you’re away from home, and they come in a variety of designs that range from strictly utilitarian (security purposes) to decorative grillwork for custom homes.