eco – Natural Building Blog

German Association for Building with Earth

June 3, 2022July 6, 2012 by Owen Geiger

Children‘s Nursery Oranienburg-Eden, the single largest earth dome structure in Germany, by Prof. Dr. Gernot Minke. The entire building is ecologically planned with timber and earth as the primary building materials. — Children‘s Nursery Oranienburg-Eden, the single largest earth dome
structure in Germany, by Prof. Dr. Gernot Minke. The entire building is ecologically planned with timber and earth as the primary building materials.

“In a time in which environmental responsibility is becoming increasingly important, conservation of resources and environmentally sound construction methods are gaining in significance.

Today there is a demand for building materials which require little energy for their production, which are always recyclable and hygienically safe, and which also offer scope for creative design – modern building materials such as earth.

Log Bridges and More

June 3, 2022June 20, 2012 by Owen Geiger

Cliff, a long-time reader and frequent contributor from NZ, sent this tip to me. The same basic building process could be used to make roof trusses and other structural components and buildings such as free standing domes. Source: The Rainbow Bridge

Regenerative Housing

June 3, 2022June 17, 2012 by Owen Geiger

“Let’s create the Regenerative Home. With this proposal, we are raising funds to showcase technologies for homes that are ecological, affordable, and appropriate for these times. We will build the second prototype this summer in Colorado (earlier version shown in the intro video). Throughout the construction we will document in film and photography. The building plans will be available this year online for $10. Plus, in a subsequent fundraising effort next year, we will assemble an online documentary film about the process so others can learn from and recreate these ideas.

Building a Light Clay Straw (Straw-Clay) House

June 3, 2022June 11, 2012 by Owen Geiger

“This is an introduction to light clay straw construction (a.k.a. “straw-clay”). In the summer of 2010, I started construction on my first house (20 ft. x 12 ft.). It was stud framed with light clay straw infill. I had helped with other natural building projects and had some conventional experience. This article is the product of all of my mistakes (and few successes) so that you, my fellow builder, do not have to walk the road that I have. Fortunately for y’all I built a chicken coop in 2011, and that helped me to learn more about building correctly with light clay straw. (One mistake being I should have done the coop first, but at least my chickens are happy.)