For decades it’s been my dream to visit developing countries and help build affordable housing projects. Now, here I am on the beach in beautiful Vanuatu to assist the Women’s Centre (and others) on various sustainable building projects.
ecofriendly
Wasp: 3D Printed Mud Houses
“A new Italian company is demonstrating a super-tall, portable machine that will bring 3D-printed dwellings to impoverished regions.
Lime-ash Floors
Lime-ash floors were an economical form of floor construction from the 15th century to the 19th century, for upper floors in parts of England where limestone or chalk were easily available. They were strong, flexible, and offered good heat and sound insulation.
Pavilion Style Buildings
“Pavilion-style building suits most of our climate types around Australia. We do not have snow for many months of the year nor do we have perma-frost! We should design to suit our climatic conditions, which for most of us is the ability to keep cool in summer. This thinking allows us to orientate each pavilion according to the desire for a cool pavilion in summer and a warm one in winter.
The Solar Trailer Home for Owner-Builders
An enclosed passive solar trailer home can provide temporary living space while your main home is under construction. When the enclosure is complete, you can drive or tow the trailer out if you wish. While you might not want to use the exact method described in the following article, they do provide some interesting ideas to think about. A key benefit is living and working at the jobsite to reduce costs.
Koh Phangan Earthbag Home Interior
Freeform earthbag between boulders
“This rather luxurious “cave” artfully combines granite, wood and earth. It has a 70 sqm ground floor divided into three rooms on 3 levels, topped by a 20 sqm loft. While the earthbag walls elegantly fill gaps between large boulders, the double roof structure is elliptic in shape and rests on two Sandalwood poles which previously served as main masts on a sailing boat. Corners are entirely absent, and a feeling of peace and tranquility prevails.”