“UEB’s first 1,225sqft structure built with the semi-automatic 3d printer, the Earth Home Builder. 9 days of bag laying of 21″ bag. Fastest layer of 40′ length was laid in 11m16s! The crew was trained on site and ranged from ages 9 to 50+! Even with mechanization, anyone can still be a part!
“Natural Building course with Living Craft Project in Quail Springs, CA. 6 week intensive to create a home from strawbale, cob, stray clay, earthen plaster and an earthen poured floor.”
“From the moment you arrive at this luxurious, secluded and supremely natural residence, you will be surrounded by 9 acres of breathtaking walkways, forest, open skies and open fields. Eco-chic style meets passive solar architecture in this masterful award-winning sustainable home built with natural materials. Everything is state of the art, from the exquisite light fixtures throughout and heated floors, to the open concept kitchen, stocked with all new amenities. The expansive and private deck is the best room in the house and the perfect place for sunbathing, entertaining or barbecuing. This is a one of kind solar powered home with total privacy.
Reinventing the African Mud Hut Together
Nka Foundation invites entries for Mud House Design 2014, an international architecture competition open to recent graduates and students of architecture, design and others from around the world who think earth architecture can be beautiful. The challenge is to design a single-family unit of about 30 x 40 feet (approximately 10 x 12 metres) to be built by maximum use of earth and local labor in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
This is the design problem: In Ghana, as in other countries in West Africa, stereotypes about buildings made of earth persist because of poor construction. From the cities to the low-income villages, use of concrete – despite its dependence on imported resources – is considered indispensable for building. Yet an excellent, cheap and local alternative called laterite, red earth, is available everywhere in Ghana. The long-term goal is to enable the Ghanaian population and lots of other places, to overcome the stigma that mud architecture is architecture for the very poor.
Nka Foundation Announces Jury Members for MUD HOUSE DESIGN 2014 competition for Ghana. The jury consists of pre-selection jurors and grand jurors. The Pre-Selection Jury will review all design entries and select the overall Top 20 Designs and presented them to the Grand Jury, who will then select the winning designs. The Jury session runs from September 15 – September 30, 2014. Those interested in participating in the competition can still register on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mud-house-design-competition-tickets-10697036123 till August 15, 2014.
Why do we need greener options for making bricks? Here’s a quote from IDSN MOW “1.3 trillion bricks are manufactured on earth each year, and at least 10% of which are made in coal-fired ovens, on a whole releasing 800 million tons of CO2 annually.” In addition, clay bricks often destroy valuable topsoil. We need affordable, locally made, low tech eco bricks for the masses. Here is a list of leading eco-friendly green bricks.
“Baandin Laguna, a uniquely natural resort with cottages built from clay, covered by leaf roofs, surrounded by mountains, rice fields and morning fog.