The Super Insulated House (Part 1)

Guest Blogger – Leonard Smit OMG!!! There’s a fly in the house!! True story – there was a fly in our house a few weeks ago. Y’know ….. those big, ugly, buzzy things? We don’t see them often any more, despite living in a semi-rural area with cows and sheep and other things that poo […]

10 keys to ESD

These are some key points to consider for any good design.  I first wrote this summary a few years ago but thought it might be of interest here.  Although I wrote it based on my company’s principles, it happens to be well aligned to the principles of the Green Building Council as well. 1.  Orientation   […]

Binh House

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – VTN Architects Project Year :     2016 Developed Area :     233.0 m2 Photographs :    Hiroyuki Oki, Quang Dam With rapid urbanization in the key cities of Vietnam, Binh House provides green space where it’s needed most. Several parts of the house were specifically designed to grow plants and […]

Casa Ecs

Scicli, Italy – Giuseppe Gurrieri Studio Project Year :     2017 Developed Area :     230.0 m2 Photographs :    Filippo Poli Casa Ecs sits in the middle of the Mediterranean landscape. The green roof, earthen walls, and lush landscaping makes this home unique. Like a chameleon, it blends well with its surroundings, looking exactly where […]

Tropik Works

Costa Rica – VOID opd Project Year :    2016 Developed Area :    215.0 m2 Photographs :    Andres Garcia Lachner Tropik Works is a highly sustainable home built in close connection with nature. The home operates on the premise of simplicity. It embodies uncomplicated living through straightforward design minus the frills. The home was […]

Eco-friendly natural home built for $250

Eco-friendly $250 Natural Home

A $250 home may sound too good to be true, but the owner-builder of this house has proven that it can be done! And it’s not even a tiny home, but a spacious house with a loft in it… :) Retired Oxfordshire art teacher Michael Buck was able to build this inspiring home by following a simple principle […]

One Building Technique With Many Names

Cordwood Homes

Have you ever heard of cordwood masonry, cordwood construction, stackwall, log-end, stovewood or stackwood? It is a wall building technique commonly used to build homes, barns, saunas — just about any structure that uses walls above grade.  Created by laying whole or split debarked wood, width-wise in a bed of mortar, the widths of the […]

Summerhouse in Gata Hrunamannahreppur

Summerhouse in Gata Hrunamannahreppur

Gata Hrunamannahreppur, Iceland – ASK arkitektar Year Built: 2003 A home embraced by nature… This summer house located in Iceland is a nice example of a home that draws beauty by working with nature rather than standing out against it. Though the house alone is attractive from the aesthetic perspective, its true beauty comes from the fact that it respects its […]

Shantikuthi Earthbag Spiral House

Shantikuthi Earthbag Spiral House

Nagano, Japan – Michi-kun Year Built:     2011 Here’s another inspiring earthbag construction for fans of natural homes out there! This earthbag house is not actually a ‘house’, but a garden playroom. It was built by permaculturist and carpenter Michi-kun with the help of 20 volunteers in the Peace Permaculture Garden in Nagano, Japan. It’s called a spiral house […]

Earthship Homes

Earthship Homes

This home uses one of the world’s biggest waste problems as it’s basic building material. Can you guess what that is? The result is an incredibly strong, thermally stable home. BTW… it can also look fantastic as you can see here! The answer is tires! Lots of them!  Which is a much better use than […]