Filed under: biomimicry, community, rethinking waste, sustainable design, sustainable living, sustainable products | Tags: biomimicry, community-supported agriculture, natural building materials, sustainable design, sustainable harvest
Debating building materials for a new house? A whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree, and also sequesters carbon. Architect Roald Gundersen shapes live small-diameter trees- passed over by loggers as too small- into gorgeous building frames. A combination of arched trees and trunks of larger trees felled by wind, disease or insects provide naturally strong housing structures, claims Gunther and his business partner Amelia Baxter.
Pulling small trees from a high-density forest allows remaining trees and undergrowth to receive more light, air and nutrients. Their firm, Whole Tree Architecture and Construction, works in coordination with a USDA-supported community forest project that sustainably harvests lumber, firewood, herbs and mushrooms and manages a living inventory of the area.
Why synthetically design when nature already provides the answers? The strength and flexibility of tree crooks and arches “have been time-tested by environmental conditions for 200 million years”, Gunther states. Whole Trees can keep construction costs as low as $100 a square foot, and the resources used are renewable, with careful stewardship of surrounding forests.
Filed under: innovation, rethinking waste, sustainable design | Tags: eco-tourism, sustainable design, swords-to-ploughshares
Swords-to-phoughshares is taking on a whole new meaning: Former Air Force bases across the US are now reclaimed for massive solar farms, and abandoned military posts are being transformed into anything from national parks to R&D innovation centers. What’s the latest militant-to-peaceful repurposing? Over 750,000 abandoned military bunkers have been found across Albania, and are now being transformed into eco-hostels in an important new stage of Albanian military history. Two architecture students in Milan launched the project after inspiration from re-purposed buildings such as Switzerland’s nuclear bunker hotel , Dutch oil rig hostels, and German bunker art galleries.
Filed under: rethinking waste, sustainable design, sustainable products | Tags: art, low-income housing, salvaged materials, sustainable design
Dan Phillips is spreading beauty throughout the southern US with his low-income housing, hand-crafted from salvaged building materials. Employing a small staff of minimum-wage employees, Phillips requires his soon-to-be-homeowner to participate in building the house itself. “I think it’s in everyone’s DNA to want to be a builder.”, claims Phillips. The pride and skills learned in the building process ensures that his works of art are well-kept, functional, and meaningful to its owner. His East Texas-based construction company, Phoenix Commotion, perceives any piece of waste as a potential building material. This mindset has led to gorgeously crafted houses built with crushed glass bottles, dishware and mirror shards, and the creative re-use of everything from wine corks to scrap metal. A great read to feed dreams of self-built home ownership without the usual outrageous associated costs.
