Author Archives: Bill Christensen

Thatch-covered Enterprise Centre may be the world’s greenest building

Posted on by

Prefab thatch wall panels (built indoors during the off season) and materials palette which the Treehugger writer calls ‘almost edible’.

“John French, CEO of the university’s Adapt Low Carbon Group and project director, … was eager that the next generation of buildings at UEA should move away from high thermal mass and a dependence on carbon-intensive concrete, towards natural and locally sourced materials.”

ThatchedPassiveHousePlus

“The building also features a wide array of other sustainable materials including recycled timber finishes, wood wool acoustic boards, spray-on cellulose, and wall coverings made from hemp, nettle fabric and reeds”

More at:

http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/thatch-covered-enterprise-centre-may-be-worlds-greenest-building.html

http://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/new-build/is-this-the-uk-s-greenest-building.html

A 3D Printer that builds homes

Posted on by

Unlike earlier 3D printed houses which used plastic, this one uses clay.  Very cool!

The World’s Advanced Saving Project, or WASP, has just unveiled a giant 3D printer that – rather like a real wasp – can build a house out of the stuff.

The 3D printer, called BigDelta, works much like any other you may have seen – layering up a material into a pre-determined structure. The difference is that it stands 12 meters (40 feet) tall and claims to be the world’s biggest.

It was unveiled this weekend at the three-day “Reality of Dream” rally in Italy, where BigDelta was made. In a statement, WASP proposes that its technology could help meet the rising demand for housing, citing a UN calculation that over the next 15 years there will be an average daily demand for 100,000 new housing units.

It is thought the technology would be of most use in disaster or war zones, where the speed of production could help those who have become displaced. The use of natural materials could also benefit the environment by reducing cement – a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions.

You can watch the journey of BigDelta from desktop prototype to field-dwelling giant here.

The project site:  http://www.wasproject.it/

Original article:  http://www.iflscience.com/3d-printer-so-big-it-can-print-houses

New LinkedIn “Tadelakt Professionals” group

Posted on by

Ryan Chivers of Atesano Plaster recently started a new LinkedIn group for Tadelakt Professionals.

This group is a forum for professional tadelakt applicators and those involved in tadelakt material sales and formulation. Discussions will focus on technical aspects of the craft as well as the business side of tadelakt installation.

Tadelakt, for those who are unaware, is a lime-based plastering technique which produces a beautiful water resistant surface with a high polish.

My lawn is dead. Because I care.

Posted on by
My lawn is totally dead. Because I care.
One of a series of badges promoting water conservation by Katie McKissick

It’s summer.  Here in the drought plagued Southwest US, it’s a badge of honor to not water your lawn.  It’s even more of a badge of honor to replace it with xeriscape, create water-retaining structures like a berm-and-swale system, and recycle your greywater onto your landscape where possible.  That’s what I do.

For more of Katie McKissick’s work, see: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/symbiartic/2014/06/24/dont-be-a-water-jerk/

Spread the word about Straw Bale Construction to Romania

Posted on by

UPDATE: The Indiegogo campaign has ended, and we heard today that our new Romanian friends managed to raise €1,266 – not all that they’d hoped for, but hopefully enough to do a lot of what they’ve planned.  I’ll update this post more as I hear news.

We recently got word of some people attempting to spread the word about strawbale construction and other natural building techniques in Romania.  They’re doing an Indiegogo fundraiser to get the funds together to attend and exhibit at the largest construction expo in the country.

They only have until midnight on Feb 14th to raise the needed money, so let’s show them some love!

In their words:

Last year we started a project called Earth Safe Design, aimed at building straw bale houses in Romania and raising awareness about straw bale building and natural building in general.

In April 2014 we want to attend Construct Expo, the largest construction fair in Bucharest. This event gathers 17000 visitors over a period of three days and gets coverage all over the mass media.

We are sure that this event would be a big step on the way to establishing straw bale building as an acknowledged building technique, one that will be embraced by more and more Romanians in the years to come.

Unfortunately, we cannot afford the fee for taking part in this fair, nor the other expenses involved in printing and buying building materials. Below you will find a detailed list of our expenses.

We are addressing our appeal to straw bale builders, straw bale house owner, and straw bale enthusiast who know and understand the benefits and the delight of living in a natural house.

We encourage you to donate to their campaign.  We have.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-spread-the-word-about-straw-bale-building-in-romania

Los Angeles is first major city to require Cool Roofs

Posted on by

The Los Angeles City Council has voted unanimously to require “cool roofs” for all new and refurbished homes, becoming the first major U.S. city to do so. “Cool roofs” incorporate light- and heat-reflecting building materials, which can lower the surface temperature of the roof by up to 50 degrees F on a hot day, according to Climate Resolve, the local organization that pushed for the ordinance. Such roofs do not necessarily need to be white, the Global Cool Cities Alliance says; they can also be shades of gray, or even red. Research suggests that by mid-century temperatures in Los Angeles will increase by 3.7 to 5.4 degrees F, with the number of days above 95 degrees F tripling in the city’s downtown. “The changes our region will face are significant, and we will have to adapt,” said UCLA scientist Alex Hall, who led the research. The cool roof mandate will not cost homeowners additional money because of expanded incentives.

Straw Bale Construction Building Code (2013 IRC Approval)

Posted on by

On October 3, 2013 the International Code Council (ICC) approved final action RB473-13 as a new Appendix R in the upcoming 2015 version of the International Residential Code (IRC).

The approval marks the latest advance of straw bale construction in the building codes and permitting process.  It is the highest approval to be granted for the construction method and will be adopted by thousands of jurisdictions around the United States in and after 2015.

The process of creating the IRC appendix was spearheaded by Martin Hammer of Builders Without Borders representing the California Straw Building Association, the Colorado Straw Bale Association, the Straw Bale Construction Association –New Mexico, the Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition, the Development Center for Appropriate Technology and the Ecological Building Network.

Thousands of hours of work have been donated by Martin and various individuals within the straw bale construction community to make this milestone a reality.  We thank all of them for their hard work and look forward to even more widespread acceptance of straw bale building in the construction trades.

For details and a link to a copy of the appendix, visit TheLastStraw.org. A huge thanks to the hard-working bale heads that spent years making this happen!

Lighting section re-do

Posted on by

Our lighting section just got a major overhaul, courtesy of meticulous researcher Paul Robbins of the Austin Environmental Directory.

Paul sifted through a lot of material and presents a coherent and understandable overview of the differences between incandescent, fluorescent, CFL, and LED lights.  He answers (with numbers to back it up) some of the common questions: how efficient are they, really; does the energy cost of manufacturing these fancy bulbs negate the savings; why do some CFLs and LEDs burn out prematurely; and more.

Have a look!

PS: comments are open in lighting – got a question or an update?

Note to those in the lighting industry: Now would be the time to list your company in the lighting page’s Resource Listings.  And if your company’s web address is listed in the article (or should be) and you want it to be a live link, please contact us!

The Solar Camel

Posted on by

I’ve been following posts from National Geographic journalist Paul Salopek as he walks the path of humans out of Africa, across Asia, over to Alaska, and down to Tierra Del Fuego – a journey that’s expected to take 7 years.  So far it’s been a facinating read.

I got a kick out of one of his recent posts titled Trail Notes – The Solar Camel.

Photograph by Paul Salopek Ibrahim Hagaita, the Djiboutian cameleer, leads Madoita, the solar camel.
Ibrahim Hagaita, the Djiboutian cameleer, leads Madoita, the solar camel. Photograph by Paul Salopek