Natural Building 101: Building a Cob House Materials Published on September 12th, 2008 | by ziggy This year, I started building my very own cob house. What is cob? Cob building dates back hundreds of years ago, and cob houses built over 500 years ago in Europe are still inhabited to this day. The properties of cob Cob structures are monolithic: layers of material are worked together to produce one massive structure, compared to something like adobe, which is typically made into forms that can be stacked like bricks. Cob: beautiful and environmental The main components of cob building – sand, clay, and straw, come directly from the earth, oftentimes right beneath our feet. Cobbing is simple and cooperative Cob building is intuitive and requires little to no experience and no heavy machinery. Where to learn more about cob Fortunately, I live in Missouri, where there are no building codes to prevent me from building with cob. There’s many a reason why cob has been around for as long as it has, and why it’s used all over the world. (p.s.
Une maison en sac de sable Vous souvenez-vous de vos jeux d’enfants, avec vos frères/sœurs/amis, lorsque vous vous cachiez derrière des sacs de sable, comme à la guerre ? Et bien il existe depuis longtemps maintenant une technique de construction similaire à cela, qui permet d’obtenir des habitations très efficaces et performantes énergétiquement à des prix imbattables. A l’origine utilisée dans les pays africains, elle s’exporte peu à peu dans nos contrées plus tempérées . Regardons quelques années en arrière : les armées du monde, bien qu’elles ne soient les meilleurs exemples existants d’écologie et de « durabilité », ont toujours utilisé des sacs de sable pour les bases, camps provisoires… Les avantages pour eux étaient multiples : protection contre les projectiles (en fonction de la taille et de l’épaisseur des sacs, ils peuvent protéger d’une simple balle à un obus !) Matières premières locales : à part les sacs (sur lesquels je reviens plus bas), tout ou presque peut-être trouvé localement.
Earthbag Construction EarthBag Homes - you're standing on the building materials... earthbag home Long sandbags are filled on-site and arranged in layers or as compressed coils. Stabilizers such as cement, lime, or sodium carbonate may be added to an ideal mix of 70% sand, 30% clay. Straw may also be added. The earthbags are then plastered over with adobe. Arquitectura en Equilibrio (Architecture in Balance) flickr.com earthbag home Plastic bags recycled into plastic bags -- if plastic does not break down for a thousand years, this building is sure to last several lifetimes. earthbag construction Foundations differ as per site. earthbag construction The time consuming part, filling the bags. earthbag construction Testing the strength of an arch. earthbag home Project Seres, Guatemala. projectseres.org, flickr.com earthbag home CalEarth -- Emergency Shelter Village, Hesperia, California. earthbag home Cal Earth -- Emergency Shelters. earthbag home CalEarth let the layers show. Resources: Lessons: More Pictures:
ecologie-pratique.org - Construire, restaurer, aménager, cultiver et vivre écologiquement Todd Jersey Architecture Residential We were pleased to partner with Susan Feichtmeir in beautifully blending Spanish influences to design and build her 3,000 square foot home in the Sonoma Valley. Perfectly suited to the surrounds' climate and terrain, the stucco walls, courtyard, and cool, shaded interiors make this home well suited for the warm Sonoma Valley climate. Oriented to take full advantage of its near-hilltop setting while shielding the interior from the hot summer sun, the floor plan includes all the features one would want in a Sonoma Valley luxury home including: ten-foot ceilings, a master bedroom suite, library, gourmet kitchen, artists studio and wine storage area. Green features include radiant floor heating, extensive daylighting and skylights and ceiling fans for natural ventilation. Todd Jersey Architecture prides itself on partnering with its clients to develop a project that is unique to their style and in keeping with the surrounding landscape.
PAHS - Umbrella House Figure 1 Geodome, the first umbrella home (in idealized form), maintains a 66° to 74° temperature year-round without heating equipment in western Montana’s cold climate. In summer, solar heat radiates in, falls on internal surfaces, and is absorbed into the surrounding soil. The umbrella traps heat in the dry soil until winter, when it migrates back into the house. Adding convection-driven earth tubes would modify the internal temperature by conveying outside air in. Figure 2 Twenty feet under the surface, the soil temperature reflects the average ambient air temperature during the year. Figure 3a In summer, air enters the house through an earth tube and is warmed by the sun; moving through the second tube, it warms the cooler soil. Figure 3b In winter, cool air enters, is heated by the warm earth, and passes to the house. Figure 4 Second generation umbrella home in Missoula, Montana was constructed by Tom Beaudette, the engineer of Geodome. "What a marvelous idea!"