The Beauty of a Natural Pool - 26 Custom Sights to Behold
For those living in the northern hemisphere let the images of these beautiful natural pools bring warmth to your heart during this winter months and for those living in the southern hemisphere let these be inspiration for your next project. Whether you like to practice your dolphin dives or lounge away the day on a raft, swimming is one of summer's perfect pleasures. With a minimum of materials and without an arsenal of chemicals, you can build an idyllic water oasis right in your own back yard and thwart summertime's sultry dog days. Though fairly common in Europe, natural swimming pools (like the one pictured above in an Austrian family's backyard), are in their infancy in the United States. Ask most American swimming-pool contractors to build a backyard pool and chances are they'll roll out a long list of goods, including rebar, gunite, fiberglass, chlorine and an energy-sapping filtration system.
GeoPathfinder
GeoPathfinder.com has moved to new addresses! The information on this page is no longer being updated or maintained. It has been divided into new categories, and it is built and edited using new software. The new categories and pages, formerly known as our Food Preservation Page are:Solar Food Drying , Energy-Wise Cooking & Canning , The Four-Season Pantry , and Live Food Storage . The following information is still posted for historical purposes only. Energy Efficient Food Preservation
Don't Bag Those Clippings!
An Easy Answer It's a question we all face when mowing: Should I bag my clippings or leave them on the lawn? In most cases, the answer is easy: Leave the clippings on the lawn!
Mostra Black Flat Art Interior Design by Guilherme Torres
Art Interior Design for Flat with Otto Sofa by Guilherme Torres Mostra Black invites young architects from the studio Guilherme Torres to participate in one of the most important competitions in interior design in Brazil and of course the young architects present themselves as exceptional talents. The place used for the creation of unique art interior design is located on the patio of a modernistic house in the area of Alto de Pinheiros in São Paulo, which is a referral to the Pavilion in Barcelona one of the wonderful architectural masterpieces of Mies van der Rohe.
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Photography by Iwan Baan, © Vitra Photography by Iwan Baan, © Vitra Located on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, this park features a brilliantly constructed work of architecture entitled the “VitraHaus” that was developed after a large fire in the 1950s destroyed most of the site’s existing factory buildings. The VitraHaus’ sleek and contemporary shell was built up using a series of stacked pitched-roof boxes designed by {*style:<a href=' & de Meuron.
David Pagan Butler is Shedding Light on Natural Pools (Video)
David Pagan Butler talks about how he created his own eco-friendly pool in his back garden. David, 54, a filmmaker from Saxthorpe, Norfolk, built a pool that serves as a fresh water habitat and works with plants and animals to provide hygienic water for swimming. A circulation system driven by a standard aquarium air pump moves the water through plant beds, sand and gravel, down to drainage pipes - and the water is filtered by the micro-organisms living there. "There are many ways of creating a Natural Swimming Pool, but I want to show you a way that is simple to construct and works perfectly. From there, you can adapt it to fit in with your own ideas. This is a practical guide to get more of us started on building these pools."
Terra Preta Toilets
Urine diversion terra preta toilets are dry terra preta sanitation (TPS) systems based on urine diversion, lacto-fermentation, the addition of charcoal and vermicomposting to produce lasting and highly fertile soils with properties similar to the terra preta soils (GENSCH 2010 b). Pre-Columbian native populations generated terra preta soils, literally “black earth”, by incorporating large amounts of charred residues (charcoal) either produced intentionally or as a by-product from human activity into the soil together with nutrient-rich material (GLASER 2006). Nutrient-rich material was used to be human and animal manure (rich in P and N), waste including mammal and fish bones (rich in P and Ca), ash residues of incomplete combustions (rich in Ca, Mg, K, P and charcoal) or plant biomass (e.g. kitchen wastes, compost, algae etc.) (GLASER 2006). A typical soil from the Amazonian region (left). The fertile, carbon rich terra preta (black soil) (right).
Lawn Seeding: How to Plant Grass Seed - Greenview
5 steps for planting grass seed Planting (or seeding) a lawn is not difficult and can be done successfully by anyone. If you are planting grass seed, follow these five simple steps for best results. Step 1 – Buy the best grass seed A great lawn can only be grown from great grass seeds.
Bates Masi Architects – Award Winning Modern Architect, Hamptons, New York - Portfolio
Profile Bates Masi + Architects LLC, a full-service architectural firm with roots in New York City and the East End of Long Island for over 50 years, responds to each project with extensive research in related architectural fields, material, craft and environment for unique solutions as varied as the individuals or groups for whom they are designed. The focus is neither the size nor the type of project but the opportunity to enrich lives and enhance the environment.
Glass Beach – The Dump You’ll Want to Visit
Before you say anything about the content of this article, I hate people who litter. I’ll judge you if I think you’re too lazy to recycle. I hate pollution and the death of our fragile ecosystems and all the rest.
Natural pools are beautiful and environmentally friendly
A natural swimming pool is a magical addition to a home where you can observe nature throughout the seasons and be closer to the wildlife you share your land with. Some of the creatures you will attract are insects like water beetles and dragonflies; birds will visit the pond to bathe, feed and collect nesting material and amphibians like the frog and newt will take up residence. Your pond will become a stepping stone for the wilderness where local native flora and fauna will find your pool and flourish. A conventional sterile pool will typically cost around £50,000 ($80,000) but a 180 m2 (2,000 ft2) organic pool like the one above only cost David about £6,000 ($10,000) to make. You can find out how he did this in his DIY manual which is free to download from his website here: Organic Pools DIY Manual. He has also produced a 90 minute DVD that takes you through all the construction steps.
Natural pools are beautiful and environmentally friendly
A natural swimming pool is a magical addition to a home where you can observe nature throughout the seasons and be closer to the wildlife you share your land with. Some of the creatures you will attract are insects like water beetles and dragonflies; birds will visit the pond to bathe, feed and collect nesting material and amphibians like the frog and newt will take up residence. Your pond will become a stepping stone for the wilderness where local native flora and fauna will find your pool and flourish. A conventional sterile pool will typically cost around £50,000 ($80,000) but a 180 m2 (2,000 ft2) organic pool like the one above only cost David about £6,000 ($10,000) to make.
Lavender projects
Tempted to do something with the lavender growing in your yard? Letting such a fragrant herb go to waste would be…well, a waste! Gathering, drying and using lavender is really simple. Just one plant will yield enough material to scent your whole house. Dried flowers, lavender sugar and potpourri satchels are all quick and easy to make.
