Triple Dome Survival Shelter April 12, 2011 by Owen Geiger Triple Dome Survival Shelter (click to enlarge) Specifications: Three 16′ interior diameter domes with 603 sq. ft. interior, 3 sleeping lofts with 312 sq. ft., total 915 sq. ft. interior, one bedroom, one bath, Footprint: 38′ x 38′ Description: This Triple Dome Survival Shelter provides much more space than my first earthbag survival shelter. This design is for long term survival for a family. It is earthquake and fire resistant, bullet and nuclear fallout resistant. Like this: Like Loading...
The Living Cube by Till Koenneker Germany-born, Switzerland-based designer Till Koenneker took matters into his own hands when he moved into a studio apartment that had no storage. Building a simple cube-like design, called The Living Cube, he found space for his vinyl collection, TV, clothes, and shoes. On top of the cube, Koenneker was able to incorporate a bed for guests and inside houses a much-needed storage space. Koenneker sketched out his ideas and had them built by Remo Zimmerli. Working with the space he had, The Living Cube, essentially a large piece of furniture, was built for his personal needs and solves a lot of issues. I loved that they used virtually ever square inch of the cube and made it functional. Photos by Rob Lewis.
Natural Building: How to Decide which Method to use for Walls The range of different natural building techniques out there are many, and all of them are exciting. But when to use which technique? Here’s a starting guide for choosing what to build your walls from. Though all very different, and used for different reasons, all the natural building methods below have some common aspects. And the biggest one is: they’re all striving to create comfortable, liveable, non-toxic natural buildings. Natural building also gives you the chance to build with a much lower energy footprint through using available, more local materials – rather than things like cement, clay brick and treated timber that have huge flow-on effects to both the environments they’re sourced from, and the earth’s atmosphere because of how they’re produced. But like designing and building anything, your context – which includes your site, climate, resources, location and budget – will define what methods you use to build. Light earth is a funky blend between rammed earth and cobb.
Tiny Earthbag Homes = Low Cost To Build And Own Earthbag homes can take on many different sizes and shapes such as straight walls or curved. The roof can also be made of earthbag but only for smaller structures. Green roofs and timber roofs are also often used. Here is an in-depth step by step on how to build yourself an earthbag home. It’s possible that an earthbag home could be used for folks interested in living small. Once you own land in a no codes / no restrictions area, you have some flexibility to do such a neat build. Making sawhorses It seems like there are as many variations on sawhorse designs as there are woodworkers. Here's how I build mine. It's not much of a design. Just as simple and sturdy a sawhorse that I could come up with. I previously built some sawhorses with a radial arm saw (or a miter saw), but this time I'll show how to make one with just a circular saw. Materials needed for two sawhorses The 18° bevel cut for the top of the legs is tricky to make. I had some old painted 2x4s from a picnic table (which, ironically, was my temporary workbench when I previously built sawhorses). So I flipped the 2x4s over to finish the cut from the other side. If you are using 2x3s instead of 2x4s for the legs, you won't need to do this. Here I'm cutting the 18 degree (18 degrees from square) bevel in the ends of the legs. I make a series of cuts to hog out a dado for where the legs will attach. After that, I cut more slots, knock those out, then clear out more. More on cutting dadoes with a handheld circular saw
Devon Earth Building Association links to cob build specialists and earth construction courses All links open in new window Build Something Beautiful Build Something Beautiful is owned by Kevin McCabe, who is an East Devon traditional cob building specialist, providing new homes, cob repairs and lime based materials for the West Country, as well as running workshops on new build in cob which includes practical experience on an actual new building J & J Sharpe Devon builders who specialise in the repair, refurbishing and sympathetic conservation of old buildings including those made of cob. Building Conservation Cathedral Communications building conservation website Abey Smallcombe Earth Art & Architecture Two english women have formed a business partnership dedicated to producing art and architecture using cob, the traditional building material made from earth, straw and water. The Yarner Trust Centre for Alternative Technology Bedford and Jobson Architects
Earth house | Natural Building Near Vancouver, There Is A “Secret” Island Where Everyone Lives Completely Off-Grid There is a small island between Vancouver Island and Vancouver called Lasqueti that is 12 miles long and 3 miles wide. On this island, there is a community living off the grid who enjoys being separate from the mainstream Canadian culture. Most of the residents live simply. They have very little in the way of industry or economy and because they take almost nothing from the land their carbon footprint is rather small. According to the 2011 census , there are 426 people living there however the communities website says there are actually only around 350 permanent residents which include 70 children. Lasqueti is “an island of individuals, with poets, artists, physicists, fishermen, loggers, tree planters, designers, professional musicians, published authors, some small scale manufacturers, some commercial agriculture as well as professional consultants in education, engineering, forestry and alternate energy.” – Lasqueti Community blog. The island also features one cafe and one bar.
8 earth homes almost anyone can afford to build | Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building Many people dream of building their own home, but the financial cost and environmental toll of starting from scratch can often seem overwhelming. It doesn't have to be. By stepping outside the box and using natural methods, almost anyone can afford to build their own green home out of sustainable materials. La Casa Vergara’s uncommon dome shapes may captivate the eye, but what’s underneath is most impressive. These charming hobbit-like dwellings are prefabricated by Magic Green Homes and can be constructed in just three days. For anyone who is interested in building their own earth home, yet doesn’t know where to start, the guidance of Cal-Earth might come in handy. Orkidstudio, an organization that specializes in humanitarian design, opened up an orphanage in Nakuru, Kenya that is made entirely out of earth bags. Building low-cost, environmentally friendly homes is a sign of moving in the right direction and the Earth Home Builder makes the process amazingly efficient.
Inicio - Superadobe Cal-Earth Turn Soda Cans Into Aluminum Roofing Shingles! Here's one way to take good old coke cans and turn them into non-rusting aluminum roofing shingles. It's a bit time consuming, but have you priced aluminum shingles lately? Other Great Stories From Offgridquest.com: What is Natural Building You Say? Only The Best Way To Build! posted Categories: Homes / Dwellings Natural building is similar to green building. It seeks to reduce the environmental impact of our dwellings without sacrificing health or comfort. Green building often includes materials that many see as unhealthy or not natural. Size Matters We make some generalizations in this post, and the size of the home, building or dwelling is the detail that largely governs this subject’s appropriateness. Woodstoves and Rocket Mass Heaters are a major source of indoor-air pollution. Indoor combustion is more unhealthy than materials Most natural building seems to rely on indoor combustion to keep comfortable during the heating season. This is a huge, dirty red flag.
La Casa Vergara This residence was designed by José Andrés Vallejo and built in Bogotá, Colombia in just 5 months, early in 2011. Architecture in Balance is a design platform that specializes in sustainable architectural solutions. Architecture in Balance implements alternative technologies, construction of low environmental impact, integrating contemporary design to create innovative projects and balanced environments. The design of La Casa Vergara explores the potential of seismic resistance with superadobe as the construction technology and contemprary design. The superadobe uses three elements: earth/concrete, tubular bags and barbed wire.