Green Home Building and Sustainable Architecture

Radio Interview with Kelly Hart

2009-05-21T16:11:00.002-06:00

In May of 2009, I was interviewed for nearly an hour by Veronica Entwistle for her “Paradigm Shifters” Radio Program, at www.bbsradio.com. Veronica and the station have been kind enough to allow you the opportunity of listening to some or all of this interview directly. Either the entire program, or specific aspects of sustainable architecture and natural building can be heard as individual segments. You can listen to all of this from this page. The topics covered in the interview include:

natural building
sustainable architecture
strawbale building
earthbag building
Earthships
passive solar heating
cost of natural building
papercrete
education
vernacular architecture
recycling building materials
underground building

Earthbag Slide Show

2009-05-03T09:50:00.003-06:00

The folks at www.naturalhomes.org have assembled a fun little slide show featuring images of earthbag projects around the world. If you click on one of the images it will take you to the source page.

Internet Radio Show Appearance

2009-04-14T12:04:00.003-06:00

I was a guest on an internet radio talk show Wednesday, April 15, 2009 in the afternoon, discussing topics related to green home building: http://truthbrigade.com/

If you miss the live show, it will be archived at http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-11887/TS-212923.mp3

I don't actually make my appearance on the show until about 20 minutes into it.

Toxic Drywall and the Ills of Modern Building

2009-04-12T10:38:00.004-06:00

I just read this article about the toxic effects of new houses that used drywall material shipped from China to the US in the last few years. Many people are getting quite sick and can no longer live in these contaminated homes. Nobody quite understands exactly what the cause is, except that the suspect drywall seems to emit toxic sulfuric fumes, especially under hot and humid conditions. These fumes are so corrosive that they can turn copper pipes black. It is estimated that at least 100,000 homes are likely affected by this problem, many of them built during the height of the housing boom when domestic drywall material was harder to find.

Wow. What a devastating example of the imbalance that exists in our modern times. Contractors, wanting to provide more wealth for themselves and those buyers who expected to soon turn around and make a profit on the houses they bought, turned to Chinese producers of building products. To meet the demand the Chinese carelessly threw together raw materials that appeared to be safe enough to use and shipped them across the ocean to the eager market. Everybody was making money...so why not?

Compare this to a more wholesome, sustainable scenario, where only local, natural materials are used for building, and speculation is not driving the economy. This never would have happened.

Thousands of lives are being ruined by this situation, through loss of health and economic loss, paying for houses that cannot be safely lived in. What a double whammy! The author of the article assumed that these houses would eventually have to be torn down to deal with the problem; I doubt that this is true since it is quite possible to pull out all of the drywall and start over with that phase of the construction, which is actually one of the last stages of building. Still, the impact is enormous.

If anything is to be learned from this, it should be that we need to take a serious look at how we go about using resources and making money.

Natural Building in Korea

2009-04-09T09:16:00.002-06:00

Professor Sunny Cai, who teaches architectural design at a college in Beijing, China, sent me some wonderful photos of traditional earthen buildings he photographed while on a recent trip to Korea. Sunny is especially interested in various forms of rammed earth, so I presume that these mostly represent that form. The stone structure appears to have been mortared with earth.

Time to Learn about Natural Living

2009-04-01T14:52:00.002-06:00

We are fast approaching the prime season for learning how to live more sustainably. This summer there will be opportunities galore to take a workshop nearby that will give you hands-on experience and understanding of a wide range of topics.

I have assembled dozens of these workshop and training sessions at one convenient place: www.greenhomebuilding.com. They are listed chronologically with enough information to give you a sense of whether they might be appropriate for you. If you don't find something there, I have also listed many places that have on-going workshops throughout the year at www.greenhomebuilding.com/education.

There are workshops about renewable energy that feature training about photovoltaic, wind, and hydro electric generation. Solar hot water for domestic use is also covered.

The theory and practice of passive solar architecture is taught, along with household energy efficiency in general.

Water conservation techniques, waste water treatment, compost toilets, water systems, and permaculture, are all featured topics at various venues.

In the realm of "natural building" there are many workshops about cob, timber framing, earthbags, earthen plasters, strawbale, stone masonry, cordwood, and green roofs.

There is no better way to learn some of the basics of all of this than by actually trying it out with your own hands. You will soon discover whether a technique is something you would like to use for one of your own projects. And there is the fun of joining with other folks to help each other learn. The instructors are mostly professionals who have dedicated their lives to learning and teaching the various techniques.

If you don't have the time or inclination to participate in such workshops, then you might enjoy attending one of the many expos or conferences that are listed along with the workshops. Much can be learned from browsing the exhibits and sitting in on presentations.

However you do it, there is no better time than now to find out more about how you can become more sustainable in the ways that you live!

Green School Primer

2009-03-22T09:05:00.002-06:00

I was given a pre-release review copy of "Green School Primer: Lessons in Sustainability" published by the Images Publishing Group. At GreenHomeBuilding.com I am mainly concerned with residential architecture, but what better way to learn about the effectiveness of sustainable architectural principles than within a school building that was designed with this in mind?

I loaned my copy of the book to a friend, Vince Palermo, who is advising a small charter school in Colorado. It just so happens that they are in the process of coming up with a proposal for a new school building. Vince, a retired physician and renewable energy consultant, is well versed in what makes for good sustainable design. Here are his comments:

"This is an excellent book, and very timely -- both in content and production. First, the book quality is very good, well laid out and organized, with lots of very good representative pictures
illustrating various principles, and is has a quality binding. Though LPA Architects are one of the largest planning firms in California, the book was printed in Australia. The forward and jacket are written by the current president of the American Institute of Architecture and Dean of
North Carolina State College of Design, so it is strongly supported by an important professional in the business."

"The content looks to my appraisal to be very good and embraces the spectrum of Green, from energy to holistic planning, including the environment and approach to proper utilization and selection of materials. The book is focused on ten principles and presents them succinctly and clearly with supporting illustrations. It is not focused on the details of execution -- leaving that to the architects."

"There is only so much you can put in 143 pages. It has a chapter on rating, but interestingly does not pursue the ultimate in energy efficiency, looking more on the total picture of green, healthy, and functional. LPA has designed or modernized 200 schools in California, some illustrated in the book."

"In all, an impressive book! I particularly like it because this could not be published at a better time, when the Secretary of Education is supporting charter schools and has a big purse. This is a template for progressive thinking in school design."

Natural Building Bookstore

2009-03-19T09:41:00.002-06:00

Rosana, my ex-librarian wife, has taken the data from book sales at www.greenhomebuilding.com over the last four years to create a convenient book store that features the top 350 books from that list. These are grouped into several topics, so browsing is easy. You can check out this new book store at hartworks.com/naturalbuildingbooks.

The Most Popular Green Home Building Books

2009-02-17T12:45:00.007-07:00

I sell a lot of books from www.greenhomebuilding.com, mostly as affiliate links through Amazon.com. Out of curiosity my ex-librarian wife did a search through our sales records of the last four years and discovered some interesting trends. Our top seller was Earthbag Building: The Tools, Tricks and Techniques, and we averaged selling over 6 of these every month.

Close behind this is The Hand-Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage. Actually, books about building with cob are very popular, with two others showing up in the top 11 best sellers: Building With Cob: A Step-by-step Guide and The Cob Builders Handbook: You Can Hand-Sculpt Your Own Home. This makes cob building the single most popular topic!

General books about green building are also very popular, with Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods selling about 5 copies each month. The New Ecological Home: A Complete Guide to Green Building Options and The Good House Book: A Common-Sense Guide to Alternative Homebuilding were also in the top 15 best sellers.

Two books about underground and earth-sheltered construction made the top 25: Earth-Sheltered Houses: How to Build an Affordable Underground House and The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House Book. Actually the first of these is more about cordwood building, so if you combine this with Cordwood Building: The State of the Art, author Rob Roy has two titles among the top 7 best sellers.

The Stonebuilder's Primer: A Step-By-Step Guide for Owner-Builders, The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling, and Earthship: How to Build Your Own, Vol. 1 all made the top 10 list, selling about 3 each month. Then, if you add to this The Tire House Book, which was also among the top 25, it is obvious that building with tires is a popular concept.

There were three books on the top 25 list about adobe and rammed earth building: Adobe: Build It Yourself, The Owner-Built Adobe House, and The Rammed Earth House: Revised Edition. This makes methods of using earth for construction extremely popular.

Strawbale building also had three titles in the top 25: Small Strawbale: Natural Homes, Projects & Designs, More Straw Bale Building: A Complete Guide to Designing and Building with Straw, and Serious Straw Bale: A Home Construction Guide for All Climates. Considering how popular strawbale building has become in the last decade this is not surprising.

There are two books about storing food in root cellars that made the top 25 list: Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables and Build Your Own underground Root Cellar.

One of my favorite books, Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter, a book published by Lloyd Kahn which features the earthbag/papercrete house I built in Colorado along with many others, made the top 25 list.

The final book on the list is Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture: How to Build Your Own, a book written over a decade ago by Nader Khalili of earthbag building fame.

It is gratifying to see the popularity of all of these books, and many others that didn't quite make the list, that feature various aspects of natural building and sustainable architecture. It bodes well for the future.

Sustainable Communities and For The Greener Good

2009-02-11T09:19:00.003-07:00

The National Building Museum’s website (www.nbm.org) has recently started offering videos and “Q&A Forums” after many of the lectures in their Sustainable Communities and For The Greener Good program series.

A few weeks after the event, the speakers’ answers to selected questions are posted online. Both of these lecture series address issues related to sustainable development, green architecture, government policy and more. Through these forums, people who can’t attend their programs still have a chance to interact with the experts -- and they open the audience up to, potentially, the entire world.

They recently completed their first Q&A, with developer Jonathan Rose, and are currently accepting questions for the editors of National Geographic and C about their “Sustainability Roundtable” presentation on global warming and its effects on the built environment. You can find links to both forums (and to upcoming ones as they become available) at www.nbm.org. The question window for the Sustainability Roundtable is open until February 24.

I watched the introductory portion of the "For The Greener Good" video, which includes a sobering presentation by Dennis Dimick, executive editor of National Geographic magazine. His slide show graphically demonstrates the effects of global warming. The following discussion between him and Robert Ivy, editor of Architectural Record magazine is worthwhile.

New National Green Building Standard

2009-02-04T08:37:00.004-07:00

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in conjunction with the International Code Council (ICC) has developed a new National Green Building Standard. This has also been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), which is a first for this organization. This new Green Home Building Standard is similar to the LEED process for evaluating and certifying homes, but is probably less costly to perform. It does rely on independent inspections to verify claims that are made. These standards will help home buyers realize just how green the claims might be for any given home they might be considering to purchase.

You can take a look at the criteria for this new standard, and even proceed with evaluating any specific project, by visiting the NAHB Green Building Program website. I did this and plugged in data for the earthbag/papercrete home I built in Colorado a decade ago. It took about an hour to do this, and I am pleased to report that I garnered a gold rating in almost all of the categories.

To give you a better idea of what they are evaluating, I'll go through some of the specfics of what they are looking for.

Lot Design. Here they want to assure that the building site is chosen in such a way as to not overly disrupt the existing environment, or better, to provide infill rather than develop virgin land, or even possibly release previously impervious lot coverage or clean up something toxic. Points can also be gained by paying attention to solar orientation, storm water management, and water-efficient landscapping.

Resource Efficiency. The very first criteria here is maintaining a small footprint, although I was dissappointed that they don't even have a choice for building a one-bedroom home! The use of advanced framing techniques or panelized construction is awarded points. Frost protected shallow foundations, drained footings, and appropriate grading around foundations is encouraged. Covered entries and large roof overhangs, termite resistant construction and proper waterproofing and flashing are good. The use of recycled, renewable, and local materials, along with a life-cycle analysis for materials, can all gain points.

Energy Efficiency. Here they consider the type of heating system used. Other appliances, water heaters and lights are evaluated. Both solar heating and passive cooling are awarded points, as is the use renewable sources of electricity.

Water Efficiency. The use of water-efficient appliances, irrigation techniques, rainwater collection, wastewater reuse and compost toilets are all encouraged.

Indoor Environmental Quality. They like to see the use of direct-vented gas appliances, air filtration systems, and moisture/condensation control. One area where I think they missed the boat here is in not recognizing the value of breathable wall systems in maintaining indoor air quality.

Homeowner Education. This encourages builders or sellers to provide good documentation for homeowners in terms of the use of installed systems and general maintenance.

Global Concepts. This is primarly concerned with minimizing the use of low VOCs which pollute the air.

All in all I would say that this new standard for evaluating the "greeness" of buildings is a giant step in the right direction. Virtually all of the basic criteria for building green that I have been advocating for years at www.greenhomebuilding.com have been recognized to some extent.

Oil and electricity consumption is down in the U.S.

2009-01-03T10:06:00.001-07:00

I am very encouraged by recent under reported news about a significant drop in the consumption of electricity and oil in the United States this last year. In a November article in the Wall Street Journal it is explained that “an unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn't a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry.”

Apparently the demand for electricity has been increasing at a rate of 1%-2% annually for decades, but this last year various utility companies have reported a decline of between 3% and 9% across the country. This of course makes it difficult for the utilities to plan for future demand. While milder weather and economic slow-down obviously have their impact, some of this lessening demand must be attributed to a conscious desire on the public to curb energy use.

According to Index Mundi, the world-wide trend for electricity consumption has continued upward at a rate of nearly 3% over last year however, so we should not be too quick to congratulate ourselves as a species. Still the U.S. used nearly a quarter of all electricity generated in the world last year, so this figure would normally have been much higher.

Worldwide oil use, however, has actually declined by a quarter of a percent this year, and this trend is projected to continue in 2009. In the U.S. the decline has been 5.8% over last year. Some of this drop can be attributed to the fact that Americans have reduced the number of miles driven by 3.5% over the previous year, and this trend has continued despite the lower fuel costs lately.

A lot of the commentary about these declines is lamenting the fact that economies are faltering and projections for an upturn are bleak. I look at these trends as good news however. There is only one way to begin to address the much bleaker prospects of global warming and the loss of global resources, and that is to change to way we use energy and consume things in general…and that is beginning to happen. The cold fact is that economic reality drives much of what happens in the world, so while it is often hard to accept, in the end a slowing economy may be our salvation!

I think that Barack Obama’s idea for jump starting the US economy through investment in green industry, especially for energy, is wise. If jobs can be created while developing an infrastructure that is less dependent on fossil fuel and more reliant on renewable energy, then everyone worldwide will benefit.

Moving Toward Green Building Codes

2008-12-10T08:29:00.002-07:00

One of the most anticipated speakers at the recent Natural Building Colloquium in Santa Barbara, California, was David Eisenberg of the Development Center for Appropriate Technology (www.dcat.net). David and his associates are tireless advocates of incorporating sustainable principles into existing building codes. He is an eloquent speaker, who can motivate virtually any audience, from dusty natural builders to formal building department officials. He knows how to gain their empathy by appealing to their common humanity.

When is the best time to approach building officials about a specific project? David says “Once you have a good idea of what you want to do…they need information and time to process it.” Also, he suggests that you “find some other official who has already approved something similar, and they can become an advocate. When you talk to officials, find out what they are concerned about, so that you can address these concerns directly.”

Under the “alternative building provisions” of the codes, if the plan is stamped by a professional architect or engineer, then the authorities won’t change them, partly because they don’t want to be responsible.

“Vested industry interests tend to dominate the codes, because they come to all of the meetings where these things are decided.”

To further the cause of instituting sustainable building codes, David suggests that:
1. Builders do good quality work.
2.Applicants meet the need of building authorities to feel good about the safety of projects.
3. We improve public awareness through publicizing the sustainable building that is done.
4. We make an effort to develop good relationships with building officials.

As a model for a broader approach to incorporating sustainable codes into all land use issues, David suggests looking at what is being done at the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (www.law.du.edu). They have created a “Sustainable Community Development Code Reform” Initiative. The objectives of this initiative include:

* Identify key sustainability issues and find ways to address them in the land use regulatory process through new standards, incentives, and the elimination of barriers.
* Analyze how current approaches to zoning, such as performance and form-based systems, must evolve in order to promote sustainable communities.
* Explore the nexus between sustainable land use planning and regulation, drawing upon examples from progressive communities that have adopted sustainable land use provisions.
* Develop and Implement a sustainable zoning code framework.
* Educate end-users, including local officials, developers, citizens, and professionals in order to foster awareness of how communities move towards sustainability.
* Act as a catalyst to bring various disciplines together – from agriculture, health, design, planning, etc. to form a coalition to support and promote sustainable development codes.

David emphasizes that it is more important than ever to bring a broad range of disciplines together to fashion integrated concepts for developing a truly sustainable future. His organization can use all the help it can get to further these objectives.

Shaping Buildings for the Humid Tropics

2008-11-18T15:42:00.003-07:00

Shaping Buildings for the Humid Tropics: Cultures, Climate, and Materials by Patti Stouter, 2008, is a 28 page PDF document that describes how to use ventilation, shading, plantings and insulation to provide comfort in hot humid climates.

This is one of the best sources of information about building and living in these challenging regions that I have seen. Patti points out that simple, low-cost buildings can be cool, dry, and mold-free if they are carefully planned. She also discusses the cultural differences that might affect appropriate designs.

She shows how to catch breezes to make the inhabitants feel cooler and to keep the humidity from building up. How to best orient a house to avoid overheating and ways to use landscapping to enhance comfort in buildings is outlined.

"One of the most important goals is to build of 'lightweight and low heat-storing materials' so there won't be much heat radiated towards the inside. Traditional building materials like wood, grass, palm, and bamboo are cheaper as well as cooler than masonry. But because they rot easily or are eaten by insects, they must be used carefully. Natural materials can be used inside to provide sound or heat insulation. Sea grass, rice hulls, and coconut fibers don't absorb much humidity."

"Earth buildings last well when maintained, and are less subject to overheating and dampness than stone or concrete. Earth walls don't get hot or cool very quickly because earth insulates better than concrete. Heavy concrete walls in very humid areas become frequently damp from condensation, causing algae or mold growth. Solid earth walls will receive less condensation than concrete because they are less dense, and because they absorb more humidity."

Natural Building Colloquium, 2008

2008-11-02T15:38:00.011-07:00

I attended the Natural Building Colloquium held this year at the Orella Ranch overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, at the end of October. What a magnificent setting this was to spend a fine week of connecting with fellow enthusiasts of the natural building movement. About 70 attendees shared our insights, stories, passions, songs, poetry, cooking, concerns, and labor. I came away with gratitude for the opportunity to interact with such caring people, and with a renewed sense of confidence that we will manage to help forge a sustainable future.

This year’s Colloquium was organized by the Natural Building Network (www.naturalbuildingnetwork.org) and was hosted by Gunner Tautrim, who represents the sixth generation of this family living on this land since 1866. The accommodations were primitive, with only a small kitchen as enclosed space; the rest of the facilities were rustic pit privies, temporary solar shower stalls, temporary bamboo and tarp meeting spaces, and a nice lawn area. We brought tents for sleeping. All of this was happening with the grandeur of the Pacific coast as a backdrop, and the elemental simplicity and beauty combined to create an appropriate mood for contemplating the benefits of building naturally. After breakfast each morning we would gather in a big circle on the lawn to review the various options for the rest of the day and share other thoughts. Typically the mornings were devoted to work on a sturdy, permanent, multi-stalled toilet facility that was already framed with wood. Gunner wanted the walls and a surrounding fence to be finished with natural materials, and there were many volunteers who formed teams to accomplish this. Mostly, split bamboo or recycled fencing was used for a framework, over which cob and clay finishes were applied.

Lunchtime often featured tables where specific discussions would occur, having spontaneously been announced at the morning circle. The afternoons were reserved for many concurrent presentations or discussions, so there were always hard choices to make about what to attend. During the course of the week, over forty different topics were explored, in a variety of meeting places. These ranged from the use of materials (such as bamboo, cob, adobe, and lime) to more theoretical discussions about engineering, thermal properties, efficiency, and design. One of the most popular forums was about codes and ways of improving the acceptance of natural building techniques by building officials. I will be writing about this topic in more detail in a future blog post.

I shared one two-hour presentation about earthbag building around the world with a woman architect from Israel, who had brought plans for an earthbag residence that she was designing for a client there. First I talked about the history and development of this technique, and then profiled a number of projects that have been completed (see www.earthbagbuilding.com). After this introduction, the architect laid her plans on a table and we all discussed specific questions that she had about them. This was a great way to learn some of the basics of earthbag building, and then apply these concepts to a specific situation.
I was very pleased that a discussion was convened to explore the role that natural building can play in what was described as the “long emergency,” or the compounded effects of climate change, peak oil and other resource depletion, population pressures, and financial crises. Without this discussion I would have felt that we were negligent in addressing these most pressing issues. I plan to write another entire blog post about this.

After dinner (which was always delicious and usually vegetarian), we were treated to a variety of programs or entertainment that emanated from our group. Mostly these were slide or Power Point presentations, but one night was devoted to a talent show with lots of music and some stand-up comedy…great fun. I showed lots of pictures I took when in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia a couple of years ago where I had been invited to discuss sustainable architecture with the faculty and students at the King’s University (see www.greenhomebuilding.com/weblog for my essay about the situation there) .

One morning, about half of us opted to attend a tour of historic adobe buildings in the heart of Santa Barbara. The earliest remnants date to the 1780’s when Spain authorized the construction of a presidio and the Santa Barbara Mission. Much of this early adobe construction was toppled during subsequent earthquakes, but recent reconstruction, using stabilized adobes, has returned the area to its original presence. I chatted (in Spanish) with the Guatemalan and Mexican crew who were making new adobe blocks for further repair work. On the return trip to the Orella Ranch, several of us made a detour to the nearby beach to dip our feet in the ocean.

One of the delights of this event was the participation of James from Zimbabwe, Africa. This very engaging fellow brought with him pictures of a lovely little thatched cob circular building that he and some friends had made. He also brought his large thumb piano to serenade us with African ballads. This was a reminder of the deep roots that natural building has from all corners of the world.

All together this week of camping out in this spectacular place and connecting with these dedicated and compassionate souls has left me feeling heartened that we will find ways to overcome the enormous obstacles that lay ahead.

On a very foggy night before we were to disperse the next morning, during our closing ceremony, we arranged ourselves in two large circles that faced each other. We (on the outer circle) were asked to assume the role of addressing our ancestors (on the inner circle) from some indefinite time in the future. When I did this I felt strangely like I was really speaking from the future. I told the young woman who was sitting across from me that I did not blame her for the difficulties that she and subsequent generations had endured. I said that the pattern was innocently established well before she was born. Industrialization was fashioned to improve life, not deteriorate it, and the consequences were not foreseen. And then I told her how much I appreciated the hard work she was doing to address and correct the mistakes of our ancestors. I said that because of the actions of her generation, we in the future were enjoying a simple and healthy life based on ecological balance, and that we owe her and many of her generation our gratitude for all that they did to make this possible. We then stood and embraced, the Future and the Present, for a moment of true compassion.

To see more of my pictures taken at this event go to flickr.com/photos/kellyhart.

Earthbags Gone Wild in the Philippines!

2008-09-18T12:55:00.002-06:00

Mainly through the efforts of Illiac Diaz, a charismatic entrepenuer/actor/model/athlete, the Philippines has been home to some very innovative public works utilizing earthbags. Illiac discovered the benefits of this technology several years ago at Nader Khaili’s CalEarth Institute in Hesperia, California, and has been promoting earthbag building in the Philippines ever since.

Diaz is the Executive Director of My Shelter Foundation which has collaborated with various other governmental and industrial organizations to build new schools and clinics throughout the Philippines. He is quick to point out the many economic and sustainable advantages of this method of building, since the main component is abundant and natural earth. In hurricane-prone areas, such as the Philippines, earthbag buildings can withstand the ravages of nature better than most other systems. And with thicker walls, they are more thermally stable.

Here are several pages where you can find out more about the humanitarian works of Illiac Diaz: earthbagbuilding.com/articles/filipino, earthbagbuilding.com/projects/school, earthbagbuilding.com/projects/clinic.

The Billboard Earthbag Project

2008-09-02T10:31:00.002-06:00

Each year the Society for Environmental Graphic Design sponsors a contest to recognize the best in environmental graphic design. This year’s Juror’s Award went to Norman Lee and Charles Houser for their Billboard Earthbag Project.

The designers say: “Because most conventional sandbags are fabricated from polypropylene, they are very vulnerable to UV rays and quickly begin to deteriorate when exposed to the sun. Consequently, earthbag shelters need to be plastered to maintain their durability during extended use.The Billboard Earthbag Project envisions using billboard vinyl as an alternative material for earthbags. Polyvinylchloride (PVC) or vinyl, a virtually indestructible, UV-resistant material that cannot be incinerated because of the toxic gases it would emit, represents a substantial portion of the PVC in the world’s overburdened landfills. Because of its durability and imperviousness to the sun and other elements, billboard PVC is an ideal material for reuse.”

“The reuse of billboard vinyl in earthbag construction mitigates the impact of global warming in two ways. Transforming this landfill-bound material into another useful product helps lessen landfill overflow worldwide. It also eliminates the need to protect earthbags from UV rays, resulting in more robust emergency shelters that can be used longer to lessen the human suffering caused by natural disasters.”

“As a visual concept, each billboard shelter stands as a symbolic gesture of sustainability. Beyond its environmental benefits, the strategy of reusing billboard vinyl visually recontextualizes the nature of billboards, which are symbols of mass consumerism and a pervasive form of visual pollution in our world. This concept does not seek to generate imagery, but instead appropriates existing commercial imagery as a metaphor for global recycling and reuse. Assembled together into a shelter, the earthbags create a dynamic and vibrant pattern of collaged images and text from around the world, dramatically suggesting a unified, international gesture of sustainability, hope, and humanitarianism.”

According to the jurors, they "were intrigued by this project as an example of ‘cradle-to-cradle’ design pertinent to the signage industry. Utilizing intrinsic qualities of billboard PVC—UV resistant and near indestructible—this concept proposes the creation of dwellings from recycled material and imagery. The idea takes the recycling of billboards, street banners, and print graphics—already employed by art museums in the creation of second-use products—to another level. Truly inventive!"

This all sounds pretty good, and might well work if the billboard material were cut and sewn into bags. One obvious disadvantage of the idea is that since PVC is toxic when burned, this would present a potential hazard to the occupants, but of course this is true of many modern building materials. PVC poses a great risk in building fires, as it releases deadly gases long before it ignites, such as hydrogen chloride which turns to hydrochloric acid when inhaled. As it burns it releases yet more toxic dioxins. Additionally, vinyl does outgas highly toxic VOCs over time. Fortunately most of this danger would have passed with the use of recycled signs, but this could also be an issue.

Oil Dependency

2008-08-26T12:28:00.002-06:00

Having just finished reading “A Declaration of Energy Independence: How Freedom from Foreign Oil Can Improve National Security, Our Economy and the Environment,” by Jay Hakes, my mind is spinning with all of the issues that this brings up. Hakes was the head of the Energy Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy during the Clinton administration, so he knows a fair amount about the topic.

He makes a pretty good case that not only will shaking the U.S. reliance on foreign oil help in all of these ways, but that it is possible. He points out that after measures put into action after the oil shortages in the 1970’s, the U. S. actually did cut its reliance on foreign oil by half…for a short while. This was accomplished through a combination of government resolve to solve the crisis and the public’s willingness to adopt some simple conservation measures. People actually did drive less and at slower speeds; they turned down their thermostats in the winter and up in the summer; they began to install solar water heaters.

Of course times have changed, and now we are painfully aware of the costs that we face from not having continued to boldly deal with these issues. The true cost and burden of our reliance on oil (not just foreign oil) will be paid by future generations. There is little doubt that the Iraq War is a battle for control of oil resources, for which we are paying dearly in dollars, blood, and tarnished reputation. There is little doubt that global climate change, fanned by our burning of fossil fuels is wreaking havoc with rising sea levels, loss of crops, loss of biodiversity, and increasing severity of storms.

Hakes points out that because of the time lag that often occurs between when tough mitigating measures are adopted and when their effects are noticed, there is frequently little resolve among politicians to act because unpopular measures usually don’t bring votes, especially if voters don’t see positive results.

It has taken a few centuries for us to get into this mess. For over 99% of the time that Homo sapiens has been roaming earth, we have done just fine without burning fossil fuel. Even during the great leap into agriculture from hunting and gathering, we relied solely on our labor, with the help of a few beasts of burden. Then, as ecologist William Catton writes, “Homo sapiens attained a kind of superhumanity by learning to convert the heat energy from fire into mechanical energy by means of various engines.” This discovery has jettisoned humanity into the industrial age, and we have comfortably settled into this new way of life, congratulating ourselves on our modern ways.

Now, with the peaking of fossil fuel supplies and increasing world-wide demand, there is only one direction for the price of oil to go: up. With spiraling prices, all aspects of our economy will be affected. The cost of living in this modern world will continue to increase.

But this simple fact may ultimately be our salvation, because economics will force us to find alternative ways of living, and these will inevitably lead us to cleaner, renewable forms of energy. The inexorable laws of economics will eventually force us to address these thorny issues, even when politicians and an unwilling public dig in their heels to avoid change. It will cost too much to do otherwise!

Of course we can choose to cushion the blow of economic and climatic upheaval by making wise decisions now. We can invest in renewable energy now. We can drive cleaner, more fuel efficient cars now. We can walk. We can grow more of our own food. We can make our homes more energy efficient. We can buy only what we really need. We can do all of these things…and we will be much healthier for it!

Building with Unbonded Pumice

2008-08-12T11:39:00.003-06:00

Dr. Owen Geiger and I have just found that a book published in 1990 in Germany, Building with Pumice, written by Klaus Grasser and Gernot Minke, describes experiments done in the 1970’s at the Research Laboratory for Experimental Building at Kassel Polytechnic College in Germany that have considerable bearing on the history of earthbag building.

Most of the book is about the physical properties of pumice, how to obtain and process it, and how to make blocks or walls with pumice/cement, but the fifth and final chapter, titled “Building with Unbonded Pumice,” describes how they began to investigate the question of how natural building materials like sand and gravel could be used for building houses without the necessity of using binders. The use of fabric-packed bulk material was found to be a cost-efficient approach. They used pumice to pack in the bags, because it weighs less and has better thermal insulating properties than ordinary sand and gravel. Their first successful experiments were with corbeled dome shapes (an inverted catenary) which was obtained with the aid of a rotating vertical template mounted at the center of the structure.

1978, a prototype house using an earthquake-proof stacked-bag type of construction was built in Guatemala. They used cotton bags soaked in lime-wash to protect the material from rot and insects. When flattened, the bags measured roughly 8 X 10 cm. Vertical bamboo poles placed on both sides of the bags and interconnected with wire loops gave the stacked bags stability. The bamboo rods were fixed to the foundation and to the horizontal tie beam at the top.

Obviously the concept of constructing homes with fabric bags of mineral material predates Nader Khalili’s earliest experiments by many years, and I was certainly not the first to experiment with filling earthbags with pumice! The entire chapter is reproduced as an article at www.greenhomebuilding.com.

Tulou Chinese Architecture

2008-07-27T14:23:00.003-06:00

I received an email from Professor Sunny Cai, who teaches architectural design at a college in Beijing , China. He mentioned his interest in ancient Chinese architecture, especially the earthen buildings called “tulou,” and he sent me some pictures of these rammed earth buildings.

I had never seen anything quite like them, so I queried him further about how they were made and used. He replied, “The foundation was built with rocks, 2 feet high all around. The juice of glutinous rice and some lime is mixed into the earth for strength, and then sliced bamboo, reeds, and sometimes pieces of wood are also used.”

This picture was taken in front of a rammed earth building with Sunny Cai and his students.

I did some further internet research and found out more about these interesting structures. Tulou are traditional communal residences in the Fujian province of Southern China, often of a circular configuration surrounding a central shrine. Some of these vernacular structures were constructed of cut granite or had substantial walls of fired brick. The end result is a well lit, well-ventilated, windproof, earthquake resistant building that is warm in winter and cool in summer.

There are more than 20,000 tulou in southern Fujian, and these were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008 as “exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization, and, in terms of their harmonious relationship with their environment".

Actually the Tulou were built by a minority called the Hakka, who were originally Han who fled south to escape war and famine during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC). As they gradually moved they changed the local architecture by incorporating Han styles and that produced the tulou. Not only were the high walls built for defense but they were also the result of traditional Han architecture. Tulou were mostly built between the 12th to the 20th centuries. The oldest one was constructed over 1,200 years ago and is regarded as a “living fossil” of the construction style of central China.

There are three types of Tulou. The Wufeng has three halls and two side rooms and are said to be the result of a redesign of the Han courtyard. The oldest tulou are the rectangle ones, and the most emblematic ones are round. They are typically designed for defensive purposes and consist of one entrance and no windows at ground level. The biggest round one can have up to five stories with three interior rings. The largest houses cover over 40,000 m² and it is not unusual to find surviving houses of over 10,000 m². Most round tulous are three or four stories, with family kitchens and livestock on the ground floor. The next floor becomes a storage room for food and furniture (with no windows), and above that are the bedrooms.

These structures are exemplary of sustainable architecture in that they are built of local, natural materials with simple techniques. They have good thermal attributes, with the massive earthen walls to help buffer temperatures. They are obviously built to last, and house many of the necessities for life. And they embody a communal life style that conserves energy and resources; these represent a form of ancient co-housing.

California's Green Building Code

2008-07-22T09:14:00.004-06:00

California has adopted the nation's first statewide green-building standards, which will become mandatory in 2010. The new California Green Buildings Standards Code requires builders to reduce energy use by 15 to 30 percent beyond current standards and use more recycled materials. Some of the code will be mandatory, while other parts are just suggested. This is a significant recognition that energy and resource conservation is essential for the welfare of state residents, and hopefully this officially sanctioned consciousness will spread to other states.

These new codes include basic passive solar mandates: "When site and location permit, orient the building with the long sides facing north and south. Provide exterior shade for south-facing windows during the peak cooling season. Provide vertical shading against direct solar gain and glare due to low altitude sun angles for east- and west-facing windows."

For renewable energy, the codes says, "Use on-site renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, low-impact hydro, biomass and bio-gas for at least 1% of the electric power."

For water conservation, the code says, "A schedule of plumbing fixtures and fixture fittings will reduce the overall use of potable water within the building by 20%, and provide water efficient landscape irrigation design that reduces by 50% the use of potable water beyond the initial requirements for plant installation and establishment."

"Each building shall further reduce the generation of wastewater by one of the following methods: The installation of water-conserving fixtures (water closets, urinals) or utilizing non-potable water systems (captured rainwater, graywater, and municipally treated wastewater
(recycled water)."

For materials to be specified for construction, the following is mandated:

Select building materials or products for permanent installation on the project that have been harvested or manufactured in California or within 500 miles of the project site.
Select bio-based building materials and products made from solid wood, engineered wood, bamboo, wool, cotton, cork, straw, natural fibers, products made from crops (soy-based, corn-based) and other bio-based materials with at least 50% bio-based content.
Employ wood-based materials and products comprising at least 50% of a major building component, such as framing, flooring, or millwork, which are certified by one of five listed sustainably harvested certification programs.
Use materials made from plants harvested within a ten-year cycle for at least 2.5% of total materials value, based on estimated cost.
Use salvaged, refurbished, refinished, or reused materials for a minimum of 5% of the total value, based on estimated cost of materials on the project.
Use materials, equivalent in performance to virgin materials, with post-consumer or preconsumer recycled content value (RCV) for a minimum of 10% of the total value, based on estimated cost of materials on the project.
Use cement and concrete made with recycled products, fly ash, raw or calcined natural pozzolan, blast furnace slag (as a lightweight aggregate) .
Select materials for longevity and minimal deterioration under conditions of use.
Select materials that require little, if any, finishing.
Select materials that can be re-used or recycled at the end of their service life in the project.
Select materials assemblies based on life cycle assessment of their embodied energy and/or green house gas emission potentials.

"Provide readily accessible areas that serve the entire building and are identified for the depositing, storage, and collection of non-hazardous materials for recycling, including (at a minimum) paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics and metals."

Environmental and health-related items establish specific limits on VOC emission of materials used within the structure, as well as regulate ventilation, CO2 emissions, tobacco smoke, lighting, outside views, and noise transmission.

Additional recommended measures include:

If feasible, disassemble existing buildings instead of demolishing to allow reuse or recycling of building materials.
Utilize a Frost-Protected Shallow Foundation.
Use pre-manufactured floor and roof systems to eliminate solid sawn lumber whenever possible.

The code also identifies site improvements including bicycle storage and designated parking spots for low-emissions vehicles.

I have been advocating most of these measures at www.greenhomebuilding.com for many years now, and it is heartening to see them being officially sanctioned. This is a far-reaching and well-considered attempt by California legislators to establish requisites for living sustainably. If there are going to be building codes, they might as well be green! Yeah California!

Strawboard Panels

2008-06-28T11:37:00.003-06:00

Strawboard building panels are a kind of structural insulated panel (SIP) designed to replace 2x4 stud and drywall construction for both interior and exterior walls, as well as provide load and non-bearing ceilings, roofing, doors, flooring, and prefabricated buildings. These environmental friendly, solid panels are made of all natural fibrous raw materials, mainly wheat and rice straw. The durable panels feature thermal and acoustic insulation as well as fire and termite resistance and are available for a variety of applications to speed up the construction processes. While these have been used in over 20 countries for more than 50 years, strawboard panels have only been introduced to the U.S. in the past few years.

Strawboard panels have a solid core of compressed wheat or rice straw. High pressure and temperatures forces the straw to release a natural resin that binds the fibers together. The compressed panels are then covered with either paper liners or OSB that is adhered to both sides with water based non-toxic glue. The standard panel measures 4 feet by 8 feet by 2-1/4 inches to 8 inches, weighing from 140 lbs. to 440 lbs. each. Custom panel sizes are available ranging from 3 feet to 12 feet long.

The panel's high density and low oxygen content does not support combustion. Since the panels do not contain added resins, alcohol, or other chemicals, no flammable vapors are produced. The panels have an R-value of between 3 and 25, depending on the composition and thickness. For permanent protection against insects and fungal decay and additional fire resistance, the boron compound polybor can be factory added to the core.

The product's workability is similar to wood as it can be sawn, drilled, routed, nailed, screwed, and glued. Lightweight wall attachments such as shelf brackets, picture frames, mirrors, and towel bars can be attached directly to the panel.

Since straw is a renewable by-product of wheat and rice production that becomes available annually, it takes less acreage (by about half) to build an equivalent house than with standard lumber, and which would then potentially preserve that forest for ecological habitat and CO2 sequestration.

See www.stramit-int.com/ for panels available in Europe and www.agriboard.com for panels available in the U.S.

Thermoplan and Zeigel Blocks

2008-05-10T09:39:00.003-06:00

There is a manufactured building system that has been gaining popularity in Europe for several years called Thermoplan or Zeigel Blocks. While I have no personal experience with this technology, I can readily see its many advantages. As far as I know this system has not made its way across the ocean to North America. From what I can gather from the websites (referenced below), here are some of the advantages:

Thermoplan or Zeigel Blocks are fired clay blocks which use about 1/3 less energy to make compared to concrete blocks, and about 2/3 less CO2. They are fast, simple and ideal for a self builder to use. About 50% of German homes are made this way and the technology is spreading to other areas of Europe.

Thermoplan systems use Ziegel blocks with a thin bed of mortar, to provide a breathing wall construction system. When combined with woodfibre board they can form a thermally and acoustically high performance shell. The Ziegel blocks come as part of a full load-bearing external and internal wall masonry system, and combine high thermal performance with robustness, speed of build and a breathing wall design.

Because of all the trapped air and the thickness of the walls, these blocks provide reasonable insulation, while at the same time do provide some degree of interior thermal mass for maintaining constant interior temperatures. This is an unusual combination of these two factors in a single wall system.

See www.burdensenvironmental.com or www.natural-building.co.uk for information for this innovative system.

Urban Green Building

2008-04-25T10:21:00.003-06:00

I recently received two emailed questions about the seeming lack of attention to green building in urban settings:

"I happened to notice that very little, if not at all, mention of urban dwellings and how small urban homes are practically the greenest you can get when you factor in transportation. Green homes spread out in the country, unless you're living off the earth and have no use for a car, may counteract your carbon footprint savings if you have to drive on a continuous basis. A vast majority of Americans live in a metropolitan area, it would be nice if your information can include an aspect to the benefits of small homes in urban dwellings."

"I am curious about building an earth covered or underground home in the future. Can these houses be built on a small lot within a city? I think being close to your neighbors etc., is one way to help achieve sustainable living, however, the green homes I have seen always appear to be on a large parcel of land."

I think these folks are absolutely right about this. It is unfortunate that most of the natural building movement has been more of a rural activity...but there is no reason why it has to be. Virtually all of the principles of sustainable architecture that I outline at http://greenhomebuilding.com/sustainable_architecture.htm would equally apply in an urban setting.

In districts where housing goes above 2 or 3 stories, it is difficult to use some of the more natural techniques. One problem is that many of these methods of building result in rather thick walls, especially when the walls must go quite high, so that interior space is compromised by this. This is where some hybrid concepts might be useful, such as building with a steel framework to allow multiple stories, and then fill in the walls with less industrial materials, such as strawbales, cordwood, or earthbags.

As for going underground in a city, it certainly can be done. It would be a great way to create dwelling space and reserve most of the land above for gardening or parks, creating much needed green space in the city.

Also much of the movement towards "sharing facilities," such as co-housing, can be done in cities. This is another way to create both denser housing and reserve open space for parks and gardening.

I think that all proponents of green architecture need to put more creative thought into urban design!

Timber Framing

2008-03-26T13:36:00.003-06:00

When I initially designed www.greenhomebuilding.com I intentionally avoided advocating the use of much wood in building, because of my concern for the health of our forests and their ecosystems, with all of the over-harvesting of timber that has occurred around the globe. There is also the fact that forests help sequester CO2 (a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere.

This was a difficult choice for me, since my father was a wood worker and I grew up learning many of these skills; I love working with wood and I worked for years as a carpenter. It is certainly one of the most versatile of all building materials, and is a renewable resource, when harvested sensibly.

I have finally come to realize that building with wood (at least partially) can still be a sound ecological choice, which is particularly true in regions where forests have regenerated to the point that they can be harvested sustainably. This means that the trees are carefully monitored to make sure that the health and character of the forest is maintained; only certain trees are culled periodically, leaving the remaining trees to grow and contribute to a healthy ecosystem. It is possible to buy wood that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), but if this means that you are buying wood shipped great distances, then this becomes a less ecological choice; use local materials!

Furthermore, with timber framing it is possible to use large wooden posts and beams in such a way as to create strong and versatile load-bearing structures, which can then be completed by either in-filling between the wooden structural members, or completely wrapping the timber frame structure with a variety of other materials (as is recommended in colder climates). Since this method of building has been recognized and approved by most code authorities, it is a way of approaching a natural building project that would otherwise be difficult for the authorities to sanction.

So I have now created a page about Timber Framing, greenhomebuilding.com/timber, with lots of media resources and informative links listed. I have also enlisted the gracious assistance of a preeminent timber framing specialist to answer questions from the public about this ancient art.

Will Beemer is a charter member and co-Executive Director of the Timber Framers Guild, and is owner of the Heartwood School for the Homebuilding Crafts in Washington, MA. For over 30 years, this school has been offering students a chance to improve their woodworking and timber framing skills. Will helps teach many courses at Heartwood and has been designing and building houses for over 35 years. He was a construction foreman at the Arcosanti project in Arizona, and design instructor at Cornell University. He has organized and taught building workshops around the world, including timber framing courses through the Guild and at Palomar College in San Diego, the North House Folk School and at the Colorado State University Mountain Campus. He has written for Fine Homebuilding, Joiner's Quarterly, and Timber Framing magazines.

You are invited to visit the new page about Timber Framing and to seek guidance about this art from Will Beemer.