Tag Archives: adobe

Cal-Earth Superadobes

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Michael Janzen

The California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture is a charitable non-profit organization that was founded in 1986 by Nader Khalili (1936-2008). They focus on developing truly sustainable earthen architecture. Their primary building method, nicknamed superadobes, uses long sandbag tubes … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged adobe, Cal-Earth, earthbag, earthen, Nader Khalili, sandbag, superadobe | 1 Comment

Sustainable Architecture – Metal Boxes vs Earthen

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Michael Janzen

This post was sparked by a comment from Steve, one of my long-time readers. In a nutshell, he suggested that people would be much better off living in handmade homes than living in machine-made prefabs. Like most people, modern prefab … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Tagged adobe, cob, earthbag, LEED, prefab, rammed earth, sustainable architecture | 17 Comments

Earthbag Daydream

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Michael Janzen

When I first read about Ryo Chijiiwa’s tiny cabin on Tiny House Blog I was fascinated by the adventure this fellow was on. He quit his job at Google, traveled America, and is now working to setup a more comfortable … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Concept | Tagged adobe, cob, composting toilet, daydream, earthbag, humanure, Joseph Jenkins, Laptop and a Rifle, rammed earth, Ryo Chijiiwa, sawdust toilet, tiny house blog | 6 Comments

Tiny Adobe Casita

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Three months out of the year this is the home of Samuel Gray. This adobe casita located near Abiquiu, NM and in just a few years will be Sam’s full-time residence. It measures 12′ by 10′ on the exterior but … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged abiquiu, adobe, casita, cobb, dirt, earthen, mud, new mexico, nm, Samuel Gray, southwest, tiny house | 27 Comments

A Cob House You Can Build

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Ziggy’s cob house at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is complete. He’s also posted a lot of detailed information about the construction process, cost, and sweat-equity required to build such a house on his Building a cob house blog. The house … Continue reading →

Posted in How To | Tagged adobe, cob, cob house, dancing rabbit, dancing rabbit ecovillage, dirt, earthen, ecovillage, reciprocal roof, rocket stove, sust, sustainable architecture, ziggy | Leave a comment

How To Build Rammed Earth Walls

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I was contacted recently by Michael Thompson a fellow I follow on Twitter, and a self-taught rammed earth expert. He and I share a passion for low-cost building techniques. He asked me to do him a favor and whip up … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged adobe, cob, dirt, earthen, form, michael thompson, norfolk, rammed earth, rammed earth former, uk | 6 Comments

Natural Homes

Posted on May 4, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I really like the ingenuity of the fellow behind the website naturalhomes.org. This is the website dedicated to houses built from natural materials like cob, adobe, straw bale, stone, dirt, and so on. You’ll find examples of natural homes from … Continue reading →

Posted in Just For Fun | Tagged adobe, cob, natural homes, oliver swann, strawbale, tiny houses, website | 1 Comment

Earthbag House Plans

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Owen Geiger over at Earthbag House Plans has been busy. He has posted the preliminary designs for about 77 plans for earthbag homes available on his newest website. An earthbag home is essentially a home made from the dirt under … Continue reading →

Posted in Plans | Tagged adobe, cob, earthbag, earthen, earthen floor, house plans, owen geiger, tiny house | 9 Comments

A Closer Look at Tiny Cob House Construction

Posted on March 1, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Cob is earth, sand, and straw. It’s similar to building with adobe but instead of making blocks to stack-up like with an adobe house, cob houses are built-up while the mud is wet. The material is essentially the same, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged adobe, cob, cob house, dancing rabbit, earthen floor, ecovillage, reciprocal roof, rocket stove, tiny house | 3 Comments

Papercrete Tiny Houses

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Julia (my wife) ran across this papercrete house website recently. Papercrete is a simple and inexpensive way of building walls from paper pulp and cement. Normally concrete blocks are a mix of sand, gravel, and quite a bit of cement … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged adobe, block, cob, inexpensive, papercrete, solar | 8 Comments