Tag Archives: earthen

$300 Compressed Earth Block Hybrid House

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Michael Janzen

One of my regular readers, Architect Joseph Sandy, recently submitted a design to the The $300 House Open Design Challenge. It uses CEBs (compressed earth blocks) for the lower portion of the walls and a light wood frame for the upper … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Concept | Tagged $300 House, CEBs, compressed earth blocks, earthen, Joseph Sandy | 7 Comments

Triple Dome Survival Shelter

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Michael Janzen

Dr. Owen Geiger, expert earthbag designer and builder, recently posted the design of this Triple Dome Survival Shelter on his Earthbag House Plans website. It’s designed to house a family for an extended period of time – protected from nuclear radiation, earthquakes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Concept | Tagged earthbag, earthen, fallout, Owne Geiger, radiation, shelter | 25 Comments

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

Cob House in Arizona

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Michael Janzen

I ran across this whimsical little cob house on YouTube the other night and was really impressed with the organic nature of the home. Here’s what they say about the home in the notes at YouTube: Construction took about 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged Arizona, cob house, earthen, tour | 8 Comments

Earthbag YouTube Channel

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Michael Janzen

The folks at the Earthbag Building Blog recently launched a YouTube channel filled with videos that show exactly how earthbag buildings are constructed. These simple earthen homes are extremely inexpensive to build and can be earthquake and hurricane resistant if … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged earth, earthbag, earthen, sustainable architecture, Video, youtube | Leave a comment

Zero Energy One – Earthbag Home

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Owen Geiger is well known for his work with earthbag homes. If you’re not yet familiar with his work, his websites are definitely worth spending some time visiting. The house pictured below is a design for a simple low cost … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged earthbag, earthbag plans, earthen, owen geiger | Leave a comment

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

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