Posted by Michael, June 30th , 2005.
While looking around at Charmaine Taylor’s The Dirt Cheap Builder Catalog, I found a video that looked good.
Here’s a bit snipped from their site:www.buildingwithawareness.com
Building with Awareness
A how-to and inspirational DVD video and web site featuring hybrid straw bale and adobe house design and construction, green building materials for the home, passive solar, rainwater cisterns, earth plasters, photovoltaics, aesthetics, and more. Follow the construction of one house, from start to finish, and learn how natural building materials like straw and mud can work together with high-tech elements like a photovoltaic system to create a living environment that is both beautiful and energy-efficient.
Update: 1 /22/2006
This is a very well made documentary.
I would reccomend it to anyone interested in learning about alternatives to todays construction methods.
Posted by Michael, June 20th , 2005.
A study performed by Kathy Bevers and Per Kielland-Lund showed that heat can transfer through a cob wall at 2.7 inched per hour. They also found detectable heat release for a period of 40 hours following the 12 hour heating period. Average outside temps. were around 42 degrees.
See the Cob Comfort - ECS1 Case Study »
Posted by Michael, June 19th , 2005.
The Oakland collective known as the Launchpad is a nexus for creative community-building projects and alternative living in the East Bay. They have a large lot on historic Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and they plan to build a stage for performing plays and concerts in their backyard.
They are building a mini-ampitheatre seating section out of earth for the Launchpad in January-February 2005, and we will be holding cob-building workshops as part of the construction process.
Visit the site for more information
I was able to take some pictures of this project. See Photo Gallery »