Popular in Europe for decades...starting to catch on in the rest of the world. The price of a natural swimming pool are comparable to an inground pool, yet maintenance costs are much less. Have you ever thought about how many pounds of chemicals go into a typical swimming pool? Let nature do the work for free.
Dirt cheap....earthbag building is also known as superadobe, flexible-form rammed earth or sandbag construction. Whatever you call it, it is earthquake resistant, flood resistant, hurricane resistant, fire resistant and termite proof.
Flooding is a natural function of rivers. Sea levels are predicted to rise. There are two types of floating homes, permanently floating homes and homes that float only when flood waters swell, but sit on the ground during the dry season. Requiring the later on new construction within floodplains, and considering same for threatened shorelines, is one way to plan for the future. Although floating homes near the coast need protected waters, wave attenuation through wave walls and dykes (as used in Europe) are a future possibility. Inaction is costly. Some inspiration for those on waterways...
Cardboard reuse -- turn your cardboard into chairs, tables or bookshelves. With some used cardboard, tape, earth-friendly glue, scissors and a utility knife you could furnish your entire home...
Plastic Waste Lighting...
"Re-use as a design tool (and material) is still extremely under explored, and it holds so much potential – both as a source of raw material and as a beautiful limitation." Heath Nash
There are numerous builders around the world filling up used plastic bottles with mud or sand and creating schools, stores, homes, greenhouses... The possibilities are endless. Lots of pictures to inspire...
In the future; will we give back the land to native plants and animals and live up in the trees? Hovering aircraft are available, we just need to wait for the clean energy versions... If we compost our waste, give up plastics and petroleum, grow hydrophonically...what would our new footprint be? More photos...
Are wooden bathtubs environmentally positive? If you grew the bamboo or cedar in your backyard and then made it yourself- definitely! These examples might not be the greenest and they cost a pretty penny, but it must feel wonderful to bath in wood. In the past bathtubs were made of wood, marble or ceramic tile. Cast-iron starting in the 1880s, then enamel over steel...now mostly formed acrylic, fiberglass or porcelain on steel. Wood holds heat longer than other tub materials. Unfinished wood tubs must be used regularly or kept partially filled with a bit of water to prevent them from drying out and warping or shrinking.
When architect Karl Wanaselja built his home in Berkeley, California the junkyard became his urban forest for materials. For months he visited one of three local yards looking for car roofs and Dodge Caravan side windows. The windows became awnings and the roofs became siding for the top floor of his home. Wanaselja designed the home with his partner (in business and life) Cate Leger. They liked the look of the old cars, but they also believe firmly that reusing trumps recycling. They reused more than just cars to build their home. The lower half is sided in poplar bark, a waste product of the North Caroline furniture industry. Exterior wood is salvaged redwood and the fences and windowsills are on their second life.
Because they wanted to blend into the neighborhood as much as possible, Wanaselja and Leger played with perspective to create a home that looks small on the outside, but feels big on the inside. The home is only 14 feet wide on the ends, and it pitches forward and pinches in at the ends so from the street the home looks small. And it is just 1,140 square feet- more than half the U.S. average- and only 700 square feet on the ground floor. "It's kind of like Dr. Who's TARDIS. He's got this little phone booth, he goes in and then it's a giant space inside."
In this video, Wanaselja and Leger give us a tour of their home, their car part shed and their shipping container architecture studio in the backyard. For more details about the house see: lwarc.com
The awnings are fabricated from junked Dodge Caravan side windows. Once
advertised as “America’s best selling minivan”, now a common item in
junk yards. lwarc.com
The Complex, Drop City, 1967. An abandoned hippie commune made of old cars. www.museomagazine.com
Ideas for furnishings... Made from parts of the AC Cobra 427. www.la-ds.com
Popular in Europe for decades...starting to catch on in the rest of the world. The price of a natural swimming pool are comparable to an inground pool, yet maintenance costs are much less. Have you ever thought about how many pounds of chemicals go into a typical swimming pool? Let nature do the work for free.
Dirt cheap....earthbag building is also known as superadobe, flexible-form rammed earth or sandbag construction. Whatever you call it, it is earthquake resistant, flood resistant, hurricane resistant, fire resistant and termite proof.
Flooding is a natural function of rivers. Sea levels are predicted to rise. There are two types of floating homes, permanently floating homes and homes that float only when flood waters swell, but sit on the ground during the dry season. Requiring the later on new construction within floodplains, and considering same for threatened shorelines, is one way to plan for the future. Although floating homes near the coast need protected waters, wave attenuation through wave walls and dykes (as used in Europe) are a future possibility. Inaction is costly. Some inspiration for those on waterways...
Cardboard reuse -- turn your cardboard into chairs, tables or bookshelves. With some used cardboard, tape, earth-friendly glue, scissors and a utility knife you could furnish your entire home...
Plastic Waste Lighting...
"Re-use as a design tool (and material) is still extremely under explored, and it holds so much potential – both as a source of raw material and as a beautiful limitation." Heath Nash
There are numerous builders around the world filling up used plastic bottles with mud or sand and creating schools, stores, homes, greenhouses... The possibilities are endless. Lots of pictures to inspire...
In the future; will we give back the land to native plants and animals and live up in the trees? Hovering aircraft are available, we just need to wait for the clean energy versions... If we compost our waste, give up plastics and petroleum, grow hydrophonically...what would our new footprint be? More photos...
Are wooden bathtubs environmentally positive? If you grew the bamboo or cedar in your backyard and then made it yourself- definitely! These examples might not be the greenest and they cost a pretty penny, but it must feel wonderful to bath in wood. In the past bathtubs were made of wood, marble or ceramic tile. Cast-iron starting in the 1880s, then enamel over steel...now mostly formed acrylic, fiberglass or porcelain on steel. Wood holds heat longer than other tub materials. Unfinished wood tubs must be used regularly or kept partially filled with a bit of water to prevent them from drying out and warping or shrinking.
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Reply #1 on : Fri September 28, 2012, 06:06:49