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.
Round pizza oven made of recycled bricks in Greensboro, NC. 'This oven is so well insulated that the owner says he can have 'a roaring fire for over 3 hours at over 1000 degrees inside and yet the outside brick surface temps are less than 90 degrees, which is what the air temp is during the day outside.' Via: www.fornobravo.com
This community bread brick oven was built for the Montgomery’s Inn Museum in Toronto, ON. Although the primary use is intended for bread, the oven is done in half-mass construction equivalent to a standard pizza oven mass, since the oven is intended for a variety of uses and bread baking is not anticipated to exceed 2-3 batches from a single firing. The oven core is heavily insulated for exceptional heat retention and even baking. The oven is finished with reclaimed clay brick and stucco with integral roof done in cedar shingles with cedar fascia and soffit. www.stovemaster.com
Brick pizza oven with Magnaini kit interior. www.mugnaini.com
Outdoor brick oven with roof, on a base of stucco over cement blocks. www.fornobravo.com
Brick outdoor wood-fired oven. Typical ovens for bread are 14 to 18 inches high in the middle of the dome or vault, and 9 inches high on the sides. This oven loses a lot of heat due to its height and large opening. www.fornobravo.com
Outdoor kitchen in Hungary, as above. Looks like you might need a building permit for one of these in the U.S. though. www.fornobravo.com
Gregory Kay ordered the interior of this oven from EarthStone Ovens and installed it himself. The kit, which cost about $3,300, (!) included detailed plans, concrete blocks, and fireproof tiles that Kay used to build the igloo-shaped oven. www.chicagohomemag.com
Flueless French Bake Oven. Follow along with the workshop, lots of great pictures for the DIYer here: mha-net.org
One hour brick oven. How to, and the next generation 'Four-Hour' oven here: people.umass.edu
17 Westmoreland Street, Glasgow. A grandfather and a few studio artists, build a brick oven in 3 days. We have pizza every Saturday during the Summer so come see some art and eat pizza!
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.
Write a comment