Housing

The Last Straw , a quarterly journal of straw bale construction and natural building.

Sustainable Building Sourcebook , from a to z, access and information.

Lighthook’s strawbale house page. Information and links.

Surfin’ Strawbale Links List , aptly described as “The List” to pursue straw bale building.

Cob Cottage , information about this low-tech building technology.

Down to earth building bee , building solutions for sustainable communities.

What is cob? Basic info, plus beautiful pictures, of hand sculpted homes.

Skillful Means information about straw bale construction and sustainable building practices from an experienced architectural and construction firm. Check out their What’s New? page for information about their “mission to Mongolia,” where one of the firm’s principles is teaching straw bale construction. If you think a strawbale house would look tacky, check out the photos on this page of beautiful strawbale homes.

Sustainable Architecture, Building, and Culture links and content for ecological building.

Sustainable Home Ownership Initiative of the National Consumer Law Center , one of the nation’s leading experts on low-income consumer issues. The Home Ownership Initiative researches and exposes predatory lending practices typically found in low income areas, and helps people understand their rights and options.

Timber Framers Guild , timber framing is a centuries old construction technique using large beams (8″ x 8″ or larger).

National Affordable Housing Network , has plans for affordable houses suitable for construction by volunteers, homeowners, or contractors, featuring R-40 walls and R-60 insulation in the attic, high performance heating systems (annual heating cost of one of these homes in Duluth, Minnesota was only $128!) Construction is explained and sequenced so that it is easy for untrained people to be guided in the work.

Straw Locator , do you need 500 straw bales to build your dream house? Or do you have a field full of straw bales to sell? This is a clearinghouse for people looking to buy straw bales, people with bales to sell, and people who will haul them around.

The Eco Design Experience , 6 week course offered in Arizona in conjunction with the San Francisco Institute of Architecture on designing ecologically sound dwellings. Courses combine construction and class work for an effective presentation. Director is Dr. Phil Hawes, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and the architect for Biosphere 2. The class syllabus seems very comprehensive.

The Co-housing Network , a type of collaborative housing featuring private dwellings surrounding one or more larger common buildings. A good on-line library of articles on the subject, access, connections, there may be one forming in your area. Adaptable to a variety of “intentions” in starting such a community.

Cob Web II , great access to cob building resources. Great pictures, look what you can make with mud, straw, and stones.

Cob Works , instruction, accommodation, construction. Visit this beautiful location on Mayne Island in British Columbia and discover the beauty of cob construction. Site has nice explanations with beautiful pictures of the many creative possibilities using cob construction.

Gypsy Farm , a natural building resource center. Follow the adventures of the Newberry family as they construct a “super-adobe” home in Georgia, a technique based on Nader Kalili’s work at Cal-Earth.

New Zealand Ecovillages and Community Housing project , teaching low income people skills to construct affordable housing, providing land and resources for such projects, and initiating eco-villages.

Day Creek , access to cordwood building information, has on-line forums relating to alternative house building and construction techniques. Build a house for $12/square foot , a cord wood house in Wisconsin. Day Creek Journal , follow the Mason family as they build their own cordwood home.

Our Earthship , a family is building an “earthship” dwelling and are posting pictures of their progress, together with comments and information

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities , green roofs help regulate the inside temperature of a building, clean up air pollution, provide beauty, sound insulation, and food production.

Project Echo , creating low cost, sustainable building technologies that are disaster resistant (particularly tornadoes and earthquakes).

Straw Bale Central , clearinghouse for information and techniques.

Robert Bolman’s Natural Building and Social Justice Page , with a description of the strawbale/cob house his is building, plus information about his slide show presentations in the US Northwest.

California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture , a beautiful site with lots of information and pictures.

Hartworks , books and videos about alternative living.

50 strawbale house plans , interesting, innovative, beautiful.

Sustainable architecture, building, and culture , content and links, lots of resources here.

Earthship.org , access to all things earthship-ish, from the creators of the concept..

Earthship Landing: a pictorial history , chronicles an Earthship housing project near Durango, Colorado. Take the virtual tour for panoramic views. Lots of pictures, from all stages from the beginning of construction to the finished home. The site is very interesting.

Home Improvement , from Better Homes and Gardens, plumbing, carpentry, wiring, masonry and concrete, Energy Conservation in the Home .

Insulation Basics , from Nova Scotia Power (they should know up there!).

Home Solutions basic info about various housing/construction issues. Frequently Asked Questions about insulation and other home energy issues, from a South Carolina utility company.