Tag Archives: materials
French Medieval castle – built 1998 to 2023+
The construction of the Chateau de Guedelon in Burgundy, France makes me think I’m setting the bar too low in my own aspirations! Started in 1998, the Castle is being built using only tools, materials and techniques that would have been available in the early 13th Century. The walls are being built from sandstone quarried [...]
Sourcing Materials
When sourcing materials my design will seek to utilise renewable and / or local materials as far as possible. This gives me a check-list that will help in the selection of materials. Materials that answer the earliest questions on the list should be selected – subject to as ever costs. Is there a renewable or [...]
Design Inspiration ~ My ‘straw-man’ shed design #1
I thought that the best way to start on a detailed design (or at least to make a start on what I’d expect to be one of many) was to come up with a title for the shed, after some thought (not much) this seemed like a good one: Zero carbon renewable shed. What’s that…? [...]
Posted in Design Also tagged cob, passive solar design, photovoltaics, rainwater harvesting Leave a comment
Building an ‘Earthship’
An earthship is a building designed around passive solar design, water harvesting principles and other renewable technologies and constructed from recycled and / or renewable materials. There is a long history of earthship design and building in the south of the United States with Mike Reynolds and Earthship Biotecture being at the forefront if this [...]
Posted in Design Also tagged earthship, no-no's, rammed earth, sustainable building, walls Leave a comment
Books about cob building