by Peter McIntosh | Jun 16, 2015 | Adobe, African Vernacular Architecture, Clay, Cob, Community, Guest post, Heritage, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Indigenous Building Systems, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Rammed Earth, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements, Thermal performance, Uncategorized
In this guest post by Jon Sojkowski, he chronicles common misperceptions of African vernacular architecture and how it is being abandoned for the status that comes with living in conventional Western style buildings. He asks whether these modern materials are truly...
by Peter McIntosh | Dec 7, 2014 | Adobe, Alternative building, Amanda de Gouveia, Dance like an elephant, Earth testing, Earth theory, Events, Heritage, Hermie Delport, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Laurie Simpson, Lebone Village Arts and Culture Centre, Lesley Freedman, Local materials, Malcolm Worby, Natural building, Natural building course, Natural building methods, Natural mortar mixes, Peter McIntosh, Qala Phelang Tala, Shack replacement, Start Living Green, Sustainable building
… and 2014 is no different. It is with pride and joy that we look back on the successes and new connections made during 2014. We launched our blog in March and have had over 5000 visits from people in 98 countries! The blog contributions included knowledge...
by hermiedelport | Jun 29, 2014 | Adobe, Clay, Earthen Schools, Heritage, Hermie Delport, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Indigenous Building Systems, Insulation, Lesley Freedman, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Sustainable building, Thermal performance, Wattle and Daub
I had the pleasure of recently visiting a really magical place, Mdumbi in the former Transkei. Mdumbi is about 30km north of Coffee Bay in the typical rolling green landscape. Travelling with fellow architects Carl Morkel and Wim Els at a slowish pace, either walking...
by Peter McIntosh | Mar 23, 2014 | Heritage, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Indigenous Building Systems, Lesley Freedman
By Lesley Freedman In South Africa’s rural areas, indigenous earthen architecture can be seen everywhere. Indigenous Building Systems form the core of most of South Africans’ architectural knowledge, passed down through generations, solving the challenges of...