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 | Nov 25, 2014 | Cob, Events, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Indigenous Building Systems, Light Earth, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building course, Permaculture, Wattle and Daub
The Permaculture Research Institute in Kenya will be hosting a seven day cob building course. The course aims to be a part of the revival of natural building in Kenya; to help revitalize an ancient art and incorporate new techniques learned through past decades as...
by Laurie Simpson | Aug 24, 2014 | Adobe, Clay, Cob, Dance like an elephant, Earth testing, Indigenous Building Systems, Laurie Simpson, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building course, Natural building methods, Owner-builder journey, Permaculture, Peter McIntosh, Sand, Sustainable building, Termites
In the first edition of the Owner-builder journey, Laurie Simpson writes about the challenges of building with mud in on the edge of Hwange National park, Zimbabwe. Seven years ago, after years of travelling, looking for the next adventure and never feeling like I...
by Peter McIntosh | Jul 31, 2014 | Adobe, Clay, Cob, Design Build, Design competition, Heritage, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Indigenous Building Systems, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Rammed Earth, Sustainable human settlements
Reinventing the African Mud Hut Together Nka Foundation invites entries for Mud House Design 2014, an international architecture competition open to recent graduates and students of architecture, design and others from around the world who think earth architecture can...
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 | Apr 3, 2014 | Adobe, Cob, Heritage, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Indigenous Building Systems, Light Earth, Mud brick, Rammed Earth, Strawbale
CraTerre – the leading innovation and research organisation into earth building in France – has launched an initiative to map the earth buildings of the world. If you know of one near you, no matter how humble or crumbling – please log it onto this...
