by Peter McIntosh | Sep 11, 2015 | Adobe, Alternative building, Alternative energy, Clay, Cob, Insulation, Living off-grid, Living Sustainably, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Passive Solar Design, Permaculture, Peter McIntosh, Solar energy, Strawbale, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements, Thermal mass, Thermal performance
Passive solar design can dramatically reduce our demands on fossil fuels and other forms of energy input, allowing our buildings to become producers and not consumers of energy and resources, supporting us in a healthier more comfortable abundant way. Passive solar...
by QPT Qala Phelang Tala | Sep 30, 2014 | Adobe, Amanda de Gouveia, Anita Venter, Clay, Cob, Community, Earth testing, Events, Insulation, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Peter McIntosh, Qala Phelang Tala, Sand, Start Living Green, Sustainable human settlements
Imagine being outside on a chilly Free State winter morning with the sun just coming out and starting to gently warm your body. Now imagine being told to take off your shoes in order to trudge in icy cold mud. I glanced at my fellow volunteers and I saw a collective...
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 | Feb 19, 2014 | Insulation, Light Earth, Peter McIntosh
by Peter McIntosh What I find exciting about natural building is that there are as many ways of using available resources as there are cultures around the world. No absolutes in terms of technique, consistency, design and use of materials exist. People approach...
