by Peter McIntosh | Dec 22, 2017 | Anita Venter, City of Cape Town, Delft ECD, Early Childhood Development centre, Early Childhood Development centres, Earthen Schools, Ecobricks, Local materials, Long Way Home, Natural building, Natural building course, Peter McIntosh, Sustainable building, Tyre building
“The future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands dirty.” – Roland Tiangco As the end of the year approaches, we want to wish you well over the festive season, and thank you for your support in 2017. You helped us finish the Delft...
by Peter McIntosh | Feb 23, 2017 | Adobe, Alternative building, Alternative energy, Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Clay, Cob, Compressed Earth Brick (CEB), Delft ECD, Early Childhood Development centre, Earthen Schools, Ecobricks, Guest post, Hybrid building, Living Sustainably, Local materials, Long Way Home, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Natural mortar mixes, Natural plasters, Passive Solar Design, Peter McIntosh, Qala Phelang Tala, Rammed Earth, Strawbale, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements, Thermal performance, Tyre building
In Delft, an impoverished township on the outskirts of the Cape Flats, local government is changing its approach to building early childhood development centres with a pioneering project showcasing a hybrid of natural building methods and up-cycled waste materials. By...
by Peter McIntosh | Nov 17, 2016 | Adobe, African Vernacular Architecture, Alternative building, Alternative energy, Compressed Earth Brick (CEB), Design competition, Heritage, Interview, Living off-grid, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Passive Solar Design, Q&A, Rammed Earth, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements, Thermal performance, Uncategorized
We catch up with Paul Marais about his award-winning off grid, rammed earth house in Maun, Botswana. First off, congratulations on winning the Afrisam-SAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture + Innovation for Sustainable Product/Technology for your design of the rammed...
by Peter McIntosh | Aug 9, 2016 | Alternative energy, Cob, Interview, Living Sustainably, Local materials, Natural building, Permaculture, Q&A, Sustainable building, Uncategorized, Wattle and Daub
In the first of our series of Q&As with pioneers of natural and sustainable building in South Africa and beyond, we caught up with Jill Hogan in honour of Women’s day in South Africa. How did you first get involved in natural building? In the early...
by Peter McIntosh | May 23, 2016 | Guest post, Local materials, Natural building, Natural building methods, Rammed Earth, Sustainable building, Uncategorized
Rammed earth construction in South Africa has generally been stigmatised as a substandard and primitive building construction method reserved ‘for the poor’. Yet it is now gaining popularity for community social projects, as well as among wealthier clients. By Mary...
by Peter McIntosh | Feb 29, 2016 | Alternative building, Anita Venter, Guest post, Living Sustainably, Local materials, Natural building, Permaculture, Peter McIntosh, Qala Phelang Tala, Reclaimed materials, Shack replacement, Start Living Green, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements, Uncategorized
Do we as ethical natural builders have a right to deny someone a home simply based on the argument of its purity? Surely it’s about having the humility to acknowledge that sustainability is about economy and social justice as much as it is about ecology. Scott...
