Today I visited the nearly complete first straw bale council houses in Britain (2 three bedroom homes). North Kesteven District Council have been building these houses at Brumby Crescent in Waddington, Lincolnshire and they are due to have tenants move in end of April 2010. Designed by amazonails (http://www.amazonails.org.uk) they are a beautiful building with wonderful wooden … Continue reading Straw bale council house, Lincolnshire
Useful source for inspiring examples
The Building and Social Housing Foundation (www.bshf.org) is interested in identifying and transferring good practice in building, along with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and social justice. Moreover, they are linked to the World Habitat Awards (http://www.worldhabitatawards.org) were there is an excellent worldwide database on previous winners/finalists. It is both a great research resource and a useful way for … Continue reading Useful source for inspiring examples
Useful books
There are a large number of books about eco-building, eco-living and eco-communities, but far fewer which deal with issues of affordability as well as sustainability. A few I have come across recently are: Liddell, H (2008) Eco-minimalism: the antidote to eco-bling. RIBA Publishing, London A great book which argues that careful integrated ecological design is … Continue reading Useful books
Nant-y-Cwm School, Wales
I am always looking for inspiring examples of eco-buildings and one is Nant-y-Cwm - a Steiner Waldorf School in Pembrokeshire. One of their buildings is a low impact eco-build which has been studied by my colleague Peter Kraftl who has written on green architecture. Below are some of his photos of the building. A good article about … Continue reading Nant-y-Cwm School, Wales
ECO-HOMES + COMMUNITIES 