by Mollie McGee It’s a growing world we live in. Houses are bigger, cars are bigger--there’s this misconception that bigger means better. I’m here to tell you this is simply not the case. When we live in houses that are bigger than what we need, we end up creating massive waste. When we drive seven-seater … Continue reading Eco-Friendly Tiny House Styles
Affordable rural eco-homes
There is currently a great deal of policy and academic focus on housing. Yet this is mainly with respect to urban housing issues, with far less concern for problems affecting rural areas, such as fewer resource infrastructures resulting in a reliance on expensive and environmentally damaging oil-fired heating systems. Despite this lack of attention, some … Continue reading Affordable rural eco-homes
My house and home: Living in an eco-house
We have lived in our new eco-house for six years now and at time progress has been very slow – we are only just feeling like we have got it how we want it to be. But it has also been far more transformative that I had imagined, knowing where my water and electricity comes from … Continue reading My house and home: Living in an eco-house
Evaluating the success of an eco-house
How do we judge how ‘good’ an eco-house is? By its ecological performance, what it feels like to live in it, how long it lasts, how much it cost? All of these are used, some formally in post occupancy evaluation, and others more informally in judging what worked and what hasn’t in new buildings. Post … Continue reading Evaluating the success of an eco-house
Earthship Biotecture, near Taos, New Mexico, USA
Standing on top of an Earthship in the New Mexico desert watching the sunset turn the mountains a deep red, makes you realise how boring conventional housing is. Earthships are a highly inventive and unusual house design by Mike Reynolds who spent years experimenting in the New Mexico deserts. There are now hundreds of examples … Continue reading Earthship Biotecture, near Taos, New Mexico, USA
