This is an interesting collection of low-impact homes around the world on google maps with links to the owner-builders' websites. It's the perfect place to inspire you to build a natural, eco-friendly home. You can help spread the word about eco-living by putting a copy of the map in your own blog. Get the simple one line of code here.
The website also provides up-to-date listings of natural building courses such as straw bale and many volunteer opportunities.
And great project.
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis featured a display of prefab green houses a couple years ago. They were pricey and small, but the innovations were real and develpment intriguing.
Building green from scratch is very appealing - re-habbing green is going to be a big problem for cities and for suburbs as current housing stock ages and wears poorly. This will be an issue with green building, too: durability.
In Minnesota alone about 900,000 residences will need extensive attention to the point of replacement in the next 20 years. A lot of resources will be needed, and we don't have them. One thing that seems to prevent people from making their homes more sustainable is the counter-culture perception of green building - most people still want houses that look conventional, traditional - these houses, too, could be made sustainable. We need to proliferate conversation about green housing.
thanks!
Practica
www.livegreenlivesmart.org
I didn't realise there were so many straw bale homes around the world. I love the one near Warsaw in Poland and the shell shaped house in Denmark.
Great website.
Jimbo
Interesting link to renewable energy in Antarctica
I browsed around the map and discovered an off-grid building planned for the Antarctic. Well of course it's off-grid! The International Polar Foundation is going to build a station run on entirely renewable energy and will completely recycling all its waste.
Worth a look Huggers...