screen reader version: Canada’s a pretty big place. Even though the life of a condo dweller in downtown Montreal might be pretty different from someone living in a Prairie country home, it’s still interesting to take a look at the […]
Part 2 of Building with Pumice (read part 1>>) This chapter tells how to build several different kinds of houses using building members of the kind described. Typical, practical models that have already been successfully built in various countries were
Everyone would like to live in their own home. Many people in industrialized countries occupy apartments in multistorey buildings. This situation involves lots of problems for which there’s no immediate solution. This book is intended to stimulate interest in a
Rammed earth, also known as taipa in Portuguese, tapial in Spanish or pisé de terre or simply pisé in French, is a technique used to build walls with earth, chalk, lime and gravel. It’s an ancient building method that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek more sustainable building materials and natural building methods. Rammed earth
Energy production from algal photosynthesis isn’t new of course, but with fifteen apartments, The BIQ building is the world’s first full-scale bioreactive façade. BIQ, which stands for Bio Intelligent Quotient, uses heat recovery as its main source of energy, capturing energy not used
Screen reader version: What is Steel? Steel is an alloy material made of iron and other elements including carbon. You will also find the following elements present in steel: Hard Facts 25 million – number of tonnes of steel products
In a large greenhouse two hours north of New York City, banana trees, flowers, and other tropical plants grow amid frogs, fish and burbling waters. Outside, bullrushes and cattails wave in the Hudson Valley breeze. Each year, more than 20,000
Berkeley — In a quest to make concrete more durable and sustainable, an international team of geologists and engineers has found inspiration in the ancient Romans, whose massive concrete structures have withstood the elements for more than 2,000 years. Using
In this article we present the outcome of our research into straw bale versus papercrete as alternatives to the most common types of building materials based on criteria such as R-value, cost of production and pollution concerns. The purpose is to see
Building deconstruction, or “construction in reverse,” is the most effective way to preserve the embodied energy of the materials that comprise the built environment. Deconstruction is defined as the comprehensive dismantlement of building components, specifically for reuse, resale, recycling and
