The Art of Natural Building: Design, Construction, Resources

The search for housing that is healthy, affordable, and environmentally responsible is leading a growing number of people to take a fresh look at building techniques long shunned by the modern construction industry.

Recently, books on specific techniques such as straw-bale construction, cob or rammed earth have become available, but there has been little to introduce the reader to the entire field. The Art of Natural Building fills that void wholly by being a complete and user-friendly introduction to natural building for non-professionals as well as architects and designers. From straw bale and cob to recycled concrete and salvaged materials, this anthology of articles from leaders in the field focuses on both the practical and the esthetic concerns of ecological building designs and techniques. Above all, this empowering guide demonstrates that anyone can design and build a home from natural materials that is beautiful, low-cost, and environmentally-sensible.

Profusely illustrated, The Art of Natural Building is divided into five sections. The first provides an overview of the natural building movement from the various perspectives of sustainability, lifestyle, and health. The second section looks at planning and design, followed by a section that focuses on specific techniques and the vast variety of materials used in natural building. Next, examples of diverse natural dwellings are shared; from a Hybrid Hobbit House to a thatched studio and a cob office. Finally, complementary systems, such as solar appliances, composting toilets, and alternative power systems are covered. Packed with additional resources and a bibliography, this is the encyclopedia of natural building!

The ultimate ecological building resource includes examples of diverse natural dwellings, from a Hybrid Hobbit House to a thatched studio and a cob office. This volume is an encyclopedia of natural building for non-professionals as well as architects and designers. 100 illustrations & photos.

All three editors are central practitioners in the natural building movement. Catherine Wanek is the publisher and editor of The Last Straw Journal. Joseph F. Kennedy has expanded the boundaries of ecological architecture with NASA?s space station habitability module. Michael Smith is the author of The Cob Cottage (Chelsea Green, 2001), among other books.

The Earth She Laughed
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction 1
The Context for Natural Building 5
The Case for Natural Building 6
The Importance of Housing Ourselves 11
Natural Building and Social Justice 14
Building As If the Future Matters 16
Vernacular Architecture of the Desert 21
Sustainability and the Building Codes 26
Life Cycle Cost and Value of Four Houses 31
A Case for Caring Craftsmanship 33
Design and Planning 35
Designing for Vitality 36
Intuitive Design 43
The Healthy House 49
Responsive Design: Integrating the Spirit of Place with the Vision of Home 53
Eighteen Design Principles to Make Square Feet Work Harder 59
Combining Natural Materials for Energy Efficiency 62
R-Value Comparison Chart 64
Designing with the Sun 66
Siting a Natural Building 68
The Permaculture House 75
Regenerative Building: An Ecological Approach 83
Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities 87
Natural Building Materials and Techniques 93
Natural Building Materials: An Overview 94
Natural Insulation 102
Foundations for Natural Buildings 105
Rubble Trench Foundations 111
Earthen Floors 113
A Tamped Road Base Floor 118
Adobe Building 120
Bamboo Construction 125
Cob Building, Ancient and Modern 132
Compressed Earth Blocks 138
Cordwood Masonry: An Overview 143
Building with Earthbags 149
Earthships: An Ecocentric Model 154
Digging In for Comfort 158
Building with Hemp 161
Light-Clay: An Introduction to German Clay Building Techniques 165
Mechanizing Straw-Clay Production 169
Paper Houses: Papercrete and Fidobe 171
Rammed Earth: From Pise to P.I.S.E. 177
Stone Masonry 182 Straw Bale Building: Lessons Learned 189
Timber Framing: A Natural Building Form 197
Wattle and Daub 204
Roofs for Natural Building 206
Green Roofs with Sod, Turf, or Straw 212
Thatching Comes to America 214
Earth Plasters and Aliz 219
Working with Lime 225
Natural Paints and Finishes 233
Recovering from Waste: Using Recycled and Agricultural Materials 239
Case Studies 243
Building with the Sun: The Real Goods Solar Living Center 244
From the Nile to the Rio Grande 249
Elegant Solutions: The Work of Hassan Fathy 250
An Earthbag-Papercrete House 254
Clay, Straw, and Permaculture: Natural Building at P.I.N.C. 258
The Earth Sweet Home Institute 263
Evolving a Village Vernacular: The Earthaven Experiment 265
Building with the Earth at Auroville 268
Natural Building - A European Tradition 269
Desert Island Books 276
Selected Learning Centers 281
Permissions 284
Contributors 285
Index 287