We all need a place to call home. The problem, as I see it, is that we work most of our lives to pay for that home.
Years ago I set out to discover a better way.
My Story
Growing up in a family of builders meant I was around construction all the time. You could say that growing up helping my dad build houses set me up with a builder’s mindset.
As I grew up to be a builder myself, the short-falls of conventional building really started getting to me. It bothered me how the entire building process was dictated by all the regulations. Those regulations guarantee a house made of industrially produced products instead of natural materials. The huge costs of construction is a testament to how unsustainable the process has become. It hasn't always been this way and I knew there are better ways to accomplish a warm and comfy home.
I started attending green building conferences looking for better solutions. What I discovered was a big surprise. I discovered that most houses that are sold as “sustainable” are actually built very similar to standard construction. Just a few small changes in materials or a different gadget that was supposed to make the house seem green. I guess old habits die hard. It was both discouraging to see and motivating to discover. I would always go away thinking that there has to be better ways to build.
Reinventing home
It was clear to me that starting from the foundations and rethinking every aspect of shelter was the way to truly create something which broke the mould. With building regulations so slow to change, I explored ways to build which didn’t require the need for permission from “the authorities”. Reading through the local and national building rules and more importantly the building exemptions, I started coming up with some shelter designs which could be built with mostly local and natural materials and didn't require building inspectors or permission.
While some people call these loopholes, I call it understanding the regulations and getting creative within those guide-lines.
Build Build Build
I moved to New Zealand in 2008 where I dove deep into the permaculture community and natural building. In collaboration with my permaculture mentors, we where able bring in some great natural building teachers and host their workshops while building really fun structures. Meanwhile I continued to collect skills and knowledge around natural building. Bringing together my new natural building knowledge with the years of conventional construction experience, I started improving on what I would learn and inventing new ways of accomplishing the needs of a structure. For example, we took a earthbag dome designed for dry California and added big eves to accommodate the wet climate of New Zealand.
I learned a lot and lead the building of some unique shelters. They fall into three main categories:
1) Earth-bag buildings
2) Portable light-weight shelters
3) Reciprocal roof Round-Houses
I’m proud of the structures that we created and grateful to all the amazing people who participated in each build. I love how much fun everyone has building these structures and I love seeing people’s reaction when they experience one of these unique structures for the first time. Most of all, I love seeing what a difference each shelter makes to the people who get to occupy them.
What now?
I am now living back in Bellingham and raising a beautiful family on a small farm.
While building with natural materials is really fun and nourishing it has it's limitations. I love transforming existing spaces and working with all the buildings that are already constructed is very much a sustainable endeavor.
Years ago I set out to discover a better way.
My Story
Growing up in a family of builders meant I was around construction all the time. You could say that growing up helping my dad build houses set me up with a builder’s mindset.
As I grew up to be a builder myself, the short-falls of conventional building really started getting to me. It bothered me how the entire building process was dictated by all the regulations. Those regulations guarantee a house made of industrially produced products instead of natural materials. The huge costs of construction is a testament to how unsustainable the process has become. It hasn't always been this way and I knew there are better ways to accomplish a warm and comfy home.
I started attending green building conferences looking for better solutions. What I discovered was a big surprise. I discovered that most houses that are sold as “sustainable” are actually built very similar to standard construction. Just a few small changes in materials or a different gadget that was supposed to make the house seem green. I guess old habits die hard. It was both discouraging to see and motivating to discover. I would always go away thinking that there has to be better ways to build.
Reinventing home
It was clear to me that starting from the foundations and rethinking every aspect of shelter was the way to truly create something which broke the mould. With building regulations so slow to change, I explored ways to build which didn’t require the need for permission from “the authorities”. Reading through the local and national building rules and more importantly the building exemptions, I started coming up with some shelter designs which could be built with mostly local and natural materials and didn't require building inspectors or permission.
While some people call these loopholes, I call it understanding the regulations and getting creative within those guide-lines.
Build Build Build
I moved to New Zealand in 2008 where I dove deep into the permaculture community and natural building. In collaboration with my permaculture mentors, we where able bring in some great natural building teachers and host their workshops while building really fun structures. Meanwhile I continued to collect skills and knowledge around natural building. Bringing together my new natural building knowledge with the years of conventional construction experience, I started improving on what I would learn and inventing new ways of accomplishing the needs of a structure. For example, we took a earthbag dome designed for dry California and added big eves to accommodate the wet climate of New Zealand.
I learned a lot and lead the building of some unique shelters. They fall into three main categories:
1) Earth-bag buildings
2) Portable light-weight shelters
3) Reciprocal roof Round-Houses
I’m proud of the structures that we created and grateful to all the amazing people who participated in each build. I love how much fun everyone has building these structures and I love seeing people’s reaction when they experience one of these unique structures for the first time. Most of all, I love seeing what a difference each shelter makes to the people who get to occupy them.
What now?
I am now living back in Bellingham and raising a beautiful family on a small farm.
While building with natural materials is really fun and nourishing it has it's limitations. I love transforming existing spaces and working with all the buildings that are already constructed is very much a sustainable endeavor.