French carpenters craft off-grid hamlet of tiny dwellings by Kirsten Dirksen on May 12, 2014 A few years ago, a group of carpenters (and friends) began building tiny homes on a property in southwest France …
Tiny wattle/daub shed from local dirt in San Francisco by Kirsten Dirksen on October 30, 2012 The tiny wattle-and-daub hut on Ellis Street is likely the only earth-built shelter in downtown San Francisco. Even more impressive, …
Urban forest erupts in San Francisco’s Tenderloin by Kirsten Dirksen on October 28, 2012 The “Tenderloin National Forest” is likely one of the world’s smallest “forests”; it’s just 23 feet wide by 136 feet …
Cob tiny cottage adds golden ratio with Fibonacci openings by Kirsten Dirksen on October 24, 2012 Author Richard Heinberg once taught a course on sacred geometry, and he’s written nearly a dozen books related to our …
WorldHaus: a stackable, solar-powered kit home under $1,000 by Kirsten Dirksen on February 21, 2011 WorldHaus is a kit home that can be put together by a family in less than a week. And that …
WorldHaus: a kit home for under $1,000, solar panel included by Kirsten Dirksen on February 10, 2011 More than a billion people worldwide live in substandard housing conditions, without access to things like clean water, sanitation and …
Non-toxic, no-VOC paint for any wall (+ finishing plasters) by Kirsten Dirksen on December 7, 2010 Michael G. Smith has spent the past couple of decades using natural materials to build all parts of a home, …
Avoid VOC: homemade natural paint (clay and milk) by Kirsten Dirksen on December 7, 2010 Paints are one of the biggest sources of VOCs- Volatile Organic Compounds- inside the home and their synthetic ingredients have …
A no-VOC earth plaster for a breathable, bioclimatic home by Kirsten Dirksen on November 29, 2010 Modern homes are often built so air-tight to provide good insulation that they don’t allow for fresh air to enter. …
Natural building: water-resistant earthen floors don’t off-gas by Kirsten Dirksen on November 3, 2010 Earthen floors are growing in popularity not simply because they forgo non-renewable resources, but because they have an aesthetic appeal …
