lost between the letters

I came across this project a long time ago and can't imagine why I didn't post it here at the time. In any case this is a delightfully back-to-nature neo-hippy natural building. It was built in England (where building codes clearly work somewhat differently) and reminds me very strongly of the wonderful alternative community in Withiel, Cornwall that I visited in 2002 when I traveled around the world. There was a thriving culture of crafting and creating in Withiel and this seems perfectly in line with their desire to get off the grid and back to some basic ideas about what is important and beautiful. This is something I really struggle with - I am a member of the iPod generation without a doubt but I sometimes still feel like I also have a foot in both worlds. How can I describe this other world? Well not too put it too delicately, it is living off the grid with less than conventional sanitation systems and placing a much higher premium on friendship and being in the natural world. I can see them both from where I sit right now - at my laptop but overlooking the outhouse which is our corporate bathroom (forward thinkingly unisex) here at Whole Trees.

Continue reading "Round-timber Round house" »

Posted by dihansmann at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out this great article about the importance of green building and why now is the perfect time to get into it posted on LamiDesign. Architect Gregory La Vardera makes some great points about the fact that the housing crisis could present a major silver lining in opening the way for green design to become more mainstream. During the bubble it was easy for most developers, contractors and lenders to scoff at the idea of spending extra money to build something differently or source more expensive materials. Now that the bottom has dropped out of the ticky tacky housing market, however, most of those people are struggling to keep their doors open and are therefore much more open minded about new ideas. I think we can all agree that the current housing model has some holes in it. Lets give some new ideas a chance shall we?
“I know everybody is worried about the future, security, their jobs. But this is a self fulfilling prophecy, and it can just as easily have a self fulfilling solution. If we build modern green homes in numbers it will help the recovery, and money flowing in home building spreads to all other corners of the economy. If you are passionate about these issues and want to see change, not just lip service, its time to stick your neck out. The more who do it, the less risk each of us will take.”

Posted by dihansmann at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This blog just made it to the top of my favorites list. It is cool on any number of levels. First of all the name is funny. And then it is really good quality stair porn – just for feasting the eyes on. And finally its got some good ideas in it. So, architect friends … feast your eyes. And I’ll be expecting an improvement in the level of stair way design in all future buildings.

Posted by dihansmann at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For no other reason than because its really damn cool I'm posting these scans from a book called The wooden Architecture of Russia. Roald asked me to crib them from a library book for his "inspiration" file before they were due back at the library and I decided that I find them inspirational too.

This kind of pen and ink rendering is one of those things I half wishI had been trained to do because its so stunning. But I am actually too lazy to make myself learn or even attempt. Never the less, if it weren't for the pixelation inherent in this type of book's printing I would be blowing it up and mounting it on my wall.

And this is just amazing. This is carving in the END GRAIN of the logs. You couldn't even do that with a laser cutter today. It just blows my mind. And its beautiful. So... look and admire.

Posted by dihansmann at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here's another nugget from Ann Cline:

"Until Humpty-Dumpty falls from a wall of concrete - not of brick or stone - there can be no dependable clientele for modern architecture. Until Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother lives in a cottage modled after the Barcelona Pavillion, the appeal of childhood literature will instead sustain a domestic market for pitched roofs and mullioned windows."

How about that for an idea? There are so many delightful children's books coming out lately. Illustration has been taken up several complete levels. What about a new series of fairy tales set amidst a landscape of international modernism. We could change the whole world of residential design in particular - in one short generation. I think the AIA should fund it!

Cline, Ann. A Hut of One's Own. p. 92

Posted by dihansmann at 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)