Little Cob Cabin

I hope to some day move into this cabin.

Building with Cob

This beautiful cabin was built by members of cobworks.com and cob cottage. Located in Mayne Island British Columbia, Canada.

Cob is a mixture of sand clay and straw - wet enough to mold yet dry enough to build up without forms. Walls are built up to be monolithic, which gives them greater strength in earthquakes. Cob invites your creativity to be expressed in the process of building your space: living space, meditation space, work space, sleeping space, play-space. Build curved walls, arches, and niches. And who says that walls are flat? All it takes to make the step towards your dream space is a fairly short learning process, to gain a sense for the material. A fun way of learning is to participate in a workshop, where you work on a structure and learn hands-on, with opportunity to discuss your ideas with others, pick up knowledge of the whole process and meet new friends.

Cobworks

To learn more and to check out workshops visit cobworks.com.


Entry Door


Fireplace


Kitchen


Stairway to Loft

Thanks to TinyHouseBlog.com.

Outside of Rio de Janeiro, on a beautiful little beach with amazing blue water, sits a little house with a flowering roof that shades and protects like a big tropical banana leaf. Designed by Mareines + Patalano, the open air abode is meant to encourage interaction and connection between man and nature. With verandas and open spaces in between rooms and no corridors, the tropical beach house is an ideal place for social gatherings and parties. The open layout also takes advantage of trade winds that blow in from the sea, providing natural ventilation and passive cooling.



The architects describe their design as low-tech eco-efficient, due to the use of natural ventilation for cooling. Homes in the tropics rarely need much more than a breeze in order to keep the environment comfortable. As for other sustainable design techniques, the roof harvests rainwater for use in the house, and the interior is naturally finished with wood, stone and natural fabrics. We suspect the wood was harvested locally, and can only hope it was done so in a sustainable fashion.



Above all the Leaf House is amazing inspiration for organic design that brings the outdoors in. It protects the inhabitants from rain and sun, while bringing in fresh breezes to cool the interior. The design was originally inspired by Brazil’s Indian Architecture, which used local materials to provide shade, protection and encourage natural breezes for cooling.

Thanks to Inhabitat and + Mareines + Patalano Arquitetura

Cannon Beach Residence is designed by Nathan Good Architect with sustainability in mind. It is located on the Oregon beach and provides more energy that it consumes. That is possible because of 5kWh rooftop photovoltaic system and 12-inch-thick concrete walls. There are also solar-thermal tubes that provide hot water and a ground-source heat pump that warms and cools the air. The house is L-shaped and wrapped around Sitka spruce that’s 38 inches in diameter. Recycled materials were used during construction and the house is designed to last multiply generations. It perfectly blends into the forested hillside thanks to its sedum-sprouting green roof. One side of the house has views of Haystack Rock while the other – views of the beach. A lot of windows provide the house with plenty of the natural light. [Nathan Good Architect]

digsdigs.com