Transition Culture has moved
I no longer blog on this site. You can now find me, my general blogs, and the work I am doing researching my forthcoming book on imagination, on my new blog.
Come find me at robhopkins.net
Archive for “Natural Building” category
Showing results 51 - 55 of 61 for the category: Natural Building.
25 Apr 2006
One of the most gorgeous buildings I have ever seen is the Swiss Cottage near Cahir in County Tipperary. It was built around 1810, and is a fine example of cottage orné, a style that was particularly fashionable among the well-to-do at the time. The cottage was originally part of the estate of Lord and Lady Cahir, and used for entertaining guests. As well as being a fine example of gorgeous architecture, it also offers a very useful allegory for the concept of Interdependence I wrote about yesterday in my review of the recent NEF report on the subject.
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22 Apr 2006
Building Miles – Building for beauty, efficiency and abundance – by Rob Hopkins
I wrote the following article which appears in the latest issue of Resurgence Magazine. They have given me permission to reprint it here.
A recent report argued that food can only be called sustainable when consumed within a twenty-mile radius of where it is grown, organic or not. The concept of food miles is generally accepted now, but for most of us it applies no further than food. While green building from the point of energy efficiency is becoming more commonplace, we need to consider the issue of building miles. We need to ask how far have building materials travelled?
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7 Apr 2006
A month or so ago I launched a competition where you could win a copy of the wonderful ‘Building with Cob’, the new bible for cob builders everywhere. The idea was that you send me a photo of your favourite old building… the response has been somewhat underwhelming, total entries received thus far, er, 0. So, not one to be put off, and wanting some lucky soul to get their hands on this fabulous book, I am henceforth cancelling that competition and launching a far simpler version, which will only take you about 20 seconds to enter and will run only until next Friday, so come on, as they say, **It Could Be You!**
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28 Mar 2006
We all love James Howard Kunstler. Even if we might not always agree with him, his dry and ascerbic take on the world is one of peak oil’s more entertaining voices. He has single-handedly elevated peak oil cynicism to an art form. I just spent a side-splitting and eye-moistening half an hour going through the”Eyesore of the Month” feature on his website. As one who shares his revulsion with most modern architecture, I really enjoyed his sharp wit and ‘take-no-prisoners’ assault on all that is worst about 21st century architecture. One of the things we will be able to celebrate about a post peak society
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27 Mar 2006
Some things in life need to be acknowledged and celebrated. My dear friends Thomas and Ulrike who are now running The Hollies Centre for Practical Sustainability have, after a 3 year building process which I’m sure at times must have felt like 10, finally moved into their cob home. It has been the most extraordinary adventure, and the end result is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and one which is an amazing demonstration of natural building materials and their potential.
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One of the most gorgeous buildings I have ever seen is the Swiss Cottage near Cahir in County Tipperary. It was built around 1810, and is a fine example of cottage orné, a style that was particularly fashionable among the well-to-do at the time. The cottage was originally part of the estate of Lord and Lady Cahir, and used for entertaining guests. As well as being a fine example of gorgeous architecture, it also offers a very useful allegory for the concept of Interdependence I wrote about yesterday in my review of the recent NEF report on the subject.
