Category: Blog

Blog

Insist on Rational Material Choices

By C Perry & T Mackenzie

Sustainable building means using materials that are healthy, affordable, local, and as little transformed as possible. It might sound daunting, but most of these solutions are the simpler ways, and the older ways. They are frequently healthier and local by nature.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artduchanvre/building-with-hemp-construire-en-chanvre

Passive Solar Design Principles

Please consider sharing this among your Francophone contacts: these architectural and passive solar design principles reduce the energy costs of a home enough to nearly eliminate heating and cooling costs, even here in Quebec.  People should know, and insist that their developers know, too.

Article en français: http://www.mamunicipaliteefficace.ca/76-efficacite-energetique-ges-l-architecture-bioclimatique.html

Here is an English link: http://www.ecohome.net/guide/passive-solar-home-design

The Likely Structure of Printed Walls

Material selection becomes simpler with this 3d printing geometry developed by MIT, a bit by accident. See the video for the likely structure of our walls. 🙂

« The same geometry could even be applied to large-scale structural materials, they suggest. For example, concrete for a structure such a bridge might be made with this porous geometry, providing comparable strength with a fraction of the weight. This approach would have the additional benefit of providing good insulation because of the large amount of enclosed airspace within it.”

http://news.mit.edu/2017/3-d-graphene-strongest-lightest-materials-0106