Sometime around 1989, when Mollison was registering his ultimate dreams upon the cosmos, I was hanging out with some cool architects in Boulder, Colorado at SERI, where we had enjoyed almost a decade of uninterrupted focus on the new energy paradigm and (inadvertently) on 'sustainability,' if you can imagine that. To me, life begins with a passive envelope, or you probably don't deserve to live in a house at all. I'm so sick of hearing them flaunt the word, sustainability, whether in conjunction with the Urban Congress folks, or the baby lambs over at LEED. "Placemaking," these people ain't. And if I have to read about yet another "Green Energy efficient LEED Certified WalMart," before they own up to the mountainside they chopped off last year to build that last one here in Little Rock, for Christ's sakes, where have all the real architects gone? Big Up!, to me mates down under, for spearheading permaculture into the realm of real global solutions. I'm like 20 videos in and groovin on every one. Mind you, it ain't all fun and games. We've had zillions of whitefly and these pesky birds trying to eat everything right off the vine. I never realized I needed to build a scarecrow. Speaking of Oz, I really need a hat like Geoff's and one of those frisky blue healers!
Hi tsgordon, Well, I'm ready now! Clearcutting of the Douglas Fir, Hemlock, Cedar forests here in the Pacific NW is one of the worst catastrophes we know. Pretty much ruins everything, including the salmon spawning streams ... that along with all the hydroelectric dams.
Many, many times I have thought to write a formal letter to the administrators of the AIA. In the case of all western architecture, "Duplicity," is apparently the order of the day. How in the world can any professional group be so blatantly dishonest, one must ask? You can't have it both ways. You can't chop off the top of a mountain, causing creeks to overflow their banks and flood fields, all to build a massive WalMart and a Mall, and subsequently award each atrocious new piece of (!) building a "LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION" for sustainability? It doesn't wash. Your partner Sheila is absolutely right about the planned inefficiencies of our housing universe.
Oops, I'm repeating myself. After checking your site, Bill, you'll love hearing this. For almost 20 years my best client was California Redwood Association. Our house, (a Fay Jones/ FL Wright like-construct,) is made of Douglas Fir. We've got real dimensional siding, circa 1964: 11.7/8" x 7/8". ..Is it leaky, need replacing? -Fogettaboutit!
The pecker-poles they log these days from Doug Fir are so knotty that it would be near impossible to obtain quality siding from, even if you milled your own to dimensional specs. Would love to see a few pics of your house! I've become so enamored of earth sheltered housing that I've actually got an earth-bermed greenhouse project going. It's already begun to prove itself last winter/this summer with no roof insulation and minimal berming (still need to bury water collection tanks and install the "earth tubes").
Just got back from a day of fun with the Northwest Arkansas Permaculture group. They deal with a wetter, more wooded, more mountainous set of conditions than ours. The goal of their current project was to address a persistent runoff condition that occurs as the twin roads, leading about 280 feet down to the house, serve to direct water and dirt on to their concrete front porch which sits about 1" above grade just below keyline. It seems everyone forgot to bring their backhoe to class. The ladies quickly opted for a straw berm approach, leaving the guys to figure out why were even carrying the pick-axe around? Important lessons were shared by all.
