Homes from recycled materials

This is one of my favourite projects in the whole world. The Phoenix Commotion is a project to help people to build sustainable and affordable housing using recycled materials. As a bonus, many of the houses are of an organic design, and the use of recycled materials has been turned from a potential problem into a benefit.

The project has so many aspects that I love. I like the human scale designs, I like the empowering aspects of the project, helping people to learn how to build and maintain their own houses, and I love the green aspects of it, reusing and using things which other people can't use.

I urge you to visit the website and look at the projects. While you're at it, visit Roald Gundersen's Whole Trees site. He uses whole trees in his architecture and makes amazing homes and components for homes, like staircases, using whole tree branches. It is less wasteful and - I think - more beautiful than using planks and geometric timber cut from tree trunks.

Transition Towns

There's been a long gap between the last post and this one, apologies. Transition towns are ones which have decided to view the challenges of climate change and peak oil as opportunities to strengthen their communities, and to help them to thrive.

There's a wiki about transition towns, and lots of blogs and websites with ideas, people's stories and advice.

Totnes is one town which is already ahead with its Transition Town project, and there's lots of interest in their website.

If anyone has information about local transition town projects, please share with me!