I love buildings Sometimes, when I see the ugly side of the human built project I lose momentum and have gray thoughts on the subject. But then I start mousing round in Sketchup or pick the tools up with some friends and all of a sudden there is nothing better. I mean - really - what could be better than shaping wood, digging holes and all for such a noble purpose - to make a better world.
Portugal
In July 2008 Merle and I were lucky enough to end up at the Surfcastle in Portugal. We stayed for a week, then stayed on for another three building a hammock rack/pagoda and a pirate ship bar table from the old wood lying around. The Surfcastle is a magnificent 1930's house overlooking an excellent reef break |
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Croxford House
The Croxfords house is a hybrid of conventional building methods with some rammed earth and some green flexibility built in. Designed by me with Will and Jen, completed in May 2008 |
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Lightearth Building
My current "most exciting" building method. This lightearth (straw and clay in formwork) experiment is yet to be finished but what is there is stunning. from a construction point of view it has huge potential in New Zealand and offers an exciting alternative to conventional building. |
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Fraser Fullerton House
A winter of dinner meetings with old friends resulted in a fine house.
This project was based around a tight budget and the desire to
produce a house with a solid chassis which performed well in the
demanding climate in Wanaka, New Zealand. A large number of materials
were considered and it was decided to meet budget rammed earth offered
the best mix of value, speed and thermal efficiency. The 450mm thick walls were rammed into shutters using screened earth
from the Cardrona Valley. All external walls are earth while the
internal walls in the east bedroom wing are conventional 100mm framing
with ply lining.
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Hillhouse
A folly. My own house (and now my brother Tobys) - still under construction when I have the time, and with no plans to finish it. It was my alternative to going to Architectural school and I'm still trying to understand what it means. It is a earth roofed strawbale house with wooden post and beam and some concrete structure. |
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