The Barefoot Architect -- A Review

This is the first English edition of a book originally written in Spanish, published in the 1980’s and distributed widely in Mexico and throughout Latin America. Shelter Publications made this new edition available in 2008 because of the relevance of the content to our current times.

A massive paperback of about 700 pages, The Barefoot Architect could almost be considered a complete compendium of indigenous building techniques from Latin America. Van Lengen’s approach to explaining the concepts presented is extremely graphic, so the book is full of thousands of hand-drawn images, and these images really help convey the subtleties of designs and ideas.

At the outset the reader is given the basics of how to design a house, along with the fundamentals of drawing plans. The constant objective is to provide the tools for people to come up with their own plans based on the guidelines outlined in the book.

In designing a house, the local climate will determine many aspect of what is appropriate. To help emphasize this van Lengen divides climate zones into “humid tropical,” “dry tropical” and “temperate” zones. Most of the strategies presented for “temperate” zones are applicable to building in North America and Europe, although these regions could benefit from a greater emphasis on insulation.

Guidelines are given for choosing a site based on environmental considerations in order to provide sufficient ventilation, light, heat, drainage, etc. The recommendations go beyond single residential development, with public or commercial buildings and whole communities embraced; this is also a book about urban or village planning to some extent.

Each climate zone is examined in detail according to what house shapes and design elements are appropriate. In the humid tropics you want high-pitched roofs that readily shed rain, don’t heat up so much in the sun, and allow space under them for interior heat to rise. Substantial eaves will keep moisture off the walls. Good ventilation is essential. Specific building instructions are given for working with common materials found in the tropics, such as bamboo and palm leaves.

In the dry tropics comfort depends on good air circulation and providing plenty of shaded areas, such as with open courtyards. Details for constructing wind catchers and natural evaporative cooling concepts are shown. Earth berming is encouraged to help moderate temperatures. Vaults and domes work well in arid climates, and the construction of these is detailed.

In temperate climates that require heating it is best to pay attention to how the sun can be harnessed to do this, and many aspects of passive solar design are presented. Simple fireplace and wood stove designs are detailed. Ways to keep cold winds from sapping heat from the house are explained. Tempering inlet air by passing it through the ground is another strategy discussed.

Following the climate specific sections, the book dives into exploring a variety of building materials, mostly of natural origin. These include earth, sand, lime, wood, cactus, bamboo, sisal, ferrocement and seacrete. Guidelines for how to choose appropriate materials, with an emphasis on sustainability, are provided. Van Lengen details some uncommon techniques that could be quite useful for a variety of projects, such as making “concrete shell panels” for supporting roofs.

The largest section of the book (186 pages) is devoted to the construction of all of the different parts of a house, starting with foundations and proceeding through walls, floors, roofs, doors, windows, and utilities. I recognize many of the methods as being quite common in Mexico from the time that I lived there. Stone, adobe, wattle and daub, plant fiber, bricks, home-made concrete lintels, thatching, green roofs and joinery techniques are just a few of the topics covered. You can learn how to make stairs, leveling tools, sinks, silos, wheelbarrows, lathes and ladders in this book.

The chapter on energy covers windmills, waterwheels, solar water heaters, solar dryers, an ice maker, masonry stoves and solar cookers. The amazing thing is that enough description is given for a person to make all of these items from common, easy to find materials.

There is a substantial chapter on water that describes ways to develop water from a spring or creek, how to make several styles of pumps, how to make pipes from bamboo, how to make cisterns and how to dig a well. Various methods of filtering, purifying and distilling water are also shown, along with how to make a simple evaporative cooler. The final chapter is about sanitation and covers outhouses, composting toilets and drainage around a house.

It is amazing that one book can explain so much in enough detail for a person to actually take advantage of what is presented. Anyone interested in developing a basic, down-to-earth homestead could save hundreds or thousands of dollars by follow the advice given in this book. But not just money is being saved, it is our world through ecological, sustainable solutions like those presented here that will make life possible in the future.

The Natural Building Companion: A Review

The Natural Building Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to Integrative Design and Construction, by Jacob Deva Racusin and Ace McArleton, published in 2012 by Chelsea Green Publishing is a book with a rare degree of detail on the topics covered. It is an extremely valuable resource for those interested in actually building with the materials that it covers, which are primarily wood, straw, earth and stone. The experience and focus of the authors is on appropriate techniques for the climate of the Northeastern United States. This book would make an excellent text book, and indeed the authors are associated with Yestermorrow, the design/build school in Vermont.

 

It begins with a thorough investigation of the context for natural building, especially in the Northeast; ecological factors, proper siting for buildings, the geology of mineral building materials, as well as local plant and animal products, are all covered with great detail.

The next section dives into the science and performance of building technologies, dealing first with structural issues related to straw bale and mass walls. Thermal performance strategies for natural building are investigated with a lot of corroborating data from actual testing the authors have done.

A whole chapter is devoted to issues related to moisture and how it affects buildings. How to keep excess moisture out of buildings, the importance of breathable walls, how to provide good drainage around buildings, and the effectiveness of rain screen design is explored. Mitigating the risk of fire and insect damage is also discussed.

How do you approach making proper design choices in the first place, taking into account the need for balancing cost, time and quality? Where are your priorities in this regard? They point out that non-standard construction often takes more time, and thus costs more, but the end product may be of higher quality.

One of the best chapters in my opinion is devoted to foundations for buildings, with some of the clearest illustrations I’ve seen for exactly how various types of foundations are actually made. These cover frost wall foundations using AAC blocks, insulated concrete forms, rubble trench, frost-protected shallow foundations, pole and pier, and rammed tires. A chapter on various framing methods for natural buildings focuses on post and beam, timber framing, pole framing, stud wall framing, and even steel framing.

Exploring natural insulative wall systems, such as straw bale, is really at the heart of this book. It goes into great detail on this subject, almost to the point of being a separate book within a book. Along with straw bale, both straw-clay and woodchip-clay are covered.

The use of earth and stone to construct natural mass wall structures comprises another chapter. This includes the use of adobe, wattle and daub, stone, rammed earth, rammed tire, and earthbag. There is a side bar in this chapter that describes cordwood, and I feel that their treatment of this well established natural building technique is unfortunately unduly negative.

There is an excellent section on natural plasters and paints and how to mix and apply them. This is one of the best presentations of a subject that is frequently skirted in books that I’ve seen. A range of appropriate roofs for natural buildings is covered, and so are flooring options. To finish the book, available choices for mechanical systems and utilities are explained.

Altogether, I feel that this book is well worth its hefty price ($60), given that it not only provides such a wealth of detail and analysis, but it is also packaged with a comprehensive DVD of instructional material that dovetails with the content. I give the book high marks indeed.

Kelly Hart Interviewed on Talkupy

I will be interviewed on an internet podcast this coming Tuesday, September 4th, at 11AM Eastern Time. The program is called Talkupy with Annie Lindstrom, (as in "occupy") and should last about an hour. I will be discussing how to build homes using nature as your guide. If you miss the show it can accessed at their archives. Go to www.blogtalkradio.com/talkupy/2012/09/04/kelly-hart--building-homes-with-nature-1 to either listen to the live podcast or find the archived show.

Tiny Homes--Simple Shelter

Lloyd Kahn has done it again! He has published another seminal work on the general topic of shelter. This one is devoted to the art of living in small spaces…in style. Tiny Homes, Simple shelter: Scaling Back in the 21^st Century is another amazing book with over a thousand photos detailing more than you could ever imagine about the beauty and construction of tiny houses. By “tiny” Lloyd means no larger than 500 sq. ft., but many of them are much smaller than this.

Having built and lived in many odd small structures, I can certainly appreciate the craft and utility of this approach to shelter. What I didn’t realize was the extent to which this movement has captured the imagination of common folk. Clearly the economic climate is part of the reason for this, as is the ecological realization that scaling back is often the right thing to do. Small design goes hand in hand with using recycled materials, and the result is cheap, ecological homes. There are builders across the country who are now finding a market for little buildings that can easily be hauled to any site after they have been built.

Dwellers of these little homes are finding that life can be simpler when space is at a premium, partly because the temptation to buy more stuff is thwarted by the impracticality of storing it. Also, one has to become neater and more orderly about keeping things in their place; otherwise life becomes unbearable. And folks find that they actually spend more time outside, another pleasurable and healthful benefit.

Lloyd has organized this colorful book into several chapters, each of which deals with the topic in a different way. There are homes that are fixed on foundations, on wheels, designed by architects or not, prefabs and kits, those made of earthy materials, treehouses, motorhomes, and even boats. The aesthetics can suit any impulse, from the funkiest of hippie hovel to high end architectural achievement. Some of these abodes are true artistic masterpieces of woodworker’s craft, and some are strictly utilitarian in style and function.

Nearly all of the homes shown are described in some detail, either by the builder or the dweller, so there is personal narrative that is woven throughout the book. This makes the work inspiring on many levels; often these little homes were built by folks who have never built anything before, and become empowered by the experience of making something they can actually live in.

Because these little homes can be hauled to a location or built on site with fewer materials, they are often located in spectacular places, with views and a relationship with the nature around them that is breathtaking.

I applaud this movement toward living more simply and ecologically, and I applaud Lloyd Kahn for providing a totally pleasurable glimpse into this little world!

Kelly Hart Speaking at Bonfire Heights

I have been asked to make a presentation at a wonderful event that will be happening in the mountains of Santa Cruz, California this Fall. It is called Bonfire Heights and judging by the range of speakers and workshops planned it should be quite worthwhile and a lot of fun. Besides my presentation about "Building with Nature," others will be discussing permaculture, Occupy Wall Street, truth telling, finding the right career, building community, and more. There is  an associated blog about this event and I was interviewed for this.

Architect Angus Macdonald Now at Dream Green Homes

 I am pleased to announce that Angus W. Macdonald has joined our team of architects and designers who are represented at www.dreamgreenhomes.com. Angus received his Masters degree from the Yale School of Architecture along with the AIA medal for Excellence in the Study of Architecture in 1967. He wrote a construction manual for owner-builders on earth tempered housing, about how to site, design, finance, and build energy independent passive solar earth berm dwellings. The book was published by the Mother Earth News in 1982. His residential design received NAHB awards for best of show in Fredericksburg, VA, in the under $150,000 and under $250,000 categories in 1990.

In 1996, he filed a patent on the am-cor™ unified steel and cement constructional system composed of light gauge galvanized steel frame panels coated on site with a continuous ferrocement skin. Macdonald's practice is now in Warrenton, Virginia. He holds licenses in: VA, PA, VT, TX, MI, and Washington, DC. He practices general architecture, with emphasis on residential design.

You can see one of his featured plans, Solareon Court, on the website and it is pictured above. The Solareon Court plan features a greenhouse type courtyard with a clerestory facing south. It can be built into a hillside, or superinsulated on flat land. The structure features a post & beam solar greenhouse room with a glass block fountain. Interior plan is open and simple, suitable for Ikea style wardrobes and storage units. This house is truly affordable; an owner builder could build such a plan for under $100,000. Houses that have been built like this need no fossil fuel to maintain comfortable interior year-round.

Adobe Windmills

I have recently been in correspondence with an Iranian researcher, Mostafa Aref haghi, who has chronicled a tradition in Iran of building adobe windmills. At first I thought that it was virtually impossible to build a windmill using adobe. But then as I studied the material that he sent I came to realize that yes, indeed, it is possible to build a windmill using adobe!

Basically the adobe structure provides support for a vertical wood-bladed mill that can be used to grind grain or put to other use. In some cases the adobe structure can also provide a channel for directing the wind toward the mill. I have posted a PDF file with many pictures and some description of these old structures that can be seen at http://greenhomebuilding.com/pdf/adobewindmills.pdf