Green (or Brown) Architecture

   Several years ago two undergraduate students from SPEA , Nathan Harmon and Paul Nord, built a cob house on my friend's property.  It was a huge undertaking of labor, requiring the incessant effort on their part, my friend and her neighbors, and many other volunteers.  I had the pleasure of spending several days working on the house as well.
  Originally they were going to build a bath house, but my friend's trailer burned down before they began.  She has three children, whose father died when the youngest was just three months old.  They had to live in a bus for almost two years before the house was finished.

  The plastic on the side is covering a large opening where a kitchen is planned to be built.  Large eaves and awnings surround the structure to keep water off of it. The blue dots are glass orbs they embedded in the cob.
  The cob is made of clay, sand, and straw which are similar to many building materials we use in conventional houses.  The straw creates a fiber that interlocks and holds the clay together, much like the polymers you find in dry wall and joint compound. The clay and sand harden to the consistency of concrete.  The clay came from the grading of the foundation, from right underneath where the house now sits.
    The walls are at least 12 inches thick.  I think of them as a great heat sink that, once warm, can contain and radiate heat for a long time.  Of course the house would be warmer if they had all of the windows they need and the kitchen finished.  Another great attribute of cob construction is that the house doesn't have to be shaped like a crackerjack box.

   Since not everyone is ready to live like a hippie here is an example of a more stylish home made from cob.  Cob construction was very popular, even in wet climates like Ireland and Britain, up until 70 years ago. However it is making a comeback, especially for those of us interested in sustainability.

  The imagination is the limit on the designs people can come up with for these structures.  I just wish this layout would let me put pictures side by side.