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Art Of Natural Building The (Paperback)

by Smith W Kennedy (Author)

4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: New Society Publishers (Jul 10 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0865714339
ISBN-13: 978-0865714335
Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 20.4 x 1.6 cm
Shipping Weight: 599 g

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #62,202 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#72 in Books > Home & Garden > Home Design > Buildings & Construction
#94 in Books > Home & Garden > Home Design > Design & Construction

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Product Description

The search for housing that is healthy, affordable, and environmentally responsible is leading a growing number of people to take a fresh look at building techniques long shunned by the modern construction industry.

Recently, books on specific techniques such as straw-bale construction, cob or rammed earth have become available, but there has been little to introduce the reader to the entire field. The Art of Natural Building fills that void wholly by being a complete and user-friendly introduction to natural building for non-professionals as well as architects and designers. From straw bale and cob to recycled concrete and salvaged materials, this anthology of articles from leaders in the field focuses on both the practical and the esthetic concerns of ecological building designs and techniques. Above all, this empowering guide demonstrates that anyone can design and build a home from natural materials that is beautiful, low-cost, and environmentally-sensible.

Profusely illustrated, The Art of Natural Building is divided into five sections. The first provides an overview of the natural building movement from the various perspectives of sustainability, lifestyle, and health. The second section looks at planning and design, followed by a section that focuses on specific techniques and the vast variety of materials used in natural building. Next, examples of diverse natural dwellings are shared-from a Hybrid Hobbit House to a thatched studio and a cob office. Finally, complementary systems, such as solar appliances, composting toilets, and alternative power systems are covered. Packed with additional resources and a bibliography, this is the encyclopedia of natural building!

About the Author

All three editors are central practitioners in the natural building movement. Catherine Wanek is the publisher and editor of The Last Straw Journal. Joseph F. Kennedy has expanded the boundaries of ecological architecture with NASA's space station habitability module. Michael Smith is the author of The Cob Cottage (Chelsea Green, 2001), among other books.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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4 star:		(1)
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4.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slightly delusional, May 16 2004

By A Customer

This is a very interesting book. It's mostly not about natural building, but rather a book about alternative wall building. Of the four major parts of a house - foundation, floors, walls, roof - this is an awful lot of information about walls, and very little else. Foundations covered in a few cursory pages, almost nothing on roofs, and nothing on floors at all, except for ground level earthen floors.

There is less world-saving going on than meets the eye. Almost all the bad stuff whether large amounts of timber, or reviled composites is in the roofs, floors, and foundations. When it comes to having wildflowers as part of the roof, they even embrace some pretty nasty membrane products.

There is also a fair amount of self-delusion going on. In the section on timber frames the author mentions the savings to be had by timber framed walls vs. stud walls, but makes no mention of the unsustainable old growth used in timber frames. Nor does he mention that the infill to timber frames is either the same studwalls he claimed to avoid using, or highly toxic SIPs. in total most timber buildings are built twice once for the frame, and enough infill material to again carry all structural loads. The same comments can be made about straw bale, cordwood and so forth, often as much wood is used avoiding studs as using them.

Natural building is completely unlikely to make an ounce of green difference in the West. It mainly won't be used, and where it is, it will just be another trophy home "look". Still it's all great stuff for dreamers, and the odd few who will actually build their own little earthship.

Because of all the authors contributing, the standard of information is highly inconsistent, but in the main good. Do we really need to read after 200 pages a section on timber framing that starts from theoretical constructs like what is architecture and engineering, and works on to maters even more obscure? Nonetheless, there is solid information throughout the book.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art of Natural Building, Dec 12 2002

By A Customer

This is a great place to start your research if you are interested in natural building. Web sites, resorce books and organizations are listed at the end of each chapter. This book started my career in natural home building.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very Good taste., Jun 11 2003

By	Scott Knudsen (Air Ronge, Saskatchewan Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book gives you a very good taste of all the natural alternative building techniques, and also where to find out more information on them. This is an excellent book for you to start researching all the different alternative building techniques or if your already well read on the subject it may introduce you to some new techniques or be a good refresher on the subject.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Stylishly Ethical Living
Today, around 5 million people on Earth work and live in buildings made of adobe, stone, rammed earth, straw bale, cob, wattle and daub and so forth. Read more

Published on Jul 12 2002 by J.W.K

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy to read "encyclopedia" of sensible building.
I liked the way this subject was presented. First--why are these building methods sound, ie, the philosophy of using natural materials. Read more

Published on Jul 1 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Saving the Planet in Style
I was trained as a philosopher - not an architect - but this is one of the most important books I have ever read. Read more

Published on Jun 23 2002 by J.W.K