> Jim Newman here. Just a couple of thoughts on your questions. The first thing that comes to mind is the concept of living lightly on the
land. In general, a
I'm not really sure what you mean by living lightly on the land. It
is certainly a desirable concept, but the words could be open to a
lot of different meanings. Could you clarify?
> 1) Do you think that the idea of building "solid" houses which are
> designed to last is a viable alternative?
> Sure, a fine idea...but let's look at some "old" houses. A nice start here is probably Stewart Brand's "How Buildings Learn". What is your
goal?...what will
I have read that book, but I seem to remember it dealing more with
commercial buildings. However it's been a while; I'll look at it again.
My goal would be to create houses that are beautiful and long-lasting,
able to last through several generations. Maybe I'm atypical because I
like the aesthetics of concrete. Houses designed by F.L. Wright, Richard
Neutra, R.M. Schindler, and others seem to be delightful spaces, but have
some of what I would call "traditional" problems of concrete, such as
cracking, leakage, poor thermal quality. Although I have to admit that I
really haven't seen too many older concrete houses in this country
(especially not 150 years old), I have seen it at work in Europe. I found
it fascinating that houses had so many lifetimes' worth of use.
I arrived at my curiosity about "solid" houses by watching people at home
shows and various conferences. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to
me that people looking to buy a home are extraordinarily fascinated with
building systems such as log homes, metal frame, and the stay-in-place
insulated concrete formwork systems. This fascination seems to say to me
that people are looking for houses with substance. Maybe too many bad
experiences with poorly built wood frame houses?
What I wonder about these newer concrete building systems is if they have
overcome enough of the traditional problems of concrete to be viable
alternatives to wood frame. I don't think they have, but some seem to be
moving in the right direction.
> 4) Oh, also do you know any resources for finding out more about the
> environmental ramifications of these systems?
> Environmental Building News, of course, is a fine start.
> I agree. I appreciate the good articles that I have already found on
concrete in general and various concrete products.
Thank you,
Parie Hines
Raleigh, NC
__________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by Oikos (www.oikos.com)
and Environmental Building News (www.ebuild.com). For instructions
send e-mail to greenbuilding-request@crest.org.
__________________________________________________________________