“To leave the land no worse than you found it” is the manifesto of Gentle Architecture, a concept coined by Architect Malcolm Wells, who recently died. He made an impression on the green movement of the 1970’s and his work is getting attention with the new green building movement we are currently having. There are […]
Malcolm Wells, Champion of ‘Gentle Architecture,’ Dies at 83 Read More »
Inhabitat recently posted an article exemplifying innovative underground houses around the globe. As a green contractor Eco Brooklyn is continually using cutting-edge ideas to improve upon Passive House designs. Underground housing can provide New York State with low energy housing at reasonable prices without sacrificing the aesthetic appeal of living above ground. Structures built underground
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The book “Energy Efficient Buildings: Architecture, Engineering, and Environment” by Hawkes and Forster is a little misleading in its title since it only covers large educational and commercial buildings for the most part. The residential buildings it covers are also large multifamily structures. It does not address smaller buildings at all and the title should make some
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The book Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts: And Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here is a cross between Malcolm Wells and redneck literature. The author, Derek “Deek” Diedricksen, is a scrappy young guy who took his love for kid forts and turned it into a deep study of how
I just read the book “A Natural System of House Design, An Architect’s Way” by Charles Woods. I was interested in it from Wood’s involvement with Malcolm Wells, a great natural architect and the pioneer of earth covered building. Before I start my review I need to make clear that I see Woods as a
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Reading the book “Designing Your Natural Home, Over 200 Rules of Good Architecture You Can Apply to New or Renovated Work by Award-Winning Designers, Charles G. Woods and Old Malcolm Wells” (long tittle!) is like sitting with two friends on a quiet evening. Each night after a long day in the field I would come home
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The book, How To Build An Underground House, by Malcolm Wells is yet another quirky yet powerful book by my favorite author and architect. He guides you through every step, both physical and factual, of how to build an underground house. His prose is witty and insightful. His advice is practical and far reaching. Even
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The book Gentle Architecture by Malcolm Wells is one of those cult books. Published in 1981 it is out of print. The author died in 2009. But the book lives on amongst those of us searching for alternatives to our current building crisis. Most people don’t even know we have a building crisis. Most architects don’t
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Please read to the end: there is an invitation for designers and architects to submit work to Eco Brooklyn. After hearing that Malcolm Wells, pioneer of underground architecture, had died I bought a couple of his books and read up on him. I regret not meeting him when he was alive. He had a great
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