Pattern 21: Four-Story Limit There is abundant evidence to show that high buildings make people crazy. High buildings have no genuine advantages, except in speculative gains for banks and land owners. They are not cheaper, they do not help create open space, they destroy the townscape,...

My New Warning: Avoid THESE Medical Treatments Whenever Possible by Dr. Mercola   In 2008, U.S. health care expenditures continued to skyrocket, growing at an annual rate of 4.4 percent for the year, slower than some recent years, yet still outpacing inflation and the growth of national...

  Here is a video I took of Ibrahim (and my girl Didi!!), one of my favorite instructors from the 2009 apprenticeship program at Cob Cottage. Ibrahim is Senegalese, and learned to build with mud at a very young age. In this video, he demonstrates his n0-fuss method of applying cob loaves...

Pattern 207: Good Materials There is a fundamental conflict in the nature of materials for building in industrial society.   On the one hand, an organic building requires materials which consist of hundreds of small pieces, put together, each on of them hand cut, each one shaped to be...

This weekend I was in New York, and a friend of mine whipped out a New York Times Style Magazine, wanting to know if its possible to do with cob what was showcased in its glossy pages. I took one look at the picture and gave her a robust YES. All the sculptural details of the house —...