As Australia’s climate continues to change, conversations about housing can no longer focus on comfort and aesthetics alone. Increasingly, we need homes that are resilient,...

When people talk about climate-responsive homes, two concepts often come up: passive solar design and Earthships. At first glance, they can seem similar. Both aim...

Australia’s built environment is responsible for a significant proportion of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, with increasing attention now being paid not only to operational...

What’s the NCC and how does it engage with natural materials? The National Construction Code (NCC) is Australia’s primary set of technical building standards. It...

One of the most common questions people ask when planning a straw bale home isn’t about the external walls—it’s about what goes inside. We saw...

Natural builders often try to minimise the use of concrete and cement, but completely avoiding them isn’t always practical. Concrete still has a place in...

For thousands of years, builders around the world have improved clay and lime plasters using natural additives that enhanced strength, durability, flexibility, and weather resistance....

There’s something deeply hopeful about building a home with the earth beneath your feet. In a time when housing feels increasingly expensive, inaccessible, and disconnected...

Combining earthen or natural walls with hydronic heating can work very well in Australia, but only when it is treated as part of an integrated...

Rammed earth buildings can last for thousands of years. Some sections of the Great Wall of China were built using rammed earth over 2,000 years...