Bioclimatism and other good ideas
Frédo & Karine's Bioclimatic House
Arriving at St Dalmaze, I discover the house of Fredo and Karine built under the bioclimatic model following an idea of ​​Quebec. Despite the rather heavy heat from the outside, inside the house remains cool and pleasant.
Building this house was done in 9 months (only by two people) on the principle of self-construction. A company is involved in making plans and gives a hand for the first steps. No heavy machinery is used for the project. The house base is rectangular. The whole skeleton is made of wood, only three dimensions of timber were used.
Roof: it comes down low enough and reaches a height of 2 meters on each side. The frame includes a first row of beams. They allow to make an insulating concrete form. In order to have the apparent beams, other beams are affixed to the ones of the frame. The roof is insulated with raw sheep wool treated with boron salt and a bit of lime powder. Tiled roof.
Floor: For the foundation, a concrete slab with fiber glass was cast on a gravel base. Lintels support the tile that covers the entire floor of the house.
Walls: wooden cast with 15 cm sheep wool inside.
The living room is the largest room and is at the center of the house. The rooms and the bathroom are around the living room and have an area of ​​about 16m2 surface. The cellar is located on the most Northen room. The kitchen is oriented to the southwest. In the center of the house is a wood stove. This heats the room, and heats hot water for the radiators of the rooms and a part for the tri energy (solar, wood, electricity) boiler.
Only inconvenient is the need to raise the temperature for heating the hot water, which causes overheating in the main room. But no need to consumme a lot of ressources to heat the house.
Without machinery construction method remains accessible to all and primary energy consumption (wood here), remains minimal compared to the surface of the dwelling and the weather conditions. One of the only drawbacks was the difficult steps to get the proposal accepted, because this kind of house does not fit in the model of the region.
But fingers crossed that these steps be increasingly facilitated and make accessible to all the construction of bioclimatic houses!
HYPER ADOBE technique for Casa De Miguel
Here we are in Crete and more specifically in the seaside resort of Stalis where Michaele, the mad scientist began to build an earth bag building with 'Hyper Adobe' 'technique derived from the construction principle of' 'Super Adobe''. This type of construction was developed by Nazer Khalili. This man has traveled the villages of Iran while helping people build earth bag habitations. During the course of his lifetim, he perfected his technique and became recognized in the world of green building.
A document that explains in detail this beautiful principle:
This is an interesting board that also sums up the concept of building a dome:
For Michael, his desire is to build in 'hyper adobe'. The technique of super adobe uses polypropylene bags, highly resistant and linked by barbed wires, hyper adobe is the same principle, but those bags look more like nets and no use of barbed wires. This principle uses less plastic, but in return is less resistant, protection should cover the beams quickly.
When we build, some steps have to be followed. Since we use the dry land, we must first thoroughly soak the soil that will support the new beam. To achieve a hyper-adobe, we slip on the net on a bottomless bucket.
Then, after having dug the soil and prepare the buckets of earth, bucket after bucket, we carry the bag and then the new layer of earth. The particularity is that it must constantly let the bucket vertical and never tilt, hyper-adobe is done naturally by gravity.
Once the bag made the net knotted at two tips, we turn to the compression phase and shape the beam with a metal plate that is thrown on the bag to crush it. Using a hammer and a board, we end up shaping the edges of the bag and follow the structural form of the dome.
During my visit, I had the chance to witness the realization of circular windows. Once the key in place, it is impressive that the structure can already bear the weight of a man.
After a few searches, I discovered that my beloved Brittany is not on the sidelines of this movement and quite the contrary, here is the proof with Kerterre movement, I let you discover by yourself.
DEDETEPE ECO-FARM
Here we are in the hills behind Küçükkuyu on the Turkish coast. The history of this farm started there 10 years ago when Erkan and his wife decided to invest in an olive grove. Over the years a community is created and homes are built on a part of the field. The environmental movement is also reinforced by the knowledge of an important man: Victor Ananias. Thanks to him, organic products produced by Turkey that originally intended to Germany are sold to the Turkish way of zero-rated so we can enjoy good vegetables at very good price. This man did a lot for the ecology of his country and also for seeds. He acted as a voice addressing public authorities. We had the chance to spend a day with Anday being a member of the community, and with which we discovered all that Victor built.
Now back to Dedetepe. The day I arrived I never expected to find this little paradise.
There is first a large communal kitchen. No fridge but a well-stocked cellar with oil, seeds, vegetables from the garden or the market, etc ... There is also a wood oven and a gas system. As for water, that we drink we'll get it in town, there are taps available. For the water used to wash, there is a reservoir (formerly a pool) wherein the river water is stored.
The washing is done with the famous turkish black soap and there is always a teapot of traditional tea ready.
Over the years, the cottages were built, a container was converted and yurts were installed. The light is available thanks to the solar panels and battery system. In terms of heating, a small wood boiler was created with a hot water network mainly for the cottages. There is also a main house in stones.
The bathrooms are gathered in a beautiful building. In its center is a hammam (yes! We are in Turkey), around this hammam small rooms were created for showers and toilets. The hot water (even very hot) is available through a solar thermal panel. In winter, a stove is installed in the steam room to spend a nice time in a relaxing humid heat.
A little further down, on the ground, we find a school that has been running for 2 years, offering a Montessori-type education. The main principles is to let the children free up their creativity. Outdoor spaces are also dedicated to the creative workshop.
In one of the lowest parts of the camp we find the yoga platform, a kind of mini amphitheater with a beautiful wooden floor, ideal for the morning session.
They also have a pool and garden and really nice relaxation places.
And of course a chicken coop, and place for the animals Gigi, Luna and Blondie the dogs, Doudou the cat and Artan the horse. Our friends spider and scorpions are also nearby.
The camp lives off the olive oil resources, soap sales homemade as well as the rental of cottages for yoga camp or others.
NOZAWA resources
Nozawa Onsen is a small village in the mountainous region of Nagano. As predicted by the name of the village 'Onsen' means hot springs. This village has so many hot springs and so hot water throughout the year. They have made public baths, water being heated naturally not need to use a water heater at home, also the mineral contained in the water have good properties for the skin. In winter, people use a little of that water to heat and de-ice the roads.
A far more than other heat source is used for cooking food.
When you walk in Nozawa, you always hear the water running, this water from the mountain and especially Sutaka lake, flows year round through the village. Despite these resources in '' energy '', the power that has the water that runs down into the gutters is not yet used. All in all, I saw a wooden mill and I think it was decorative. Then my mind started to knit ideas about individual turbines that way each inhabitant could generate their own electricity.
At Lodge Nagano, Mark, Luke and Gab are sensitive to the environmental aspect, they have also some solar panels installed on the roof of two villas and Gab had built his home in the Swiss cottage style, insulation is optimal and very good quality windows (which is not necessarily the case for the rest of the japanese houses) and this house has little need for heating during the winter. Luke on his side, ordered a heat pump to heat his house efficiently.
In talking with Luke, who is very aware of the technological advances in this field, he taught me that the project of a hydropower plant is being validated for the village of Nozawa, here is good news! Also some part of the village now have the right to use the hot spring close by to heat their houses. With all these resources, Nozawa could easily be self-powered (can not be during ski season, but it's yet to be seen).
Another aspect of this village: each inhabitant grows in their garden or on the ski slopes in summer and a good resource of vegetables is locally produced so imports are reduced. Persimmon trees also provide delicious fruits in late fall, not to mention the huge apple that we can find near the village and rice fields down the valley.
Another aspect relates sorting. The villagers are a stickler for sorting, so we need to bring the cardboards or plastic or glass in different locals to centralize. Trucks then take the materials. Concerning other waste, they are burned in an incinerator located 10 km from the village. At the Eco center another sort is carried and the vehicle is weighed every sort, and then a price is determined according to the type and weight of the waste.
Nozawa Onsen is a small village where life is good there, certainly more out of winter season ..