Green House #1. An Earthship in Brighton, UK

Green House #2. Reused wine casks
The Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren in the Netherlands has put wooden Swiss wine drums to good use: they’ve built four rooms out of them.

Green House #3. Recycled sewer pipes
Not far away, in Austria, the Park Hotel offers lodging in converted sewer pipes. I’m guessing those thick concrete walls keep out the weather well… and if you want to try this out, the hotel even offers a “pay as you wish” system: “everyone leaves in the Paybox his suite per night € an amount he can afford and with which he is willing to support our project.”

Green House #4. The mud house
Mud’s not exactly correct… the house above, built by DR resident and sustainablog contributor ziggy, is made of cob, a mixture of earth and straw. ziggy created a blog dedicated to building the cob house, and you can see the process step by step.

Interested in learning more about this very old building material? The Natural Building Network will be holding a cob building workshop this summer, and Dancing Rabbit has opportunities for natural building professionals that involve cob and other materials.

source: http://blog.sustainablog.org/green-building-materials-recycled-reused/

Green Architecture tips #1. Recycled materials

There are no limits to the recycled materials that can be used in green architecture designs. Domesticated wood can be used for flooring, trim and exposed wood ceilings. Recycled rubber tire chips can be used in landscaping. Even broken glass fragments are being used inside walls for insulation.

Green Architecture tips #2. Solar panels

Solar panels have been around for ages now, but thanks to advances in technology they are now more accessible to the general public. Their new attractive designs make them more “green architecture” friendly. Solar panels are most often used to heat swimming pools and to power the whole house.

Green Architecture tips #3. Water collection systems

Collecting rain water is not a new concept. Most hardware stores carry large barrels that are used for the sole purpose of collecting rain water.

Green Architecture tips #4. Wind turbines

An excellent way to apply green architecture to your property, wind turbines are highly effective in producing energy for your home by using wind as its power source. When considering the installation of these check first with your city to see if code allows them.

Green Architecture tips #5. Green roofing

Green grass roofs are popping up everywhere. Both cost efficient and attractive, one can now apply green roofing systems to their entire roof or just a portion. The extra insulation helps keep energy consumption down.