With what material should I build my home? The answer depends upon a number of factors, including geographic location, climate, local resources, etc. In the past in oriental cultures, for instance, the materials used came mostly from renewable resource like animals and plants. We would find sheepskin, silk, linen, leather, mats of palm leaves, other animal skins, braided products of hair, but also sticks, leaves and branches of trees.

In Norway, you would often find grass roofs which offered excellent insulation – the cut grass or the stubbles help to retain the snow; in springtime the rain presses the grass against the ground which helps the runoff; and in summer high grass keeps off the heat. In warmer climates, clay has been used for millennia – the Mesopotamian culture was using the material for dwellings 10,000 years ago.

For a better understanding of building types and the interrelationship with their environments, see Architectonics (Form & Function) – IBE 203.6.

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