THE JOHN DEE LIBRARY

Architecture Section

This section of the library includes resources on architecture and building, especially sustainable and vernacular architecture. Also included are resources on ecovillages and cohousing and other aspects of sustainable land use and development. See Agriculture Section for permaculture, aboriculture, and sustainable agriculture.

Web Resources: Sustainable and Green Architecture

Cob Cottage Company Earth is probably still the world's commonest building material. The word cob comes from an old English root meaning a lump or rounded mass. Cob building uses hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with sand and straw, a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay. Workshops and info on cob construction.

Cobworks Builders of cob and other earth houses.

Earthwood Building School Earthwood has been conducting specialized one- to five-day workshops in Cordwood Masonry and Earth Sheltered housing since 1981, with stone circle workshops added in August of 2000, and "Timber Framing for the Rest of Us" workshops added in 2004.

EcoNest The EcoNest Building Company, located in Tesuque, New Mexico (near Santa Fe), is owned and managed by Robert Laporte and Paula Baker-Laporte. Robert Laporte is a timber framer and natural house building pioneer and teacher. Paula Baker-Laporte is an architect, baubiologist and author specializing in healthy and ecological design. Since 1994, Robert and Paula have been co-creating EcoNests - homes which embody the principles of sustainable building, health and beauty.

Solar Energy International SEI offers hands-on workshops in solar, wind and water power and natural building technologies in 17 locations. SEI also offers internet based online courses.

Strawbale Central Information on strawbale construction.

DAWN SouthWest offers Workshops and other Resources for Sustainable Building and Permaculture enthusiasts.

DCAT: Development Center for Appropriate Technology. DCAT draws on extensive experience in traditional and alternative building and development, providing strategic support for the shift to sustainable building practices.

Dirt Cheap Builder. An online bookstore for low-cost and Green building. Lots of resources.

Centre for Alternative Technology. Europes Leading Eco-Centre. CAT is concerned with the search for globally sustainable, whole and ecologically sound technologies and ways of life.

Articles: Cohousing, Intentional Communities, and Ecovillages

Intentional Communities: Lifestyles Based on Ideals by Geoph Kozeny. Fellowship for Intentional Community, 1996. Drawing on information from his visits to hundreds of communities across the continent, the author gives an overview of the communities movement -- not only its current state, but also how it has evolved and its prospects for the future. He points out the common bonds that link communities in spite of their diversity.

Web Resources: Cohousing and Ecovillages - General

Cohousing Association of the United States. An organization whose mission is to promote the cohousing movement, support individuals and groups in creating communities, to provide assistance to completed groups for improving their systems for living together in community, and to create networking opportunities for those involved or interested in cohousing

Ecovillage Network of the Americas. ENA's mission is to engage the peoples of the Americas in common effort to join the global transformation towards an ecologically, economically, and culturally sustainable future.

Ecovillage Training Center. A whole systems immersion experience of ecovillage living, together with classes of instruction, access to information, tools and resources, and on-site and off-site consulting and outreach experiences.

The Global Ecovillage Network is a global confederation of people and communities that meet and share their ideas, exchange technologies, develop cultural and educational exchanges, directories and newsletters, and are dedicated to restoring the land and living "sustainable plus" lives by putting more back into the environment than we take out.

Web Resources: Cohousing and Ecovillages - Communities

Abundant Dawn Community - Rural intentional community in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia has an unusual structure of multiple subgroups, some of which are income-sharing and some not.

Baron's Haven Freehold - A project in Ohio to build a 15th century medieval city and castle with authentic supporting economic and agricultural facilities. Includes general information, maps and pictures, contact information, and related links.

Bartimaeus Community - Christian cohousing community forming in Kitsap County, WA, a ferry ride from Seattle.

Boston Cooperative Network - Home to several Boston-area cooperative housing communities and related resources.

Cobb Hill Cohousing - A cohousing community, research institute, and organic farm in Vermont.

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage - An ecovillage in progress in northeastern Missouri. Dancing Rabbit plans to be a locally self-reliant small town of 500-1000 residents demonstrating ecological sustainability.

East Blair Housing Community - 20-year old co-operatively managed, multi-dwelling, child welcoming home and garden in Eugene, Oregon.

EcoVillage at Ithaca - A unique habitat in New York which includes cohousing, organic agriculture, cottage industries, an education center, and natural areas.

EcoVillage of Loudoun County, VA - A residential community based on the social principles of cohousing and the environmental principles of sustainable development.

Eno Commons Cohousing - Cohousing community in Durham, North Carolina.

Enota: An Ecovillage - An intentional community in north Georgia (USA) teaching sustainability through organic and biodynamic gardening, permaculture, village building, food storage, and farm animal care.

The Farm - An intentional community located in south central Tennessee.

The Findhorn Ecovillage. Part of the Findhorn Community and Foundation in Scotland.

Heartwood CoHousing - Cohousing neighborhood in southwest Colorado with a deep sense of community nestled on a few acres within 250 acres of pine forest and pastureland.

The Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) - A student housing cooperative serving university students in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Includes information for potential members about the individual co-op houses, contracts and costs, and an online application.

Institute for Applied Piracy - Anarchist collective living on five acres in Western Oregon.

Intentional Communities. This Web site serves the growing communities movement, providing resources for finding a community home and creating more community in your life.

Jackson Place Cohousing - This is the first cohousing community in Seattle that is close to downtown.

Lansing Cohousing - Cohousing community under development in Lansing, Michigan.

Living Earth EcoVillage - A 41 acre intentional conservation subdivision close to Lexington, Virginia. Includes photo tour, a FAQ, and information about buying and investing.

Meadowdance Community Group - Egalitarian, child-centered community that welcomes human diversity, ecological sensibility, mutual learning and joy. In Plainfield, Vermont.

Menter Y Felin Uchaf Venture An Educational Centre in Gwynedd, northern Wales, for Exploring ways of Living and Working in Creative Partnership with Each other and our Environment.

Milagro - An ecologically-minded cohousing community located on 43 acres of Sonoran desert near Tucson, Arizona.

Mosaic Commons - A cohousing community; includes general information about cohousing as well as this group's history and vision statement. [Wayland, Massachusetts]

Oak Creek Commons Cohousing - A group of families, partners, singles, and retirees dedicated to creating a cohousing neighborhood in Paso Robles, California.

Plow Creek Fellowship and Church - A rural intentional Christian community affiliated with the Mennonite Church. Our mission statement is "A global village practicing the peace of Jesus." Located in Illinois.

The Quarries EcoVillage - Practicing the principles of responsible environmental design, building, and sustainable community development.

Qumbya Cooperative of Chicago - Provides residents with three cooperative houses in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood and features nightly vegetarian meals and shared responsibility.

River Hayven Eco-Village and Tubing Society - River side intentional community in Wisconsin.

River Ridge Intentional Community - Women's cohousing in Wisconsin.

Rocky Hill Cohousing - Community in Northampton, MA. Includes a FAQ on cohousing in general and this community in particular.

Skyhouse Community - Small, close-knit, income-sharing egalitarian community, located at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, Missouri.

Songaia Cohousing - Cohousing community near Seattle, Washington.

Sunward Cohousing - A community dedicated to creating a place where resources are shared, the Earth is respected, diversity is welcomed, children play in safety, and living in community with neighbors comes naturally.

Twin Oaks Community - An intentional community in rural Virginia that is income-sharing, holds the values of non-violence, egalitarianism, and environmentalism and manufactures leisure furniture, makes soy products, and indexes books.

The VOL Community - An egalitarian, spiritually oriented, intentional community that has been in existence, on and off, since 1978. Located in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas.

Wolfroad Natural/Organic/Healing Lifestyle Center - Involves alternative healing, macrobiotics, energy, permaculture, and building.

Zendik Farm - The Ecolibrium Revolution - A revolutionary tribe of Warrior Artists designing a brave new culture.