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Great Lakes
NATURAL BUILDING & Traditional Skills
Regional Network
This is an evolving resource. Help create it. Add your connections. This network is currently from my perspective in South Eastern Michigan. More input is needed from other great lakes/midwest regions ! What projects or opportunities have you heard about? Email your ideas to ecoartdb@gmail.com. Would someone like to help coordinate the evolution of this network?
Calendar
Featured folks:
Eric Moshier is a 3rd-generation mason who likes rocket mass heaters, and is a certified masonry heater builder. He can do up-to-code / permitted installations.
Here's his masonry heaters gallery page: http://www.solidrockmasonry.com/heaters_stoves.html
Mark Campbell http://www.stjosephbuilding.com/ Mark is doing building, strawbale construction in the area and nationally ! Mark has been doing strawbale home construction around the country, and would love to work closer to his home & family in Ann Arbor, MI.
Tom Hoyt - http://ancient-gallery.blogspot.com/ Tom is an artist with landscaping & rocks and does forged steel that also incorporate rocks he finds regionally. He loves this work. Look at 2009 pictures on his blogspot for more landscaping / rock work pics.
Jason Arnott - www.earthenvironments.com Jason is interested in creating sense of place, a sense of community, and creation of local destinations, with a focus on sustainability.
Latest
Resources: Natural building education, architects, & more
US & CA, alphabetically (Illinois, Indiana, Oho, Michigan, Ontario, Wisconsin)
ILLINOIS
- Chi Cob Co. A Chicago based Natural Building Company.
Chicago Natural Building Meetup Page .
- Anna Wolfson. Wolfson Earthen Finishes. Chicago area.
www.wolfsonearth.com
tel. 312.520.0207
fax. 847.432.3747
- Kylie Baker, Chicago. Fiber artist, natural building, yurts. (Now residing in Bath, NY at the Peaceweaver Center.) Cob & Community connection in the Chicago area.
Indiana
- Chris Reinhart, Bloomington, Indiana area, has built several bale-cob structures, rocket stove heated benches. 812-323-7177
or 812-373-7177
- St. Mary Baird, Strawbale Hermitage near Bloomington, Indiana. Dave Sebolt, from Ann Arbor, MI was the main consultant & organized/implemented most of the building process. Deanne Bednar assisted Dave in collecting reed, along with Str Mary Baird. William Cahill finished up the roof. Wolfson Earthen artisans (above) shaped and finished the interior walls and installed the earthen floor.
MICHIGAN
South East & Mid Michigan
Deanne Bednar (ecoartdb@gmail.com)
Oxford, MI (248) 628-1887 Natural Building Activities & Presentations with a focus on education & training in strawbale, cob, round pole, thatching, earth oven, earth plasters & sculpting.
Kensington Kids Cottage.
A public natural building project, collaboratively built, at the Farm Center in the Kensington Metropark, Milford, Michigan.
The Ann Arbor Folk School . The mission of Mi Folk School is to build community by providing educational programs that promote learning, teaching, and renewal of traditional folk arts and to promote the preservation of forest and farmland.
Ecovillages in Lansing/Grand Rapids area.
Developing a model for an Ecovillage that will partner with neighboring towns
Bryan Mets, Grand Rapids, contact person for evolving Ecovillage projects & online Great Lakes Permaculture Portal
586-945-1193 metsbryan@gmail.com
Christian Smith, Lansing Co-founder of evolving Ecovillage projects & Time bank documentary emailchristians@gmail.com
Ecofarm in Allegan
Teaching organic and natural farming best practices, developing a model eco-living community
Mary Colborn, Director, Allegan Historic Farm and Learning Center. marycolborn@honorhealnurture.com
Camp Skyline . Almont, Michigan. Offering nature programs that nurtures the spirit.
Joe Trumpee, U of M prof, constructs Strawbale home near Ann Arbor
Mark Campbell,
Strawbale and general builder/contractor.
cell: 248-98-STRAW Ann Arbor, Michigan.
www.StJosephBuilding.com
Mark@StJosephBuilding.com
Mark has been doing strawbale home construction around the country, and would love to work closer to his home & family in Ann Arbor, MI.
Gregg Brazell - www.ehrlum.com
Gregg's passion is to help a small town with a local infrastructure re-localize. He is a designer, has built houses, fine carpentry
Tom Hoyt - http://ancient-gallery.blogspot.com/ Tom is a local landscape artist and sculptor who loves to work with forged steel sculptures that incorporate rocks he finds locally on the land. .
Jason Arnott - www.earthenvironments.com
Jason is interested in creating sense of place, a sense of community, and creation of local destinations, with a focus on sustainability. The team does design, building, landscaping, and is looking to help small towns keep their historic & ecological & economic preservation.
Sunstructures Architecture
Wayne Appleyard
wayneapple@aol.com Tel: 734-994-5650
Ann Arbor, MI Specialiing since 1974 in passive solar, resource efficient, environmentally sound buildings including strawbale.
New Harvest Homes inc.
Lance Bowen, LEED AP 248 990 2943. Offers green & Natural Building Services including Straw bale Construction. Has LEED certification. Article by Lance on Green Building in Healing Gardens Journal
RusticBuilder.com . Mike Ross and his sustainability website. (Currently Living in Knoxville TN)
Sustainable Systems
Christina Snyder, Architect. (casnyder at ic.org, spam protected)
Manchester, MI Manchester, MI 48158
Phone: (734) 428-9249
Architect of Manatou Arbor Ecolvillage, Kalamazoo, MI. Also teaches/presents on the Zero Energy Home, and more.
Chris Coon, Renewable Energy System, designer & installer. Phone: (734) 428-9249
Fredric McLaughlin, Architect. flmcl@consultant.com
East Lansing MI Tel: 517-507 0547
General architectural practice, including passive solar, SB, alternatives. Has taught classes on "alternative structures" at Lansing Community College.
Has an awesome design for a strawbale home and office on wooded land near downtown Lansing.
David Sebolt. Architect. davsebo@yahoo.com
Tel: 734-747-8860
Green design, and helping to coordinate conversation on natural building and community in Ann Arbor area.
Heart and Soul Landscaping & Natural Building (moved to the East Coast?)
Cécile Green & Daniel Little
Ann Arbor, MI heart-and-soul@comcast.net 1-734-761-9144
Focuses on building beautiful living spaces indoors and out. Renovations, Additions, Garden Structures, Greenhouses, and creative Play Structures using Natural, Non-Toxic Materials and Methods. Creating spaces of sanctuary.
River Raisin Institute. Promoting sustainable community development, collaborating with others to promote transformational learning & sustainable community for the 21st Century. Co-sponsor of the Kensington Metropark Kids Cottage, Milford, MI.
Strawbale and general builder/contractor.
Jason Graves is doing natural building in this region. He has built two strawbale structures in New England, led a few workshops, and offers consulting in regards to passive solar gain design and installation. He is also a carpenter and general contractor.
www.michigannaturalbuilding.com . A website on a little strawbale project in the Flint, MI area being done by Sharon Howell.
Strawbale home near Lansing, MI . Owner-builders Don & Connie Barlow Built in 2009 - 2010.
Strawbale House under construction in 2008-9. Grass Lake, Michigan by Joe Trumpey, U of M Professor www.artsoneearth.org
WARM Training Center.
promotes the development of resource efficient, affordable, healthy homes and communities through education, training and technical assistance. Detroit, MI, USA
"Community and Natural Building" group meets in the Ann Arbor area. Email Dave Sebolt <davsebo@yahoo.com>to get on the list or ask more questions. This group was active in 2005 +
Detroit area Natural Building Meetup .
Detroit Green Map. An online map of sustainable resources, businesses, places in Detroit, MI.
Kensington Kids Cottage Blog and Pictures. Visit the site at the Kensington Metropark Farm Center, Milford, MI
MICHIGAN
North & Western Michigan
Harmony Home Construction.
Thomas Hirsch, Larry Kinney
Traverse City, MI 49684
Construction, design, consultation for natural building & solar design and more.
Jeremy Andrews Kalamazoo / Battle Creek Michigan area
jandrews1977@gmail.com
Doing some hybrid construction with friends. 2008: Urbanite porch, with plans for a cob oven, wordwood wall and cob bench.
Willow Winds Wilderness Skills. Jim Miller. Lodge & Village Construction with traditional techniques. 962 F-30 Mikado, Michigan 48745.
Modular Efficiency Dwelling in the Keweenaw Penninsula, Michigan. Small dwelling includes wood-heated water and a sauna. Conventional bldg, Outstanding design.
http://keweenaw-lightfoot.blogspot.com/
Shannon Wudkewych & family is building a strawbale home, earth plastering and all.
Grand Rapids area. 616 617 8767
Matt Jopipch and Mindy Hawley. Will be focusing on the construction of a strawbale home for the family. Matt has a background in building,
oversaw the yurt project at the Eco Learning Center in Traverse City area, does woodworking and homestead skills education.
Workshops starting back up in 2013: Workworking for Homesteaders, Furniture Making, Spoon Carving & Small Sustainable Natural Buildings.
www.mattjoppich.com Yurt building project at the Eco Learning Center, Traverse City, lead by Matt.
OHIO
Greenfire Farm, Ecovillage & Earth Regeneration Center in formation
Ohio River Basin Bioregion. Athens Ohio area. Living / learning.: Natural Building & sustainable activities. See updates on website.
HarvestBuild Associates, Inc. is a small design/consultation company specializing in Passive Houses using innovative straw-bale and straw/clay construction techniques. Mark Hoberecht, principal and founder.
"Vernacular buildings record lifestyles of the past when people had to find a sustainable way of life or perish, just as we will have to now. The new importance of vernacular building is that it has vital ecological lessons for today."
David Pearson – Earth to Spirit
Fox Natural Builders . Chris Fox and associates offer natural building construction, strawbale walls systems and much more.
Mike Szuberla of Toledo Ohio is an epicenter for sustainability, coordinating urban ag and other projects for youth. Google: "mike szuberla" toledo for a look at what he is up to. Seed Swaps . Toledo Grows .
Blue Rock Station. Earthship construction, various workshops. I just hear of this - haven't researched it yet.
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MINNESOTA
Viking Timberframing course:
http://journal.goingslowly.com/2013/04/timber-framing-course-norwegian-grindbygg-trestle-frame-workshop VT Course
http://www.northhouse.org/courses/courses/course.cfm/cid/571 General Course
Eric Moshier is a 3rd-generation mason who likes rocket mass heaters, and is a certified masonry heater builder. He can do up-to-code / permitted installations.
Here's his masonry heaters gallery page: http://www.solidrockmasonry.com/heaters_stoves.html
Solid Rock Masonry
Eric Moshier
5347 Howard Gnesen Road
Duluth, MN 55803
Phone: (218) 343-2978
Email: info@solidrockmasonry.com
_________________________
ONTARIO
Center for Sustainable Building.
Chris Magwood & Jen Feigin run a natural building school called The Endeavour Center.
Chris Magwood builds, teaches and writes books on cold weather sustainable construction.
Joshua Thorton "Thor's Hammer" Timber Framing. Toronto area. Recommended by Erica & Ernie Weisner, the mass heater folks from the west coast.
The Martin House: "Thornton wanted to build the home using straw and clay walls on a hand-hewn timber frame. The cottage, called the EcoNest, is a showcase for those techniques, with 85 per cent of processed materials drawn from within 40 kilometres of the building site. Some 80 per cent of the other materials, such as the clay and structural timbers, were taken from the property itself."
"Inside, people will first notice that in the winter they don't have dry noses or throats," Thornton says, "because the straw and clay walls actually breathe and there is no vapour barrier. This is a healthy home.
That's the reverse of modern, high-efficiency construction in which the building envelope is completely sealed and fresh air is brought in through a heat and energy recovery ventilator and then circulated, via a forced air furnace. Heating is provided by a masonry heater, a wood-burning device that relies on quick burns instead of the traditional slow burn of wood stoves and fireplaces. The heat from the masonry furnace is stored in the stone material itself and radiates to warm the interior and provide hot water.
Ontario Natural Building Center.
Straworks . Ontario natural building.
Masonry Heater / Stove Alex Chernov, Toronto. Designing & building efficient mass heaters. www.stovemaster.com Recommended by Matt Joppik.
Cob in the Park. Gorgie Donais. Fantastic Natural Builder Toronto, Ontario, Canada who did a collaborative cob structure in a public park. It is even used as a little cafe on the weekend.
WISCONSIN
Kinstone Academy of Applied Permaculture Kinstone is a meditative holistic landscape being designed and developed using Permaculture principles as guidelines for the restoration of the land and rejuvenation of the people that will come to be there. This dynamic combination of an education and meditation center — it is a place for people to reconnect with what is important to them.
Blue Heron Natural Builders Guild . www.naturalbuildersguild.com . A collective of independent builders, carpenters, and plasterers from southern wisconsin, who are committed to building in a way that minimizes harmful effects to the environment and provides you with a beautiful, non-toxic home environment.
Wisconsin Natural Building and Community Meetup.
Light Clay State of the Art Studio . Jim and Connie Hutchison
Rock City, IL 61070
(815) 238-8648
EVOLVING Midwest ECOVILLAGES & Sustainability Centers.
Manatou Arbor. Kalamazoo, MI area.
Echo ForestFarm . Mancelona, MI. I have not checked into this, but here is the info.
Touchstone Community Massachussets.
Tall Trees Community Farm . White Lake, MI. Promoting the environment, the arts and organic farming.
Sunflower Ecovillage. A self-reliant community, Bangor, MI, started by U Mich Prof. Maynard Kaufman.
VERMONT
Mark Krawczyk permaculture & natural building. visited the SBS re learning thatching, is teaching a
permaculture design course at the Strawbale Studio Sept 22 - Oct 6.
keylinevermont@gmail.com802.999.2768
Burlington, VT
Dave Jacke and Mark are now writing a new book on Coppice Agroforestry! Find out more and support their effort at
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coppiceagroforestry/dave-and-mark-write-a-coppice-agroforestry-book
LEADS to follow:
http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/93598/Dead-Men-Steam-School INFO ON INSTALLING RADIANT HEATING SYSTEMS+
Chris Van: Habitat - Women build, Saturn recently signed on as sponsors in Michigan. Lt. John Cherry - Energy.
Home Calendar Diary Building Projects Links www.strawbalestudio.org
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