Great Lakes NATURAL BUILDING Regional Network
This is an evolving resource. Help create it. Add your connections. Suggest corrections. The list is not current and hopefully is still useful to guide you. 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, including research on what is current? Some of these links have changed.
Featured folks:
Uncle Mud AKA Chris McClellan
Greg Lehman – Building an Ecovillage with natural building, Elkhart, Indiana
Permaculture in Traverse City – Northern Michigan …
realeyeshomestead.com/permaculture-in-traverse-city-northern-michigan/
Levi & Brenda Meeuwenberg are offering wonderful information and examples in Permaculture. Levi M. took the 2 week Natural Cottage course in July 2012 at the Strawbale Studio.
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
Chris A. Snyder – Principal – Equilibrium Energy Spaces | LinkedIn
Architect, builder, Certified Passive House Consultant. Manchester, Michigan. Architecture & Planning. (casnyder at ic.org, spam protected) Manchester, MI Manchester, MI 48158 Phone: (734) 428-9249 equilibriamenergyspaces skype. MI Passive House website Slide presentation – MI Passive Houses
Mark Campbell stjosephsbuilding.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
- Viking Timberframing Courses – no fancy cuts or math.
- The Hobbit Sauna – Continuing construction at the Strawbale Studio. Cob, Strawbale & Living Roof.
- Timber folks, and Sawyers in the Strawbale Studio area.
- Virtual Tour of The Willows Earth education Center, A 4,500 sq. ft. outdoor education center with strawbale wall construction, earth plasters, living roof & more!
- Natural Building Education & Projects – websites.
Resources: Natural building education, architects & more
Midwest & Great Lakes Region
Illinois, Indiana, Oho, Michigan, Ontario, Wisconsin
ILLINOIS
- Chicago Natural Building Meetup Page .
- Anna Wolfson.Anna Wolfson Studios – natural plaster and art. Chicago.
Indiana
- Greg Lehman – Building an Ecovillage with natural building, Elkhart, Indiana
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Chris Reinhart – Open Source Ecology
See Chris Reinhart Log – which shows the evolution of the design and build process … and he has spoken extensively around Indiana on natural building. … materials in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, near Bloomington. 812-323-7177 or 812-373-7177
Building more than homes: Chris Reinhart at TEDxBloomington …
- 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
The Strawbale Studio A place and a learning program.
Deanne Bednar (ecoartdb@gmail.com) Oxford, MI (248) 628-1887 Natural Building Activities, Presentations and Internships, 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
Michigan Ecovillage Develpment: Karl & Gaylin KaufmanMichigan Ecovillage – Fellowship for Intentional CommunityMichigan Ecovillage | Facebook
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 email. mark@stjosephsbuilding.com cell 734-368-1234 stjosephbuilding.com Mark has been doing strawbale home construction around the country. He would love to work closer to his home & family in Ann Arbor MI
Gregg Brazell – www.ehrlum.com green designing.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)
Chris A. Snyder – Principal – Equilibrium Energy Spaces | LinkedIn
Architect, builder, Certified Passive House Consultant. Manchester, Michigan. Architecture & Planning. (casnyder at ic.org, spam protected) Manchester, MI Manchester, MI 48158 Phone: (734) 428-9249 equilibriamenergyspaces skype. Architect of Manatou Arbor Ecolvillage, Kalamazoo, MI. Also teaches/presents on the Zero Energy Home, and more. MI Passive House website
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: 734-747-8860Green 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.
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. Now named EcoWorks !
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
PERMACULTURE / FARMING connections
MICHIGAN
North & Western Michigan
Permaculture in Traverse City – Northern Michigan …
realeyeshomestead.com/permaculture-in-traverse-city-northern-michigan/
Brenda and Levi Meeuwenberg are offering wonderful information and examples in Permaculture. Levi M. took the 2 week Natural Cottage course in July 2012 at the Strawbale Studio.
See their great list of Permaculture Connections in Michigan on the website !
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 Joppich 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.comYurt building project at the Eco Learning Center, Traverse City, lead by Matt.
A Thatched Roof constructed in 1980 in Greenville Michigan !
Dr. Kirkwood Faber of Flat River Family Dentistry in Greenville first thatched his roof in the 1980s after he expanded his office. Click link for newpaper article and picture.
OHIO
Chris McClellan, Cleveland area. service@maplecom.com
natural builder, rocket stove maker, building book binder & editor and networker extraordinaire.
Christina Keegan Cleveland area. christina_keegan@yahoo.com
Background in natural building, sustainable skills, local economics…and does natural building activities with Chris McClelland in the Cleveland area
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.”
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 . (Has moved to Colorado?)
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://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
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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
keylinevermont@gmail.com802.999.2768
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.
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USA NATURAL BUILDING SCHOOLS ! Check out this Portal !
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com/Home_Building_Schools.htm