History & Heritage
Our ancestors knew how to build smart! They used the power of Nature to keep their homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and some of their designs and materials are even being used by the people today whoare leading the way to a more sustainable world.Stilt houses, commonly found in coastal regions of Southeast Asia, are built with the environment in mind. They are completely elevated, raised of f the ground on long poles. With no foundations, the ground does not need to be cleared of vegetation, or dug out, to build them and so they have minimal impact on the land, letting the natural plants and local animals thrive beneath them. These kinds of buildings also aren’t af fected by, and don’t inter fere with, the tides, or any animals using the coast.Elevated in the air, homes on stilts also benefit from the
natural movement of air, circulating around them, and helping to keep them cool. It is also thought that traditional stilt homes built of bamboo are safer in ear thquakes, as their structures are flexible and, even if they do collapse, they are built with light materials that don’t cause a huge amount of damage.Mud houses are incredibly energy-ef ficient. Mud is a fantastic insulator, so it helps keep houses warm when it’s cold outside, and cool when outside the temperature is rising. Making mud bricks requires only one percent of the energy used in normal bricks!The first construction of mud houses dates back 13,000 years!
But these kinds of buildings are still used around the world, from southwest Asia to Nor th Africa and the Middle East.Mud is also becoming quite trendy. People in more af fluent
places who are looking for ways to reduce their impact on the environment are building beautiful houses out of something called “cob”, which is mud mixed with straw. Cheap to build and requiring less energy to heat or cool, it really does look like mud is making a comeback.