House Design Online

We get frequent requests here at House Design Online for Free House Plans. OK, reality is that if you are looking for something  cheap on the internet, you will get just that something cheap! At  House Design Online we want to promote the idea of people taking control of the design of their own homes. By engaging in the design proccess, you are saving  money but you are also ensuring a higher standard for your build.

There are a few sites out there however that offer “Free House Plans”. One such Stie is FREE GREEN House Plans.

The Beauty of Free Green House Plans is that they offer  different options. They have 1,000′s of professionally designed ecological House Plans available for Free. The Free House Plans are sponsored. This is in fact a useful service. It just means that by clicking on any product such as furniture, accessories, building materials – you can find out the name of the supplier. There is a discount arrangement if you chose to purchase any of these products but absolutely no obligation to purchase.  They then also have a premium facility where for a nominal membership fee, home owners of architects can download unlimited plans.

Free Green is an “Open Source”  venture with benefits to both home owners and people in the design community. Most importantly Free Green promotes the best practivce in ecologiacl architecture

FOR MORE INFORMATION – CLICK HERE

Here are six naturally built homes around the World. You can find out where they are by clicking on the ‘find it here’ link. Vote for the house you like the most by clicking on its radio button.

If you are interested in strawbale building, there are a couple of websites that might be of use.
The first is Strawbale.com and is dedicated to anyone interested in building their own straw bale house. The site has offers on Strawbale building resources including very useful instructional DVDs.  If you are brand new to straw bale or a straw bale construction specialist there’s something for you at StrawBale.com.

Another useful site is Amazon Nails , which has a wealth of useful information and resources for anyone considering strawbale building.

Check the events calendar for details of upcoming courses and events on strawbale building

A unique opportunity to learn some practical natural building skills and have a holiday experience of a lifetime would be an Eco Holiday at the Boghill Centre at the foot of the Burren  in beautiful North County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland

The Boghill Centre is a residential activity centre situated off the beaten track, in a natural bog land setting between Lisdoonvarna and Kilfenora. SEE www.boghill.com
Although it is only two miles from Lisdoonvarna and four miles from Kilfenora it has a quiet and secluded atmosphere, making it the perfect place to relax and unwind.

They are running a series of Eco Experience weeks during June, July and August 2009.  This summer the series of Eco Experience weeks will centre around Cob building.   Cob is an ancient building material that has been used for construction since prehistoric times. It is made by mixing clay-based subsoil with straw, sand and water. This earthen mixture is then ladled onto a stone foundation and trodden onto the wall by workers in a process known as cobbing.

For more information click … ECO EXPERIENCE WEEKS

The Energy Show 2009 Organised by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) will be held at the RDS Main Hall, Dublin

This business to business event is a must for anyone with a professional interest in or responsibility for energy use.

Registration for the Exhibition has now closed. You can register on the day. Entrance is free to the Exhibition on production of trade ID.

Now firmly established as the showcase event for Ireland’s energy sector, this year’s event follows the highly successful format of previous years. A cutting edge technology and trade exhibition with leading Irish and European product and service suppliers will showcase the very latest in energy innovation offering visitors a unique experience in seeking low energy solutions for buildings and the opportunity to engage those experts leading the energy sector both here and abroad. (more…)

Going Green without Compromise

House Design Online is delighted to welcome another new addition to the online community for green architecture.

The Green Palette provides an “Architectural Information Centre”  where green architects can post details of their “Green Projects”.

The Site will ultimately act as a networking site for green architects.

Presently the site offers a portfolio of some excellent green architecture projects and a facility for green architects to upload details of their projects to the green projects gallery.

These very innovation green projects are mainly based in the United States of America at present but there is a facility for green architects anywhere in the world to upload.

For more information CLICK HERE

Venue: The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim

Course Date: 24 May 2009
Instructor: Peter Cowman
Course Fee: €90.00

Peter will explain various techniques including economics, planning, passive solar design, alternative energy systems, the use of timber and other natural materials as well as self build.

Peter is the originator of the “living architecture” concept and believes that “our homes engage us on a physical as well as an emotional level”.

Special attention will be paid to ‘mortgage-free housing options’

For More Information. Click THE ORGANIC CENTRE

Converting your Home for Sustainable Living on a shoestring.

The Ecoshop, Meridian Point, Church Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

(Beside SuperValu car park, 2 minutes from DART station & buses)

Course  Will be presented by Architect/Teacher/Writer
Peter Cowman B Arch. Director of The Living Architecture Centre and originator of the ‘Living Architecture’ concept

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

The idea of volunteering to travel abroad to help to build houses for those who are less well off is an excellent way to learn basic building skills and appreciate the most basic need of a home.

There are a number of organisations who offer opportunities to travel abroad (or even at home) and help to build houses.

One such organisation is “Habitat for Humanity” who, since its founding in 1976 have built over 300,000 houses, providing shelter for more than 1 million people in nearly 90 countries around the world. A new Habitat house is completed somewhere in the world every 21 minutes.

The good news is that no construction experience is required! Habitat for Humanity just need energetic enthusiastic folks who are willing to learn and ready to pick up a hammer.

For more information, ring 01-6299660/3 or check out their website

Hemp building Course

A Hemp Plastering course will take place on Saturday MARCH 14th 2009 at K.A.T. Gortagowan, Sneem, Co. Kerry 9.30am -5.00pm lunch included € 90 venue

ALSO
International Hemp Building Seminar!

Provisional dates for the Seminar next year are23-24 June 2009 IRELAND

For more information CLICK HERE

The Sustainability Institute based in Westport, Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland is running a number of both short and long courses during 2009, which are worth checking out for anyone planning to build or renovate in a sustainable manner during 2009 or beyond.

One and Two Day Courses Offered in 2009 include:

• Introduction to Low Cost Design and Construction
• DIY Insulation and Draughtproofing
• Basic Domestic Energy Auditing
• Renovation of Stone Cottages
• DIY Solar Thermal
• DIY Off Grid Electrical Systems (Wind and Solar PV)
• Construction Courses and Workshops
• Monglian Ger and Yurt Construction (new)

Longer Courses and Modules:

12 Month Practical Sustainability Course

• Practical Low-Cost Design and Build Module 1
• Practical Low-Cost Design and Build Module 2

Click here for more information

From Jaunuary 1st, 2009, all homes sold or rented in Ireland will be required by law to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate.  A BER certificate is something similar to what we see on electrical appliances such as fridges. To see a sample BER certificate CLICK HERE

Listen to a discussion today on Ireland’s RTE Radio 1 between Kevin O’Rourke of Sustainable Energy Ireland and Tom Parlon of the Construction Industry Federation click here

DOWNLOAD BER INFORMATION HERE

The Cultivate Centre in Dublin have announced their courses in Green Building for 2009, which will be of interest to anyone designing or planning their own sustainable building for 2009.

The courses cover topics such as basic domestic energy auditing, wind energy, micro hydro and solar PV, solar water heating, green building and many others. Of particular interest is a course entitled “Want to build a house for €20,000 or even less” on Sunday 22nd February 2009. This day course is been given by Andy Wilson of the Sustainability Institute.

For full details on these and other courses please check out Cultivate

Anyone interested in finding out more about the concept of the Passive House might be interested in this upcoming event. If you are thinking of building in 2009 and 2010 a visit to Frankfurt in April may well be worth you while, particularly with the availability of cheap flights!

The 13th International Conference on Passive Houses will take place on 17th and 18th April 2009 in Frankfurt in Germany

The  Conference will focus on the following themes:  Public Initiatives and Public Energy-Efficient Buildings, Non-Residential Buildings, Passive Houses – Apartment Blocks,  Innovation from Research and Development: Building Technology and Building Shell,  Assessment of Completed Modernisation Projects,  Comfort and Health, Financing and Marketing and Housing Industry and Sustainability.

Running side by side with the conference will be the 2009 Public Passive House Exhibition
Date: Friday 17th April – Saturday 18th April 2009
Location: Messe Frankfurt, Hall 5.1
Opening hours: 17th April 2009 9 am – 7 pm
18th April 2009 9 am – 5 pm
Exhibition area: 3.000 m²

Beat escalating energy costs! Passive houses allow for more comfort and lower energy demand: Intelligent solutions for old and new buildings will be on show at the 2009 Passive House Exhibition in Frankfurt:

* Building companies, specialist federations, architecture and engineering offices
* Producers of windows, doors, ventilation systems and insulating materials,
* Providers of building parts, whole solutions, house technology systems and solar companies

They present building components and products which reach the top standards for energy-efficient building through high quality and innovative technology.

* Entrance to the exhibition is free for all visitors.
* Conference and exhibition take place directly next to each other in the Messe Frankfurt.
* A support programme of lectures is directed at conference and exhibition visitors. Here exhibitors can present their products and services.

The exhibition is directed at interested building owners and specialist visitors such as architects, building specialists, planners, energy consultants, producers of building products, companies in the building industry, housing industry and energy providers.Field trips, Sunday 19 April 2008

On Sunday 19 April there will be the opportunity to attend one of five different tours to visit Passive Houses (new buildings and refurbishments).
Start: Conference Main Entrance – Messe Frankfurt
Finish: Frankfurt am Main, Hauptbahnhof (central station)

Click her for more information