Back to the Basics
Technology and industrialization have played a large role in the past century, carrying humanity to its current state. We have houses as big and creative as we want, with more power and air conditioning units than we could ever need, with fast cars in the driveway…you get the idea. But, every once in a while, amidst this grid of technological infrastructure, some choose to take things back a notch, and explore the concepts of construction through more natural and sustainable methods.
One example of these is a very unique village resort in the Himalayas built by dry-stacking wood and stone without the use of cement. Now, by the sounds of it, this place can’t possibly that magical without the basic constructive element of cement…prepare to be amazed: http://www.ecofriend.com/himalayan-resort-made-dry-stacking-stone-wood-cement.html Not only is the village resort functional, but aesthetically gorgeous, architecturally marvelous, and a truly appealing vacation spot.
The notion of construction through post-dated methods seems so foreign to us, but why? Humans inhabited the earth and built many astounding things without the modern technological advances we’ve made, meaning these methods were discarded through progressiveness; however it’s not to say that these methods shouldn’t be re-visited, as they are clearly applicable to modern construction when looking at the village mentioned above.
Just because something new comes along to replace the old doesn’t mean the old needs to be so rapidly discarded. We should be re-visiting previous methods more often for menial and advanced tasks, because these methods clearly worked before, definitely could do so again. If we can build playgrounds out of recycled potato peels and veggie oil, there shouldn’t be any reason for us to explore more eco-friendly construction methods as humanity advances.
photo courtesy of http://www.ecofriend.com/himalayan-resort-made-dry-stacking-stone-wood-cement.html
