On the Cover

On the cover: March 2019

By Staff

Kristen O’Brien finishing the ’truth window’ in home number 5 in Moab, Utah – Spring 2013.

The ’truth window’ shows you what is inside your walls and has turned into an artistic tradition in Community Rebuilds’ homes.

Community Rebuilds is a non-profit organization located in Moab, Utah. Their mission is to build energy-efficient housing, provide education on sustainability and improve the housing conditions of the workforce through an affordable program.

Community Rebuilds’ student education program allows an exchange of experience for labor contribution with our student interns, which reduces the construction costs for a low-income, first time homeowner.  Community Rebuilds has built 36 homes in Utah, Arizona, and Colorado.  Our natural energy-efficient homes incorporate straw bale insulation, adobe floors, earthen plasters and passive and active solar.

 

Community Rebuilds feels strongly that affordability is sustainability and we are excited to strive for the first affordable Living Building Challenge Certification.

Cover photo by esteemed natural builder, Bill Steen coauthor with his wife, Athena, of The Straw Bale House and The Beauty of Straw Bale. They are active in community building programs that teach low-income families how to build their own shelters, and known for their efforts to incorporate artistic techniques based on local and natural materials into the world of modern construction. They live in Canelo, Arizona.

www.communityrebuilds.org

This article was originally published on March 1, 2019.