Travel
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Postcard from Paradise: Living on Sun, Rain, and Lobster in St Croix
A Mashup of traditional architecture, modern technology, and good old gravity.
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Architectural Postcards from Mendoza, Argentina
Simple country houses, Brutalist bodegas, and superb craftsmanship.
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Architectural Postcards from Chile and Uraguay
It’s a pleasure to stroll the streets of Colonia, Uruguay, and realize that in those homes you admire, you could also live. People do. And it’s not too expensive.
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Updates from Ecuador
Our Latin America Editor is on the ground in Ecuador and sending updates on construction technology, codes, and temporary housing.
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Ecuadoran Tool Box—er, Cylinder
...besides five-gallon buckets and plastic grocery bags, using some sort of sewer pipe seems to be the most common.
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Sorry, No Codes (Construction Haiku)
A simple stairway Answers the question of why. Why regulations?
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Windows Into Latin America
Are windows the eyes of a home, or a gateway to its soul?
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Newspaper Siding: House-Fish Wrap?
Finally, a WRB especially for peeps who fish.
What it is like to design and build houses without CDX and drywall: Freeing, captivating, undulating, and addictive.
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Disruption is the Mother of Innovation: Trowel Breaks New Ground
The iconic brick layer’s trowel had found a new use.
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Haiku: Hammer
Sharp eyes, precise blows — and tender fingers trusting — the carpenter’s aim.
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Country Style Roof Construction: Sticks, Bricks, Mud, and Goop
I spotted this interesting roof construction in Cuenca, Ecuador: Branch logs as rafters; purlins of split branch logs with thin brick overlaid in two strata.
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Witch-Proofing Your Roof
In Cartagena, Colombia, where the Spanish Inquisition burned 800 suspected sorcerers and witches in the town square, roofs were equipped with spiked corners to prevent witches from landing on them.
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Another Roadside Attraction: Waterbottle House
Recycling revisited and repurposed for reuse.
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Old School .dwg: Drawn-on-Wall Graphics?
These apartment plans were drawn by a local draftsman using an older version. dwg — Drawn on Wall Graphics.
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Green Roofs Are Not a New Thing
The original “green roof” technology, thriving in the lush sierras of Tamazula, Mexico.
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Brick Ceiling Arches Hidden With Plaster
Ceilings in Mexico are often made with bricks laid in “bobeda” style, or in arches between steel beams...
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Even More Ecua-Doors
When I travel, I walk around and look at doors; better than peeking in windows, right?
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Live/Work Balance in the Caribbean
Sorry, no cell service ...
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Colorful Commodes
If you're color squeamish, don't look at these pictures of plumbing fixtures— turn away now!
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Flood Control: If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em
During rainy season in the Municipio de Tamazulo, in Jalisco, warm water drops from the sky in torrents
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'Growth Rings' of Cash Houses
Each layer reveals personal and technological circumstances.
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Peruvian Patinas of Local Building Materials
From the Earth, basic materials become the building blocks of a home—nature nurtures native spaces.
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South American SIPS (Stucco Insulated Panel System)
A faster way to build affordable housing in a tropical climate. It is a quick build when compared to standard block and stucco.
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¡No Es Caña!
A common fencing material in Central and South America is cane stalks, but these are something else entirely.
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Organic Wall Plaster in Ecuador
Straight from the horse's — er, umm, well ...
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A Cottage Made Completely With Native Materials and Local Labor
The tiny house on stilts is ready for relaxation!
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Latino Locksets and Other Interesting Door Hardware
Sidewalk snapshots of South American door hardware.
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The Colorful Character of Las Casas de Cartegena, Columbia
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
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There is Something About Ruins
The beauty that often comes with deferred maintenance.
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South American Sinks
The USA reigns supreme when it comes to cool light fixtures, at least in the Americas. But plumbing is another story.
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Las Puertas del Puerto (Rico)
Doors are like eyes or maybe mouths. They tell you a lot about who's inside. Would you want to walk in and get to know them?
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I've Seen Tiny Bathrooms, But This is Ridiculous!
Design inspiration in a nutshell.
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Architectural Postcards from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is an architectural voyeur’s destination, with gothic, and ornate classical buildings that rival Europe in grandeur. There are also a lot of cool homes, and street-level building craft to admire.
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Trocas de Trabajo, Revisited: Work Bikes
Sometimes a cowboy is better off with a mule...
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Una Casita Bonita
A tiny abode with a tiny pricetag.
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Not Everything Should be Built for the Ages
Good amortization doesn't always involve using a building forever—sometimes, it means recapturing the space when the building corrodes.
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Designing for the Long Hall
It's not just wasted space anymore.
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Sometimes Mirrors Make Me Shutter
..and sometimes I'm open to looking.
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El Aguila: A Love of Remodeling Turned A House Into A Hotel
As family size contracts, big houses become small hotels.
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The Good, the Bad and the Garage Door
A builder's take on a necessary evil: not evil.
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Tying a Roof Frame Together—With Knots
Traditional shipbuilding lives on in coastal homes.
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Good Fences (and Friendly Guards) Make Good Neighbors
It's a cultural thing.
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Trees that Outrank Construction Projects
Deep roots in the community has its benefits.
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Trees that Outrank Construction Projects
Deep roots in the community has its benefits.
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Courtyards in Latin America
Your own private Idaho—or Argentina—inside the house.
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Stairways to Heaven: Building Up, One Step at a Time
May you build a ladder to the stars, may you climb on every rung...
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Beachitecture: The Art and Science of Relaxing with a Beer
In places where climate zones are irrelevant, form follows function, and the function includes kicking back.
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Framing the Cisterna Cottage
Tropical hardwood beams, locally-fashioned framing connectors, and mahogany siding. Who needs a view?
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Barefoot on Bamboo, No Work Boots Required
Walking on a scaffold with boots is like tightening a lug molt with mittens
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Mentalizing in Metric
Sometimes its best to close your eyes and jump in.
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New Urbanism in Latin America
Luxury housing development in Ecuador.
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Construyendo una Cisterna
Not all places have water that comes out of the ground courtesy of the city. Sometimes it comes out of a truck. Equatorial sun changes the priorities in a construction sequence.
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Tropical Timbers: From Forest To Framing
Like farm to table for building materials—a tour of Amazon trees and lumber.
An #oldschool approach to decorative concrete surfaces.