When starting a new business, there are many things to consider. When starting an environmentally minded business, there are many more. Often we assume that creating a storefront or production facility will use an existing building, modifying it to suit our standards and then opening “shop”. Rarely do we consider building from the ground up. Why not? We tell ourselves it is too difficult, costly, time consuming, but are those things true? Not necessarily. With a little direction and some elbow grease, it is possible to build the perfect premises for and with very little. While investigating various building materials I stumbled on this
link.
However, for business purposes a bit more will be needed. Nader Kahili, of
Cal-Earth, in 1984 presented what he called “Velcro-adobe” at a NASA symposium. Originally proposed as a way of creating buildings in space, the method can be used to provide housing for refugees or other people in need of immediate lodging. Combining the Velcro-adobe (now called Superadobe) method of building with other environmentally minded construction practices, like Earth Shelter or Earth Contact yields an easy to build structure that minimizes its impact on the surrounding environment. Additionally, the cost offsets of having good natural insulation keep overhead much lower than in a standard building. Below are 3D models of potential buildings that could house a business.
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| Two variations on a Superadobe and wood frame construction for business/factory use |
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| Southwest/ Desert environment concept |
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| Pacific Northwest/ mountain and grassy environment |
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| Turf roof planted with regional foliage and vegetable garden |
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The models here were constructed in the Second Life platform. Currently, they are incomplete inside due to the limitations of the platform. However, they are available to view at the following Slurl. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Mayfair/81/79/547
If you do not have a Second Life account, they are free. If you have any questions about how to navigate to see these, please feel free to post here.
