Here is another post in the series of Reader Mail that was recently shared with the founder of Shelter Publications, Lloyd Kahn:
The Stump, built in reverence and resemblance to the beaver’s favorite sculptural form, was made from a timber-frame structure infilled with precast concrete walls. This octagonal labor of love was built on an old granary pad in Water Valley, Alberta, by the Black Griffin family.
The Black Griffins used red cedar reclaimed from interior British Columbia forest fire areas, poplar (generally considered a “weed tree”), recycled windows, and donated timbers and sawdust from the generous local sawyer. Built in true organic improvisational style, the technical plans that were etched on scraps of wood are now long gone, transformed from ideas into heat from the hearth.
Crafted with the help of supportive friends and family of all ages, and tapping into local waste streams to form the bones of the building, The Stump was an exercise in pushing boundaries, inspiring future generations of young builders, and creating spatial magic.
Thanks again for reaching out. I really appreciate you and the work you do!
Cheers,
Bruen Black
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Bruen, and for being a longtime reader of Shelter books!
School is back in session, and Shelter Publications has a book that’s popular among elementary teachers and school librarians. Showcasing diverse housing styles around the globe and offering a glimpse into different cultures, Wonderful Houses Around the World, by Yoshio Komatsu with drawings by Akira Nishiyama, was first released in 1997 in Japan. Katy Bridges and Naoko Amemiya translated it into English for its US release by Shelter Publications in 2004.
The book features clear illustrations of the insides of different homes, where family members are performing everyday tasks. Each illustration includes captions that tell where the house is found, how the surroundings influence its design, what life is like for the family, and how the homes are furnished. This offers a fascinating look at various cultures and promotes understanding and appreciation for lifestyles around the world.
Why This Book is Valuable in Education
Wonderful Houses Around the World is beneficial to the classroom, as it promotes cultural understanding and global awareness, introduces basic architectural concepts,displays side-by-side comparisons of building exteriors and interiors, and encourages critical thinking about living spaces and cultural adaptations. Learning about different cultures is helpful to understanding other people; it increases empathy and curiosity, and it enhances an appreciation for diversity in living conditions.
The book aligns with several educational standards: as social studies curriculum by understanding diverse cultures and societies, in STEM education by introducing engineering and design concepts, and in art education by showing different architectural styles.The photographs and drawings are great for comparing a variety of art forms as well.
Examples of Classroom Use
The book can be integrated into the classroom with a geography lesson, mapping the locations of featured houses. An art project could include the creation of models or drawings of unique houses; a writing exercise could imagine life in different types of homes. Projects and activities could include virtual “world tour” presentations by students, a comparative analysis of housing in different climates, or a design challenge to dream up houses for specific environments.
Testimonial
“Clear, color photo spreads and explanatory paragraphs introduce 10 ‘wonderful houses’ from a variety of cultural backgrounds. A circular tulou in China, a felt yurt in Mongolia, an underground home in Tunisia, and an earthen ‘castle’ in Togo are among the featured domiciles. Each picture has a full-spread color diagram of a structural cutaway with captions that describe architectural details and/or furnishings and indicate the makeup of the family/families in residence. The author’s personal comments enliven the terse text, and his three-sentence introduction mentions his enthusiasm for ‘interesting’ domestic design.”
—Patricia Manning
School Library Journal
Integrating Wonderful Houses Around the World into classroom activities gives kids a lot more than just a peek inside homes. Students learn lessons in social studies, STEM, art, and character building. Teachers will enjoy putting together projects and activities based around this book. True to Shelter Publications’ tagline, “Shelter is more than a roof overhead,” this book—with its thoughtfully created text, photos, and illustrations—offers a rich experience that goes beyond traditional learning.
The Crestone Energy Fair, celebrating its 35th year, is one of the longest-running sustainability fairs in the nation. The focus of the gathering is on “sharing innovative, sustainable, and regenerative ideas in construction, lifestyle, and community.”This free event, which will take place September 14th and 15th, features presentations, demonstrations, home tours, and vendors showcasing alternative building methods and materials, such as straw bales, Earthships, cordwood, and Hempcrete. Attendees will also learn about different electricity sources. In addition, the fair contains a Wellness Village and an Artisan Marketplace that will host music and yoga.
Rooting Forward
This year’s theme is “Rooting Forward,” which is about “prioritizing our commitment to finding common ground, reaching across the aisle, and growing strong roots in order to move forward as a grounded, unified collective.”
Shelter Publications founder Lloyd Kahn will be one of the headline speakers at the fair. His presentation will cover what he’s learned over the years, including his experience editing the Whole Earth Catalog shelter section, interviewing and documenting builders, and the effect of the 1960s countercultural revolution on his life and work.
Crestone Town
In a recent interview with Lloyd, he talked about Crestone as a town.
“Crestone is a pretty cool town in Colorado where a lot of young people have gone. And that was the case in Bolinas in the 1970s. And there are these unique small towns in different states like Patagonia in Arizona or, you know, just a town that’s got something special and, often, the artists will be the first ones to discover it, and then more and more people do.”
We always love getting reader mail, and this beauty of a DIY home build was recently shared with Shelter Publications founder Lloyd Kahn: “…I still have my original Whole Earth Catalogs and recently replaced my Shelter book that I loaned out 40 years ago. You have been a great inspiration Lloyd…Many thanks. I am fully retired and ready to finally build my forever home! Greetings from Ontario, Canada! – Ursula Z.”
We wish you the best of luck on your future build, and thank you for being a long-time reader of Shelter books!
Kirk Williams’s journey has been “full of obstacles.” Before creating his custom home, he dedicated 10 years to researching exactly how to put together the right van to make travel more accessible. The details ranged from which chassis to use for international travel to the engine to which light switch would best suit the limited dexterity in his hands and fingers. Kirk’s van, named Spock, helps provide its owner with the freedom to continue to travel with independence that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
A Way of Life
Kirk’s concern after he broke his neck was that he could no longer explore nature and see the world, but his van has helped him travel all over the United States (including Alaska), as well as to Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. His van is customized with the right tools to help him eat, sleep, use the bathroom, and drive more independently. He calls Spock his “freedom pod.” Kirk enjoys exploring remote campsites, off the beaten path, where his van can take him. “My life is easy within the van; it’s once I get outside that things get complicated!”
Kirk has also found many ways to help others. He has teamed up with Walkabout Foundation to help raise money to send wheelchairs over to Kenya and Venezuela. Follow him and learn more about his adventures on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/impact.overland.
Specs for Spock
The foundation is a 2017 Ford Transit medium-roof, 148-inch wheelbase van with a Quigley 4×4 conversion. Kirk chose this because the 3.5-liter twin turbo gas motor (or Ecoboost) is the best for US and international travel, as a diesel motor does not run on low-sulfur diesel. He needed a decent amount of headroom space within the van, but it also had to fit inside a high-roof shipping container to send internationally. The Quigley 4×4 conversion was most necessary, as getting stuck is more than a slight inconvenience. “I can’t just walk down the trail to go find help or dig myself out of the sand.” For more risky endeavors, Kirk tends to bring some companions along for extra security.
The lift that helps get Kirk and his chair into the van is a SuperArm lift. The platformless lift takes up much less space and can be lowered on any terrain. Inside, the van focuses solely on functionality: a sink with open space underneath, drawers to bring items closer, a higher-mounted fridge to allow two-hand grabs for heavier items, and a bed at the exact height for easy self-transfer. A fold-down induction cooktop provides space for the larger driver’s seat; it folds down while Kirk is driving and gets put back up when he parks the van for camping.
When it comes to driving Spock, there is a right-angle hand-control system. This system includes a lever to the left of the steering wheel that, pushed toward the floor, starts the throttle; it applies the brakes when moved toward the dashboard. The steering wheel has a tri-pin knob that holds Erik’s right wrist since he cannot grip.
“Thanks to my home on wheels, I am able to experience more than I’d have ever thought possible.”
Read more on Kirk and Spock in Rolling Homes by Lloyd Kahn.
Set out at 8 AM after breakfast of granola with hot water and my last hard-boiled egg. Had to cross creek and I wasn’t about to try balancing on slippery log with heavy pack.
My technique: take off shoes, tie laces together, hang around neck, go barefoot across creek with my 2 bespoke driftwood hiking poles, v. carefully; slipping would be a disaster. Got across, dried feet, rebooted, was on my way.
Felt great — it was lucky that the fast-moving hiker the night before had told me how to get up on bluff trail; otherwise would not have seen it and struggled through beach boulders and deep sand.
Whoo! Walking on a trail was a cinch, and this one was lined with flowers. Fortified with almonds, chocolate, and 14-grams-of-protein Power Bar, numerous water stops, I made it through the 2nd high tide zone.
What I learned to do was rest before flat-lining. I stopped for 15 or so minutes, 4-5 times, resting near a creek and once, lying in the shade in a driftwood shack, to regain strength and then pushed on. I ended up walking for 8½ hours until pretty near exhausted, reached Shelter Cove around 5 PM.
In 1973 we published Shelter, which turned out to be station central for people interested in creating their own homes. Now, in the 21st century, we continue this dialog here online on shelter, carpentry, homesteading, gardening, and the home arts with this blog. We hope you will join us and contribute.
