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Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter
Shelter , it turns out, had a major influence on builders, and included are buildings our 1973 book inspired, so this is truly a sequel.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 13, 2008
Home Work is the followup to Shelter, Lloyd Kahn's influential 1973 guide to alternative living and DIY homebuilding. In Shelter Kahn advocated a return to the hand-built house, emphasizing traditional building methods over the high-tech solutions that had been advocated throughout the 40s, 50s, and 60s (culminating in the dome house, a form that he initially helped to pioneer, but eventually rejected).
Home Work covers a lot of the same territory as Shelter did, but unlike Shelter is full of beautiful full-color photographs. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of alternative living situations detailed here and the hand-built houses — from around the world — will make you wish that every last suburb was burned to the ground so that the world could be remade in the image of this book. The examples that Kahn presents in this book are invariably made from recycled and natural materials and all are works of art in themselves. Furthermore, many of these houses are off the grid and rely on solar power, composting toilets, etc. This is not, however, a book full of expensive designer architectural 'solutions'(it's safe to assume that Kahn abhors yuppiedom); instead these are DIY projects that rely on personal sweat equity, ingenuity, and the ability to think small.
The amazing structures in this book include Louie Frazier's astoundingly beautiful hand-crafted home in Mendocino, various takes on the yurt, driftwood houses constructed on the beach, shacks made from found materials, stone houses, adobe houses, rammed-earth houses, straw houses, bamboo houses, tepees and tents, the ubiquitous converted school bus, and — yes — even a few domes. There's also an incredible array of houses from around the world, many of them in configurations/situations that radically challenge the notion that the household and the nuclear family should be in any way synonymous. If this book doesn't have you thinking about, and desiring, ways to live differently than you probably deserve the box that you're already ensconced in.
Here's what I don't like about the book: 1) There's way to much of an emphasis on back-to-the-land hippie-style living, which I suspect has a lot to do with Kahn's social network. I've got nothing against the back-to-the-land movement or hippies in general, and I'm glad to see all the builders (and their beards) that are represented here. However, it would also have been nice to see more of the possibilities of what can be done in terms of hand-built shelter within the urban setting. These places do exist — I've seen plenty of reconfigured warehouses in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland that function as amazing live/work spaces. And how about urban squats, etc.? 2) While the pages in this book are still holding together (stitched, thank you), the cover itself fell off after the first reading. Of course, I can always glue it back on myself, but covers simply shouldn't be falling off so soon after purchase.
Highly recommended.
Home Work covers a lot of the same territory as Shelter did, but unlike Shelter is full of beautiful full-color photographs. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of alternative living situations detailed here and the hand-built houses — from around the world — will make you wish that every last suburb was burned to the ground so that the world could be remade in the image of this book. The examples that Kahn presents in this book are invariably made from recycled and natural materials and all are works of art in themselves. Furthermore, many of these houses are off the grid and rely on solar power, composting toilets, etc. This is not, however, a book full of expensive designer architectural 'solutions'(it's safe to assume that Kahn abhors yuppiedom); instead these are DIY projects that rely on personal sweat equity, ingenuity, and the ability to think small.
The amazing structures in this book include Louie Frazier's astoundingly beautiful hand-crafted home in Mendocino, various takes on the yurt, driftwood houses constructed on the beach, shacks made from found materials, stone houses, adobe houses, rammed-earth houses, straw houses, bamboo houses, tepees and tents, the ubiquitous converted school bus, and — yes — even a few domes. There's also an incredible array of houses from around the world, many of them in configurations/situations that radically challenge the notion that the household and the nuclear family should be in any way synonymous. If this book doesn't have you thinking about, and desiring, ways to live differently than you probably deserve the box that you're already ensconced in.
Here's what I don't like about the book: 1) There's way to much of an emphasis on back-to-the-land hippie-style living, which I suspect has a lot to do with Kahn's social network. I've got nothing against the back-to-the-land movement or hippies in general, and I'm glad to see all the builders (and their beards) that are represented here. However, it would also have been nice to see more of the possibilities of what can be done in terms of hand-built shelter within the urban setting. These places do exist — I've seen plenty of reconfigured warehouses in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland that function as amazing live/work spaces. And how about urban squats, etc.? 2) While the pages in this book are still holding together (stitched, thank you), the cover itself fell off after the first reading. Of course, I can always glue it back on myself, but covers simply shouldn't be falling off so soon after purchase.
Highly recommended.
September 6, 2020
I think a god gifted me this book. I recall a friend lending it to me 5 years ago (at a punk show at Logan's Pub), but she has no recollection of that and says she's never owned it. Thank you, god; I really needed this book! I came about Home Work at a pivotal time in my life: I was tired of feeling addicted and depressed and confused--desperately searching for my place in the universe.
I remember looking through it years ago and marveling at how interesting some of the buildings were. At that point, I didn't appreciate the building/architecture side of it, I was still stuck in the "rat race": I was working a job I hated (because I was too scared to quit) and renting shitty houses I hated, moving multiple times per year (into different shitty houses with challenging roommates--not all of them of course)--just totally uninspired and feeling hopeless.
Now, at a time in my life where I am actively building and repairing my own HOME, it's SO powerful, inspiring and exciting to read: I quit that job I hated and moved to the country--I feel TOTALLY aligned with the ethos of this book and I'm so grateful I've dragged it in a box from house-to-house as I've stumbled my way through the last 5 years.
There are SO many parts of this book that touched my SOUL. There are parts of this book that at first glance I thought, "this isn't for me", but then by the time I had delved into reading about it, I had accessed a new and different way of living in a shelter (a form of decolonizing my mind--unlearning/learning NEW ways of thinking/existing).
I've felt non-conformist since I was a teenager--never really felt like I belonged in groups or on the planet. This book is totally in alignment with that feeling/ethos (except it offers hope): "the way most people live is not for me; there are SO many other ways to exist in harmony with myself and nature (and I can make that happen)."
I love this book so much and I know I will continue to come back to it over the years. Now I want to read all of Lloyd and Shelter's books! The pictures, the words: everything hit me right in the heart: SO inspiring and INTERESTING!
For fans of beauty, harmony, homesteading, architecture, construction, anti-capitalism, decolonization, peaceful non-conformity.
I remember looking through it years ago and marveling at how interesting some of the buildings were. At that point, I didn't appreciate the building/architecture side of it, I was still stuck in the "rat race": I was working a job I hated (because I was too scared to quit) and renting shitty houses I hated, moving multiple times per year (into different shitty houses with challenging roommates--not all of them of course)--just totally uninspired and feeling hopeless.
Now, at a time in my life where I am actively building and repairing my own HOME, it's SO powerful, inspiring and exciting to read: I quit that job I hated and moved to the country--I feel TOTALLY aligned with the ethos of this book and I'm so grateful I've dragged it in a box from house-to-house as I've stumbled my way through the last 5 years.
There are SO many parts of this book that touched my SOUL. There are parts of this book that at first glance I thought, "this isn't for me", but then by the time I had delved into reading about it, I had accessed a new and different way of living in a shelter (a form of decolonizing my mind--unlearning/learning NEW ways of thinking/existing).
I've felt non-conformist since I was a teenager--never really felt like I belonged in groups or on the planet. This book is totally in alignment with that feeling/ethos (except it offers hope): "the way most people live is not for me; there are SO many other ways to exist in harmony with myself and nature (and I can make that happen)."
I love this book so much and I know I will continue to come back to it over the years. Now I want to read all of Lloyd and Shelter's books! The pictures, the words: everything hit me right in the heart: SO inspiring and INTERESTING!
For fans of beauty, harmony, homesteading, architecture, construction, anti-capitalism, decolonization, peaceful non-conformity.
August 17, 2012
A book you can dip in and out of for inspiration.
Hundreds of wonderful colour pictures displaying the ingenious diversity of home made shelters. All sorts of different soulful and creative approaches to Cabins • Cottages • Bungalows • Homesteads • Sheds • Shacks • Huts • Treehouses •Bottle Houses • Yurts • Hogans • Tipis • Tents • Beach Shacks • Stilt Houses • Greenhouses • Small House Designs • Domes • Zomes • Fantasy Houses • Gypsy Wagons • Workspaces • Barns • Shops • Mississippi Shotgun Shacks • Kitchens • Bedrooms • Bathrooms • Studios • Wood • Straw Bale • Cob • Stone • Bamboo • Thatch • Timber-Frame • Log • Ferro-Cement • Papercrete • Earthbag • Builders • Designers • Artists • Homesteaders • Dreamers •
Hundreds of wonderful colour pictures displaying the ingenious diversity of home made shelters. All sorts of different soulful and creative approaches to Cabins • Cottages • Bungalows • Homesteads • Sheds • Shacks • Huts • Treehouses •Bottle Houses • Yurts • Hogans • Tipis • Tents • Beach Shacks • Stilt Houses • Greenhouses • Small House Designs • Domes • Zomes • Fantasy Houses • Gypsy Wagons • Workspaces • Barns • Shops • Mississippi Shotgun Shacks • Kitchens • Bedrooms • Bathrooms • Studios • Wood • Straw Bale • Cob • Stone • Bamboo • Thatch • Timber-Frame • Log • Ferro-Cement • Papercrete • Earthbag • Builders • Designers • Artists • Homesteaders • Dreamers •
May 14, 2017
Great book
Mostly for inspiration and to give you some insight to how some of these structures were built, this book was a great buy. Bought it on kindle and pleased with full color photos
Mostly for inspiration and to give you some insight to how some of these structures were built, this book was a great buy. Bought it on kindle and pleased with full color photos
May 12, 2019
Lots of inspiration here. It's an eclectic mix of owner-built houses with great photos and often rambling anecdotes and appendices. Personally, I think that just adds to its charm. Probably better to dip into than read cover-to-cover.
December 3, 2014
I love this book. I love it so much I actually bought it. With real money and everything. Kahn’s book is a massive collection of hand built shelters of every sort of building material possible. And they are truly inspiring. There are fantastic homes built of light concrete (made with pumice) that can be carved into swirling shell shapes, tree houses (complete with power and water), a rock house built by a naked man over a decade of time, a teepee with underground power to run the photocopier, houses that have been off the power grid/running on solar for 35 years, two-story gypsy style caravan houses, adobe, mud, brick, tin, glass, driftwood, hay bale, sandbag, old bus - you name it. The pictures are fantastic and the builders’ stories amazing. Now I even want to build a yurt! No really, a yurt! We’re going to get a build-a-yurt kit. Damn this book is cool.
March 20, 2016
There's a fairly popular Ted talk entitled " life is easy; why do we make it hard?" And there an amendment my cousin made to that title: life is easy if you don't mind living in third world poverty.
There was perhaps one house in this book that wasn't third world poverty. But the book was even worse than that, since I'd hardly call anything in here easy. I honestly don't mind hippy dwellings but a gand sculpted house should have some variety I'd think. Also they should be nicer than this. There's got to be something better.
There was perhaps one house in this book that wasn't third world poverty. But the book was even worse than that, since I'd hardly call anything in here easy. I honestly don't mind hippy dwellings but a gand sculpted house should have some variety I'd think. Also they should be nicer than this. There's got to be something better.
September 10, 2009
I have thumbed through this book at bookstores and it is exceptional.
I can not recommend this or his first book "Shelter" enough, if you are interested in ever fashioning your own dwelling, whether through building or modifying it is an inspiration.
I can not recommend this or his first book "Shelter" enough, if you are interested in ever fashioning your own dwelling, whether through building or modifying it is an inspiration.
August 5, 2014
An amazing book if you are looking to build a home or structure. The beautiful photos present an array of different options and give a glimpse of the people behind these unique dwellings.
There is a whole section on re-purposed vehicles and the cob houses are so hobbitish.
There is a whole section on re-purposed vehicles and the cob houses are so hobbitish.
August 7, 2007
AMAZING homes, shelters, designs. Super pictures and stories.
September 27, 2007
this book is pretty amazing. hermit huts, hippie shelters, treehouses, eccentric dwellings of all kinds - inspiring for anyone who lives or would like to live in something other than a regular box.
December 1, 2007
lots of ideas for untraditional housing, especially environmentally sustainable designs. Great pictures not much text.
October 20, 2008
Inspiration for house designs in nontraditional forms. It has helped me imagine the earthbag dome I am now constructing.
January 6, 2009
If only building were this simple in the UK
May 19, 2009
Really a lovely picture-book. Not too deep on content, but inspiring nonetheless.
June 12, 2009
A home is even more a home when it is built with your own two hands.
September 20, 2009
Purely a pictures book for me, I feel bad rating a book I never read, but it does have great pictures!
July 29, 2009
Totally inspiring and beautiful, but somehow a lot less brain-changing that the original "Shelter", a book to which I regularly return.
Read
January 2, 2010the sequel to shelter, and just as good...
March 20, 2010
This book fuels my back to the land fantasies.
May 8, 2010
This book is full of inspiration for all those crazy houses/space stations I designed in my youth, with good dose of sustainability and self sufficiency on the side. Totally worth looking at.
September 26, 2010
fascinating....it's so interesting to see how others live. I really enjoyed it!
January 20, 2011
a fantastic compilation of photos and stories that will make anyone want to build their own home.
November 18, 2011
Loved the pictures. Great for anyone interested in hand built architecture.
November 8, 2012
Such beautiful photos of inspiring buildings it's hard to finish before jumping out of your seat to start building your own natural home!
September 11, 2013
Lots and lots of ideas, packed closely together amidst a sea of pictures from all over. Full of original ideas. Great inspirational reading for creative builders.
September 12, 2013
A fascinating study of hand-built homes with a terrific balance of beautiful photos and written profiles and descriptions.
April 4, 2015
I have loved this book for years and return to it again and again. I want to live in so many of these houses!
August 17, 2007
I am constantly picking this book up and dreaming of my treehouse. Sigh..one day.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews