Lloyd Kahn
is the founding editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications, Inc., and is the former Shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He is also an author, photographer, and pioneer of the green building and green architecture movements. Lloyd’s Instagram and Twitter.
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Music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range; “I Don’t Think You Understand,” by Goliath Flores; “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.
The opening tune has this great folksy vibe that reminds me of Mark Knopfler, esp. "You Don’t Know You’re Born". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJmzUcaS4XU
I think the gentleman he was thinking of was architect David Sellers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_E._Sellers
The first time I stayed in Topanga, the person I stayed with was into Green Building and construction. She was a welder who did custom installations. She had studied earth bag construction with Nader Khalili: http://www.calearth.org/our-founder/
Really loved the episode. I’m an architect working in commercial construction, but I long to be a builder like Lloyd.
Orthogonal walls are definitely more efficient than curved shapes, but that is the result of our traditional construction methods and materials. Plywood and sheetrock and stones are all sold in sheet form and slabs.
With revolutionary technologies, like 3d-printing and automated construction (drones) architects may be able to design curved spaces with minimal waste. Here’s a video of an experiment showing how a prototype house could be ‘printed’ in a single day!
https://youtu.be/qmnwlDvklWM
And those techniques seem to favor curves over tight corners. Architecture is always impacted by the adoption of new materials and new technologies, so it may very well be we will return to live in organic-shaped dwellings.