What is your house made of?
Who built it?
How old is it?
This house, once by Deborah Freedman is a wonderful springboard to start a conversation about what house are made of before they become a house. Many house are made of man made materials but within many of these materials there is often a natural material underlying the design.
Deborah Freedman’s use of soft pastels allow the house to be an inviting place that feels welcoming and warming and encouraging to the exploration upon it.
As the reader walks through the house from dawn to dusk we explore the foundations of the house, the solid walls and the protecting windows. The house emits a calming effect and through this calming effect the reader really has time to engage with the materials of the house and time to think about their own house.
Many people may have never put a single thought as to what their house is made out of or where those materials came from – this book will inspire you to have a look around, scrutinise the material and dig into the history of the house.
So what can you do at home?
Explore your house, find out what it is made of.
Make your own mud bricks – what do you need to make these?
How could your material be more sustainable if you were to change or renovate?
Which materials are sustainable? Which materials are damaging?
Design your own sustainable home – explore different companies that offer sustainable materials for regular household use.
