My First Professional Natural Building Design - Going Live in Vermont, 2026!!

Hey y'all,
I'm an architectural designer by trade. I'm transitioning my practice to focus on natural building, and this is the first home I have designed where the clients specifically wanted to go with natural building materials and techniques. We designed it in 2025, and it is set for construction this year! Here are some of the key natural building facts:

It is completely off-grid - They have an office elsewhere on their compound with solar/battery supported utilities.
aqueduct/gravity fed water to a nearby supply basin
Foundation is concrete-rubble footing with glavel infill
First floor -stabilized earth floor with finish TBD
Exterior walls ~1' thick slip'n'chip method with site-harvested wood and loam, plastered both sides
Interior walls are plastered partitions
ceiling is plastered fiber paneling over site-harvested rafters and purlins
ceiling insulation is Timberhp natural wood batt/board
Standing seam roofing.
Fenestration purchased through traditional dealers.
Heating and cooking through wood fired stoves, thermal mass sailing strategies


I am very excited about this one.
If you're considering doing some natural building and need design support don't be afraid to reach out!

Can you please explain how the interior images and floor plans you shared relate to the project you described as being in progress? What stage are you at?

Also curious whether you are bound by code and if so how you navigated that process.

Hey Ned,

These are floorplans of the first and second floor, and renderings from the design phase.  
Based on our latest conversation, the owner has been prepping for construction by securing their supplies and equipment. Ground has not been broken yet.
While I was not contracted to secure permitting, here's how I approach it: The code has allowances for materials and strategies not stated directly in the code. In order to achieve that, you need to prove your methods are going to work. In this case there is a well documented body of work available to be presented to officials. VT uses the IBC2021 currently, not the IRC. Much of what we were doing already was covered in the IBC. It helps that the jurisdiction is very rural and local officials are not tied down in miles of red tape.

Hello Pete,

I would like to get in touch with you, I live in Boston, but I currently came to the west side of Massachusetts looking to buy a land or house to renovated with natural materials I've been in this Journey over a year. I'll appreciate it if you can get in touch.

Thank You

Carmen