Chris Reinhart

See Chris Reinhart's Log - which shows the evolution of the design and build process - Chris Reinhart Log

Bio

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Chris is a designer, builder, and educator who works on socially and environmentally responsible projects. His diverse collection of professional experiences over the past decade and a half give him a unique perspective that merges visionary and pragmatic approaches. His work has been featured in natural building journals and books, and he has spoken extensively around Indiana on natural building. In recognition of his work, the Indiana Architectural Foundation has honored him with four Pinnacles of Excellence awards for his design/build and research work. He was a 2009 Byron Fellow for "leadership and sustainable community development that uniquely engages participants through place-based learning," and a 2012 Udall Scholar, the nation's top honor for undergraduate environmental leaders.

Chris' Own Home in Southern Indiana

Chris' own home was one of the first half-dozen buildings in the world to experiment with the hybrid load-bearing wall system known as bale-cob. He learned it from natural building grand-father Ianto Evans, and his case study of exploring the technique appeared directly after Ianto's first-published article describing the technique. He has continued to add onto his bale-cob home, exploring other natural and salvage building materials.

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Initial Contact w/ Marcin

Marcin,

I am very interested to hear your ideas and plans for the upcoming design/build. I watched your TED talk, and I find the work that you are doing to be inspiring and empowering. Having lived most of my life in the country and working for many years in various construction jobs, I am no stranger to the entropic nature of machines and the expense and frustration that accompanies it. I have many times said to friends, "I wish someone would come out with a machine that I can easily repair myself!" And now I find out it's even better than that - I can build it myself, too!

I'm not sure how much John or Scott mentioned about the work that I do. I have several photo albums on my facebook page that document some of my work - most of those pictures are older. I have recently begun a separate page for my natural building explorations and experiments - Baby Creek Natural Building Resource Center. I think this link should get you there: https://www.facebook.com/BabyCreekCenter?ref=hl

I look forward to learning more about your work and to hearing your vision for the desgin/build.

Chris Reinhart