A Romanian house has been included among a list of ‘ten of the best’ homes built using natural materials. The house was built by architect and natural builder Ileana Mavrodin in Banat region and uses a material called Cob – a mixture of clay, sand, straw and earth, similar to adobe mud bricks.

The material is now popular with the natural building and sustainability movement, but it has probably been in constant use since prehistoric times. Ileana Mavrodin, “with a few others, are using natural materials in Romania to help people rediscover their local skills and community spirit.”

Published by natural building NGO Natural Homes, other dwellings in the ‘Cob House Collection – 10 of the Best’ are in Canada, England, the US, South Africa and a striking hotel in the Ukraine. Ileana Mavrodin’s house is a pretty round cottage that looks cozy and traditional. However, Cob appears to be a very versatile building material, possible to form into virtually any shape, as shown by the ultra modern meets mud brick look of the Ukrainian hotel and the outrageously Tolkein-esque exterior decoration on a house in Somerset, England.

The proponents of the natural building movement advocate the use of a range of traditional material to construct sustainable environmentally friendly buildings. The range and originality of the designs are breathtaking, taking in everything from wooden churches and Viking style long houses to mud brick palaces and rock cut cave dwellings, many of which look like they come straight from a fantasy adventure film.

Check out the Natural Homes website to find out more.

editor@romania-insider.com

photo source: Natural Homes on Facebook