Lloyd Kahn

If there's not a nomadic revolution going on these days, there's certainly a nomadic movement. In the last few years, either for reasons of practicality (high costs of rent or mortgages), change in lifestyle, or the search for adventure, people are customizing all sorts of vehicles for travel. If you search for "van" on Instagram, you find scores of accounts such as projectvanlife, with 1.2 million followers, vanlifecamper, 472,000 followers, or fosterhunting, 930,000 followers. This book focuses on DIY vehicles, with most of the 50 or so shown here fitted out for the road by their owners, similar to the way that Shelter's books on building feature hand-built homes. There are vans, sedans, trucks, buses, and trailers with a wide array of designs and styles. A number of the units are 4-wheel drive for off-road travel. The book is not only fun to browse through, but is full of practical information (such as stoves, heaters, battery charging, refrigerators, and water pumps designed for the road) -- for anyone wanting to create their own on-road home. There are dozens of floor plans, all sorts of sleeping arrangements, and some unique "stealth vehicles" -- designed to be under the radar, so that passers-bys have no idea that someone is sleeping in a parked vehicle. There is a European mini-van outfitted by a young German woman who just graduated from architectural school and took a sabbatical to go surfing. There are a number of camper truck shells, all completely different. There's a converted school bus that is used in both cold weather for skiing, and in warm climates (such as Baja California) for surfing. There's a converted horse trailer furnished with Victorian antiques that is used at Burning Man. There is a tiny Metro Geo (3-cylinder sedan) that is ingeniously designed for sleeping, cooking, and eating in the stealth mode. In a way, this is a scrapbook. Most of the articles consist of stories and statistics, as well as photos sent in by Shelter's network (built up over 50 years) of hands-on people. It's not a book that was designed in advance, but rather a random and serendipitous collection from people in different parts of the world, almost all of whom believe in using their own hands to create their own shelters.

This is the story of Lloyd and Lesley building a home and establishing a garden on a small piece of land on the Northern California Coast over a 46-year period. Starting with a vacant half-acre piece of land, they built their own home, created a garden with vegetables and fruit, and describe raising chickens, bees, and goats. The book also covers cooking, foraging, fishing, crafts, birds, butterflies, and tools. Their main theme is that this was all done by hand. An important part of all this has been that they have never paid rent nor have they ever had a mortgage. There are over 500 photos illustrating all the above facets of their lives. They provide clear explanations of everything from building skylights to maintaining a septic system to how to build greenhouses and raised vegetable beds in the garden. There is a section on unique kitchen tools, as well as advice on useful tools used in construction. There is also a section with Lloyd's advice to someone just starting to building their first home, based on what he's learned over the years. They point out that a computer is not going to build a house for you, and encourage people that, even in this digital age, it's still possible to create at least some of your own food and shelter with your own hands.

From the publishers of a popular series of building books comes Small Homes, which is highly relevant for these times -- getting smaller, rather than larger. Some 75 builders share their knowledge of building and design, with artistic, practical, and/or economical homes in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Lithuania. The average American home is 2,500 sq. ft. The tiny home averages 200-300 sq. ft. The small homes here are 400-1200 sq. ft. -- the middle ground -- not too big, not too small ( la Goldilocks). Compared to the average American home, small homes are less expensive, use less resources, are more efficient to heat and cool, and cheaper to maintain and repair. Compared to tiny homes, they offer a lot more space and breathing room. They are desirable for people who want to avoid a bank mortgage or high rents, yet need more room than a tiny house affords. Here are 65 small homes. They vary from unique and artistic to simple and low-cost. Some are plain, ordinary buildings that provide owners shelter at a reasonable cost -- and some are inspiring examples of design, carpentry, craftsmanship, imagination, creativity, and homemaking. Some are built with "natural materials," such as cob or straw, some with recycled wood or lumber milled on-site, some are old homes that have been remodeled, and many are designed and built from scratch by the owners. Many are in the country, some in small towns, and some in large cities. It's all in the hands. The underlying theme with Shelter's books, which cover an over-40-year span, is that you can create your own home with your own hands, using mostly natural materials. And note: A computer can't build your home for you. You still need a hammer (or nail gun), a saw -- and human hands.

Tiny Homes on the Move chronicles 21st-century nomads -- people who inhabit homes that are compact and mobile, either on wheels or in the water. In photos and stories, this fascinating book explores modern travelers who live in vans, pickup trucks, buses, trailers, sailboats, and houseboats that combine the comforts of home with the convenience of being able to pick up and go at any time. With over 1,000 color photos accompanying the stories and descriptions of these moveable sanctuaries, this is a valuable and inspirational book for anyone thinking outside the box about shelter.

A continuation of Lloyd Kahn's journeys into the creative processes of owner-built homes -- their innovative techniques, use of sustainable materials, and essential dedication to the natural elements surrounding their designs -- Builders of the Pacific Coast explores the aesthetics and skills of three master builders in California, Washington state, and the rugged terrain of British Columbia. The three featured craftsmen -- Lloyd House, Bruce Atkey, and Sun Ray Kelley -- combine imaginative architecture with innovative contexts: everything from unusual house-boats to sculptural dwellings made of driftwood are included. With stunning color and black-and-white photographs, as well as detailed black-and-white drawings of the homes, this collection of unique and progressive designs creates a template for a future filled with forward-thinking architecture.

Master builder Louie Frazier's Japanese-style pole house in Northern California, reachable on a 500" cable across a river / Ian MacLeod's handbuilt stone house in South Africa, where baboons jump on the roof at night / Ma Page's bottle house in the Nevada desert / artist Michael Kahn's semi-subterranean sculptural ivillage in Arizona / Bill and Athena Steen's strawbale houses / Ianto Evans' cob houses in Oregon / the Archlibre group of countercultural builders in the French Pyrenees / Bill Coperthwaite's spectacular 3-story yurt in the Maine woods / Bill Castle's finely-crafted log home and sauna in the NY Appalachians / a commune in the Tennesee mountains / the "Flying Concrete" brothers in Mexico and their far-out sculptural structures / Barns in California, Washington, and Connecticut / Photo-essays of Lloyd Kahn's trips to Nevada, the Mississippi Delta, Costa Rica, Nova Scotia, and Baja California / Photos of buildings all over the world by photographers Yoshio Komatsu and Kevin Kelly + more, lots more. . .I get excited just listing these things -LK PS SHELTER, it turns out, had a major influence on builders, and included are buildings our 1973 book inspired, so this is truly a sequel.