'At Home in Our Earth'

MIDDLETOWN — Laura Smith, a certified builder of Dome and Vault Super-Adobe, will explain the process during a lecture on Thursday, Feb. 5, in the Rowley Center for Science & Engineering on the Middletown campus of SUNY Orange.

Originally from Warwick, Smith is a graduate of Cal-Earth Institute of Art and Architecture.

The presentation is geared at fostering a greater awareness of green architecture practices. The program is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

According to the press release issued by SUNY Orange announcing the lecture, adobe structures are desirable for numerous reasons from their green advantages to their beautiful designs.

Especially in arid climates, creating an earth house is less expensive than building a post and beam house of the same dimensions, and the thick walls and high thermal mass of adobe keep the homes cool in the summer.

“They can be lived in all year round for hundreds of years, be made from materials easily available on site, and require less technical knowledge to be constructed,” Smith said.

Smith also will give an overview of other types of alternative, green architecture presently available, including earthships, cob, rammed earth, tiny houses, straw bale, low impact homes, yurts, log and timber frame.

She will also briefly discuss the appropriate settings and situations for these structures as well as living off-the-grid, solar panels, and solar showers.

Essential information
The Gerry Forum of the Rowley Center for Science and Engineering is located on the ground floor and can be accessed via the parking area and entrance near the corner of East Conkling and Wawayanda Avenues, Middletown.

For additional information, call 845-341-4891 or visit online at www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs.