A Whole New Dynamic

Based on the writings of philosopher and educator Rudolf Steiner, biodynamic farming is a holistic form of agriculture that shuns the use of chemicals and embraces astrology, as well as some rather esoteric fertilizer recipes. Biodynamic farming predates organic farming, though it subscribes to some of the same tenets, and treats the farm as an organism, one that ought to be complete and self-sustaining.

It would be easy to dismiss biodynamics as organic farming–meets–crystal healing while waving an astrological chart, but it is a growing discipline and has distinct advantages for construction projects using wood. “The wood is harvested during the waning moon, when the sap is falling,” says Beames. “That means that there is more air in the wood and that the wood therefore has an incredible insulative property. So instead of having the traditional setup of cavity-wall insulation, two skins, and external cladding, we could seal this single piece of wood and it would perform better than a traditional wall.”