Kyle Williams
@kylewwilliams.bsky.social
Native Michigander. Building a better Durham. Sustainability, cities, and entrepreneurship.
"vélogistique" 😚🤌
Vélogistique dans une petite rue à l'écart dans le 20ème, qui sera d’ailleurs bientôt piétonnisée.
November 20, 2025 at 1:48 PM
"vélogistique" 😚🤌
The Coulée Verte in Paris has been my go-to running spot the last few weeks. It's an abandoned elevated railway that runs ~3 km from the Bastille to the edge of town, with great greenery and views from the top and shops below. And it's twice as old as the NYC High Line!
November 19, 2025 at 8:51 PM
The Coulée Verte in Paris has been my go-to running spot the last few weeks. It's an abandoned elevated railway that runs ~3 km from the Bastille to the edge of town, with great greenery and views from the top and shops below. And it's twice as old as the NYC High Line!
Reposted by Kyle Williams
Seattle (& beyond!) architecture and urbanism people - @michaelburchert.bsky.social has kindly offered to host a virtual presentation on prefab straw panel building + Q&A.
Monday, Dec 1 at 11:00 am PST
Please fill out the interest form if you'd like to attend!
Monday, Dec 1 at 11:00 am PST
Please fill out the interest form if you'd like to attend!
Straw Panel Building with Michael Burchert
Regenerative construction educator, activist, and builder Michael Burchert will be presenting his method of machine-free straw panel fabrication along with an overview of various global straw panel ma...
docs.google.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Seattle (& beyond!) architecture and urbanism people - @michaelburchert.bsky.social has kindly offered to host a virtual presentation on prefab straw panel building + Q&A.
Monday, Dec 1 at 11:00 am PST
Please fill out the interest form if you'd like to attend!
Monday, Dec 1 at 11:00 am PST
Please fill out the interest form if you'd like to attend!
Reposted by Kyle Williams
In America, when we build a massive freeway, buy a bunch of cars, fill them with gas, crash them, repair them, and treat all of the injury and disease they cause…that adds to GDP.
But does that make us rich?
But does that make us rich?
November 8, 2025 at 8:36 PM
In America, when we build a massive freeway, buy a bunch of cars, fill them with gas, crash them, repair them, and treat all of the injury and disease they cause…that adds to GDP.
But does that make us rich?
But does that make us rich?
Scenes from a car-lite city. It is incredible how many streets in our corner of Paris are de-facto pedestrian/bike streets simply because there are so few cars around.
These pictures are from my normal "commute" dropping the kids off at school.
These pictures are from my normal "commute" dropping the kids off at school.
November 7, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Scenes from a car-lite city. It is incredible how many streets in our corner of Paris are de-facto pedestrian/bike streets simply because there are so few cars around.
These pictures are from my normal "commute" dropping the kids off at school.
These pictures are from my normal "commute" dropping the kids off at school.
So want to build one of these in Durham. Zero concrete as well. Super cool.
missing middle multifamily housing built to passivhaus w/ prefab straw exterior panels
construction cost of $120/sf
heating costs @ $0.25/kwh work out to $12/month.
low-carb passivhaus FTW
jfc. that's incredible.
construction cost of $120/sf
heating costs @ $0.25/kwh work out to $12/month.
low-carb passivhaus FTW
jfc. that's incredible.
😍
"Riom is building 6 apartments a 65 m2
Negative carbon footprint
0 concrete
Workshop duration 3 weeks, one stage per week
Certified passive house with a heating requirement of 9.5 kWh/m2/year
€1080 excl. VAT per m2"
foto: Gaël Bruyère #strawhouse #strawbuilding
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...
"Riom is building 6 apartments a 65 m2
Negative carbon footprint
0 concrete
Workshop duration 3 weeks, one stage per week
Certified passive house with a heating requirement of 9.5 kWh/m2/year
€1080 excl. VAT per m2"
foto: Gaël Bruyère #strawhouse #strawbuilding
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...
November 6, 2025 at 7:50 PM
So want to build one of these in Durham. Zero concrete as well. Super cool.
It may be unrealistic to turn this .84 acre spot into Paris, but with how desperately we need more, and more affordable, housing in Durham, what else could we do? If we take the SFH footprint that was built there and let them "rub shoulders", we can get 3 more homes and have a bunch more greenspace.
November 2, 2025 at 4:33 PM
It may be unrealistic to turn this .84 acre spot into Paris, but with how desperately we need more, and more affordable, housing in Durham, what else could we do? If we take the SFH footprint that was built there and let them "rub shoulders", we can get 3 more homes and have a bunch more greenspace.
Even in the USA! nothing technical stopping us from doing this, just deciding that we value people over cars.
a better world is possible
Avec 470 arbres plantés et 4 000m2 de nature en plein cœur du 14e arrondissement, la place de Catalogne s'est radicalement transformée en 2024 !
November 1, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Even in the USA! nothing technical stopping us from doing this, just deciding that we value people over cars.
Cool new wall section comparison tool from Isol'enPaille. I wish they would let you change the insulation layer to compare a conventional wall versus straw, but still lots variables to play around with here!
www.isolenpaille.com/simulateur-p...
www.isolenpaille.com/simulateur-p...
November 1, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Cool new wall section comparison tool from Isol'enPaille. I wish they would let you change the insulation layer to compare a conventional wall versus straw, but still lots variables to play around with here!
www.isolenpaille.com/simulateur-p...
www.isolenpaille.com/simulateur-p...
Making Michigan manufacturing great again! Crossroads Solar in South Bend, IN, is another piece of this puzzle and a great story: www.crossroads-solar.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Making Michigan manufacturing great again! Crossroads Solar in South Bend, IN, is another piece of this puzzle and a great story: www.crossroads-solar.com
An unused parcel of .84 acres in Old West Durham was transformed into housing recently. The development was considered scandalously dense by many. When I overlaid a Paris density of building, I found that you could fit nearly 6 courtyard blocks surrounded by apartment homes— housing 50+ families.
October 28, 2025 at 11:14 PM
An unused parcel of .84 acres in Old West Durham was transformed into housing recently. The development was considered scandalously dense by many. When I overlaid a Paris density of building, I found that you could fit nearly 6 courtyard blocks surrounded by apartment homes— housing 50+ families.
Wish DPS would have the vision to do this with DSA rather than the suburban replacement they clearcut acres of forest to build. Such an inspiring project!
The secret behind better school grades and overall school experience. Good air quality.
October 28, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Wish DPS would have the vision to do this with DSA rather than the suburban replacement they clearcut acres of forest to build. Such an inspiring project!
Reposted by Kyle Williams
Let's look inside. #biobased #renewablematerial #strawhouse #carbonstorage
🧵 1/ of a lot, be sure to like and share this post so others can see that climate adaptive building is in the pipeline for elderly people, child care and social housing e.g.
🧵 1/ of a lot, be sure to like and share this post so others can see that climate adaptive building is in the pipeline for elderly people, child care and social housing e.g.
October 25, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Let's look inside. #biobased #renewablematerial #strawhouse #carbonstorage
🧵 1/ of a lot, be sure to like and share this post so others can see that climate adaptive building is in the pipeline for elderly people, child care and social housing e.g.
🧵 1/ of a lot, be sure to like and share this post so others can see that climate adaptive building is in the pipeline for elderly people, child care and social housing e.g.
I finally got to see las Setas de Sevilla in person! Wild to look back 14 years and remember how excited I was about this as I was working on my Personal Statement in grad school. My aesthetic tastes have changed a lot since then, but the effect of looking up through the grid is still pretty cool.
October 24, 2025 at 10:04 PM
I finally got to see las Setas de Sevilla in person! Wild to look back 14 years and remember how excited I was about this as I was working on my Personal Statement in grad school. My aesthetic tastes have changed a lot since then, but the effect of looking up through the grid is still pretty cool.
Anyone want to build one of these with me in Durham, NC? Lot's of wood and straw and clay laying around!
Just a little teaser, this 3 storey #strawhouse with 19 units was prefabricated under a little farm shed roof. 👇🏽
October 23, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Anyone want to build one of these with me in Durham, NC? Lot's of wood and straw and clay laying around!
Yesterday & today I was lucky to spend quality time with 2 friends from grad school after not seeing each other for 10+ years. Strange to feel simultaneously that: 1. no time has passed ("you haven't changed!") and 2. a whole lifetime has passed (we all got married, kids, 3-5 jobs down the road).
October 14, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Yesterday & today I was lucky to spend quality time with 2 friends from grad school after not seeing each other for 10+ years. Strange to feel simultaneously that: 1. no time has passed ("you haven't changed!") and 2. a whole lifetime has passed (we all got married, kids, 3-5 jobs down the road).
Reposted by Kyle Williams
Major cities should do a Paris.
Less cars, more peds, more bikes, more green.
Less cars, more peds, more bikes, more green.
October 10, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Public via ferrata and a whale-shaped soccer pitch with Eiffel Tower views!
There are so many little moments like this in Paris where you can tell the city is focused on a great resident experience. Also a huge upgrade from the highway it used to be (last pic).
There are so many little moments like this in Paris where you can tell the city is focused on a great resident experience. Also a huge upgrade from the highway it used to be (last pic).
October 8, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Public via ferrata and a whale-shaped soccer pitch with Eiffel Tower views!
There are so many little moments like this in Paris where you can tell the city is focused on a great resident experience. Also a huge upgrade from the highway it used to be (last pic).
There are so many little moments like this in Paris where you can tell the city is focused on a great resident experience. Also a huge upgrade from the highway it used to be (last pic).
The U.S. is such a crazy country. Constantly fighting reality in our policies and behaviors. It's a losing battle in the long term, and totally unnecessary.
I can't stop thinking about this. We're pursuing zero fire risk in multifam, while tolerating much more in single-fam. People respond by building and living in single-fam, where they're exposed to not only one of the highest fire death risks in the developed world, but also TONS more car crash risk
Love this new report on buildings' relative fire safety from @alexhrwtz.bsky.social and Pew colleagues.
www.pew.org/en/research-...
www.pew.org/en/research-...
October 8, 2025 at 5:57 AM
The U.S. is such a crazy country. Constantly fighting reality in our policies and behaviors. It's a losing battle in the long term, and totally unnecessary.
Reposted by Kyle Williams
To the naysayers, fossil fool and other nuclear useful idiots who say #renewables and the #energytransition are wasteful, expensive and woke unnecessary crap.
Spain's wholesale electricity prices were 32% lower than the European average in the first half of 2025 -- thanks to wind and solar reducing the influence of costly fossil fuels on prices. ember-energy.org/latest-insig...
Decoupled: how Spain cut the link between gas and power prices using renewables | Ember
Spain has some of the lowest wholesale electricity prices in Europe, largely owing to the country’s strong solar and wind growth which reduced the influence of expensive coal and gas power on the elec...
ember-energy.org
October 3, 2025 at 9:07 AM
To the naysayers, fossil fool and other nuclear useful idiots who say #renewables and the #energytransition are wasteful, expensive and woke unnecessary crap.
Can confirm this based on the last month in Paris: there can be hundred of people biking, walking, chatting on a fairly narrow old street and you can easily have a conversation with your companion. And then 1 car drives through and you have to hold your thought until it passes.
if you read my book you'd already know this
cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.
want quieter cities?
replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere
cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.
want quieter cities?
replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere
September 30, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Can confirm this based on the last month in Paris: there can be hundred of people biking, walking, chatting on a fairly narrow old street and you can easily have a conversation with your companion. And then 1 car drives through and you have to hold your thought until it passes.
Reposted by Kyle Williams
if you read my book you'd already know this
cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.
want quieter cities?
replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere
cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.
want quieter cities?
replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere
September 30, 2025 at 5:25 PM
if you read my book you'd already know this
cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.
want quieter cities?
replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere
cities aren't loud - cars are loud. SUVs are louder. and yes that includes EVs.
want quieter cities?
replace diesel trucks w/ EVs
replace delivery vans w/ e-cargo bikes
low traffic neighborhoods and modal filters everywhere
Church -> climbing gym + café is an adaptive reuse strategy I hadn't considered before, but seems to work really well. This is in Paris' 15th, near the Eiffel tower. Cool option for the church at Trent and Alabama in Durham. That parking lot would be a great outdoor patio.
buff.ly/I0g06Kf
buff.ly/I0g06Kf
September 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Church -> climbing gym + café is an adaptive reuse strategy I hadn't considered before, but seems to work really well. This is in Paris' 15th, near the Eiffel tower. Cool option for the church at Trent and Alabama in Durham. That parking lot would be a great outdoor patio.
buff.ly/I0g06Kf
buff.ly/I0g06Kf
26 homes + 2 businesses on less than 3k sf. So cool!
you thought i was kidding
but i'm not
>80% of housing in paris is in single stair buildings
this one is like 30' wide.
26 homes on a 2,730 sf lot.
but i'm not
>80% of housing in paris is in single stair buildings
this one is like 30' wide.
26 homes on a 2,730 sf lot.
September 22, 2025 at 5:43 PM
26 homes + 2 businesses on less than 3k sf. So cool!