Beyond energy use, allergies seem also to be a by-product of growing up sanitised & sealed glass-and-steel boxes. Not that it helps people like you and me who already have them, but in the long-run saner construction might help avoid even that.
Yes, I agree that the long-term solution lies somewhere in the middle. Certainly it would be unwise for mass-adoption of mud buildings (not least because they're a LOT of work to maintain), but if architects and builders would become more open to mixing and exploring with traditional techniques and materials (which, lets face it, has been honed over a long period to deal with humidity, heat and uncomfortable climate before electricity) we could probably get much more comfortable and energy efficient buildings and also cities.
An acquaintance of mine, Laurent, works on this in eastern India [1].
Yes, I agree that the long-term solution lies somewhere in the middle. Certainly it would be unwise for mass-adoption of mud buildings (not least because they're a LOT of work to maintain), but if architects and builders would become more open to mixing and exploring with traditional techniques and materials (which, lets face it, has been honed over a long period to deal with humidity, heat and uncomfortable climate before electricity) we could probably get much more comfortable and energy efficient buildings and also cities.
An acquaintance of mine, Laurent, works on this in eastern India [1].
1. http://vimeo.com/68119509