As part of a multi-year research and design process, the homeowner, in collaboration with Moontower, commissioned and built a studio for his family to explore what happens if the climate is put first when designing a home.  

The result: a two-bed, two-bath home built entirely from plant-based materials, resulting in zero carbon emissions. The experimental structure, built of cross-laminated timber panels and thermally modified cork is unconventional, naturally.  It looks different, it smells different, sounds different—carpenters even say the sawdust tastes different!  

See what a home can be with no concrete above grade, no gypsum wallboard, no cementitious siding, stucco, or mortar, and no petroleum-based insulation. The Cross Cabin is a laboratory for change that is transforming the day-to-day practice of architecture to achieve a zero-carbon, equitable, resilient, and naturally built environment.  

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Throughout this experiment Moontower Co-Founder, Greg Esparza, led the research and development required to plan, procure, erect, and assemble all components in a zero carbon structure and in 2022 created a sister company, Cross Cabin Build & Supply promoting climate-friendly homebuilding in and around our hometown of Austin, Texas.  Greg continually works "in the lab" exploring on-going research and manufacturing developments in the mass timber and timber byproduct markets.