Eco Houses

A blog about all the interesting environmentally friendly houses and architecture I find.

[so-aware]

SEED: Shipping Container Emergency Housing

by Clemson University Department of Architecture with Tri-County Technical

Utilizing an existing surplus of shipping containers, students from Clemson University’s Department of Architecture partnered with Tri-County Technical College, to research and develop an affordable housing solution for the Caribbean Region. 

Caribbean nations inherently import more goods than they export generating a steady surplus of shipping containers.  Shipping containers are designed to carry massive amounts of cargo and withstand extreme weather conditions making them a logical housing component.  Constructed entirely of steel and reinforced with eight corner post moment connections and corrugated steel walls, a 40′ shipping container can carry 67,200 pounds and resist overturn when exposed to winds up to 140 mph.  Without modification a 40′ shipping container has 304 square feet of floor space and eliminates problems associated with insects, fire, and hurricanes.  With modification a 40′ shipping container can be a safe, comfortable, and environmentally friendly home for numerous local inhabitants.

The beginning design emerged as a system of event based solutions capable of providing immediate housing after hurricanes or natural disasters.  Local interventions and materials eventually develop into permanent additions creating an investment with a local identity.  Utilizing local skills, labor, and materials the final design is dynamic taking on a symbiotic relationship with the local cultures.  Eventually the ubiquitous container is embedded and made permanent providing an investment that can appreciate with time.

[imagineblog]

GREEN LIVING

Within the Design Studio of Daniel Dendra in the Dessau Institute of Architecture DIA the students developed new concepts of how to save our planet. The idea from Kiril Tsuman looks very promising. We can really imagine being surrounded by plants.

[unconsumption]

A team of four Arizona State University students is producing its first two portable clinics, modified freight shipping containers outfitted with medical supplies; on- and off-grid power hook-ups; ventilation; insulation; access to potable water; and optional add-ons like solar power and air conditioning. One of the clinics, a maternity suite promised to the nonprofit Sustainable Resources Limited, will be stocked and shipped to Kenya with birthing supplies and beds for two mothers. 

Arizona State Students Are Upcycling Shipping Containers into Health Clinics - Design - GOOD

Previously on Unconsumption: Containers To Clinics.

[tinyhousesmallspace]

Walkthrough of the Modern Mini-Home

[so-aware]

Designing for Adaptable Futures Student Competition Winners Announced

by Adaptable Futures

Designing for Adaptable Futures, the first competition hosted by Adaptable Futures (AF), recently announced their award recipients. The competition was open to students globally. AF requested that submissions illustrate the lifespan of the proposal (whether product, building or urban intervention) and how it would evolve over time –  an hour, day, year, decade, or perhaps a century.  

After receiving submissions from 26 countries, thirty projects were shortlisted the international team of judges then selected three winning submissions (a joint first place and a third place) along with five submissions deserving honorable mention. 

[tinyhousesmallspace]

Concrete Canvas Shelter….Just Add Water

Coolest thing ever!

[ibmconsulting]

 5 Companies on the Cutting Edge of Sustainable Prefab Housing

Rather than overload our landfills, however, contemporary architectural firms and design companies are rethinking what prefab means for today’s waste-conscious and energy-savvy homebuyers. Many are combining traditional modular concepts with a customized approach, allowing clients to select a basic design and alter it according to their tastes.

[re-green-blog]

Green Building Science

Viewing a house as a system of interrelated parts is the basis behind building science. Designing a green re-model requires; attention to energy loss from conversion, construction tailored to the environment surrounding the home, reducing air leaks in the building envelope, and controlling the movement of heat, air, and moisture.  Read more about Colorado green building basics at our website.

[birdrib]

Earthship Envy

[bfulk-blog]

IN October 2007, Mr. Wells bought this land — a 40-acre parcel — for $8,000 in cash, adding a 20-acre tract for $5,000 a year and a half later. It took nine days and $1,600 to build the shell of his one-room house, the first structure in a compound that now includes four shipping containers under a soaring arched roof planted on a lacy framework of metal trusses, all of which he made himself. He gave it all a fancy moniker, the Southwest Texas Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living Field Laboratory, but you can call it the Field Lab for short.

[colleenkmichaels-deactivated201]

SurfShack

Another write up about this place is here at Natural Home and Garden.

[atavus-blog]

[heatherwpetty]

Filed under: THINGS I WANT IN MY BACKYARD. Although, the amount of burning that would occur in sunlight is significant. maybe I need one with a roof. 

[changessave-blog]

Here’s a video showing some beautiful cob houses, as well as the wikipedia link that will tell you more about this sustainable, cheap and aesthetically pleasing building material

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cob_(material)

[metowestyle-blog]

Going green has never been easier — and now with so many eco-friendly products and projects out there, living in an environmentally conscious home is becoming the way of the future. Taking a look at some of the ways people are greening their homes, whether it’s through the type of light...

[faqyeahgreen-blog-blog]

Hotels made from recycled material:

Recycled drain pipe, recycled airliner, recycled shipping containers

[so-aware]

Earth Architecture

by Ronald Rael

One half of the world’s population, approximately 3 billion people on six continents, live or work in buildings constructed of earth.

Two of the three projects we shared this week used earth as a building material and there are noticeably more projects doing the same in the Archives.

In this book author Ronald Rael, founder of EarthArchitecture.org, provides a history of building with earth in the modern era, focusing particularly on projects constructed in the last few decades that use rammed earth, mud brick, compressed earth, cob, and several other interesting techniques. Earth Architecture presents a selection of more than forty projects that exemplify new, creative uses of the oldest building material on the planet. With more than three hundred images, Earth Architecture showcases the beauty and simplicity of one of humankind’s most evolved and sophisticated building technologies.

[so-aware]

One World Shelter

by University of Virginia’s Studio reCOVER (Din Botsford, Dolores O’Connor, and Lauren Shirley)

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) made major news with the Kony viral video which spread through social media like a wildfire earlier this year. However, long before this video created a stir, students from University of Virginia’s Studio reCOVER were looking at how architecture can serve the displaced Ugandan population.

LRA has terrorized northern Uganda for over 21 years, killing tens of thousands of people. Over 2 million Ugandans (1/12 of the population) have been displaced and are forced to live in IDP camps. Over 50,000 children have been reported to have been abducted by the LRA to be used as child soldiers and sex slaves. Refugees in Uganda include: 212,857 from Sudan, 20,584 from Congo, 20,213 from Rwanda.

 One World Shelter is a system that would enable people to achieve self-sufficiency by integrating basic amenities into their homes. Throughout the world refugees depend upon the government for, yet often live without, basic public resources such as access to water and sanitation facilities. One World Shelter’s objective is to introduce sustainable environmental and building technologies that support healthy and sanitary environments. Using these amenities entire communities can begin to improve their quality of life and flourish without dependency upon government resources.

One World Shelter is a core living unit that can be easily shipped and assembled as one functional unit that provides occupants’ their basic needs. This core unit collects, purifies, and stores rainwater, while also making water accessible for cooking and bathing. The unit incorporates a roof-top solar cooker and provides specific spaces for sleeping and gathering. This basic core unit sets up a foundation, structure, and roof system that occupants can add to using local resources and industry.

Related post: Community Revival by University of Virginia’s Studio reCOVER