Following are more details from Joel:

This is a project two years in the making. Since I (Joel) opened my design studio in January of 2010, I’ve wanted to design, build, and market affordable, modern, modular homes. This project is called the Beta Home 984 – it features two bedrooms and one bathroom spread over two levels – with a total of 984 square feet to enjoy.

The floor system is insulated to R40, with the walls sitting at R22, and the roof at R50.

The home also features bamboo flooring throughout both levels with a front load washer dryer in the bathroom.

Our goal is to provide a high quality product, at an affordable price range unlike many other architectural firms selling modern modular home packages.

If you’d like more information on the Beta Home 984 or Joel’s company, SMPLy MOD, visit Joel’s website here. http://www.smplarchitecture.com/

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This is an upgraded version of the Chapman Ridge that was shown on the Tiny House Blog previously. It is located in Little Deer Isle, Maine. As requested by the customer, this one has 14 windows and an added room in the back to be used as a bathroom. It also has a steel bracket that all the structural hip elements are bolted to and a windowed cupola. The steel bracket creates a round void in the peak of the roof/ceiling that allows light and ventilation to access the room through the cupola.

The building is beautifully trimmed with white and red cedar and left natural. It uses minimal glue and no plywood or engineered lumber as to not release off gases. All the wood is harvested sustainably in or around Athens Maine by a friend or myself, the builder. It is mostly wood and nails except for the windows which are Anderson’s and the roof which is three-tab asphalt. The floor is wide pine, fastened using old fashioned cut nails and finished with boiled linseed oil. The board siding and roof sheathing leaves a nice feel to the inside while being inexpensive. The customer plans to use it as a guest house during the spring, summer, and fall. Eventually they plan on insulating it and drywalling the inside. The hip-roof design allows there to be a big open room with no interior walls and a high ceiling.

The customer will divide it up into four sections. A sleeping area, kitchen area, sitting area, and dining area as well as the room in the back to serve as a bathroom.

The building is 24′ x 24′ with a 7′x11′ bump out. The total square footage is about 670 square feet. It is built using only sustainable methods and genuinely sustainable building materials. It cost the customer $27,000. Visit Hilmer Building and Design for more information.

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Mariah and Ryan Lingard fell in love with the woods and lakes of Joseph, Oregon and purchased some partially burned, partially logged land after seeing an ad in the local paper. The 100×150 foot parcel of land cost them $47,000 and is located smack dab in the middle of hiking, skiing and snowshoe territory. The couple has a full-time home in Portland, but they make the 6-hour trip to the Signal Shed about four times a year.

After two years of planning and extended weekend camping trips to their land, the couple built the 130 square foot cabin over a two week period with friends and family. The materials cost about $10,000 and the cabin features several recycled windows, IKEA cabinets and laminate flooring. They found the barn door hardware and the woodstove on Craigslist. The cabin rests on a floating pier to minimize impact on the land and cedar screens used to lock it up when Mariah and Ryan are not around. The Signal Shed has no running water, no electricity and the couple uses the woodstove for heat and some cooking.

Mariah grew up in an off-grid home in rural Oregon and is not bothered by the lack of running water or the portable toilet. The couple heat up water on the stove or in a solar water heater, and read at night by candlelight or oil lamp.

The structure was awarded a 2011 Residential Architect Magazine design award. As an architect, Ryan is now offering the Signal Shed plans for sale in limited quantities. It is being sold for $18,000 for a prefab modular structure and detailed plans are being sold for $1,000.

Photos courtesy of Sunset and Ryan Lingard

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The house was designed to act like a tree that captures energy with its solar “leaves” and sends it down to its roots, where is stored, shared, or returned to the house to produce the fruit of electricity. The house contains a “domestic metabolism” that provides a detailed real-time monitoring of its behavior and its interaction with the environment, creating historical profiles and sharing them socially.

The design of the Fab Lab house has been compared to both a boat and a peanut and has been called a “cinnamon submarine,” “forest zeppelin” and a “whale belly”. The house has also introduced significant technological innovations such as the world’s most efficient flexible solar panels, made with both Spanish and American technology. The project involved architects and experts from 20 countries as well as experts from MIT.

The house has been put up for sale for €45,000 plus VAT ($64,000). Fab Labs is offering the house for sale in several different styles including the Cottage which is 12 square meters (129 square feet), the Shelter which is 24 square meters (258 square feet), the House which is 60 square meters (646 square feet) and the Villa which is 96 square meters (1,033 square feet).

The interior is composed of an integrated social space with a bedroom, kitchen, a small Fab Lab, a bathroom and a small elevated room for guests.

Photos courtesy of Fab Lab

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Hybrid coined the term cargotecture to describe any structure built partially or entirely from recycled cargo containers. The c-series consists of five models ranging in price from $29,500 to $189,500. The home featured at the Sunset show was the c192 nomad which costs $59,500.

The prices of the c-series include:

• Recycled ISO cargo container with new paint
• Soy based spray foam insulation
• Aluminum clad wood windows and doors (one 10 feet long opening and one side door)
• Bamboo finish floor
• 5/8 inch drywall ceiling and walls
• Panelized wet room bath with redwood decking.
• Duravit bath fixtures
• IKEA cabinets and kitchen fixtures and lighting
• Summit appliances
• 30 gallon electric water heater (gas if available on site)
• Convectair Apero heat
• Factory plans, State L&I permits and inspections

Green and off-grid options are offered including solar panels, composting toilets and “green machine” sewage treatment and roofwater harvesting.

All the models are insulated about 15 percent above IBC and UBC building codes in the floors, walls and roofs. The building can be placed in cold climates as well as moderate to hot climates. The recycled plastic and soy sprayed-in insulation creates R24 walls, R44 ceilings, and R32 floors. The roofs can handle 60psf snow loads.

The HyBrid homes are shipped complete. A local contractor will need to be arranged for electrical and sewage hook-ups as well as foundation work. In many jurisdictions, if your project is less than 200sf there is no permitting process required. HyBrid has completed residential and commercial cargotecture projects in California, Oregon and Washington and has designed over 20 projects on 5 continents. They will ship their cargotecture homes worldwide.

Photos courtesy of Hybrid Architecture

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The company builds what they call “flex rooms” that can be used for offices, studios, workshop, retreats, rental properties, and cottages and tiny homes for a simplified lifestyle. Their designs can also be adapted to be ADA compliant to house disabled persons. The designs are energy efficient and specific to Texas climates.

Their 12 foot by 16 foot model costs $13,750 including sales tax. BuildZing can build directly on-site and will consult with you on foundations and utility and sewer attachments, or the building can be delivered ready to move in.

Photos courtesy of BuildZing

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

This series of homes meets all of the fundamental criteria in a house. The space is sized to be functional while also allowing flexibility. The uses for these homes include high density small lot urban and suburban infill, relief housing, student housing, auxiliary dwelling units, and specifically, affordable housing.

The Shelter Series homes range in size from 340 square feet to around 1,400 square feet and are also designed to meet a variety of green certification programs with the real emphasis being on energy and water savings along with a superior exterior shell.

Available now is the Shelter 640. This small home features 2 bedrooms, a full bath, generous kitchen, and ample storage/closet space. The interior is filled with light from the standard and clerestory windows. The lot for this design may be as small as 30 feet by 60 feet, and the 640 can be built on a concrete foundation or a raised floor system. The Shelter 640 is priced at $47,300.

Also included in the Shelter 640:

• Prefabricated, insulated wall sections
• Insulated windows
• Metal SIP panel roof
• R-17 wall insulation and R-22 roof insulation
• Bamboo flooring
• IKEA brand cabinets and sinks
• Maple countertops
• Water conserving toilet
• On-demand, tank-less hot water heater

The Cabin Fever building packages contain everything that’s needed to build a modern cabin: pre-assembled wall panels, doors and windows, the roof system, siding, trim and the interior parts. Everything is precision cut and precisely labeled. Their prefab cabins and cottages can be assembled by an owner with building experience or by a professional contractor.

Photos courtesy of Cabin Fever

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The shipping container was chosen specifically for its bright color. Shipping containers are a readily available resource for building because they are usually abandoned by shipping companies. The architects mounted the container on recycled telephone poles, and the floor and walls were covered with bamboo. Sliding doors, windows, heating, air conditioning and an 8 foot by 4 foot bathroom with a composting toilet and red sheet metal walls were also added. A garden storage room was also added at the end of the container, which retains its original access doors. A patio with a cantilevered overhang was added to the front of the house and a rooftop garden with a drip system was installed by Madrone Landscape Architecture.

Poteet Architects is a 12-year-old firm based in San Antonio, Texas. Jim Poteet opened the office with the hope that the firm could further the sustainable revitalization of downtown San Antonio. The firm’s portfolio of completed work includes residential, commercial and institutional projects, but is perhaps best known for the sensitive adaptive reuse of existing buildings and a fresh, rigorous approach to modern interior design. The Container Guest House won a 2010 Design Award from AIA San Antonio.

Photos courtesy of Poteet Architects, LP

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Sami Rintala and Dagur Eggertsson’s work has been featured all over the world and they pride themselves on designing with a balance between man and nature. Many of their designs incorporate nature as a major element, but also have a modern, industrial feel to them. Their tiny homes in Norway, Italy and Thailand use nature as part of the design.

Boxhome

The Boxhome in Norway (first photo, above) is a 19 square meter (205 square feet) dwelling with four rooms covering the basic living functions: kitchen with dining, bathroom, living room and bedroom. This house was built to show fellow Scandinavians (who are starting to prefer larger homes) that a small pre-fabricated home can be more energy and material efficient.

Cabinet Home

The Cabinet Home in Italy is a 28.5 square meter home with a 10 square meter garden (306 square feet and 107 square feet). It is constructed of wood and formed as a set of large steps from the ground towards the sky. It was created to receive rain and sunshine from above and to use these elements to create atmosphere and energy. On the ground level are the social spaces with a kitchen and dining room that open to a garden that collects rain water. The first floor is a living room or library and the top floor bedroom has a view to the sky. The exterior is white to reflect the sunshine while the interior is dark so the owner can escape from the brightness and heat of the outdoors. The entire house can be detached into three container-sized units and transported to its final location.

Library in Thailand

I thought this beautiful, natural design would make a wonderful home for a warm climate. This orphanage library in Thailand was built by Norwegian architecture students over the course of two weeks. The task was to use local materials and building techniques to create a building that would solve the problems of education in the orphanage the best possible way. At the same time, natural ventilation systems and sunshades were studied and introduced into the building. The library is made of natural lava stone, concrete bricks, wood and bamboo.

Other Projects

The Luoto is a family of space elements. The initial container becomes a mobile table and evolves into a multifunctional, two-level structure that is able to host different activities like studying, introspection and relaxation. The Luoto is mobile and can be opened or closed.

These floating saunas in Russia are conceptual houses for use as emergency shelters during a flood or other natural disaster. They can be used as a shelter for 3 to 6 people and can be built within several days.

This floating sauna in Norway is anchored in the middle of a fjord with the winter sun coming in through transparent walls. Access to the sauna is by boat and users can descend into the fjord water for an icy dip through a hole in the floor.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Smallworks takes an active role in the entire process of building a small home including site inspection, custom design, permit applications, in house millwork, pre-fab and flat pack material delivery and on site construction management. The company uses LEED accredited designers and will walk a customer through various sustainability and green building options. Premium upgrades for each project include lifetime warranty metal roofing, upgraded siding, millwork and furniture packages and bamboo flooring.

Their designs range from Arts & Crafts to West Coast to Modern and all the designs, finishes and fixtures can be customized. The base price of the 100 square foot Studio/Bunkie is $10,000 plus extra for site work.

230 sq ft Vacation Cabin

100 sq ft Studio/Bunkie

200 sq ft Studio/Bunkie

220 sq ft Twin Studios

230 sq ft Vacation Home Interior

624 sq ft Laneway Loft House

Photos courtesy of Smallworks

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]