Eco-Friendly

Self-Contained Ecological Living Module Installed in Two Days

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Many designers and architects have been creating small structures to meet futuristic ecological challenges. However, some designers are going above and beyond a miniature escape pod. The new Ecological Living Module (ELM) has been designed to demonstrate strategies for residential construction that meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) … Read more

AAAH! Tiny House by Brett Marlo Design + Build

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With one of the most memorable names and one of the more eco-friendly designs in the tiny house business, the AAAH! by Brett Marlo Design and Build will soon become a fixture in the ADU movement. The catchy name stands for “affordable, adaptable, alternative housing.” The AAAH! stands for “affordable, adaptable, alternative housing.” … Read more

EcoPod Holidays Homes

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The tiny EcoPod Holidays vacation homes, located in the Derbyshire area of England are not only portable vardo-like structures, but they have been built from over 50 percent waste materials including sheep’s wool and recycled glass bottles. Each of the EcoPod Holiday huts are available as vacation rentals for people who … Read more

House Port Mini Square

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Cars have carports, why can’t a house have a house port? Designer Hally Thacher was looking to build an eco-friendly home and was inspired by the structures that sheltered hay, alfalfa and farm equipment in the area of northern California where she had grown up. Her House Port and PopUP House designs make for a very interesting concept in home building.

 

The PopUP House is available in several configurations which are prefabricated and shipped flat-packed to the building site. The PopUP House consists of interior/exterior insulated panels. Over the top of the PopUP is the prefabbed House Port (the large freestanding roof) that protects the home against weather, keeps a consistent temperature throughout the hot summer and offers a covered outdoor area. Several smaller versions of the PopUP, called Cubes, can even be purchased and placed like a small village under the House Port.

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Mad Woman in the Forest

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Take a look at that window. That glorious window was the catalyst for the design of Laurie Halse Anderson’s cottage in the forest. Laurie is the author of several young adult books and historical thrillers and she writes in a small cottage in the forest. She expressed her need for a “room of her own in which to write fiction”, and her video from 2009 recounts the conception and building of her writing cottage. It was built over the course of a year by her carpenter husband and several of his friends. Laurie and her family wanted it to be off-grid, made with reclaimed materials and easy on the environment.

That amazing window (which Laurie called “a magic window”) was found lying up against a barn and turned out to be a church window from the 1800s. Custom glass was made for each round section of the window. She and her husband also perused the salvage yard and found old growth pine boards to use for the floor and chimney pots for the roof. Soybean based foam insulation was sprayed into the walls and the roof is Vermont slate. The house is powered by wind and solar.

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Jessica’s Tiny Green Cabin

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After suffering from several bouts of pneumonia and losing some of her distance vision, Jessica Bolt knew that she would not be able to afford rent or an average home on her teacher’s salary. So, she had a tiny house from Tiny Green Cabins made according to her specifications. Jessica knew that she wanted a tiny home built by a company from the northern part of the U.S. where winter temperatures can drop to 40 degrees below zero, and she wanted it on wheels so she could move it wherever she wanted.

Jessica’s plan for her tiny house came to her about five years ago when she decided she wanted a small, energy-saving home that would also be kind to her allergic reactions to environmental toxins. She also wanted it to be able to fit a washer and dryer since the nearest laundry was 100 miles away. Her house is 196 square feet with a staircase to the loft, a full-size kitchen and shower, an incinerating toilet and skylights. The interior is covered in 3-inch-wide white ash boards.

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Octagonal Living Unit

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Drawing on ideas from his sculpture practice, Craig Pleasants designed an octagonal, eco-friendly kit house as a low-budget housing alternative. For example if a person took out a 10 year loan to pay for a $25,000 mortgage the monthly payment would be less than $300 – most rentals are much … Read more

BuildZing

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Thinking big and building small is the philosophy behind the company BuildZing, located in Dripping Springs Texas. BuildZing builds small homes that are eco-friendly, affordable and can have customized exteriors and interiors based on the owner’s budget.

Tiny Prefab Units Promote Eco-friendly Building

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Tammy from Rowdy Kittens alerted me to a local article about some prefab units being built for parking lots in Berkley and San Francisco. Following is a couple of paragraphs from the article and you can read the complete article at SFGate.

A young San Francisco company that makes prefabricated housing is set to provide multifamily buildings for two urban Bay Area projects that its development partner hopes will become a model for eco-friendly construction.

Zeta Communities will construct the housing for the 22-unit developments, planned for parking lots in Berkeley and San Francisco. The projects will feature tiny living spaces – 310- to 340 square-foot studios – and no parking. Instead, they will include a car-sharing space.

The proposed four-story projects are the first foray into prefabricated housing for East Bay developer Patrick Kennedy of Panoramic Interests.

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Top 10 Extreme Eco-Friendly Homes

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Construction Management Degrees has posted an interesting article on their take of the most eco-friendly homes. A couple of them are tiny houses, an interesting read, here is a brief introduction. With the increasing importance and responsibility of saving the planet and all its natural resources, some individuals as well … Read more