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]

Unfortunately there is not any information about the photo so you will have to get creative as far as it’s origin. I am trying to decide if it is located in the southwest or over in Europe. If you know the history of this old stone house, please share it with us in the comment section.

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]

This modern, sustainable home is constructed mainly of wood with a rustic masonry face, and features a rainwater-recycling system, geothermal energy, and solar panels that keep this house off the grid. The building materials are recyclable and locally sourced from within 100 km of the home’s location, and then assembled on-site. Vegetable fibers are used for walls and insulation, heating comes via wood-burning stove, and cooling and ventilation are passive. In addition, all the equipment providing hot water facilities have been placed outside the home, in a gallery 30 meters long, which is dug into the hillside. A final system supplies the toilets from the recovery of rainwater, stored in a 200 liter underground tank.

While the architect utilized an older house as a base for this project, I can see a tiny house being created from just the “wing” portion of this design, utilizing the clean interior and the green systems already in place. The concept is that you can take what you need and leave the rest behind.

Special thanks to Trendir

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

This range of carefully designed micro buildings are highly sustainable, quick to erect and adaptable to many landscapes. The intent for each building is to be completely off-grid with additional costs added to incorporate renewable energy systems.

The two dwelle.ings that are available for full-time living are the big dwelle.ing and the little dwelle.ing. The big dwelle.ing is 6.7 meters by 3.5 meters (22×11.5 feet or 253 square feet) and costs around £35,000-£50,000 ($52,000-$75,000). The little dwelle.ing is 4.9 meters by 2.65 meters (16×9.5 feet or 152 square feet) and costs around £20,000-£35,000 ($30,000-$52,000).

Each dwelle.ing is built with timber frames and can be entirely prefabricated in a factory and delivered to your site, or the separate components can be delivered and assembled on site. Each house takes about 6-8 weeks to build and they are small enough for two people to assemble with no large machinery needed. Exterior siding can be customized for your location and each house can be placed on different types of foundations.

Each dwelle.ing is created with these features in mind:

• high quality design
• environmental sustainability
• healthy internal environment
• affordability
• versatile, adaptable and easily deliverable

The layout of the dwelle.ing is extremely efficient and compact, yet provides a spacious feeling with a double height space over the main living area. Directly over the kitchen and shower room is a double bed deck with ample storage and hanging space for clothes. To maximize storage, an inner “sleeve” has been designed that incorporates cut-outs for furnishings and fittings, and elsewhere provides plenty of storage space. This inner lining also contributes to the buildings excellent thermal performance. The timber framed walls, floor and roof are insulated using cellulose fiber extracted from 100% recycled newspapers. The windows are all double glazed, and each dwelle.ing is heated by electric underfloor heating with the option of a real wood burning fireplace.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo by Harry Thomas/Silver Monkey.net

In the past, bridge tenders were needed to run the electronics and machinery that raised and lowered bridges on major rivers, waterways and railroad bridges. The machinery was kept in a small house near or on the bridge and the bridge tender would spend most of their time in the house, or even lived there. Their jobs consisted of controlling and monitoring traffic around the bridges, keeping the bridge and the raising/lowering mechanism in good condition and running telegraph machines and other communications. Most bridge tender houses were usually built by government departments of transportation.

Delaware and Raritan Canal, New Jersey

What’s appealing about these buildings is that they are located in cities, in the country, and according to the photo on the bottom, in the middle of nowhere. Bridge tender houses have mostly gone by the wayside in the U.S., but a few are still being used to monitor waterway and railroad traffic while some have been converted into private homes or museums. The few that have been made into private homes, I’m sure get their fair share of people trying to look into their windows.

Indian Rocks Bridge, Florida

Treasure Island Causeway, Florida

Jordan Lift Bridge, Virginia

Delaware and Raritan Canal, New Jersey

Chicago Loop, Illinois

Long Island City, NY.

Courtney Campbell Causeway, Florida

Real Life Bridge tenders

State’s oldest swing drawbridge spans history

Former bridge tender kept watch over the original Cunningham bridge

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

I like the simplistic design of the house and the location is very peaceful and inviting. It looks to me like a European setting with the living roof, but the person who submitted the photo was not able to give a location. As usual, any ideas or suggestions are welcome in the comment section below.

Church in Bitterroot Valley, MT

A few of these churches were built small because of a lack of construction funds, and some because of a lack of space or land. Whatever the reason, these tiny little treasures might really prove that God is in the details.

St. Jude's Chapel of Hope, NC. Courtesy of docjen27.

Chapel of the Holy Dove, AZ. Courtesy of Joe Orman.

Cross Island Chapel, NY. Courtesy of Flickr.

Tiny church in the Dolomites of northern Italy.

St. Peter's Catholic Church on the Big Island, Hawaii. Courtesy of HawaiiWeb.com.

Tiny Church on Sifnos Island, Greece.

Traveler's Chapel, Conway, SC. Courtesy of JacobK.

Wildwood Chapel, Marblemount, WA. Courtesy of Day4Plus.

Church in Minter Gardens, BC, Canada. Courtesy of Pat and Lee.

By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)

Update: Yes, this house is near the village of Oia, in Santorini, Greece, which is part of Europe. However, it is not “a mix of the old and the modern” but rather a pretty typical example of the vernacular.

Thank you Orestes for the verification of the location.

This tiny house in a landscape is a unique structures situated on the water. I’m sure this was taken in  Greece or somewhere in Europe, guessing from the type of architecture. A mix of the old and the modern. Looks like a wonderful getaway and a place to relax.

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog) If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed