Eco-Friendly

Self-Contained Ecological Living Module Installed in Two Days

by

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

by

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

by

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

by

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.

Read more

Mad Woman in the Forest

by

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.

Read more