Ultimate Underground Home: Converted Nuclear Missile Silo « Dornob. Like something straight from a science fiction or horror movie scene, this underground nuclear missile silo was once a dank, dark and deserted structure of interest to no one – until man saw past the pooled water and cracked concrete and began to build by hand the ultimate underground dream house for himself in the family.
Occupying only a third of the nearly 20,000 available square feet of total military base, Ed Peden and his family live in a world of weird wonder purchased for a relative pittance at $48,000 and derelict for decades when he went to buy it. On the surface, former escape hatches now look like castle turrets and a shack-like structure is about all there is to mark the entrance to this domain. Fortunately for the family, the gigantic missile bay was an early model set horizontally in the ground – a parked rocket-loaded truck was designed to drive out, angle the rocket and fire if needed. Church House. St Nicholas Church in Kyloe, Scottland was built in 1792.
Library information desk. 8 Unbelievable Homes You Have to See to Believe. A home office that's less than eight feet wide but four stories high, an apartment with 24 rooms in just 344 square feet, a secret room hidden under the stairs, a real-life wardrobe with a secret passage way, elaborate homes built in storm drains underneath Las Vegas ... you definitely have to see these eccentric homes to believe them.
Check out the 8 Unbelievable Homes we found, and tell us which one you find most amazing. Shown above: 1. Raddest Skinny House. 18 Weird and Wonderful Places To Live: Churches, Bunkers, Water Towers and Caves. Lars Tunbjork for The New York Times The New York Times Magazine did a photo spread of some rather extreme conversions of churches, shipping containers and water towers and even caves, like the happy family shown above with an umbrella over the pool table to control the sand.
We do our own roundup of TreeHugger favourites: Churches Chapel Converted to Residence by ZECC Architects. 100 Abandoned Houses on the Behance Network. 21 of the World’s Sexiest Rooftop Pools. Would You Live in a Shipping Container? Adam Kalkin isn't the only architect to make homes out of shipping containers.
A handful of architects, including Jennifer Siegal and Lot-Ek, began using them ten years ago as a gritty reaction against the tidy white surfaces of modernism. But nobody has employed shipping containers more inventively than Kalkin, a New Jersey architect and artist who has used them to design luxurious homes, museum additions, and refugee housing. In architectural circles, Kalkin is regarded as something of an oddball. He began his talk at the Urban Center in New York Tuesday night by playing the first five minutes of a Jerry Lewis movie, followed by the actor's acceptance speech at the Academy Awards last month. His website includes lessons on hitting a tennis forehand and a selection of songs to sing after taking antidepressants.
For all his artsy provocations, Kalkin's strategy makes some practical sense. "Quik Build" arrives as modernist prefab has begun to lose its bargain appeal after years of hype. 20 Tree House Pictures: Play-Club Plans to Big-Kid Houses « Dornob. Treehouses are more popular than ever, as play spaces for children but also as luxury hotel (and even house) designs for adults.
Some of the most fantastic plans and ideas can be traced to specialist designers and builders – and pictures of their work can provide some of the best inspiration (as well as an informal visual guide) for do-it-yourself recreational, residential and commercial tree buildings. Blue Forest is one such company, but far from the only one. Their specialty seems to lie somewhere between playful little fantasy structures and big educational spaces for children engaged in wildlife observation, forest ecology and related nature-oriented pursuits.
The trick is to find a balance between safe and fun – railings are a must, as are sturdy supports, but whimsy and asymmetry help make these places feel more organic and engaging for younger visitors in particular. Some are like mansions, fortresses or castles – just set up on stilts instead of sitting on the ground. 18 Weird and Wonderful Places To Live: Churches, Bunkers, Water Towers and Caves. Fascinating Underground Homes. Would You Live in a Concert Hall? Jim Stewart poured $24 million--which he earned writing calculus textbooks (?!)
--into building his dream home. It curves at nearly every point, and is nestled on a hill outside Toronto. But that's not what makes the house special. Stewart, a math professor, one-time world class concert violinist, and inveterate party host, wanted to build a home that would suit his every need, so the house doubles as a concert hall, seating 150 people with standing room for 50 more. Stewart makes ample use of the feature, throwing 11 parties in a recent six week span.
The house wasn't designed by a name-brand starchitect like Rem Koolhaas or Frank Gehry, although both of them were in the running for the job. Related: Would You Live in a Shipping Container? [Via WSJ; images by Edward Burtynsky]