the cube projectThe Cube Project – University of Hertfordshire Meditation Retreat Gypsy Wagon Tim Kasten wrote to me recently about his Meditation Retreat Gypsy Wagon, so I asked him to send me some pictures and tell us his story. I’ll let Tim take over from here: I dreamed for a number of years of building a gypsy-style caravan on a 4-wheel 14-foot-long wagon chassis that I bought from Shiloh Wagon Works in Minnesota. The result was this little wagon built on a 4×8 utility trailer from Tractor Supply. I realized I could compensate for the lack of interior space by using French doors to open the side of the wagon to the outdoors. The wagon was built by Creative Carpentry and Construction of Montpelier, Vermont consisting of my friend and neighbor Myron Dorfman and fellow crew members David Vissering, Zach, and Derek. The construction took 140 hours, not including painting and other finish work. The bottom of the wagon is 3/4″ pressure treated plywood and the floor is tongue and groove Douglas fir. Tim Kasten by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)
Lloyd’s Blog Yurt Lady on September 6, 2010 She has been living in a yurt for about 3 years. At 9,300 feet in rural Colorado. She has been writing about her life there for the last few months and showing everyone pictures and videos of what it’s like. When she was getting her construction approved by her local building department the staff there found her to be quite unique so she eventually became known as the yurt lady, hence the name of her blog. Her website has tips for those interested in living in a yurt as well–information on staying warm, insulating, construction time, windows, doors, and dealing with wind. She started out like most of us–tired of cleaning an over-sized home. She’s been living in a 16′ yurt to try things out and she’s currently in the process of constructing her larger 30′ yurt. I love stories like this so I wanted to share it on here. The following two tabs change content below. Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. Related
Yurt Lady After working exhaustively with the building department, plans were approved and I started to get to work. Actually, I started spending gross amounts of money to have other people start work. Although I was the official general contractor, I worked very closely with my framer who helped me understand the steps along the way and I took care of all the babysitting/haranguing of subcontractors. Whenever I could, I would do it myself, but unfortunately, that wasn’t until much later in the process. My first fatal move was my framer told me I couldn’t pour a round foundation so I had to raise everything up on a framed foundation. Bad idea - if I were to do this again (which I doubt) then I would definitely put this on a poured foundation at ground level. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Colorado doesn’t allow gray water systems and this is really unfortunate. Since I was going down the path of a raised foundation, I had to post posts in for the framing. Finally something I could do!
Tiny House on a Trailer with Two Lofts and Big Porch This tiny house on a trailer is completely unique. The house is 24′ long and 8′ wide. The tallest point on it is 13’5″. And guess what? It’s got a power fold up 6′ by 8′ deck with removable railings. I had always wondered why this hadn’t been done and now I know that it has. This one has two sleeping lofts. It was listed for sale on Craigslist for $38,000 in the Santa Cruz, California area. There are so many possible uses for this house… Guest cabinRentalInstant addition What could you see yourself using it for? The deck is made out of redwood. The railings you see there are removable and the actual porch folds up. Below is what it looks like as you’re walking inside. Kitchen is towards your left and the full bathroom is on the right. Built in shelves you can use as an entertainment center with storage. Closer view of the kitchen shows you that it’s pretty much got everything you would need. In the picture below you can see the built in storage inside the wall to your right in the kitchen. Related
Sleepbox 01 by Arch Group Russian architects Arch Group have completed the first of their tiny hotel rooms for napping at airports. The Sleepbox unit at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport contains two beds and can be rented for between 30 minutes and several hours. The pod is equipped with LED reading lamps as well as sockets for charging laptops and mobile phones. This booth is constructed from ash-veneered MDF, although future units could instead be made from metal or glass-reinforced plastic. The Sleepbox concept was the most popular story on Dezeen back in November 2009 and received over 100 comments - see our earlier story here. Photography is by Arch Group/Ivanov Ilya. Here's some more information from Arch Group: Sleepbox Imagine the situation where you are in a modern city, you are not a local resident, and you have not booked a hotel. We believe that urban infrastructure should be more comfortable. Possible locations for Sleepbox include: In countries with a warm climate, Sleepbox can be used outdoors.
Humble Designs Utopia 6 floor assembly and progress laundry utopia done for the day pulping for hybridobe more.... pulped paper waste from the Bemis nice. adding local clay and straw test bricks another fine solar cooked meal a groundhog with whom I share my small plot 'night all Windows and Vertical found PVC for windows wrapped bales for a storm Higher and higher spiking in the windows pounding down the bales the last bale Neighbors help with the roof bearing assembly Cutting found bamboo for the roof my bread recipe Solar baked bread, hard-boiled egg a-la-sol, and beans chicken wire Mudding the roof bamboo slats My hybridobe mix 40% paper pulp, 40% clay, 15% cement, 5% straw Metal Work putting up the roof storage and chicken coop photo cred. I found this very angry cement mixer to help with large batch hybridobe see the film
stovesite StoveLab is a collaborative experiment with foundation students at the Massachusetts College of Art exploring the potentials of high-efficiency stoves and the production of biomass fuels. This two-week project provided a unique and often chaotic approach to the concept of art and cultural production, our potential response to extended emergency situations, and the ecological use of sustainable fuels. The goal for StoveLab was to collaboratively design, produce, and test a variety of handmade stoves. Using limited materials, resources, time, and tools; this group of mainly freshmen students researched and produced a variety of stoves, but mainly focused on the ‘rocket stove.’ As a collaborative experiment, the entire group was responsible for the entire production of this exhibition. Final Design Variation on the 16 brick stove Mixing terracotta and sawdust, 2:1 ratio the mix to make lightweight refractory bricks Consult with the ceramics tech and filling brick forms Tools needed:
U7K55 As part of the documentation process of this project, we have been collecting the assorted questions asked by guests to U7K55. This is an abridged and edited list of questions posed to me on the public Thin Soup Nites. Are you the artist? Did you use boullion? Would you add anything to the soup? old shoes? Would you be picky? How did you get inside the structure? May I come in? Is this part of the show? Are you cooking on solar? To what does the name of the piece refer? What have people offered in trade? How did you learn construction techniques? What does the stove run off? How are the lights powered? Are you an Artadia winner? What kind of chocolate is in the bars of chocolate? Where is the greenhouse? Do you travel with the structure? Does it travel? Was the kiosk in antarctica? Is it shelter? Do you live in it? What was your last project? Did you make the soap (referring the beeswax)? Did you make the chocolate? Are you a Boston-based artist? Do you sell wine? Are you a commercial arm of the gallery?
mental_floss Blog & Treehouses for All Occasions There's something about a treehouse that appeals to all of us. Maybe it's the view, or getting close to nature, or reliving childhood memories. There are many ways to enjoy treehouses, no matter what age you are. A Treehouse Protest Beginning in 1997, Julia Butterfly Hill spent two years in a treehouse, 180 feet up in a tree named Luna to protest old-growth logging. The Treehouse as Art The Steampunk Tree House is a 30-foot-tall interactive work of art first exhibited at Burning Man. Hotels Sanya Nanshan You can find treehouse hotels all over the world. The Tree Houses Hotel The Tree Houses Hotel is a bed and breakfast in Costa Rica, in the rain forest near Arenal Volcano. Cedar Creek Treehouse Cedar Creek Treehouse at Mt. Permanent Homes If you want to live in a treehouse all the time, there are ways to do it. Grownup Retreats Treehouse Teahouse Japanese professor of architecture Terunobu Fujimori built his boyhood dream in his father's garden in 2004. Free Spirit Spheres For Kids Tree Tent
Chinese Student Lives In Tiny Green Egg House Images credit Zhao Kang Rents in Beijing are high, so designer Daihai Fei built himself a wonderful little green home that may well become a new icon for the Tiny House Movement.Tipster Spooky writes: Daihai Fei built his amazing egg-house on a bamboo frame, covered with various insulating materials, and topped with a layer of stitched bag. The bags themselves are filled with sawdust and grass seeds, which he sprays with water regularly, to help the grass grow faster. Inspired by the grass-covered roofs of Norway, he knows the grass will over greater protection for his home. On the inside, he has all the necessary facilities, including a bed, a small sink, a lamp powered by a small solar panel and even a tiny bookshelf. It looks quite comfy, and it is parked right across the street from where he works so that he saves on time and transit. I am not certain what keeps the water out; burlap bags do not exactly work like shingles. The solar panel is nicely integrated into the roof.