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. Health problems eventually forced me to concede that I wasn’t strong enough to build it alone and that I would have to scale back the design considerably if I wanted to be able to tow it with a small car and maneuver it by myself. 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. Tim Kasten
House SNR The house is situated on a typical suburban plot and is framed between two edge gables. The house is based on a contemporary study of the archetype the "gable house" which is widely spread in SA, Australia and other countries. This type is usually a single story house connected to the ground with two side gables and a central entrance with a thatched pitch roof. This house takes these "classic" elements and adapts them to our times. The house's plan is a clean, crisp rectangular, raised above the street level and built in mixed technology. The two long side elevations are made from industrial steel elements and covered with frosted glass sheets. The house's plan is made of two rectangular forms that are connected to each other through a central spine system. Each rectangle houses different elements. This central space has green stone floor finish which flows into all the rooms and functions as a frame for a natural wood floor in the center of each room.
The $300 House: Go, Go, Go! - Vijay Govindarajan by Vijay Govindarajan | 9:53 AM April 20, 2011 Editor’s note: This post was written with Christian Sarkar, a marketing consultant who also works on environmental issues. It is the last in a series on conceiving and building a $300 house. Today, we’re launching an Open Social Co-creation Contest, sponsored by Ingersoll Rand and hosted by Jovoto, asking everyone, from designers and architects, students and professionals, to submit their designs in an effort to find affordable housing solutions for the poorest of the poor. The mission? Design a simple dwelling that can be constructed for under $300 which keeps a family safe, allows them to sleep at night, and gives them both a home and a sense of dignity. Winners will be selected by the community and a panel of judges and will receive a scholarship to a June “prototyping workshop” led by COMMON, a social business incubator. At the end of the prototyping workshop, we hope to have a model or two to test in the field, as part of a pilot project.
Qatar Sprouts a Towering Cactus Skyscraper The Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture (MMAA) in Qatar is getting a brand new office building that takes the form of a towering cactus. Designed by Bangkok-based Aesthetics Architects, the modern office and adjoining botanical dome take cues from cacti and the way that they successfully survive in hot, dry environments. Qatar is fairly barren, covered by sand, and receives and average annual rainfall of 3.2 inches. Since Qatar has the highest GDP in the world, they can afford to construct spectacular buildings that can be very efficient in the hot desert environment. An excellent example of desert architecture, MMA’s new building is designed be very energy efficient and utilizes sun shades on its windows. + Aesthetics Architects GO Group
Alternative Technology Centre Lloyd’s Blog Green Prefab Shed Homes: Small Space Living by Design Sheds do not sound like something you would want to live in, but as modern modular, mobile and miniature houses become increasingly popular sustainable living space options, well, even products dubbed with titles like the Big Shed and Little Shed is not such a bad idea. There is an art to designing smalls-space structures so they are convenient and compact but also comfortable and livable – and a certain lifestyle of simplicity sought by many that makes them a good match for some people.Plus, these designs by Dwelle are relatively affordable as home prices go: you can buy ones of these all-in-one buildings (and not worry about the hassles of construction) for between fifty and eighty thousand dollars. This surprisingly cheap and simple-yet-modern shed home is has its own living area complete with fireplace, elevated bedroom loft space and separated restroom and cooking areas.
Help in a Hurry: Disaster-Relief Container Homes for Japan Abstract designs and architectural theory are well and good, but when the stuff hits the fan (or tsunami hits the land, as it were) these notions are put to the test in a very rapid and real way. The result shows who is ready to roll out workable housing solutions to address catastrophes as they unfold. The Ex-Container project is a joint effort to address the displaced populations following widespread earthquake and tsunami devastation still unfolding in Japan. Cheap, easy and fast, container homes provided an obvious answer. Containers are of a size that offer a flexible framework in terms of location, transportation and domestic application – they are versatile-but-stable enough to make for makeshift residences, semi-temporary homes or long-term dwellings (or hotel complexes) depending on demand. Interestingly, in this case it was determined that using manufactured, container-framed units would be quicker, simpler and more cost-effective than reusing existing containers.
Gift Ideas | Present Ideas | from Mollie & Fred, The Online Gift Boutique Rethinking Agriculture | Biodynamic Association 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
House in a church | Ruud Visser. Architect. Along the river De Rotte in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) stands a wooden church from 1930. The 1930's church had ended its career as a religious sanctuary and was being used as a garage for fixing and selling cars. The church was totally covered with metal plates and looked like a hangar. A family came along and wanted to transform it. With the help of Ruud Visser Architects and Peter Boer, the church was adapted into a home fit for a family of four. With a volume of 3000 cube, the church is as big as six average family houses. Their starting point was to design a ‘luxurious house, of normal measurements’ for a family with two children. The last part of the church is the transept or cross-ship. Situated on the back of the church, directly behind the transept, a smaller volume was placed. Ruud Visser Architects replaced the church-choir with a new modern volume, with exactly the same form as the original choir, but shorter. Design team: Ruud Visser.
Community Energy Initiatives Information has been collected as consistently as possible for projects funded or supported by the following community-orientated Government Programmes and other community energy programmes or networks: Government community energy programmes: Clear Skies Community Renewables Initiative (CRI)* Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) PV Grant Programme Community Energy EST Innovation Programme Other community energy programmes/networks: Baywind Energy Co-operative Baywind Energy4All Solar Clubs† Community Power (Powergen) Ecodyfi Awel Aman Tawe (AAT) Ashden Awards Community Fund (part of the Big Lottery Fund) For more information on these programmes/networks and links to their web sites see our LINKS page. * For the CRI, information on community involvement is represented by a framework of archetypes. † The database includes all the solar clubs for which there was information available.