Simon and Jasmine Saville have built a very unusual eco-house in Wales. This is not your transportable home but one built right into the land. Very different and not your run of the mill home.

Simon and his wife Jasmine had the offer to use this land if they built an eco-friendly house and were were offerd 2,000 pounds to help construct it. Simon with the help of Jasmine’s father built the home in four months. A total of 3,000 pounds and a lot of manpower and effort in finding eco-friendly products they built this beautiful home.

To read an interview with Jasmine and see the construction of the home, be sure and visit there website.

You are looking at pictures of a house I built for our family in Wales. It was built by myself and my father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and £3000 put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m excluding labour).

The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.

Some key points of the design and construction:

• Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
• Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
• Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
• Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
• Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
• Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
• Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
• Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
• Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring…)
• Woodburner for heating – renewable and locally plentiful
• Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
• Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
• Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
• Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
• Water by gravity from nearby spring
• Compost toilet
• Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.

Main tools used: chainsaw, hammer and 1 inch chisel, little else really. Oh and by the way I am not a builder or carpenter, my experience is only having a go at one similar house 2yrs before and a bit of mucking around inbetween. This kind of building is accessible to anyone. My main relevant skills were being able bodied, having self belief and perseverence and a mate or two to give a lift now and again.

This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology. These sort of low cost, natural buildings have a place not only in their own sustainability, but also in their potential to provide affordable housing which allows people access to land and the opportunity to lead more simple, sustainable lives. For example this house was made to house our family whilst we worked in the woodland surrounding the house doing ecological woodland management and setting up a forest garden, things that would have been impossible had we had to pay a regular rent or mortgage. To read more about why we did it and why this is an important option to meet the challenges of climate change and peak oil, click here.

Would you like to learn more about this sort of building and gain practical experience? Why not join us on another exciting building project. There will be opportunities for everyone of all abilities and areas of interest. Click here for more details.

From : http://www.simondale.net

Stephanie Arado, violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra and her 2 year old son, Amery enjoy off-grid living in the original weeHouse.  The exterior is clad in cemetitious siding painted with an oxidizing paint.  The interior is completely wrapped in douglas fir, and features, floor to ceiling Andersen glazing as well as Ikea and custom built-ins by Alchemy.

Pricing : WeeHouses incorporate high quality, contemporary design with the construction quality typical of a custom-built structure, but are created in less time and at approximately 20% less cost. weeHoses range frem $125~$200/square foot depending on the factory location and structure size.(평당 5백만원에서 9백만원 내외)

weehouse 2009: Brochure.pdf

weeHouse ?

Architecture in a box! House. Cabin. Office. Developments. weeHouses are sturdy enough to withstand the extremes of desert or tundra and they may be placed anywhere that is accessible by truck. The weeHouse system is based on a modern aesthetic, efficient use of space, and intelligent adaptation of prefab building technology. From small retreats to large urban weeHouses—even for commercial uses—the weeHouse adapts to a wide variety of needs. weeHouses are available in one-module, two-module, or customized configurations. By selecting from our unique siding and interior options, each weeHouse is tailored to fit your lifestyle. weeHouses are built offsite in a factory and arrive onsite with (almost!) everything including the kitchen sink. You provide the foundation, the crane rental, and some interior ‘button-up’ such as seaming of the modules and utility hook-ups. weeHouse delivers, then it’s your house to enjoy.

From to : weehouse.com

Posted December 7th, 2008 by Michael Janzen and filed in Concept

One of my readers, EJ, sent me a link to this project. It’s an alternative way of building a shelter out of shipping pallets. This one was built by students at the University of Biberach in 2005. It was a concept for a pavilion intended for participants of sporting events. This one measured 6 meters high, 8 meters wide, and 18 meters long. So not exactly a tiny house, but you can see where I’m going with this.

 For more information see this original article : below

Rauminstallation mit Paletten für die SKI-WM, Oberstdorf

Folgende Parameter sollten bei der Entwicklung beachtet werden:
- Das Material sollte wenn möglich Holz sein, da die Region sich sehr stark mit diesem Baustoff identifiziert.
- Der Pavillon soll unter der Zielsetzung der Nachhaltigkeit entworfen werden, dass heißt ohne große Abfälle wieder abgebaut werden können
- Der Pavillon muss im Wesentlichen von den Studenten auf- und später wieder abgebaut werden können.
- Die Rauminstallation soll einen besonderen „Ort“ schaffen, in dem sich Menschen gerne aufhalten und einen ungewöhnlichen Raumeindruck erleben.
- Der Pavillon soll im Rahmen der Ski-WM in Ergänzung der Villa Jaus ein Treffpunkt für Medien und Sportler nach den Wettkämpfen sein, ein Ort für Gespräche, mit einer besonderen Art der Bewirtung.Aus den selbst gewählten Vorgaben entstand bald der Gedanke die an vielen Orten gestapelte „Europalette“ als Baumaterial zu verwenden und sie den Menschen in neuer Verwendung vor Augen zu führen. Das im Normalfall lediglich als Hilfsmittel für den Transport anderer Güter verwendete Bauteil sollte in einem gestalterisch anspruchsvollen Zusammenhang gänzlich neu erlebt werden, um damit den Menschen aufzuzeigen, welche Qualitäten und Werte in Materialien stecken, die von uns oft etwas abwertend als reine Nutzprodukte betrachtet werden. Die Europalette zeichnet sich durch eine komplexe Geometrie von offenen und geschlossenen Flächenanteilen aus, die sich bei versetzter räumlicher Stapelung zu interessanten netzartigen Strukturen fügen. Diese Komplexität wollten wir nutzen, um daraus ein völlig neuartiges Erscheinungsbild zu generieren.
Zunächst wurde die geometrische Lage der Zuganker anhand eines Schnurgerüstes ermittelt, anschließend wurden die Zuganker in den Untergrund gebohrt. Nach jeweils 10 Schichten wurden die Gurte verspannt, In den höheren Lagen wurden die Paletten mit Hilfe von einem kleinen Autokran an Ort und Stelle gehoben und dann verteilt und befestigt. Die Konstruktion des gesamten Pavillons ist als „vorgespannte“ Raumschale zu verstehen, die mittels Bodenankern in den Untergrund befestigt ist. In regelmäßigen Abständen von ca. 2,5m sind die Paletten im Innern mittels LKW –Zuggurten zusammengespannt. Diese Vorspannung gewährleistet die Stabilisierung der geometrisch unregelmäßigen Form, wie bei der Vorspannung einer Kette .Die Zuggurte sind mittels örtlichen Bodenankern im Untergrund befestigt. Im oberen Bereich der Schale sind aus geometrischen Gründen horizontale Balken als Biegeträger zwischen die Schale als Dachkonstruktion gespannt, auf die dann die „Dachpaletten“ aufgefädelt wurden.

Abmessungen:
Höhe: ca. 6m
Breite: ca. 8m
Länge: ca. 18m

Material:
20 Zuganker
1300 Europaletten
100 Stck. Zuggurte a 6m

Beleuchtung: Innenstrahler mit blendfreien Reflektoren
Initiator: Herr A. Hörmann, Fa. Creaton GmbH
Hochschule Biberach , IKB : Prof. Matthias Loebermann
Dipl. Ing. Berit Richter (wiss. Mitarbeiterin )
Studenten der Hochschule Biberach (Studiengang Architektur)
Baujahr: 2005
Finanzierung: Diverse Sponsoren

http://www.aml-partner.de

About

Modesthouse brings architecture home with an elegant balance of tradition and technology. With its refined structural system and generous use of glass, Modesthouse simply defines space and creates an intimate connection with the surrounding landscape. Modesthouse utilizes a system of pre-manufactured parts such as structural insulated panels (SIPS) for the roof, walls and floor, and FSC certified timber for primary framing to offer an affordable and practical high-end alternative to custom homes. Pre-fabricated building components are assembled on site, saving time and materials.

Designed by New York architect Jeffrey McKean to integrate sensitively with the environment, Modesthouse combines sustainable building practices, green energy systems, and the choice of materials and finishes, to create a thoughtful solution in this age of responsibility.

System

Pricing

Completed Prototype Upstate New York Spring 2009
Prices starting at USD 250.00 per square foot. Finished price is exclusive of land costs and site improvements when required and is dependent upon shipping and local labor rates for electrical and plumbing trades. (약 평당천만원 ToT!)

Keywords : ModestHouse, Modern Prefab Homes, Energy Efficient, Green Design, Jeffrey McKean Architect, PC

동영상보기 : MH 설치동영상, MH 3차원뷰 동영상

아담한 주택이다. 요즘 유행어로 착한 주택이라고 할 수 있겠다.  그러나, 가격은 결코 착하지 않다. 설치동영상을 보면 완전건식으로 설치된다.

From  to : http://www.modesthouse.us

Tuesday, 14 October 2008 GreenMuze Staff

Mini House by Jonas Wagell

In a world of North American McMansions and the enormous quantities of materials used to build personal ‘palaces’, increasingly designers and architects are starting to explore radically different types of buildings. Eco-buildings, tree houses, buildings made from bottles and now the small Friggebod or Mini House. Proving that good things really do come in small packages, we asked Swedish architect Jonas Wagell (recently named one of the world’s top 50 hottest architects) to tell us a bit more about the Mini House project and Floating House concept he has been working on.

What is the Mini House?

Since January 1st 2008 Swedish property owners are allowed to build a 15m² house on their land without a building permit, a so-called “Friggebod“. The Mini House project arose from this and has, by taking advantage of the building regulations, grown to twice the allowed size, still with no permits needed.

The Mini House is a modern, functional and esthetical Swedish “Friggebod“-shed of 15m², suited for both summer and winter living. In addition to the small house the concept provides an outdoor terrace with pergola, all within the framework of the permit-free Swedish regulations.

The Mini House is constructed to be easy to build. By prefabricating the walls as sandwich elements of plywood and styrofoam, a lightweight, sturdy and insulated construction is enabled. Also, critical details such as windows and electrical feeds can be prepared. The house is delivered flat-pack.

I work with a multi-disciplined focus on architecture and design. The Mini House concept is an attempt to treat architecture as product design by providing standardized house models in three sizes – 10, 15 and 20m²- which can be accessorized with customized options. Available add-ons are the kitchen/bath module, the kitchen/office module, a sauna module, a heater-kit with chimney or a solar power unit to provide the house with electricity.

When designing the Mini House concept I put a lot of emphasis on creating a house that is not built as traditional timber houses, since that would create a sort of error in scale. “Friggebod“-sheds often appear shrunken, like miniature houses, drained in details and odd proportions, since they are constructed with the same components as big houses.

I believe in a sort of design democracy. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience functional living with a good spatial quality.
—Jonas Wagell

Who is the intended owner/recipients of the Mini House?

Primarily people who need an “extra” house on their property. The Mini House can of course also be used as a small summerhouse. Initially the Mini House was meant for the Swedish market, but after showing it at 100% Design London a few weeks ago, I have learned that there is a huge demand for these houses in other markets as well. The planning rules differ between countries, though.

Also, on request we have started looking at developing a house model suited for disaster areas, such as Darfur in Sudan.

Have any of the Mini Houses been built yet?

Mini House has just started being sold in Sweden after almost a year of product development. Currently 5-10 houses have been built and sold in Sweden.

It is no more expensive to build something good than something bad.
—Jonas Wagell

How much would a Mini House cost?

The standard model 15m² is delivered as a flat-pack for 12,200 euros (approx. $16,500). Shipping, build-up and tax excluded.

Is the Mini House concept a green project?

The concept started as a master degree project at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm in 2007. As such, the concept had to be investigating and developing and creating a sustainable house as a matter of course. The Mini House is prefabricated in all details and the flat-pack consists of only seven pieces. The walls consist of plywood and EPS (expanded polystyrene) glued together with a phenol resin glue. EPS consists of 2% polystyrene and 98% air securing a high insulation value. The product properties of thermal insulation remain stable through lifetime. EPS is non-toxic, easy to handle and does not release any harmful gases into the atmosphere. EPS has low water absorption due to the structure of the enclosed cell. Therefore, the effectiveness of the thermal insulation remains high.

Insulation saves energy for heating or cooling of our buildings. For example when one kilo of oil is used to produce EPS insulation an average of 200 kilo of oil is saved for heating over a 50-year period. EPS can be recycled and used for production of new products or as energy contribution in connection with waste combustion where 1 kilo of EPS contains the same amount of energy as 1.3 kilo of oil. Skin contact is harmless. EPS does not contain any harmful fibers and there are no emissions from the material causing health problems.

Why do we need affordable housing?

I believe in a sort of design democracy. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience functional living with a good spatial quality. This doesn’t mean luxury homes, but well planned, thought-through living spaces. It is no more expensive to build something good than something bad. Also, good buildings (and products) are sustainable since they create a value on an emotional level. There is a reason some buildings and products are considered classics.

Why do we need smaller, more sustainable spaces?

I don’t know if that necessarily is the case everywhere. I’m attracted and challenged by the thought of space efficiency, maybe because I have moved from a three-room apartment to a one-roomer when I started studying. I also think cities with a high architectural density feel more interesting, exciting and dynamic. Maybe that can be achieved by paying a greater interest in the small spaces.

Would you live in a Mini House?

As a summerhouse or as an office – absolutely! Actually, I have played with the thought of putting a Mini House on a floating platform and have it as an office in the middle of Stockholm. This would probably be a very affordable considering the location.

Where did the idea for the Floating House concept come from?

I live in Stockholm where the square meter prices for condominiums are among the highest in Europe, especially considering the level of wages. The city of Stockholm is built on a few big islands with water everywhere. This is a perfect place for living on a floating house. Existing boathouses are very conventional; either a refurbished boat or a floating platform with a square box. The Floating House concept is an attempt to create something clever, exciting and fun.

I think any project today has to consider climate change issues and meet those requirements.
—Jonas Wagell

Who is the Floating House for?

A single person or a couple could live in my Floating House or it could be used as an office. With a stunning view! I’m also challenged by the thought of creating a floating neighborhood with jetty walkways with small bridges crossing water streets for boats.

Would the Floating House be cheap/easy to build?

The Floating House would be prefabricated the same way as the Mini House concept but with slightly different materials. Prefabrication allows for high quality in details. Also, they would be quick to build-up on site and no more expensive than traditional houses. The floating platform/pontoon is made of blocks of styrofoam cast in concrete that makes it very stable and wave resistant, but is a bit on the expensive side, at least compared to the house itself. The platform would probably constitute 30-40% of the total cost. But on the other hand, this should be compared to price of a building lot.

Is the idea to make the Floating House with green products?

It has to be sustainable and environmentally acceptable, but the project primarily addresses a living issue.

Will the Floating House double as a boat?

It will obviously be mobile, but it is not intended for weekend cruises.

Is the Floating House a climate change project?

No, not really. The project addresses space efficient living in two aspects, both as compact living with a quality consciousness and as an alternative living solution for crowded cities and more. However, I think any project today has to consider climate change issues and meet those requirements.

How does the environment inspire your work?

The environment debate becomes fuel for research and development of new materials, such as paper/plastic composites, cornstarch plastics, vegetable fiber felts, new high-pressure laminates, energy saver bulbs, led-lights etc. These are very exciting development that I follow intensely. I find a lot of design with new materials a bit forced since it is based on the material, not a need of function. I try to set up requirements for my projects and then research to find an appropriate ecological solution.

Are you a green guy?

I like to believe I’m fairly green, but not to the extreme. I buy green products when I can, recycle my glass, paper, metal and plastic and sort my garbage. And I take the subway or bus instead of driving a car.

To find out more about Jonas Wagell Design and Architecture visit: http://www.jonaswagell.se/

From to : http://www.greenmuze.com

27-Sq.-Meter, $5,000 House.
by curibem
CPM construcciones prefabricadas
Bogota, Colombia

From: Construction.com

본 주택은 조립식 주택 제조업자와 건축가의 합작품이다. 이는 신중하고도 최적화된 셀로 구성되어 있다. 전체가 나무로 구성되어 있으며, 최저비용으로 최상의 질을 발현하도록 디자인되어 있다. 완전 조립식 외피는  두개의 정변도형 형상으로 만들어지는 작업에서 사전조립되어 대지로 이동하여 설치된다. 이주택은 10 * 4 미터 기초에 하루만에 설치가 된다.
- 생략 -

<From to Compact Houses (Compact) by Carles Broto,Publisher: Links International (November 1, 2004)>