One of my friends was asking me recently if all tiny Houses were also environmentally friendly houses, or visa versa. I thought I would focus three Blog posts this week on the connection between the small home movement and the green home movement.  First, I wanted to write about Tiny Homes and indoor air quality. (I have lots of allergies, so I tend to think about air quality a lot!)

No one wants to live in a sick building, whether it is a tiny house or not.  Indoor air quality is often overlooked by most consumers and builders. However, a few innovative architects and builders are focusing on making the interiors of their homes more human friendly as well.

Eco-friendly is increasingly making its way to the heart of the tiny home movement.  It is not uncommon for rain capturing systems to be built into the roofs of tiny homes and for a great deal of thought to be given for the treatment of water in general.  The processing of “gray water” is appearing more and more often in tiny home design.  All of this only serves to compliment the incorporation of solar energy.

While indoor air quality is not as common as solar power and energy efficient materials, many builders and architects are beginning to pay a great deal of attention to this environmental issue as well.  Indoor air quality is often far more polluted than the air outside.  Part of the reason for this pollution is that indoor air quality suffers from all sorts of modern materials that “de-gas” and produce a wide variety of potentially harmful gases.  Many builders and architects are looking to materials such as bamboo, which is renewable, has a comparatively low impact on the environment, and does not produce VOC or Volatile Organic Compounds.  Many materials are being sought after more and more as part of this new, greener movement in housing.

The designs of eco-friendly and tiny homes benefit indoor air quality in another and much more subtle fashion.  Most designs, by necessity, are favoring large outdoor decks in order to augment the space at hand.  This design and space use choice has the added benefit of encouraging homeowners to venture outdoors more often.  When combined with large sliding doors, windows or even retractable glass walls, the end result is a home that should receive more much more fresh and flowing air.

Of course, it should be stated that plants are our friends. One of the very best moves a homeowner can make is to have a variety of air cleaning plants in whatever home they live.  NASA studies have shown that a handful of the right plants, such as ferns, can do wonders to reduce indoor air pollution.

The way that modern society is building homes is likely going to change dramatically.  The idea of hauling material from one end of the country or even the planet just to build a home seems somewhat insane, doesn’t it?  The idea that locally sourced materials are going to play a major part is construction more and more in the coming years is likely to go without saying.  Prefabrication is a good step in this direction, as it cuts down on waste and even transportation/ assembly costs.

Prefabrication is another major reoccurring them that one sees in the tiny home universe.  Prefabrication allows architects and builders to cut construction cost by eliminating waste and by reducing transportation costs.  The notion of being able to put finished tiny, modules or components on the back of semi-truck or railcar is a very attractive idea to builders and architects alike.  Prefabrication also gives builders and architects a great degree of control over what materials are used, thus making it easier to design homes that use less energy and are more environmentally friendly.

Prefabrication has the further benefit of helping architects and builders “go green.”  Adopting prefabrication allows for builders and architects to take full advantage of eco-friendly materials.  Materials such as recycled denim, recycled rubber made from car tires, and all sorts of other recycled materials often make their way into prefabricated homes.  The entire concept of being eco-friendly has evolved well beyond the notion of simply building a “tiny home.”

This move towards prefabrication also comes with some interesting, and perhaps even unexpected, side benefits.  One is variety.  With prefabrication it is possible for architects and builders to make their homes, tiny and otherwise, be much more adaptable to homeowner desires and needs.  The prefabrication movement is increasingly moving towards building home from core components and pieces that can be reassembled in different ways.  The end result is houses differently shaped on the inside and outside.

Another side benefit to the prefabrication movement is that prefabrication has the potential to make homes much more affordable.  Housing costs could be driven down dramatically through using prefabrication techniques.  When further combined by the interchangeability of many of the new designs, it should even be possible to avoid the “cookie cutter” look that has turned so many people off in the past.

Additional Information on Tiny Homes and Prefab:

• The Beauty of Mini Prefab Buildings
• Creating the House You Want with Tiny Home Kits
• Reclaimed Space Prefab
• Small Practical Prefab Living Space

Recently we ran a piece on the Airstream redesign done by Chris Deam.  It turns out, one of Coming Unmoored’s readers, Rhonda Coleman, owns one of these lovely little trailers.  Rhonda has graciously been willing to write the following piece sharing her experiences in her shiny, little trailer…

“Airstream’s motto, ‘Make only improvements, not changes,’ was shaken by architect-designer Chris Deam” states the Design Within Reach online catalog about their special edition trailer. Deam was commissioned to create an Airstream for a new generation that “respects the history of the iconic aluminum shell while bringing a lighter, more spacious feeling to the interior.” Deam himself explains his creative process in a video posted by Steph (May 23, Airstream Redesigns by Christopher Deam).

Captivated by the kitschy beauty and turnkey convenience of the DWR Airstream, we made an appointment for purchase minutes after we saw it on the cover of the catalog in 2007.

We (me, the 6′3″ man, large yellow dog and mini-doxie) continue to love it, though it’s often crowded on a rainy northwest weekend. It has all the comforts of home.  Actually, Let me rephrase that… It’s far more upscale than my boring M-F condo.  My trailer comes with a flat-screen TV/DVD player, full stereo (with XM radio), heating/AC/roomy bathroom/kitchen galley and all the lovely DWR amenities (chairs, dishes, linens, retro clock, and laughably expensive coat rack).
What Deam set out to do as he explains in the video–establish a connection between the interior decor and silver exterior–is perfectly executed. It’s light and otherworldly within the aluminum walls, and the carefully-selected laminates and textiles are signature DWR. However, it’s odd; what he calls a “crisis” of the oldstyle Airstreams is actually less of a disconnect to the user. It feels weird to be inside a space-age pod, looking out the window at a rustic, natural environment like a state campground. Airstreaming in the DWR has a “beamed-here” feel to it.

This is my second caravan–the first was fifty years old and adorable but it developed a terminal leak in the ceiling and had to be sold to a wacky couple from Renton.

If you’d like more information, you can enjoy professional photos (and experience the sticker shock) on the DWR website.

Rhonda can be followed on Twitter.  In addition, she’s planning on starting her own blog soon and hopes to chronicle her “two-week trip across country to visit our nation’s most dorky attractions (Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug, the Oregon Vortex, etc..”

We’ve seen a lot of homes that are quite unique in the tiny home movement, but this home has a trick that is quite impressive.  How can you not love a home that bills itself as “The Folding & Transportable Home?” That is a tough one to top.

Habitaflex is a Canadian based homebuilder that has some really novel ideas for the tiny home universe.  They have three different sizes of homes, but each is foldable and transportable.  Now, a foldable home is certainly something that we haven’t seen much of before in the tiny home world or the building world in general.  The folding of a Habitaflex home is a five-step process that appears to work very well.  How is this possible you ask?  The system is based around a series of hand cranks that allow homeowners to unfold their portable home to wherever they wish to go.  “Cranking” ones home and unfolding it is bound to raise some eyebrows.  Sections of the Habitaflex home slide into one, this in turn allows for this tiny home to be compressed and easily transported.  Once the home has been extended with the cranking system, it is several times its collapsed size.  The core concept of a collapsible home is a bold one, worthy of some attention.  It certainly adds a new wrinkle to the tiny home concept.

Once in its collapsed size, the Habitaflex homes can be transported in a variety of ways, even pulled by a heavy-duty pick-up trick.  These tiny homes can be put on ships for transport, or even flown via helicopter to remote locations.  Habitaflex has kept the dimensions of shipping containers in mind when designing this tiny home, just in case you need to transport it long distances.

One of the more surprising aspects of the Habitaflex concept is that the concept accommodates different sizes of homes, including one fairly large model. The largest model is even large enough for three bedrooms.

One has to appreciate the possibilities that the Habitaflex underscores.  With their design it is possible to quite literally pick up your tiny home and take it wherever you need to go.

Plankbridge Shepherd Huts has a really cool take on tiny spaces.  Their huts are envisioned as being more of workspaces, studios and de facto add-ons for homes. However, these huts do a great job in showcasing how tiny spaces can be versatile, adaptable, and just plain cool.  These huts may be small but they do have a lot to offer.  Each hut has a lot of charm, as it is something of a “cultural heirloom,” as the people at Plankbridge like to put it.  The designs of their huts are based upon the designs of huts from well over a hundred years ago. Yet, there are some significant additions.

The biggest difference between today’s Plankbridge huts and those of the past is technology.  While many of the traditional hand-crafted elements are still present in the design, many new design elements have been incorporated as well, for example, insulation.  The Plankbridge huts are eco-friendly in that they use wool, or Thermafleece sheep’s wool, for roof and floor insulation.  The huts also come with double pane windows to help keep them warm and make the most out of furnace heat.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Plankbridge huts is how they have chosen to show how these tiny spaces can be used and adapted.  It is possible to add bunk beds and built-in desk, as well as storage benches, cooking stoves and heating stoves.  While there are lots of tiny space options on the market, one really has to give a nod to Plankbridge Huts for being uniquely charming.  Part of that charm is the quality of material, and the hand made touch that goes into each hut.

Plankbridge Huts highlights an aspect of the tiny home and tiny space movement that is often overlooked.  With tiny spaces and tiny homes it is much more possible to have a home or workspace that retains an element of craftsmanship that is slowly disappearing in our mechanized and industrial age.  One has to appreciate Plankbridge Hut’s efforts.  They have even done restoration on old huts and breathed new life into them.

Blu is a builder with some positive selling points for those looking to build a tiny home, green home or anyone just wanting to save a little money.  Blu homes have building costs that are 45%-75% lower than a traditionally built home.  That in and of itself should be enough to open most people’s eyes.  Yet Blu is also very focused on building green and ecologically friendly homes.  Their construction methods produce homes that cause 50% to 70% less carbon emissions than traditional construction, making these homes much more environmentally friendly than other forms of traditional construction.

What if you were told that Blu homes take about four weeks to construct?  In fact, a Blu home takes about four weeks to construct and this is only the beginning of the flexibility that Blu Homes offers.  They offer what is called Blu Flex Designs.  Blu Flex Designs is likely to be of interest to anyone looking to build a tiny home .  Flex Designs allow a home owner to easily add space to their existing home.  Often young families worry that a tiny home might not be for them as they are worried about running out of space when they have children.  Let’s face it, even the biggest fan of tiny homes might be a little worried about two kids, a dog, a cat and a visiting mother-in-law in a 400 square foot home, or even a 900 square foot home for that matter.  A concept like Flex Design is definitely a good one for it allows homeowners to add on additional space if needed.  Currently, they are offering a media room added with stadium seating, but other room add-on designs are on the way.

The Blu Origin home comes in a three model, a studio, one bedroom and a two bedroom.  The studio model is between $50,000 and $65,000 and is between 280 and 400 square feet.  The one bedroom model is between 420 square feet and 600 square feet and runs between $70,000 and $90,000. The larger two-bedroom model can be as large as 800 square feet with a cost between $99,000 and $120,000.  All their models are dedicated to being more energy efficient and producing less carbon emissions than your average home.  Blu believes that the Origin produces about half of the carbon emissions of a traditional home and uses about sixty percent less energy as well.

Solargon Structures is a rather innovative Fort Collins, Colorado company that is really trying to make some waves in the tiny home universe.  They have three sizes of homes: a 20′ diameter that is 309 square feet, a 30′ diameter that is 695 square feet with 8′ walls and a third model that is 695 square feet with 10′ walls.  The reason that their concepts and designs are so interesting isn’t the size of their tiny homes, but how they approach building and design.

The Solargon Structures concept is designed to be quickly assembled using a yurt design and SIPs, which stands for Structural Insulated Panels.  These SIPs are essentially designed to be prebuilt wall and roof panels that can quickly be laid in place once homeowners receive their building kit.  This design gives homeowners a variety of benefits including being able to quickly erect the structure, work on the structure on their own, transport the structure into remote locations and have a small environmental footprint.  These panels are made from all natural materials as well meaning that no VOC’s are used in the construction of the panels.  No VOC’s means no formaldehyde for example. which,  This principle of course, translates into results when it comes to your indoor air quality.

These panels, the heart and sole of this building concept, have high R-values. As a result, homeowners will have reduced heating and cooling costs.  The wall panels are a very respectable R28 and the ceiling panels are R42.  But saving energy is only one the ways that these Solargon Structures tiny houses are green and environmentally friendly.  They are designed with an eye toward passive solar heating and all the materials used in their construction are from natural materials that are also renewable.

There are some other benefits to a design like Solargon Structures, which might not be instantly obvious.  Being able to build a home quickly means less overall expense, as families do not have to carry the cost of two homes simultaneously.  This is one of the tiny extra benefits that can make building a tiny home really worthwhile in a variety of significant ways.

PowerHouse is a builder that is looking to make a real difference by building tiny homes that pull off a pretty neat little trick.  A PowerHouse home arrives on the back of a single flatbed truck, and is set up in a single day.

That’s right at the end of the day the home is in place and running off solar energy to top it all off.  PowerHouse wants to be a green builder, and to this end they have made they designs sustainable and very energy aware.  The PowerHouse concept for the PowerPod is likely to capture the imagination of many, as this unique design has the added additional benefit of instant gratification. Homeowners can start living in their home the same day it arrives.

A big trend in tiny and green homes is for the homes to be off the grid.  There is a definite move towards creating homes that are freed from the wide array of problems that are associated with being tethered to the power grid.  The first thing that will strike many about the design of PowerHouse’s PowerPod is that the entire concept seems to be built around staying off the grid.  There is a passive solar design that incorporates a solar butterfly roof and solar array. A high level of insulation has also been put into the PowerPod to make the most out of it’s solar roof panels. There are other energy sipping features built into the design as well.  The PowerPod uses SIP design and R-28 walls, insulated water tanks, radiant floor heating and high efficiency lighting.  PowerHouse believes that their mixture of technologies may enable homeowners to cut cost by up to 80%.  The notion of reducing energy consumption by 80% is a very attractive one, especially when one considers the unpredictable nature of home heating and cooling prices.

Water usage has also been taken into consideration.  There is also a rainwater collector built right into the roof as well.  Composting commodes and grey water technology are additional possibilities which all contribute to making the PowerPod a tiny home that could be completely off the grid.

PowerHouse’s PowerPod is yet another good example of a homebuilder that is attempting to provide customers an easier and energy independent option.  They are incorporating technologies and approaches that were overlooked just a few years ago, and in the process helping usher in a new era in homebuilding.  Check out the details at http://www.powerhouse-enterprises.com.

Also, a great way to increase the energy efficiency in your home immediately is to upgrade those old windows to Vinyl Replacement Windows.

German pre-fabricated homes company, Hanse Haus, is now distributing a Rotor House.  The Rotor House incorporates a bit of a carousel theme- and is certainly doing its part to make tiny houses fun.

This is an innovative tiny house that fits into a space of just approximately 18×18 feet. The house is called the “rotor” house, because it actually has a turning rotor.  You can use a remote and turn the house from your bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.  So when you decide you want to see or visit one room or another, simply pick up the remote control.  There is also a toilet and a small hallway that is separately designated from the spinable rooms. The colors of this house make it look quite space age, as it is circular and white, with calming muted colors in the interior rooms.

Luigi Colani, a designer who was born in Berlin, was the mastermind behind this tiny house. Colani is quite the Renaissance man as he is a sculptor, painter, flight engineer, and philosopher. Colani’s car designs, and furniture designs have garnered awards and prizes over the years.  His website is www. Colani.de.  Currently, Luigi Colani is a professor in Shanghai.

Hanse Haus has been building pre-fab homes for 80 years.  According to their website, the are “leaders in the field of energy-efficient house-building using the highest quality craftsmanship.” The Rotor House is energy-efficient and definitely quite the ingenious way to maximize inner space potential within a tiny house framework.

If you are seriously considering building a tiny home, there is a book that you must pick up.  New Small Spaces: Good Ideas, edited by Francesc Zamora Mola and published by Collins Design, is simply a gem.  This book features forty-one great homes that are all less than 900 square feet.  The homes in New Small Spaces are always elegant and are often mind-blowing.  You will definitely be inspired to create your own tiny home after you see what some of the world’s best and brightest architects have done with their tiny space concepts.

Some of the spaces featured in the book are homes, while others are apartments.  New Small Spaces starts out with the tiniest of small homes and works its way up.  One of the outstanding smaller homes is the Shouldham Street Extension from Henning Stummel Architects in London.  This tiny home may only be 161 feet, but it packs a lot of “wow” into that 161 number.  The exterior of this tiny home is a lap wood ship siding that has been panted in various shades of gray with random Plexiglas strips placed throughout.  The interior is just as creative, as the Shouldham Street Extension has walls that are gloss white.  Perhaps most impressive of all is the way the interior and exterior interact to produce some very well framed shots that any photographer would love.

Ever so slightly bigger at 205 square feet, comes the Boxhome from Norway.  The Boxhome was designed by architect Sami Rintala in 2007 and can be found (looking like some transplant from the future), in Oslo.  This four room tiny home was designed with an eye towards energy efficiency, as well as creating a relaxing space.  The outside of the Boxhome more closely resembles a work of modern art than it does a home.  The polished metal exterior is broken up a highly asymmetrical plus sign shaped window pattern.  The end result is just breathtaking.

Anyone seriously contemplating building their own tiny home, should really take a look at New Small Spaces.  The Boxhome and Shouldham Street Extension are just two of the forty-one homes featured in the book. Most homes in the book are larger, and some homes are as large as 900 square feet.

New Small Spaces, quietly and elegantly, makes the point that brilliant design and innovative material usage can produce some truly amazing homes that can feel much more spacious and luxurious than their number of square feet would dictate. You can read more about this book at the Amazon link.