The following is a guest article written by Shireen Qudosi…

Long before the mod designs of today’s sustainable homes, there the “Glass House”.   Built in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1949 by Philip Johnson for his personal use. It was a ground breaking project in its time and still continues to astonish those of us today who cannot fathom living in a see-through house.

While most people love the concept of a glass house, they have one major problem with it – privacy. But there’s a simple solution – curtains. Lightweight curtains would provide both shade during summer months as well as privacy, without compromising the structure’s aesthetic appeal.

But what a lot of people also don’t realize is those eco homes aren’t cookie cutter houses. On the contrary, they can be built with a lot more forethought and personalized design than traditional real estate. Just ask Michelle Kaufman of MK Designs.

When Michelle Kaufman and her husband moved to California, they decided to fill the market for clean green homes after their own difficulty in finding one. Clients can design their own custom home and choose the features that work for them. According to Michelle, “the real challenge, and the critical area for a successful project, is the implementation and the production.” Fortunately, through many years of being in the business, Michelle and her team have been able to iron out this wrinkle.
Regardless of whether or not you’d choose to live in a glass house, our mutual love of aesthetic and design are instantly drawn into Johnson’s minimalist creation. A balanced sense of proportion and a design that connects with the environment is what ultimately has paved the way for modular and prefab.

Yet no matter what your home is like, you can get it be more sustainable – and contrary to what some may think, sustainable doesn’t mean living a “bare bones” lifestyle. A sustainable lifestyle can be chic and creative while still be eco-conscious.

With fall at our doorstep and winter around the corner, the number one consideration is learning to reduce heating costs. Insulating your home, using an energy-efficient space heater, and good old fashioned bundling up will certainly help you do your part in reducing energy consumption. But for extreme green, try installing a geothermal heating system, with loops deep in the ground around your home, and a heater exchange to collect relative heat from the ground.¹ If you’re already in a DIY renovation mode, then consider installing windows and skylights that’ll let more light come in – thus reducing your dependency on electrical lighting. There are also a number of window designs that not only let more light in, but also help keep in the heat.

But if you’re a quick-fix type, there are still versatile ways you can prep your home for winter and reflect your stellar taste – especially if you’re a notorious coveter of wooden floors.

If you’ve got wooden floors (hopefully bamboo), try covering them with rugs during the winter. The use of rugs is a quick DIY insulation that gives you a chance to add a new style element in your living space. Far from perhaps over bearing eclectic themes too strong for certain tastes, some eco-inspired pieces are also designed for the utilitarian thinker. For the military-mined eco-enthusiast, there’s Rebekah Rauser’s Redeploy Rug that combines the necessary military durability of surplus blankets with organic fluidity. Made of 100% wool Russian army blankets and with topographic pattern, the Redeploy adds a unique dimension that makes the piece not only necessary but stylish.

Ultimately, no matter which route you choose, the goal is to create a home that is both functional and stylish, while still doing its part for the environment.

Eco winter ideas is brought to you by Shireen Qudosi.
http://www.canadianhomeworkshop.com/home-reno-and-design/green-renovations/five-ways-to-make-your-home-more-sustainable/a/21292

Image 1: Philip Johnson’s ‘Glass House’

Image 2: David Salmela

Image 3: rauserdesign.com

Some aspects of green homes and tiny homes are easy to overlook.  One innovative company is really focusing in on some of these easy to overlook aspects and has created a really nice summary of how some of this “going green stuff” works.  The eco-friendly builder EcoStructures promotes itself as a “affordable near-zero energy portable modular green home” builder.  Now while that statement might be a mouthful, it also seems to be completely accurate.

EcoStructures founder and president John Garlow has a special inspiration for the designing of his homes and that is his partnerand brother Charley.  Charley once worked for Ralph Nadar and also worked as a lawyer for the EPA.  One of Charley’s favorite hobbies was helping crack down on air polluters.  Together the two brothers have developed a green home concept centered on factory construction, the use of local materials, the use of green materials and the reduction of waste.  They are part of a growing trend to avoid harmful materials and VOCs in their construction.  Also they use a great deal of recycled materials.  The shingles they use, for example, are from 30% recycled materials.

EcoStructures’ website does a fantastic job showcasing how to build a green home.  They put special attention into two categories, one being “airflow and energy” and the other being “waterworks.”  Both of these sections layout the basics of how to properly handle airflow and solar energy in a home.  “Energy harvesting” is given great attention, but so are elements like shading and the innovative use of geothermal tubes.  For example, the section of waterworks is a great one in that it deals with the often overlooked issue of how to handle rainwater harvesting, filtration and water conservation.  Few diagrams tackle the issue of “greywater,” as well as the one on the EcoStructures website.

An additional aspect to love about the EcoStructures concept is that they present a variety of options making the design flexible.  Everything from wind turbines to exterior automatic shutters and geothermally linked heating and cooling are options that are on the table.  A great deal of thought has gone into this project, and it is certainly worth checking out.

Last month, the Guggenheim Museum and Google teamed up for a very innovative online design contest.   That fact in and of itself is interesting as it is a very interesting and unexpected team-up. However, what is even more interesting is the fact that the contest, entitled the “Design It: Shelter Competition” involves designing the best tiny shelter.  Participants are encouraged to design a virtual 3d 100 square foot living/working space using Google’s new Google Sketch Up software, and then place the house on a map with Google Earth.  Both Google Earth and Google Sketch Up are free to download and use.

The  contest asks participants the questions: where would you build your shelter?  And how would you respond to the environment around your shelter? Obviously, Frank Lloyd Wright was inspired by the connection of a house to its environment. The Design It: Shelter Competition seeks to reflect and incorporate Wright’s fascination with the natural elements surrounding a house.

This contest is running in conjunction with the Guggenheim’s new exhibit, running until August 23rd, entitled “Learning By Doing.” The art exhibit features shelters that were designed by students of Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.  Through the design process, the students learn various important issues involved in design.

The Design it: Shelter Competition is open to amateur as well as professional designers. You can read more about the contest and even enter the contest at the Guggenheim’s website. Entries are being taken until August 23rd which coincides with the last day of the Learning by Doing exhibit.  (If you happen to be in New York City between now and the end of August, definitely check out this exhibit as it sounds pretty intriguing.)

The Design It: Shelter Competition rules include the following:

You can build your shelter anywhere on Earth: from city to desert, hill to valley. You cannot remove any existing buildings, but you can add on to existing structures.”

Keep your shelter small—the interior/sheltered space can be no larger than 100 square feet (9.3 square meters), and entire shelter no taller than 12 feet (3.6 meters).

Your shelter must offer protection from the elements and provide a space for one person to study and sleep. Keep it simple—no water, gas or electricity allowed.

The students at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture will choose the finalists and public voting will take place from September to October 2009.

You may remember that we have covered the innovative builder blu back a few months ago.  Certain aspects of the blu concept are worth another look.  In many ways, blu really sums up nicely where the eco-friendly, tiny house and green building industry appears to be headed.  Few sites do a better job of summing up many of the core concepts than the folks at blu.  Their core philosophy mirrors much of what the tiny house/eco-friendly movement is all about, plus they make obvious stride to take some of the aggravation out of the entire tiny home buying process.

Often when one is considering buying a tiny home, it is often difficult to find out exactly what the house would cost.  Part of what makes the blu home concept attractive and interesting is that the company makes it easy to find out exactly what the home costs.  This fact makes weighing the different options easier.

blu has a three-pronged philosophy that explains why they believe in building green.  These three components are Sustainability, Convenience and Affordability.  They are quick to point out that by adopting green building standards less waste and fewer chemicals are used.  It is definitely refreshing to see a builder outwardly discussing and promoting such factors. They use high-performance insulation and non-off gassing materials that avoid VOC compounds and paints.  Further, they see passive solar as most definitely being their friend.  These factors all combine to make a blu home one that is obsessed with being green and energy aware.  blu goes on to state that they want to build homes that get fresher air and more sunlight; in short they want healthier homes.

In terms of convenience, blu wants to reduce the headaches involved in buying a tiny home.  This is evident by the fact that you can easily get a ballpark idea of what a given home is going to cost.  Of course, it would be nice to see this trend catch on with other builders.  Yet of equal or greater importance is how convenience is intertwined with their overall philosophy in terms of how homes are built.  blu does not build on site, but instead builds as much of the home as possible inside a factory before taking the home to the worksite.  This process reduces material waste considerably.

As for affordability, blu points out that they use high quality materials and that they also have an eye on helping you save money by making a more energy efficient house. blu homes can be surprisingly affordable, with models running between $50,000 to $350,000.  For a home that wants to keep its occupants and the planet healthy, this seems like a pretty reasonable deal.

pieceHomes is a builder of innovative green, factory-built modular houses designed by Davis Studio Architecture and Design in Los Angeles, California.  Davis Studio Architecture and Design was founded by Jonathan Davis and Architect Mary Jo Davis in 2002 and is driven by modern design principles.  Much of their work centers around the concept of sustainability. To this end they use many natural and recycled materials in all their concepts.  Taking sustainability a step further, they actively encourage their clients to adopt solar energy whenever possible and use materials that are not harmful to people or the environment, such as low VOC paints, recycled glass and recycled steel.

This focus on modern design principles, sustainability and all things green led Davis Studio Architecture and Design to launch pieceHomes.  pieceHomes has the goal of creating healthy and affordable homes.  Of course, by the word “healthy” founders Jonathan Davis and Mary Jo Davis mean healthy for the people who live in their homes, as well as healthy for the planet . This is where the focus on solar and recycled materials come into play.

pieceHomes has developed a line of homes of various sizes.  At the larger end of the spectrum is the mv3, which is 2,100 square feet with up to 4 bedrooms.  This home has a green roof and solar panels.  Yet the company is also well aware of the tiny house movement and so they have several models that are more in line with what tiny home fans might be looking for.  A great example is the 320.  The 320 is a 320 square foot home that has one bedroom and one bathroom.  One very neat aspect to the 320 design is that the home is literally covered in shutters, and it is possible to lock down all the windows and doors making the home verysecure.  Continuing with the theme of being eco-friendly, this home can also be equipped with a composting toilet, a rainwater catchments and, of course, solar panels.  All of this adds up to make the 320 a home that can be completely off the grid!

The pieceHomes is a really interest concept from some innovative thinkers.  Once you’ve looked through their various designs, you will realize how much they have to offer for those seeking an eco-friendly and tiny home.

Sometimes the speed at which things change can be nothing short of amazing.  Slowly, over the past couple of years industrialized nations have really begun to take a serious look at how we build our homes.  A movement away from McMansions and towards smaller homes and tiny homes has begun in earnest.  More and more large corporations and developers are beginning to see that the wind of change is in the air and are moving towards green construction and more energy efficient homes in particular.  ZETA is one company that is building large numbers of homes that are designed to be net zero energy.  This would have been virtually unheard of ten years ago, but today Zeta is quickly expanding their operations.

ZETA designs its communities to be “zero energy structures.”  By this statement, ZETA means quite simply that a ZETA home actually produces as much energy as it uses over the course of a year.  Again, this would have been considered blasphemy of the highest order only ten years ago, but today it is really change in the building community and it’s beginning to take root.  ZETA’s vision for its communities is that they minimize their consumption of resources; produced far less waste and CO2 emissions and they do this without dramatically increasing overall home cost.  Further good news is that they are accomplishing all of this with sustainable building materials.

Another eco-friendly aspiration of ZETA is that they are designing homes that are from the ground up intended to be more efficient. The core concept calls for actually building time to be slashed when compared to more commonly used building methods.  Their concept also calls for less waste of material and lower labor and construction cost.

There is one additional fact about this San Francisco based company that will truly surprise most people.  A ZETA home is designed to actually use less energy than a LEED Certified Home.  The brainchild of Naomi Porat and Marc Porat, ZETA is leading the way in changing how we build large-scale home communities.  Naomi Porat holds a MBA from Yale University and a Masters in City and REgional Planning from UC Berkeley.  Dr. Marc Porat holds a double Masters from Columbia University and a Ph.D from Stanford University.  Additionally Dr. Porat was a member of Apple Computer’s Advanced Technology Group.  Together they are spearheading ZETA’s impressive efforts to change the face of housing.

Most people would be pretty interested in a $5,000 house.  This tiny house concept may only be around 400 square feet, but undoubtedly the concept is quite interesting and quite large.  Gerd Niemoeller is the man behind The Paper House.  This house is made completely from paper, weighs only about 1,700 pounds and uses recycled cardboard and newspapers to form the structure.  This Swiss-based inventor has taken recycled paper and created very strong honeycomb walls.  The end result is a building material that is surprisingly strong and durable.  Originally, the concept conceived as being a solution for the homeless, those living in shantytowns and refugee camps.

It is this idea of bringing ultra-affordable housing, made from recycled materials, to the poorest people in the world that is driving Niemoeller’s concept.  Currently, the idea is being to catch on and Nigeria has already placed an order for 2,400 units.  While the concept may have been developed for the developing countries and the homeless, the ideas behind it are rich in possibilities.    The Wall Paper House points the way in terms of what is possible for tiny houses and for rebooting our concept of what housing is in general.  By taking something as simple as recycled paper and using technology to create a strong building materials, Niemoeller is pointing the way as to what is achievable if only the will is present.

The Wall Paper House has a lot going for it.  The fact that its lightweight means it can be easily transported around the world. Niemoeller and his company Wall are already looking into plans to export the building know-how and materials to countries that have expressed interest.  Further, its low-cost could open up options for those that currently have little or no access to proper housing.  A third aspect of The Wall Paper House that is making people sit up and take notice is that the structure is very sturdy, water resistant and even earthquake proof.  The $5,000 price tag even includes a bathroom.

While The Wall Paper House may not be the most luxurious home many have ever seen, its potential for a positive impact is quite large.  Inventor Niemoeller and all involved should be commended for their efforts.

Quite literally every week there are numerous developments and breakthroughs in sustainable housing, green housing and tiny housing that help demonstrate how different the future of living spaces is likely to be.  One such development is the Straw Bale House Project from researchers at the University of Bath.  Together with their students, these researchers are building houses made of straw and hemp.  The purpose of these novel houses is to serve as an experimental platform to see how these buildings materials perform with a variety of tests.

It is true that bale construction is an ancient form of building that has been proven over time to be a viable way to build.  Yet, the researchers at the University of Bath are helping bring this building technique into the 21^st century.  Part of what makes the Balehaus, as it is called, so interesting is that these experimental homes are being built with what is called ModCell.  ModCell is a prefabricated panel that takes a wooden frame and fills it with hemp or straw bales.  This structure is then sealed with a lime render.  The thinking is that the end result will be a very environmentally friendly building material with a very low carbon footprint.  In fact, the researchers are hoping that the Baelhaus may even have a negative carbon footprint.

The researchers responsible for the project, such as Professor Peter Walker, believe that straw is quite possibly the most environmentally friendly building material currently available.  This is largely due to the fact that it is quite renewable and has great insulating properties.  Bale homes that are built correctly have very low heating and cooling costs.  There are a variety of other partners involved in the project such as White Design in Bristol and Integral Structural Design in Bath.

It is developments like the Balehaus at University of Bath that are leading the way in providing all of us with important alternative in the future of housing.  When one considers how bale construction could contribute to lower construction costs and lower heating and cooling costs it quickly becomes apparent this ancient form of construction has a great deal of offer the modern world.

The HABODE concept was designed in New Zealand with an eye toward being built in Australia.  With this in mind, the designers knew that their concept had to be able to deal with the extreme conditions found on the Australian continent, such as high winds and, of course, extreme temperatures.  The materials they adopted are long lasting and low-maintenance and the designers are certain that the structure will last well beyond a lifetime.

Designer Rod Gibson didn’t just want to make a tough prefabricated home, he also wanted to design one that would focus on environmental sustainability.  To this end, Gibson incorporated some of the most cutting-edge materials and green concepts into the HABODE, such as solar panels, roof rainwater capturing, low energy fluorescent lights, high-levels of thermal and sound insulation as well as efficient hot water heating.  All of this, not surprisingly combines into a very energy efficient home.

One of the standout features of the HABODE is well demonstrated in their websites “Options” video that showcases the HABODE with everything from extra decks and extra solar shades to the addition of solar hot water heating and a wind turbine.  Clearly green is at the top of the agenda.

HABODE joins the growing trend of prefabricated homes that are taking advantage of modern manufacturing techniques similar to what we see in the automotive industry.  HABODE is using a patented “fold-out” system that lets them pack up a home and ship it wherever it needs to be.  Once the packaged home has arrived, it can be assembled in just two days.

The HABODE design is a beautiful and geometrically intricate one that few would recognize or categorize as being a prefabricated home.  Simply put, the HABODE just doesn’t look like a prefabricated structure, built in a factory.  Its design is sharp, well thought out and clever.

The fact of the matter is that quietly literally every month new companies, new architects and new designers are beginning to see the potential of tiny homes, green and sustainable designs and prefabrication techniques.  Momentum is starting to build, and homes like HABODE showcase how this momentum is taking place all across the globe.

Images by HABODE.

Around the globe there is a tremendous amount of prime real estate simply not being used for any real purpose whatsoever.  Many, if not most, property owners do not realize that if they have a large, flat roof there are some really fun and interesting options for what they can do with this space.  In fact, these options can even enhance their lives by giving them not just more space, but a different space than what they currently enjoy.  The Hut puts a spotlight on this idea quite nicely.

Hut is a rather clever idea developed by architect Scotty Batty and designer Morag Myerscogh.  Myerscough wanted a private space for her kitchen in London and decided that she would build a mini-space right on top of the third floor of her 1890′s home.  The end result was the hut.

The Hut is reached by climbing up a simple staircase and while it is only a few feet away from Myerscough’s existing home it feels literally like she is at a retreat home every time she uses it.  Due to the fact that the Hut has such a different design aesthetic, the Hut has become something of an escape.

Myerscough notes that the Hut gives her different light than in her 1890s home as well as a different feel.  Much of this “different light” comes from the fact that the Hut has a large skylight and doors that can be opened to create a very free and flowing space. The design of the Hut is such that it creates a great deal of quite and even privacy as the addition is not visible from street level.

The Hut is constructed entirely out of timber with an eye toward sustainability.  Solar panels also provide for much of the Hut’s power in keeping with this sustainable and green theme.

Part of the Hut’s considerable charm is that the design showcases how much existing space is currently not being properly utilized all over the world. No doubt it is rather sad that there is so much great rooftop space not being enjoyed in some fashion or another and the Hut, with its fresh design, truly underscores this fact.