Eco-Dome is one of those ideas that really grab one’s imagination.  The finished design really conjures up the most exotic imagery of space-age adobe homes. In fact, for most people the Eco-Dome will quickly stimulate the imagination, with its sleek curves and innate possibilities. Cal-Earth and architect Nader Khalili are behind the Eco-Dome concept, which definitely makes use of the energy saving concept of building with what is on hand.

The Eco-Dome idea has a lot going for it.  One of its strong points is that it is very environmentally friendly.  The Eco-Dome concept uses no wood or trees of any kind, instead opting for what are called “Superadobe coils.”  The Superadobe coils are a very interesting idea.  These Superadobe coils are building coils that have been filled with either a mixture of soil and cement or lime and stabilized earth.  In short, with Eco-Dome in turns out that you are building an earth home, partially solidified with lime or cement.  This is a simple idea, but very clever one.

They currently offer plans for both 400 square foot models ($2,400) and 800 square foot models ($3,200).  These prices include no building materials and just cover blueprints and engineering calculations.  However, there is little doubt that a Eco-Dome or Double Eco-Dome could be constructed at greatly reduced rate over a traditional wood or brick and mortar home.

One look at the website’s photos and you realize that the concept has some real power.  This idea could be especially good for warmer climates.  Check out the website at www.calearth.org/EcoDome.htm.

While visiting the site, take a look at one of Khalili’s other concepts for an emergency sandbag shelter.  This structure truly looks like something out of a science fiction film.  The inspiration for the design is to take the beehive or the seashell, which are among the strongest shapes in nature,  and use that as a template.  Khalili states on his site, “The strongest structures in nature which work in tune with gravity, friction, minimum exposure and maximum compression, are arches, domes and vault forms.  And they can be easily learned and utilize the most available material on earth: Earth.”  He makes a great case for his point and illuminates the question, “why don’t we build more this way?”

One of my weekend discoveries is this neat little two-in-one bathroom unit by Roca.  It combines a sink and toilet into one, very space-efficient and stylish unit.  I could easily see something like this being fitted into the smallest of tiny homes. Plus I love that with the lid closed, the toilet also serves as a place to sit  (which any long-legged woman who’s ever tried to apply lotion after shaving or pull on a pair of nylons in the bathroom should appreciate)

Although I have a feeling their fixtures are probably more expensive than other options out there and it looks like they distribute primarily in Europe, which could be a challenge to people in the States, the Roca website also has several other small sink and toilet options that are definitely worth a look.

The SolarHome is an eco-friendly, 75 square meter houseboat design created by UK-based Mark Kingsley Architects.  The working model of the SolarHome is currently located in the Lusatian Lakelands in Germany.

The houseboat uses solar energy and has two different modes of operation–Docked mode and Self-sufficient.  In Docked mode, it draws fresh water and power from its moorage.  In Self-Sufficient mode, it’s a self-contained unit and can supposedly operate for 6-12 months at a time.

(Unfortunately, I have no information on it’s water catchment and management system, nor how it handles sewage.  Presumably it must have some sort of containment system for the later.)

The designers are quick to say it offers all the modern amenities one might want and that they are willing to design customized homes.

Credit for the discovery of this groovy little house goes to James, who is rapidly becoming my unofficial researcher for potential articles.  (I have to confess, though, that of all his finds, the river shanty and its colorful inhabitants featured  earlier this week is still my favorite.)

Michael Janzen has just published a more detailed version of his free tiny home plan over on his blog, Tiny House Design.  The current version of the plan can be downloaded here.  It also looks like future plans are in the works!

In other news, GreenGigs website listed Coming Unmoored as “One of 10 Green Blogs You Should Be Reading” this week.  The write-up describes this blog as: “A divorcee, a cat, a very small floating house, and some eco-awesome architecture.”

In speaking to the writer, she admitted that the initial description read “a strange-looking cat” but she didn’t want to be offensive.  Either way, I thought her summary was pretty spot-on.

Each Friday Coming Unmoored will be running a weekly roundup of tiny homes featured on the web and recent news stories that may be of interest to small home enthusiasts.

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Tiny Houses Featured in the Past Week:

• Floating Pods
• Sweetwater Bungalows
• Kentucky River Shanty Boat
• Tumbleweed New Vessica
• 1970 Airstream
• MCS Safe Vardo
• Spaces that Play Double Duty
• Method Homes Green Prefab Series
• Timber Frame Tiny House
• Eco Domes

Recent News Stories on Tiny Homes and the Small Home Movement:

• Americans are Moving on Up to Smaller, Smarter Homes (USA Today)
• Venturi Beach House Moved to New Home (New York Times)
• How to Build a Tiny House by Dee Williams (Yes! Magazine)

One of the most exciting developments in small homes is the number of great builders and architects that are joining this quickly growing movement.  Architect Casper Mork-Ulnes and builder Nick Damner are the founders of MODERN CABANA.  They have an innovative and thoughtful approach to small spaces.  Their concept of The Cabana was built around the notion that “adding space should be simple and affordable, yet look great.”  Founded in 2004 in San Francisco, MODERN CABANA has created building options with a surprising degree of flexibility and charm.

There is a lot to like about the MODERN CABANA strategy.  There are five main design options ranging from 10 X10  to 12 X 25,  with prices ranging from $11,500 to $30,980.  Each of these designs comes with the possibility of additional add-ons, such as higher R-value roof and wall insulation, wood or fiberglass French doors and operable side widows.

Some of the larger units come with interesting options such as maple interior wallboard, exposed rafters, environmentally friendly R-13 recycled denim wall insulation, and renewable bamboo flooring.

Part of what makes MODERN CABANA a stand out is that the company has provided customers with a fantastic assembly process.  Most unassembled kits arrive with a multitude of pieces that need to be assembled by the homeowner.  The Cabanas, in contrast, arrive in pre-assembled panels.  Pre-assembled panels are magical words for anyone who has ever had to assemble anything of consequence!

The MODERN CABANA approach to foundation issues, also helps the company stand out above the crowd.  The Cabana’s are built on concrete piers, similar to what one would find in deck construction.  This change is very significant for it bypasses the time consuming, bothersome (and sometimes expensive) prospect of pouring a concrete slab foundation.

There are some issues that will, not surprisingly, have to be addressed by contractors.  For example, electricity is an important feature that needs to be tackled.  Under no circumstances should you try and handle the wiring of your tiny home, or any other home, yourself.  A plumber will also be required to handle installing all plumbing.  It should be noted that bathrooms are only available in the 12X30 and 13X25 units.  The company estimates that installing a bathroom will cost the homeowner about an additional $6,000 dollars.

Anyone considering a tiny home should give MODERN CABANA a serious look.  They have given the entire prefabricated housing concept a great deal of thought, and have created a variety of good options at different price points.  They can even do custom designs.

Check out the website at www.moderncabana.com

Dee Williams, perhaps one of the best known faces of the small home movement behind Jay Shafer, recently wrote an article for Yes! Magazine about the materials she used to build her own 84 square foot tiny home.

Dee designed her house to be a simple and natural as possible and minimized her construction footprint by using several green building techniques. Using recycled and salvaged materials, she spent only $10,000 to build her home, and that includes the cost of a  240-watt photovoltaic (solar) system.

A full copy of the article is available here.  You can also view of video tour of Dee’s lovely little home below.

The most common email I receive from readers of Coming Unmoored are questions on where they can find free tiny home plans.  Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, there’s not much out there in the way of free plans beyond what you can find in the way of designs for backyard sheds.  And even those seem to be limited.

In a prior article we featured the plans made available to the public by the artist Joseph Kenyon.

While I’m fascinated by the tiny home movement, I have no deep, burning design to draw my own designs beyond figuring out how to best configure the space in my own little place. However, I’ve been following Michael Janzen’s experiments in design over at his blog Tiny House Design. Recently Michael has become an absolute mad scientist when it comes to designing things in Google SketchUp.

Since he seems to have a real passion for design (while I do not), I suggested to Michael awhile back that he’d probably be contributing something of great value to the small home movement if he started making some of his designs publicly available to other small home enthusiasts.

I’m excited to say, Michael posted his first free 8 x 8 foot tiny home blueprint last week.  I encourage you to check it out and keep an eye out for additional plans in the future.

Additionall, f you have any suggestions of other sources for small home plans, we’d love it if you shared them!

Since I seem to have at least a small group of people who follow Coming Unmoored to hear about the updates on my house, I figured I’d share with you the outdoor light I finally settled on to hang over my front door.

It’s probably a difficult to picture yet, but I eventually want my little place to have the feel of a rather eccentric English cottage.  I’m hoping this choice of light fixture will help set the mood a bit.  In selecting a light for outside, I had the additional challenge that there’s not a lot of clearance where the light needs to hang.  That reduced my options of lighting substantially.

It’s not in-your-face noticeable, but I’m hoping the slightly erratic shape and frosted glass will help convey a degree of quirkiness.   The eventual look I’m aiming for could probably be described as  “Brothers Grimm on Water”.  (Somehow that sounds like an Icecapades show gone terribly wrong, but it’s the best I can come up with.)

The official launch date of Jay Shafer’s new tiny house book is April 1st.  However, for the next two weeks you can order an advance release copy via TinyHouseBlog.

The Small House Book is a collection of Shafer’s knowledge and thoughts on designing small homes.  It also includes his personal story and his portfolio of designs.

The book is priced at $36.95 and included several full color photographs.  It’s 7″ x 7″ in size, about a 1/2″ thick, and 197 pages in length.

Admittedly, I’m a huge Jay Shafer groupie, but I think every small house enthusiast should own a copy!  Mine is already on its way.