DIY-Prefab Built on Stilts: Tom Kundig's Sol Duc Cabin © Olson Kundig Architects/ Benjamin Benschneider Three years ago I called Tom Kundig TreeHugger's first Best of Green Architect of the year, saying: There shouldn't be any such thing as "green architecture"--it should be built into every building and taken for granted. It was a controversial choice, given that we are talking about getaways for the wealthy, but that's where the clients are, and when I look at his latest, the Sol Duc Cabin, I remain convinced that nobody does this better. © Olson Kundig Architects/ Benjamin Benschneider Composed of two levels, the cabin’s entry, dining and kitchen areas are located on the lower floor while a sleeping loft hovers above. Most of the structure—the steel frame and panels, the roof, shutters, and stairs—was prefabricated off-site, thereby reducing onsite waste and site disruption. The whole thing closes up tight as a drum for when the owner is away.
fabprefab Sunia Homes Are Modern, Affordable and An Interesting Demonstration of Changing Priorities Sunia Homes/ Laure Joliet/Promo image Green building costs more than conventional building if you just take the same house and add stuff to it, what Philadelphia builder Nic Darling calls "polishing the turd.". To build green affordably, you have to make choices, you have to pick your priorities. The interior of the home is absolutely basic and minimalist, with simple detailing and none of the fancy cabinetry that you find in a typical builders house. Sunia Homes/ Laure Joliet/Promo image The whole house, without land and a few incidentals, comes in at $ 150 per square foot, which is low in California. I think that it is a choice that a lot of people would make: simple, compact designs with well thought out basics instead of marble counters and closets that you can party in. And I love the stairs. Sunia Homes/Promo image
Prefab Green Homes 3-4 bedrooms + additional pods3 baths1 level56' x 54'starting at $635,000optional pod $155,000+ 2-3 bedrooms2-2.5 baths1 level57' x 39' - 6"starting at $350,000 3 bedrooms2 baths1 level60' x 36' | 71' x 40'starting at $465,000+ 2-3 bedrooms2 baths1 level57' x 20' - 6"$285,000+ 2 bedrooms + additional pods2 bathrooms1 level36' x 64' - 6"starting at $465,000optional pod $155,000+ 2-4 bedrooms3 baths2 levels48' x 20' footprintstarting at $446,000 3-4 bedrooms2.5-3 baths2 levels64'10" x 40'starting at $665,000 studio to 2 bedrooms1 bath1 level18'6" x 25' | 18'6" x 37' | 18'6" x 49'starting at $155,000 for full home 2 cars + storageL-Series | W-Series | S-Series | Carport22'x26' | 26'x22' | 26'8"x22'8" | 24'x24'6"garage starts at $45,500carport starts at $30000
Amazing Expanding House Pops Out of Single Trailer © Mehdi Hidari Badie Back in the dawn of the shipping containers as housing era, nobody thought about using empty boxes and shipping air; because of the cost of the box and shipping, people were playing with folding designs. Designer Mehdi Hidari Badie has taken the idea of the pop-up to extremes with what Yanko calls an "Amazing Modern Mobile Home." Blu Homes should hire this guy or pick this unit up for their home shows; it is sort of an extreme version of their folding homes. Really extreme; there are a lot of panels to unfold, a lot of edges that will need gaskets and seals. Yanko writes: This cleverly compact mobile housing design by Mehdi Hidari Badie has got all the bases covered when it comes to making the most of limited space. It is all rather clever, over triple the size of the basic trailer, complete with exterior decks and solar panels on the roof.
Affordable and Versatile Sommerhaus Piu Prefab Vacation Home The collaboration between German industrial designers Patrick Frey and Björn Götte led to the construction of this small but comfortable vacation house named Sommerhaus Piu Prefab Vacation Home. The affordable house can act as a vacation home, a weekend retreat or even a year-round home for those with a small budget. The cabin home displays a modern design that stands out in the middle of nature with its slightly pitched roof and colour duality. 96 Sq. Foot Finnish Micro-Cabin Built Small To Forego Permits © Robin Falck The image of a secluded cabin in the woods recalls the simple, idealistic idyll of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, free of the impositions of society. This beautiful micro-cabin, built beside a lake in Finland, was constructed to go under the radar of Finnish building regulations, which require one to get a permit for anything that is larger than 96 to 128 square feet, depending on the district. Anticipating a one-year stint in the military, owner Robin Falck decided to design a cabin that wouldn't require getting tangled in bureaucratic red tape. Built with a 50 square foot loft above for sleeping and storage, and a ground floor lounge/living area and kitchen and bathroom, the house is designed to maximize the allowed area, plus boosting the capacity for great acoustics and natural daylighting. In addition to the tall window, there's an adjacent deck for a great view of the tranquil surroundings. Winter of 2009/2010 I spent designing and planning the house. © Robin Falck
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.
All-in-One Modular Fold Out Living Room Furniture Set This incredible all-in-one furniture set from Matroshka is still looking for funding – so if you want to have one you might need to become an investor. Named after Russian nesting dolls, this remarkable furniture collection packs down to just 13 square feet but includes: bookshelves, a double bed, corner couch, dinner table, four stools, working space, drawers, a wardrobe and additional storage. Whether or not these are ever mass-produced this great step-by-step furniture photo shoot should at least inspire do-it-yourselfers to think about how you can create your own highly portable and yet remarkably simple modular furniture sets to suit your own spatial needs:
MODS International | emergency housing, temporary housing, man camps, modular housing, container homes, hurricane housing, FEMA Housing Units Small Space Living + Giant Interior Design & Decor Ideas = Living with small apartment square-footage or a cramped condo layout does not have to mean thinking small about constructing and decorating your space, as illustrated by glacier-inspired interior design idea. Contemporary and classy at a glance, modern in color and material, this remodeled apartment is clearly cool in more ways than one – and the back-lit white surfaces do almost seem like sheets of ice between a resident and the outside world. The concept for this clever remodel by Gus Wusterman was derived from the surrounding snow-and-glacier-capped mountains of Lucerne. The design idea carries throughout the space, making the entire place seem more like a landscape than a series of individual rooms and thus bigger and rendering detailed decor largely unnecessary. This design thread culminates in a tiered series of white steps leading up to a rooftop deck from which the rest of the city and mountains can be seen all around.
International Housing and Shelter designs IADDIC Shelters 9 Hours: A Small Boutique Pod Hotel with Minimalist Luxury 9 Hours is its name, brand, identity and purpose all rolled into one. Efficiency, order and functionality are not normally the hallmarks of a boutique hotel – yet this latest (and coolest) in the capsule hotel design chain does share much in common with its overt opposite: the high-end, niched and luxury accommodations that have become the rage in recent decades. So is it cheap or classy? Well, both. While its layout is simple, black-and-white icons and walls are minimal and overall aesthetic is austere, one cannot escape the feeling of walking into a posh place with understated class when entering this capsule hotel in Kyoto, Japan. In addition to 125 capsules, the structure contains locker rooms, lounges and showers for a comfortable overnight stay. All of the iconography to guide one through the hotel complex and introduce people to its concepts reinforces the core concept of the place: simple, functional, black, white and basic from start to finish.