Eco~Architecture & Eco~Living

Saturday, January 30, 2010

New York Sun Works ~ Greenhouse Project

* About New York Sun Works
* The Greenhouse Project
* The Science Barge
* Press
* People
* Donate
* BrightFarm Systems

nysunworks.org/index ...(more)

New York Sun Works Greenhouse Project

The Greenhouse Project is a program of New York Sun Works dedicated to improving environmental science education in NYC public schools through a hands-on integrated curriculum and professional development.

In partnership with Manhattan School for Children (PS 333), The Greenhouse Project is building the Sun Works Center for Environmental Studies, a model laboratory based on our vision to empower grade-school children to make educated choices about their impact on the environment.

Construction of the Sun Works Center will begin in the spring of 2010 on the roof of the PS 333 school building at West 93rd street and will serve students from Kindergarten through 8th grade, in addition to training educators from around the city, the region, and the world.

Like the Sun Works Center, subsequent Greenhouse Project laboratories will typically accommodate an urban farm and an environmental science laboratory. Students will grow food, while learning hands-on about nutrition, water resource management, efficient land use, climate change, biodiversity, conservation, contamination, pollution, waste management, and sustainable development. To facilitate a hands-on learning environment, the Greenhouse Project laboratory will include solar panels, a hydroponics growing system, a rainwater catchment system, a weather station and a kitchen corner. The greenhouse laboratory will operate as an integrated part of the school’s curricula and will prepare children to exceed New York City’s science standards.

In addition to enhancing the science curriculum, the facility will enrich the school’s arts and social studies curricula by connecting nature to culture. Students will learn the relationship between humans and the environment and will gain a greater appreciation of sustainable development and its direct relationship to cultural diversity. An adapted version of the curriculum is being developed for motor impaired learners and will be implemented at the pilot site.

The Greenhouse Project laboratory will also serve as a site for teacher education and professional development through school day collaborations with neighboring institutions, as well as after school and weekend workshops for teachers and students. These activities will help sustain the project financially, while expanding the scope of its reach.

The Greenhouse Project has its own website: please click here for more information, or please send mail to srobards at nysunworks.org. ...

The Vertical Farm Blog

http://verticalfarmblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/mitchell-joaquim-friend-of-vertical.html

Rolling Stone Magazine
100 People Who Are Changing America;
Mitchell Joachim is #83.

www.terreform.org/people_mj.html

Mitchell Joachim, Ph.D.
Co-Founder

Dr. Joachim is a leader in ecological design and urbanism. He is a Co-Founder at Terreform ONE and Terrefuge. He earned; Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MAUD Harvard University, M.Arch. Columbia University, BPS SUNY at Buffalo with Honors. Dr. Joachim is faculty at Columbia University and Parsons. Formerly an architect at Gehry Partners, and Pei Cobb Freed. He has been awarded the Moshe Safdie Research Fellowship, and the Martin Family Society Fellow for Sustainability at MIT. He won the History Channel and Infiniti Excellence Award for the City of the Future, and Time Magazine Best Invention of the Year 2007, Compacted Car w/ MIT Smart Cities. His project, Fab Tree Hab, has been exhibited at MoMA and widely published. He was chosen by Wired magazine for "The 2008 Smart List: 15 People the Next President Should Listen To". Rolling Stone magazine honored Mitchell as an agent of change in "The 100 People Who Are Changing America". He was selected to be the Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design at the University of Toronto for 2009-2010. Mitchell has also won the TED2010 Fellowship.

Archinode Studio
cell: (617) 285-0901
e-mail: mj@terreform.org

Team: www.terreform.org/people.html

3D Printers To Build Houses

Slashdot | 3D Printers To Build Houses
15 Jan 2007 ... 3D Printers To Build Houses. Posted by kdawson on Mon Jan 15, 2007 04:38 AM from the spray-that-right-here dept. Robotics · Technology ...
hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/15/0038259

Robotics Technology

gbjbaanb writes to point out an article in the Sunday Times describing two separate programs where robots are being developed to build houses. The Los Angeles project is farther along than the one in the UK, but the article provides more details on the techniques employed in the latter. Liquid concrete and gypsum will be sprayed from nozzles in a manner analogous to an inkjet printer. From the article: "The first prototype — a watertight shell of a two-story house built in 24 hours without a single builder on site — will be erected in California before April. The robots are rigged to a metal frame, enabling them to shuttle in three dimensions and assemble the structure of the house layer by layer. The sole foreman on site operates a computer programmed with the designer's plans... Inspired by the inkjet printer, the technology goes far beyond the techniques already used for prefabricated homes. 'This will remove all the limitations of traditional building,' said [an architect involved with the UK project]. 'Anything you can dream you can build.'"

---

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1292795.ece

From The Sunday Times
January 14, 2007
Robo-builder threatens the brickie
Robert Booth

IS THE writing on the wall for the brickie? Engineers are racing to unveil the world’s first robot capable of building a house at the touch of a button.

The first prototype — a watertight shell of a two-storey house built in 24 hours without a single builder on site — will be erected in California before April.

A rival design, being pioneered in the East Midlands, with £1.2m of government funding, will include sunken baths, fireplaces and cornices. There are even plans for robots to supplant painters and decorators by spraying colourful frescoes at an affordable price.

By building almost an entire house from just two materials — concrete and gypsum — the robots will eliminate the need for dozens of traditional components, including floorboards, wooden window frames and possibly even wallpaper. It may eventually be possible to use specially treated gypsum instead of glass window panes.

Engineers on both projects say the robots will not only cut costs and avoid human delays but liberate the normal family homes from the conventional designs of pitched roofs, right-angled walls and rectangular windows. ...

Rapid Re(f)use: New York City Rebuilt From Its Own Trash

Inhabit.com
by Bridgette Meinhold, 01/29/10

New York City, much like any big city, disposes of a lot of trash — but what if that trash could be used in a constructive manner? NYC-based architects Terreform have proposed a new form of construction for the City that uses industrial sized robots to create buildings and islands from waste instead of sending it to landfills like Fresh Kills. They’re calling the project Rapid Re(f)use, and the first design is a reverse of the Statue of Liberty that would be built out in the harbor. ...(more)

Comment:

GreenCorbu Says:
January 30th, 2010 at 11:04 am

WOW!
Just Excellent.
It is a the POWER behind the image that makes the message convincing.
see from their Terrefom URL;
“New York City is disposing of 38,000 tons of waste per day. Most of this discarded material ended up in Fresh Kills landfill before it closed. The Rapid Re(f)use project supposes an extended New York reconstituted from its own landfill material. Our concept remakes the city by utilizing the trash at Fresh Kills. With our method, we can remake seven entirely new Manhattan islands at full scale. Automated robot 3d printers are modified to process trash and complete this task within decades. These robots are based on existing techniques commonly found in industrial waste compaction devices. Instead of machines that crush objects into cubes, these devices have jaws that make simple shape grammars for assembly. Different materials serve specified purposes; plastic for fenestration, organic compounds for temporary scaffolds, metals for primary structures, and etc. Eventually, the future city makes no distinction between waste and supply.”

---

Video: www.metacafe.com/watch/bg-4005890/every_hour/

Every hour New York City produces enough waste to fill the Statue of Liberty. Our concept remakes the city by utilizing the trash. Automated robot 3d printers are modified to process trash and complete this task within decades. Eventually, the future city makes no distinction between waste and supply.

YouTube: City, Ecology, Mobility - With Mitch Joachim, Terreform 1 (and more)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnuJa2LT6iM

Links: www.terreform.org/projects_urbanity_rapid_refuse.html

Rapid Re(f)use - Terreform
2006 - 2008 Terreform ... Our concept remakes the city by utilizing the trash at Fresh Kills. With our method, we can remake seven entirely new Manhattan ...
www.terreform.org/projects_urbanity_rapid_refuse.html

Green Brain - Terreform
2006 - 2008 Terreform. CONTACT. RESEARCH. PROJECTS. ABOUT. URBANITY. PEOPLE. FORWARD · BACK. GREEN BRAIN: A SMART PARK FOR A NEW CITY ...
www.terreform.org/projects_urbanity_greenbrain.html

---

3D Printing and Rapid Manufacturing machines: Rapid prototyping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_prototyping

RepRap Project: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RepRap_Project

Low Cost 3D Printer for Desktop Manufacturing of Bio-material Scaffolds
http://www.mechatronics.canterbury.ac.nz/research/research_proj.shtml

Turning Trash Piles Into a Bird-Watcher’s Paradise

NY Times
y JAMES BARRON
Published: January 25, 2010

Every other month for the last year, the parks department has led birders through Freshkills [a public dump site for NYC for 50 years]. This explains why Mr. Wollney, a public programs associate from the Staten Island Museum, was climbing a 150-foot mountain on Sunday morning, trailed by more than 20 others who had signed up for the tour...

Enter the bird-watchers, their high-powered binoculars and long-lens cameras around their necks, their illustrated reference guides in their pockets.

Every other month for the last year, the parks department has led birders through Freshkills. This explains why Mr. Wollney, a public programs associate from the Staten Island Museum, was climbing a 150-foot mountain on Sunday morning, trailed by more than 20 others who had signed up for the tour.

The mountain was once a garbage pile. Now it has been sealed off with a plastic membrane and covered with a special kind of grass. Maybe on a clear day a Burton Lane-Alan Jay Lerner song would come to mind. Sunday, with blustery winds and a spitting sky, was not that day.... (more)

www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/nyregion/26bird.html

Flat Pack Tree House

www.dezeen.com/2010/01/28/zelfbouwboomhut-by-aandeboom/#more-62364

Zelfbouwboomhut by Aandeboom
January 28th, 2010

Utrecht designers Rogier Martens and Sam van Veluw of Aandeboom have designed a flat-packed play house that can be attached to the trunk of a tree.

Called Zelfbouwboomhut (Build-it-Yourself Treehouse), the playhouse is made of wooden panels that can be slotted together and strapped to a tree using the ties provided.

... (more)

Architect: http://aandeboom.nl/112400/Zelfbouwboomhut

Here’s some text from Aandeboom:

A boys dream hanging on a tree

“As a little boy we already build three houses: Making an unique place to play outside in the branches of a tree. However we could not go any further than a diagonally strip floor made from some old pieces of scrap wood. The designers Rogier Martens (1978) en Sam van Veluw (1982) combined their experience and made a innovative design making this boys dream accessible to everyone.”

The build-it-yourself tree house is a design made of water-resistant panels, straps and lashings. The tree house can be made using the panels and fixed to the tree using the straps and lashings. The ready to use format is handy and accessible for everyone. At the same time you can give it your own character and design. A boys dream comes within reach.

Designers: Rogier Martens en Sam van Veluw
Material: Water resistance clued multiplex, straps and lashings
Dimensions (l x w x h): 1220 x 1000 x 1220 mm
Price: on request

Friday, January 29, 2010

Innovida ~ Innogreen

InnoVida is a manufacturer of building materials. They have developed a composite building material called InnoVidaPanels (Composite Structural Insulated Panels or CSIPs), an alternative to traditional construction materials, whith the goal of allowing for faster and cost-effective construction. InnoVida's 'sandwich panels' are similar to the materials used to make watercraft and aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.

InnoVida's panels are becoming more accepted as an alternative to traditional construction materials. They are sold as being stronger, more flexible than cement, steel or bricks and also non-flammable, waterproof and hurricane resistant. ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InnoVida

World Headquarters
InnoVida Holdings, LLC, InnoVida Services, Inc.
560 Lincoln Rd. Ste. 303
Miami Beach, FL 33139, USA

Tel: +1-786-837 7200
Fax: +1-305-674 8369
Email Us for directions to the factory

Innovida.com

Advanced Technology for the Construction Industry

InnoVida™ manufactures building solutions utilizing its patented, state-of-the-art Fiber-Composite products. At present, the company's core products are Composite Structural Insulated Panels and bonding materials. InnoVidaPanels™, InnoVidaResin™ and InnoVidaBond™ are produced using proprietary synthetic composite materials and industrial processes similar to those now generally accepted by the marine and aircraft construction industries. InnoVida's cutting-edge approach addresses, in a totally new way, both components of the built environment: what the structural material is made of, and how the materials come together during construction.

Structures built using InnoVidaPanels™:

* Are built fast. Structures that are 375sft, 700sft and 1,291sft, can be built in 24 hours, 48 hours and 7 days, respectively. This is nearly 70% faster than traditional construction.
* Are high-quality, durable, non-flammable, waterproof and do not provide a food source for algae or mold growth.
* Are strong enough to withstand the catastrophic elements of earthquakes, floods, tornados, hurricanes, fires and other natural disasters.
* Promote a healthier global environment by producing very litle construction-site waste, air pollution and natural-resource consumption.
* Can be built with no heavy equipment and nominal skilled labor is required.
* InnoVidaPanel™ insulative core, significantly reduces the amount of energy needed to heat and/or cool the structure and provides excellent noise reduction.
* Can be furnished with built-in platform beds, table, desk, closets, cabinets, and more, made from InnoVida™ materials
* Can include curved shapes and be covered with any desired finish (stone, stucco, wallpaper, etc.)

InnoVida respects the Green initiative in housing worldwide by providing products and processes that result in a significantly reduced "Carbon Imprint" when compared with traditional building systems. ...(more)

Projects: Floating Homes:

Projects: Self-Sustainable Home:

This InnoVida house is totally self-sustainable by utilizing solar panels and rain water collection, which is treated through our water treatment system.

Global Village Shelters

I want to build these (really, just assemble). Starting at $550.00, flat pack plastic coated cardboard, 2 person setup. Good for 18 months or more. Can be made to last longer. Let's try one out at Life School for starters, and one as a studio / workshop / tool shed on my lots in Panajachel. Pretty great idea. Use four spread apart, with ramada in between, and fountain / pool in central patio. Beautiful! Then produce longer-lasting ones as another business here in Guatemala, in partnership with Global Village? This could help finish the last of the rebuilding after Hurricane Stan and create more classrooms for the schools.

Configurations:

www.gvshelters.com/20m_configurations.htm

The 20 meter shelter can be linked together in many configurations making larger structures immediately possible. The shelter is designed so the doors will line up, still allowing for maximum interior wall space when linked. This is important when creating a facility for medical purposes, security offices, food storage and preparation, staff housing for NGO's, educational buildings, etc. The possibilities are endless. ...(more)

Materials and Design

The design is a simple structure that would give the affected person/ family stability (durability) and safety during a disaster or refugee situation. To accomplish durability, the shelter has a concentric “ring” structure; the units have withstood winds up to 80 mph. The shelter is built out of a very strong 13mm Polypropylene profile sheet (thick UV resistant white plastic, often used in outdoor applications). Materials safety data is available upon request. The material is biologically inert, does not off gas, and can be reground (recycled) throughout the world. All edges are reinforced with polypropylene extrusions to prevent wear in this high traffic area, also adding strength to the door area and other stress points. All shelter components are pre fabricated and installed prior to shipping and packing. Material samples are can be requested by emailing mferrara@ferraradesign.com.

There are no comparable shelters actively on the market. The cost and ease of set up are both significant benefits for GVS as disaster relief housing. GVS allows any person to set up their own housing without much guidance or strength- no tools are required. GVS also offers several comfort factors: a removable acrylic window with a screen, dual locking door system, and optional fire safe stove pipe aperture in the wall. There are several options that can also be added to the GVS, such as various flooring solutions (including, but not limited to tarps, plywood/ foam, elevated flooring). The cross ventilation creates a temperature equilibrium with the outdoor temps in warm climates- it will not get warmer than the outside temperature.

Duration

The shelter will last 18 months or more. It is possible to extend this time period by using the walls as a footprint on which to build either with brick, mud, hay-bale materials, wood, corrugated tin, et al and providing a more substantial floor (not a tarp); basic maintenance like this can greatly extend its life. We recommend putting shelter units on raised platforms, creating a stable (you can screw the unit onto the platform) and level floor.

...(more)

Global Village Shelters LLC
221 Looking Glass Hill Morris, CT 06763 USA
email for information and inquiries: mferrara@ferraradesign.com
telephone: 860.567.4118 fax: 860.567.4265

Global Village Shelters LLC is a for-profit company based in Litchfield County Connecticut, USA. It is co-owned by father-daughter team Daniel A Ferrara and Mia Ferrara Pelosi.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_Insulated_Panels

Structural insulated panels (or structural insulating panels), SIPs, are a composite building material. They consist of a sandwich of two layers of structural board with an insulating layer of foam in between. The board can be sheet metal or oriented strand board (OSB) and the foam either expanded polystyrene foam (EPS), extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) or polyurethane foam.

SIPs share the same structural properties as an I-beam or I-column. The rigid insulation core of the SIP performs as a web, while the OSB sheathing exhibits the same properties as the flanges. SIPs replace several components of conventional building such as studs and joists, insulation, vapor barrier and air barrier. As such they can be used for many different applications such as exterior wall, roof, floor and foundation systems.

Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Materials
* 3 Benefits and drawbacks
* 4 Dimensions and characteristics
* 5 Standardization and design
* 6 References
* 7 External links

History

Although foam-core panels gained attention in the 1970s, the idea of using stress skinned panels for construction began in the 1930s. Research and testing of the technology was done primarily by Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wisconsin as part of U.S. Forest Service's attempts to conserve forest resources. In 1937, a small stressed-skin house was constructed and garnered enough attention to bring in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to dedicate the house. In a testament to the durability of such panel structures, it has endured the severe Wisconsin climate and is currently being used by University of Wisconsin–Madison as a day care center. With the success of the stress skinned panels, it was suggested stronger skins could take all of the structural load and eliminate the frame altogether.

Thus in 1947, structural insulated panel development began with corrugated paperboard cores were tested with various skin materials of plywood, tempered hardboard and treated paperboard. The building was dismantled in 1978 and most of the panels retained their original strength with the exception of paperboard which is unsuited to outdoor exposure. Panels consisting of polystyrene core and paper overlaid with plywood skins were used in a building in 1967 and the panels have performed well to the present day.

Materials

SIPs are most commonly made of OSB panels sandwiched around a foam core made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS) or rigid polyurethane foam, but other materials can be used, such as plywood, pressure-treated plywood for below-grade foundation walls, steel, aluminum, cementitious panels, and even exotic materials like stainless steel, fiber-reinforced plastic, and Magnesium Oxide. Some SIPs use fiber-cement or plywood for the panels, and agricultural fiber, such as wheat straw, for the core.

Benefits and drawbacks

The use of SIPs brings many benefits and some drawbacks when compared to a conventional framed building. A well-built home using SIPs will have a tighter building envelope and the walls will have higher insulating properties, which leads to fewer drafts and a decrease in operating costs for maintaining a comfortable interior environment for the occupants. Also, due to the standardized and all-in-one nature of SIPs construction time can be reduced over building a frame home as well as requiring fewer trades for system integration. The panels can be used as floor, wall, and roof, with the use of the panels as floors being of particular benefit when used above an uninsulated space below.

An OSB skinned system structurally outperforms conventional stick framed construction in some cases; primarily in axial load strength. SIPs maintain similar versatility to stick framed houses when incorporating custom designs. Also, since SIPs work as framing, insulation, and exterior sheathing, and can come precut from the factory for the specific job, the exterior building envelope can be built quite quickly.

The EPS insulation is a closed cell insulation whereas fiberglass is an open cell insulation. When tested under laboratory conditions, the SIP, included in a wall, foundation, floor, or roof system, is installed in a steady-state (no air infiltration) environment; systems incorporating fiberglass insulation are not installed in steady-state environments as they require ventilation to remove moisture.

With the exception of structural metals, such as steel, all structural materials creep over time. In the case of SIPs, the creep potential of OSB faced SIPs with EPS or polyurethane foam cores has been studied[1] and creep design recommendations exist[2]. The long-term effects of using unconventional facing and core materials require material specific testing to quantify creep design values.

Many asphalt shingle manufacturers will not warrantee their product over a SIP. Shingles tend to overheat and research has shown a shortened life span [3]

Dimensions and characteristics

In the United States, SIPs tend to come in sizes from 4 feet (1.22 m) to 24 feet (7.32 m) in width. Elsewhere, typical product dimensions are 300, 600, or 1200 mm wide and 2.4, 2.7, and 3 m long, with roof SIPs up to 6 m long. Smaller sections ease transportation and handling, but the use of the largest panel possible will create the best insulated building. At 15−20 kg/m², longer panels can become difficult to work with without the use of a crane to position them, and this is a consideration that must be taken into account due to cost and site limitations. Also of note is that when needed for special circumstances longer spans can often be requested, such as for a long roof span. Typical U.S. height for panels is eight or nine feet (2.44 to 2.75 m). Panels come in widths ranging from 4 to 12 inches thick and a rough cost is $4-$6/sq. ft. in the U.S.[4]

EPS is the most common of the foams used and has an R-value (thermal resistance) of about 4 K·m²/W per 25 mm thickness, which would give the 3.5 inches of foam in a 4.5 inch thick panel an R value of 13.8 (caution: extrapolating R-values over thickness may be imprecise due to non-linear thermal properties of most materials). This at face value appears to be comparable to an R-13 batt of fiberglass, but because in a standard stick frame house there is significantly more wall containing low R value wood that acts as a cold bridge, the thermal performance of the R-13.8 SIP wall will be considerably better.

The air sealing features of SIP homes resulted in the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program to establish an inspection protocol in lieu of the typically required blower door test to assess the home's air leakage. This serves to speed the process and save the builder/homeowner money.

Standardization and design

The International Building Code references APA, Plywood Design Specification 4—Design & Fabrication of Plywood Sandwich Panels[5] for the design of SIPs. This document addressed the basic engineering mechanics of SIP panels but does not provide design properties for the panels provided by any specific manufacturer. In 2007, prescriptive design provisions for OSB faced SIPs were first introduced in the 2006 International Residential Code. These provisions provide guidance on the use of SIPs as walls panels only.

Aside from these non-proprietary standards, the SIP industry has relied heavily on proprietary code evaluation reports. In early 2009, SIPA partnered with NTA, Inc., a product certification agency, to produce the first industry wide code report[6] which is available to all SIPA members who qualify. Unlike previous code reports, the prescriptive provisions provided in the SIPA code report are derived from an engineering design methodology[2] which permits the design professional to consider loading conditions not addressed in the code report.

While the use of SIPs has many potential benefits, caution must be used to ensure that the lack of consideration for such effects does not lead to the creation of ill-designed structures. Use of an experienced architect or designer will minimize this potential issue.

References

1. ^ Taylor, S.B, Manbeck, H.B, Janowiak, J.J, Hiltunum, D.R. "Modeling Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) Flexural Creep Deflection." J. Structrual Engineering, Vol. 123, No. 12, December, 1997.
2. ^ a b NTA IM 14 TIP 01, Engineered Design Guide Using NTA Listing Report Data. NTA, Inc. Nappanee, IN. 3/19/2009, 12 pgs.
3. ^ Structural Insulated Panel Association
4. ^ http://www.greenwall.us/files/GreenWallInc_PriceList.pdf
5. ^ APA. Plywood Design Specification Supplement 4: Design and Fabrication of Plywood Sandwich Panels. Document U814-H. March 1990.
6. ^ SIPA code report information SIPA code report requirements at SIPA web site

* Breyer, Stephen (October 1972), "Copyright: A Rejo…", UCLA Law Review 20: 75–83

External links

* Structural Insulated Panel Association - Industry association for manufacturers of SIPs
* SIPA code report information - SIPA code report requirements.
* NTA SIPA120908-10 - Latest version and current status of the SIPA code report.
* NTA IM 14 TIP 01 Engineered Design Guide for SIPs Using NTA Listing Report Data - Engineering Design guide for SIPs manufactured under the SIPA code report.
* PATH Tech Inventory: Structural Insulated Panels
* PATH Tech Inventory: Fiber-cement Faced Structural Insulated Panels

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_insulated_panel"
Categories: Building engineering | Building insulation materials | Building materials | Composite materials

...(more)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Area, arquitectura

Detalle de corredor de ingreso y piscina (POSADA DEL ANGEL)
English: Detail of entrance corridor and swimming pool (House of the ANGEL), typical Spanish Colonial Architecture of Guatemala

Fotografias de Algunos Proyectos Realizados.
Projects photo page (click for more photos): http://www.areaarquitectura.4t.com/photo.html

El lugar perfecto para que sepa como contactarnos. Nuestras oficinas centrales estan localizadas en:

* La Calzada Santa Lucia Sur No. 5, de la Antigua Guatemala
* Telefonos (502)7 8328-224
* Fax (502)7 8328-224
* Mobiles: (502) 56635525, (502)41790474

Contacto: Guido Echeverria
correos Electronicos: area1@areaarquitectura.4t.com

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sketch and Floor Plan - Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Casita 900 sq. ft.

Floor Plan 900 sq. ft.

Art Studio, guest house:

Casa pequeña (500 sq. ft)

From my wonderful architect, "Eddy" Amilcar Ovalle: eddyovalle@gmail.com, tel. (502) 4198.1877. His office in on the ground floor of my apartment building on Calle de los Tigres (near the Post Office) in Panajachel. What could be better? These are first drafts for lot #1 or #2 (out of four building lots I have near the Lake) along with an even smaller "casita," guest house "Casa pequeña." More to come... CT

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Building With Whole Trees

Paul Kelley for The New York Times

Roald Gundersen built his home and greenhouse using whole tree for structure and support. More Photos >

By ANNE RAVER
Published: November 4, 2009

STODDARD, Wis.
The Forester-Architect
Paul Kelley for The New York Times

The loft in the Stoddard, Wisc. home of Amelia Baxter and Mr. Gundersen. More Photos »

ROALD GUNDERSEN, an architect who may revolutionize the building industry, shinnied up a slender white ash near his house here on a recent afternoon, hoisting himself higher and higher until the limber trunk began to bend slowly toward the forest floor.

“Look at Papa!” his life and business partner, Amelia Baxter, 31, called to their 3-year-old daughter, Estella, who was crouching in the leaves, reaching for a mushroom. Their son, Cameron, 9 months, was nestled in a sling across Ms. Baxter’s chest.

Wild mushrooms and watercress are among the treasures of this 134-acre forest, but its greatest resource is its small-diameter trees — thousands like the one Mr. Gundersen, 49, was hugging like a monkey.

“Whooh!” he said, jumping to the ground and gingerly rubbing his back. “This isn’t as easy as it used to be. But see how the tree holds the memory of the weight?”

The ash, no more than five inches thick, was still bent toward the ground. Mr. Gundersen will continue to work on it, bending and pruning it over the next few years in this forest which lies about 10 miles east of the Mississippi River and 150 miles northwest of Madison.

Loggers pass over such trees because they are too small to mill, but this forester-architect, who founded Gundersen Design in 1991 and built his first house here two years later, has made a career of working with them.

“Curves are stronger than straight lines,” he explained. “A single arch supporting a roof can laterally brace the building in all directions.”

The firm, recently renamed Whole Tree Architecture and Construction, is also owned by Ms. Baxter, a onetime urban farmer and community organizer with a knack for administration and fundraising. She also manages a community forest project modeled after a community-supported agriculture project, in which paying members harvest sustainable riches like mushrooms, firewood and watercress from these woods, and those who want to build a house can select from about 1,000 trees, inventoried according to species, size and shape, and located with global positioning system coordinates, a living inventory that was paid for with a $150,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.

According to research by the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, run by the USDA, a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree. So Mr. Gundersen uses small-diameter trees as rafters and framing in his airy structures, and big trees felled by wind, disease or insects as powerful columns and curving beams.

Taking small trees from a crowded stand in the forest is much like thinning carrots in a row: the remaining plants get more light, air and nutrients. Carrots grow longer and straighter; trees get bigger and healthier.

And when the trees are left whole, they sequester carbon. “For every ton of wood, a ton and a half of carbon dioxide is locked up,” he said, whereas producing a ton of steel releases two to five tons of carbon. So the more whole wood is used in place of steel, the less carbon is pumped into the air.

These passive solar structures also need very little or no supplemental heat.

Tom Spaulding, the executive director of Angelic Organics Learning Center, near Rockford, Ill., northwest of Chicago, knows about this because he commissioned Mr. Gundersen to build a 1,600-square-foot training center in 2003. He said: “In the middle of winter, on a 20-below day, we’re in shorts, with the windows and doors open. And we don’t burn a bit of petroleum.”

“It’s eminently more frugal and sustainable than milling trees,” he added. “These are weed trees, so when you take them out, you improve the forest stand and get a building out of it. You haven’t stripped an entire hillside out west to build it, or used a lot of oil to transport the lumber.”

Mr. Gundersen had a rough feeling for all of this 16 years ago, when he started building a simple A-frame house here for his first wife and their son, Ian, now 15. He wanted to encourage local farmers to use materials like wood and straw from their own farms to build low-cost, energy-efficient structures. So he used small aspens that were crowding out young oaks nearby.

“I would just carry them home and peel them,” said Mr. Gundersen, who later realized he could peel them while they were standing, making them “a lot lighter to haul and not so dangerous to fell.”

Mr. Gundersen, who built most of the house singlehandedly, also recognized the beauty of large trees downed by disease or wind, and used the peeled trunks, shorn of their central branches a few feet from the crook, as supporting columns in the house. “I thought they were beautiful, but I didn’t think how strong they were,” he said.

... (more)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Shipping Container Size & Dimensions

http://secure4.data-comm.com/servlet/FW/-strse-131/45-Foot-High-Cube/Detail

45HC USED High Cube Shipping Container Cargo Worthy Steel

45' Storage Container High Cube Cargo Worthy Shipping or Storage Container For Sale Standard Steel Especially for light voluminous cargo and overheight cargo up to maximum 2.70 m 8 ft 10 in see table Numerous lashing devices on the top and bottom longitudinal rails and the corner posts Lashing devices have a permissible load of 1000 kg 2205 Ibs each Consider overheight for inland transportation Note permissable weight limits for road and rail transport

SKU: 45HCSCCW-S

Price: $1,720.50

Shipping

Shipping Container Architecture

Copyright © 2002-2009 by Zack Smith.
All rights reserved.

Introduction
This is a webpage devoted to listing as many examples of people using shipping containers as architectural elements as I can find, in an effort to embolden people to use containers in building projects, when and where doing so is feasible and appropriate. Be aware that containers are not a perfect building material, since they tend to corrode, but they have been used effectively in some cases, especially in areas near saltwater. This is mainly a links page, and I cannot guarantee anything at all about the sites that I am offering links to, but I try to periodically search for and add links that are fresh and offer something useful and interesting, and I remove bad links and projects where information is incomplete. If you have a site worth adding, or experiences to relate in using containers for building, please contact me.

firmitas.org

Container Bay

Container Bay: many wonderful and innovative designs with photos and sketches and award winners:
http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm

Keep up-to-date with prefab developments - sign up for the fabprefab newsletter
News of prefab happenings.

Prefab dwellings available now.

Prefab projects in development.
Arch. School prefab projects
For shipping container enthusiasts.

Other non-modernist projects.

Books, articles, links.

The fabprefab discussion boards.

modular, modernist... say what?

There is growing interest in the use of shipping containers as the basis for habitable structures. These "icons of globalization" are relatively inexpensive, structurally sound and in abundant supply. Although, in raw form, containers are dark windowless boxes (which might place them at odds with some of the tenets of modernist design...) they can be highly customizable modular elements of a larger structure.

The projects below are sorted alphabetically (by company or designer's name). In addition to the container-based projects listed below we offer links to useful web sites and relevant books.

Selected projects utilizing shipping containers.

Info credits: Zack Smith, Kevin Tze King Ho.

Shipping Container Hostel / School

Source: firmitas.org

Shipping Container Hostel
Client Simonstown High School
(Principle: Mr Jan de Vaal)
Consulting Engineers VKE (021) 469-9400
Architect Paul Cooper (021) 469-9499
Main Contractor Wayne's Custom Creations
Sub Contractor Leon Roman Building

The Simon's Town High School Hostel was completed in mid 1998 and was officially opened on the 30th November 1998 by Professor Kader Asmal, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry.

This building is unique as the bulk of the building was constructed using recycled shipping containers. It is believed that this structure is the largest building in the world constructed primarily from containers. The project began with Safmarine's donation of 40 used shipping containers to the Simon's Town High School. VKE Engineers were called in as project facilitators with Paul Cooper as architectural consultant.

After consultation with the school, it was agreed to initiate the project in a spirit of openness and transparency. An advertisement in the local newspaper invited the submission of design proposals. The main criteria were that the school must accommodate 120 boarders and the budget was set at 1.3 million. Also to be included in the design was a 2 bedroom flat for the hostel manager and 2 flatlets for staff. All alternative forms of construction could be used.

A site meeting was held with 5 interested building contractors where everyone was briefed on the project.

At the opening of tender only VKE's proposal was submitted. The tender at this stage was three hundred thousand Rands less than the budget.

DESIGN CONCEPT

The design evolved around the use of the 40 shipping containers with the realisation that in order to accommodate 120 students further containers would be required or alternatively extra buildings could be built using conventional building methods. The concept evolved around a central core built using traditional brick and mortar as the wet services area housing the ablutions with the wings constructed out of containers to house the sleeping accommodation.

The design took advantage of the fantastic panoramic views from the site overlooking False Bay with covered balconies serving the dual function of circulation and outdoor living areas. Architectural expression borrowed from the surrounding Victorian architectures with large overhangs and hipped roofs. The style proved very successful in disguising the containers, as the roof structure became the dominant visual element of the building.

THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

The awarding of the building contract posed a problem in that a builder was required who not only had traditional building skills but also skills in container conversions. Only one suitable contractor was found with experience in container conversion, but with limited building experience. The practical solution lay in the contract being awarded to the container converter with a subcontractor building the central core.

The building process started with the casting of concrete bases for each container. Due to limited access to site the containers were first converted prior to placement. This involved cutting out some intermediate walls and openings for windows and doors. Containers were then placed in position using portable cranes. No fixing was made to the concrete bases due to the extreme expansive properties of metal containers. The containers were then bolted together to function as one unit prior to derusting and treatment with a special anti-rust paint. A timber floor and timber windows and doors were fitted. Walls were clad internally in 12mm melamine board. Eaves were left open to facilitate ventilation.

Initial reaction from the surrounding property owners was one of horror on hearing that a container squatter camp was apparently being built on their doorstep. The result was a six month delay while it was debated whether the municipality has the legal right to approve an unorthodox building method without the consent of the community. This concern was possibly amplified at the construction stage when all containers were stacked three high prior to final painting. At this stage the building site had the appearance of a container depot!

The end product is a building that has proved aesthetically and functionally successful. The initial construction cost increased from 1 to R1,3 million due to changes and upgrading of the building finishes. Construction costs to the school worked out at one thousand one hundred Rand per m\2 , a substantial saving over a similar building built using conventional methods.

At the completion of the project the question must be asked - " Are containers a solution to low cost buildings?" I can only answer yes, provided the design is 2 storeys or higher as the major savings in such a building result mainly from savings in shuttering and speed of erection. This building will undergo a post-occupancy evalution over the next 5 years to evaluate the general performance of the construction method.

---

http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm

containerbay
Each Sauna Box is site specific and custom built. 054. Simonstown High School Shipping Container Hostel. Paul Cooper. South Africa. Built in 1998 ...
www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

12 Shipping Container House

www.prefabs.com/PrefabHomes/AdamKalkin/12ContainerHouse.htm

Adam Kalkin 12 shipping container house
Casa del 12 contenedor del kalkin de Adam Kalkin / Web Urbanist

Adam Kalkin is part artist, part architect. His 12 Container Home design shows off both parts flawlessly. Built from – surprise – 12 recycled shipping containers, the ultra-modern open-air home somehow manages to feel cozy. The unique T-shaped design leaves a completely open center living area with floor-to-ceiling windows. ...

Translate: En español

Adán Kalkin es artista de la parte, arquitecto de la parte. Su diseño casero de 12 envases demuestra apagado ambas piezas sin defectos. Construido - sorpresa - de 12 contenedores reciclados, el hogar al aire libre ultramoderno maneja de alguna manera sentir acogedor. El diseño T-shaped único deja un área viva de centro totalmente abierta con las ventanas del piso-a-techo. ...

http://weburbanist.com/2009/12/01/cargo-shipping-container-house-home/4-adam-kalkin-12-container-house

Container Architecture, from Web Urbanist:

20 Shipping Container Cities, Apartments and Emergency Shelters

Posted: 07 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

More classrooms for LIFE School in Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala?

---

Adam Kalkin: http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibit/architecture/team-godsell.html

Quik-Build House: http://www.quik-build.com/quikHouse/QH_video.htm

Video Container Housing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65C9OLvmjpI

A clip from History Channel's "Modern Marvels" about London's Container City - a project which utilises end of life shipping containers into habitable accommodation ...

http://weburbanist.com/2008/05/26/cargo-container-homes-and-offices/

---

Great site for Shipping Container Architecture: firmitas.org

Introduction
This is a webpage devoted to listing as many examples of people using shipping containers as architectural elements as I can find, in an effort to embolden people to use containers in building projects, when and where doing so is feasible and appropriate. Be aware that containers are not a perfect building material, since they tend to corrode, but they have been used effectively in some cases, especially in areas near saltwater. This is mainly a links page, and I cannot guarantee anything at all about the sites that I am offering links to, but I try to periodically search for and add links that are fresh and offer something useful and interesting, and I remove bad links and projects where information is incomplete. If you have a site worth adding, or experiences to relate in using containers for building, please contact me.

http://firmitas.org

Cho Yang Shipping from
http://firmitas.org

Friday, October 30, 2009

Shipping Container Homes and Offices

http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/containerbayhome.htm

[add photos & links]

http://weburbanist.com/2008/05/26/cargo-container-homes-and-offices/

http://dornob.com/diy-used-cargo-homes-shipping-container-house-plans/

10 Clever Architectural Creations Using Cargo Containers: Shipping Container Homes and Offices

By Urbanist in Architecture & Design, Environment & Nature, Featured Articles, Urban Everything, Urban Images, Various

(Check out our complete collection of 70 Works of Recycled Art and Design.)

With the green theme growing in popularity across every stretch of the world, more and more people are turning to cargo container homes for green alternatives for office, and even new home, construction. There are countless numbers of empty, unused shipping containers around the world just sitting on the shipping docks and taking up space. The reason for this is that it’s too expensive for a country to ship empty containers back to the their origin in most cases, it’s just cheaper to buy new containers from Asia. The result is an extremely high surplus of empty shipping containers that are just waiting to become someone’s home or office. Design, buy or build your shipping container home today!

Shipping Container Architecture
There are plenty of benefits of to the so-called shipping container architecture model. A few of these advantages include: they are plentiful, they are easily transported, they’re stackable, relatively inexpensive (as little as $900 for a used container), they can be prefabricated, and they’re extremely durable. Residential applications are also becoming a popular topic of conversation among green supporters. The first official 2-story shipping container home in the US was designed by Southern California architect Peter DeMaria in 2006. The only big obstacle that he encountered during construction of his shipping container pad was making sure that the house passed all of the strict guidelines of the Uniform Building Code (UBC).

Shipping Container House
In other parts of the world, places like Odessa, Ukraine already have the the biggest shopping mall in all of Europe which uses stacked shipping containers to form alleys throughout the 170 acre site. In Asia, the Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is almost entirely composed of empty shipping containers stacked two high and chock-full of inexpensive trinkets and toys. So, in other words, shipping container architecture is nothing new, but it is new when it comes to residential and office applications.

This great example of shipping container architecture was created by architects Pieter Peelings and Silvia Mertens of Sculp(IT). They live and work in these shipping containers which are stacked four high. The entire space is 2.4 meters wide by 5.5 meters deep by 12 meters high. The bottom floor is used for work, dining room is located on the second floor, relaxation room on the third, and spectacular rooftop views from the fourth Ã¢â‚¬â€œ including a relaxing spa.

This award-winning office design by Clive Wilkinson is made out of stacked shipping containers is the home office of Palotta TeamWorks, a US charity event company. The 47,000 square foot warehouse is filled with shipping containers that have been transformed into modern office spaces. This design layout saved the company a ton of money on construction costs, and it allowed the entire space to be more open and airy.

The world’s first hotel built from recycled shipping containers has popped-up in Uxbridge, West London. Each prefabricated container comes fully-equipped with fixtures, furniture, and windows from a factory in China. The company, called Travelodge, says that constructing a hotel this way is 25% faster and 10% cheaper than the more traditional construction methods. Also, construction is much quicker, because all that has to be done is to fit each container together like it was a giant Lego set. Rooms at this London hotel start at about Ã¯Â¿Â¡19 per night. The London area may see more these ‘portable hotels’ pop-up around the city as the 2012 Olympics approaches.

Opened in 1998, the Simon’s Town High School Hostel is constructed almost entirely of used shipping containers. This amazing place is constructed out of 40 large shipping containers to be exact, and it’s big enough to accommodate up to 120 boarders. The hostel manager gets his own 2 bedroom flat, while the other staff share 2 separate flatlets. Area residents were concerned that the project would prove to be an eyesore to the community since it was made from grungy old shipping containers, but the final result proved otherwise with a modern-looking structure that is incredibly durable and aesthetically pleasing at the same time.

This shipping container home from the so-called Zigloo Domestique project in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada is a residential home created by Keith Dewey. The home is built out of old shipping containers, and the owner chose to paint them with an industrial strength minty-green enamel, commonly found on shipping containers today, in order to maintain the container’s roots in the shipping business. While the exterior of the home may look a little rugged, due to the protruding containers, the 2,000 square foot interior of the house is quite comfortable and modern. The project cost about $150 per square foot, compared to a similar quality traditional construction project that can cost about $250 per square foot.

This stunning home is almost like a piece of art that you can live in. Constructed using 12 recycled shipping containers, the 12 container home home has all of the modern conveniences of a traditionally built home but with a unique element of style as well. A modern kitchen, huge wide-open floor plan, and gigantic windows that bring in tons of natural lighting are just a few of the great features of this home Ã¢â‚¬â€œ plus, construction costs were relatively inexpensive when compared to traditional construction.

This 2,000 square foot home, built in 2001, is actually built around a smaller cottage-style house that has stood in that location for decades. The cottage house almost looks like a gigantic version of a dollhouse inside of the huge storage shed that forms the exterior of this innovative house. The 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home is also made from 5 large shipping containers Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 3 on the bottom, and 2 stacked on top of those. This place also contains all of the modern features of a ‘normal’ home, but it’s supposedly built to last much longer. The creator of this innovative home is Adam Kalkin, and he’s actually selling these homes for as little as $76,000, or less than $100 per square foot Ã¢â‚¬â€œ not a bad deal considering traditional construction of a new home averages about double that amount.

This 3,000 square foot L.A. home features multiple storage containers in its design Ã¢â‚¬â€œ each with its own purpose. There’s a storage container for the entertainment area, library, dining room/office space, master bedroom, and bathroom/laundry room. This place has plenty of large windows which provide plenty of natural lighting as well as awesome views of the garden and koi pond outside. Aside from using recycled storage containers, this home also uses recycled steel scraps in its construction which further adds to the green vibe that this home resonates Ã¢â‚¬â€œ not to mention saved a ton of money on construction costs.
Next: More Awesome Shipping Container Homes
And: Design or Buy Shipping Container Homes

Also see natural phenomena, oddities & wonders on WebEcoist and view amazing architecture, incredible interiors, fantastic furniture and more dynamic designs at Dornob and find great gadgets, strange science and tech with a twist on Gajitz.

Great Related WebUrbanist Articles:
Design, Buy, Build a Container House

A perfect example of thinking outside the box and living within one. - but what is really involved when buying, designing or building cargo container homes?
28 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Shipping Container Homes & Houses, Designs & Ideas

Shipping containers are becoming ever-more-popular sources of design inspiration in new architectural designs, from personal residences to big commercial building plans.
1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

7 Superb Examples of Recycled Urban Architecture

Know of other recycled design or amazing architecture projects? Be sure to list them in the comments below!
38 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

And on Other Sites Be Sure to See:
The Super Swallow

A Man-Made Mountain

Strange Huts
Diet Russian Way

Russian Special Forces

A Bicycle for Tallest Man [8 feet 5 inch tall]
2 Comments - Click Here to Converse

* jim
October 11th, 2009 at 8:08 pm

I love these homes they are modern and recyclable I sooo want one. Maybe when my new site http://www.vitaminalmanac.com and http://www.pillidentifier.net makes some money I can get one going here in Austin.

Lijit Search

* Urbanist Best
* Ecoist Faves
* Roundups
* Newest

* Amazing Abandoned Cities & Structures
* Architecture & Urban Design Wonders
* Awesome Alternative Art and Graffiti
* Fantastic Furniture & Funky Fixtures
* Top 10 Most Popular Articles of the Year

* 100+ Natural Disasters and Phenomena
* 100+ Strangest Plants and Animals
* Amazing Fractals Found in Nature
* Brief History of the Green Movement
* Failed Funny Green Design and Tech
* Most Important Environmental Issues

* Abandoned Buildings, Towns & Cities
* Amazing Houses Around the World
* Banksy Urban Art and Graffiti Guide
* Creative Geek Art and Graffiti
* Culture Jamming and Guerrilla Action
* Extraodinary Art from Ordinary Objects
* Green Art, Design and Technology
* Guerrilla Marketing History and Guide
* Modern Furniture Designs by Room
* Recycled Art, Architecture & Design
* Themed, Castle and Art Hotels
* Underwater and Oceanic Oddities
* Unusually Creative Urban Furniture
* Urban Exploration Tips and Guides

* All Aboard! Clever Recycled Train Car Homes, Offices & Hotels
* 10 Of The Most Chilling Haunted Castles In The World
* Den of Daydreams: 8 Fantastical Make-Believe Makeovers
* Crafty Consumerism: 15 Forms of Barcode Art
* War and Pieces: 9 Preserved Bombed-Out WWII Buildings

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Straw Bale Building, Dyssekilde Eco-Village

joannahruby > albums > the Dyssekilde Eco-Village, Hundest...

an international community of people building and living in houses using permaculture, sustainable energies, recycled materials and environmentally-friendly methods"

Slide show at

the Dyssekilde Eco-Village, Hundested, Denmark, June 2005

With many interesting straw bale building photos at:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/384024567zPrtkH

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Sunset Magazine Modern Cottage

inhabitat.com/2009/06/11/the-sunset-magazine-modern-cottage/

Inhabitat.com, June 11, 2009
The Sunset Magazine Modern Cottage
by Danielle Rago

Known for showcasing the latest innovations in architecture, construction, design, and green-building practices on the West Coast, Sunset magazine’s Idea House program recently debuted its latest project, the Modern Cottage, this past weekend at the magazine’s annual Celebration Weekend. Created and designed by Norwegian architect Casper Mork-Ulnes, Co-Founder and Director of Design of the San Francisco-based pre-fab building company Modern Cabana and Co-Founder and Director of Building, Nick Damner, the house incorporates green design with affordable living spaces.

Offering a creative and sustainable solution for extending living spaces, the Modern Cottage allows people to “do more with less,” says Ed Deleski of Modern Cabana. Composed of two small spaces, a 10-foot-by-12-foot and 12-foot-by-25-foot model, adjoined by a TimberTech deck, the house maximizes space by using both outdoor and indoor areas to their fullest.

Designed and constructed for sustainability, individual homes are assembled on-site using locally sourced FSC-certified clear inland cedar siding panels from Natural Forest Distribution with recycled denim insulation. According to Deleski, “all of our models use standard sized pieces of lumber which virtually eliminates waste.” Inspired by architect Mies van der Rohe, metal details were added to the exterior of the building to provide visual contrast to the cedar siding as well as promote energy efficiency. The angled metal roof is waterproofed with recycled tire rubber and is available with an integrated solar laminate to power the unit. Metal embellishments trickle down the facade to create corrugated partitions and even an outdoor shower.

Once inside, the space is decorated with a simple palette, clean lines and eco-friendly finishes and materials including Benjamin Moore’s no-VOC Natura paint and engineered bamboo flooring from Armstrong. While the interior boasts a kitchen, bathroom and all-purpose room, don’t forget the exterior spaces, designed by Peter Whiteley of Sunset magazine, which feature a multipurpose deck, cool outdoor room, and lounge area complete with sculptural plantings and a vertical green wall designed by Flora Grubb Gardens that is comprised of low-water succulents of varying shapes, textures, and colors.

The models on display at Sunset are upgrades that price at $16,375 and $72,500 (including appliances), respectively. The Modern Cottage is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays June 12 through July 19 at Sunset Headquarters, 80 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California.

---

*
SUNSET BREEZEHOUSE
Michelle Kaufman’s latest eco-prefab house, the Breezehouse, was unveiled to the public this weekend. The newest “clean and green” prefabricated home is a collaboration between...
*

2006 SUNSET IDEA HOUSE
One calendar year seems like a decade when considering the evolution of green building. So compared to last year’s Sunset Magazine Idea House, the 2006...

PREFAB FRIDAY: Cottage in a Day
With a name like Cottage in a Day, it is easy to imagine relaxing in a serene, forested setting. And these factory-built homes designed by...

more: Inhabitat.com

Legos & the Taj Mahal

From Web Urbanist
Lego Imitates Art: 25 Fabulous Recreations
Posted: 10 Jun 2009 06:21 PM PDT
Artistic Architecture
(images via: rawartint, jeffsmith02)

We have Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, to thank for creating the first Lego block in 1932. If it were not for Christiansen’s skill and imagination, the world would have missed out on enjoying the fabulous Lego creations we see today. Legos were wooden until 1940, when the company began also producing them in plastic. The love of Legos has endured the test of time and these toys have fans of all ages around the world. These popular and versatile toys have also become an artistic medium. Aside from creating amazing original works of art, artists have also recreated famous artwork using Lego blocks. ...

The Taj Mahal is an amazing work of art in itself. A replica of this grand and universally admired structure was recreated in Legos and was a masterpiece. Models of other famous buildings and structures have also been built from Legos, such as Washington D.C. landmarks and the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. ...

More at weburbanist.com

Monday, June 8, 2009

15 Amazing Monasteries, Sanctuaries and Abbies

Web Urbanist. Written by Steve on February 22nd, 2009 - Topics: Abandonments, Architecture, History, Travel, Various

Regardless of your religion, temples, cathedrals and churches express mankind’s eternal desire to create heavenly castles on earth. The 15 examples described here showcase the best of the best, and if these immaculate constructions instill a sense of wonder and amazement it is perhaps because they were built by people with a vision of something above and beyond this mortal world.

Brilliant Buildings: 136 Amazing Approaches to Architecture

Posted: 07 Jun 2009 12:04 PM PDT

Our homes are our castles… that old maxim dates from the days when one’s abode was a slovenly hovel, a well-mannered manor house or even an actual castle. The same goes for public buildings, apartment blocks and factories. Our buildings are the covers our enterprises - and ourselves - are judged by. These 136 brilliant buildings show, in so many ways, that when it comes to architecture skyscrapers reflect our soaring imaginations.

St. Andrews Cathedral, Scotland
(image via: Undiscovered Scotland)

Though the United Kingdom boasts many beautiful cathedrals, it is the ruined ones that captivate one with a sense of poignant charm and echoes of turbulent times past. St. Andrews Cathedral hasn’t held a mass since 1559 when the howling winds of the Reformation did what centuries of winter gales could not: bring down Scotland’s largest cathedral. The ruins of the main cathedral (consecrated in 1318) and associated outbuildings evoke a sense of eerie majesty and are, besides golf, one of the biggest tourist draws to this part of Scotland. ...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

French Chateau

One day I want to live here. I used to live there.