Canadian/Jordanian designer Abeer Seikaly came up with an innovative design for disaster relief housing which was inspired by temporary huts of nomadic desert tribes. The shelters Seikaly proposes would be woven into existence, a process based on ancient traditions of the desert peoples. These shelters would also be able to draw all the power needed from the sun.
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Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects have completed a project in Chattanooga, Tennessee called the Fairmont Avenue Townhomes. The townhouses were designed to provide sustainable, low-income homes for the Chattanooga housing authority. The project was funded by HUD following a nationwide competition between housing authorities. The Fairmont Avenue Townhomes project was also designed to comply with Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and is applying for LEED Platinum for Homes certification.
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Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, recently developed a new and highly efficient composting toilet called Blue Diversion. Human waste has significant value, since it can provide fertilizer and phosphorus and the Blue Diversion toilet is able to successfully harvest both. These byproducts can also be sold at a profit, so this toilet does more than just provide water efficiency or off-the-grid-living.
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Doug, a school teacher, built his own 8 foot by 20 foot Tumbleweed Elm 20 Overlook mobile tiny house on a trailer. It took him nearly 3 years to complete it, though he lived in it while finishing it and held down a full time job at the same time. One of the most unique things about his tiny house is the small sun room that can be used to heat the whole home. Doug built the sun room using glass storm doors at the entrance to the tiny house in place of a more traditional front porch. He presented his house during a Hands-On Tiny House Building Workshop which was organized by Deek Diedricksen of www.Relaxshacks.com. All the photos showing the house in this post are part of a video tour filmed by Deek and you can watch the whole video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amTkene5JLo.
The Polyurt 180, made by the company Full Circle Shelters, is a cabin that measures 180 square feet and can house up to 4 people, and can provide a completely off-the-grid and mortgage free living. On top of that, it is also very easy to construct, while the 12-sided, circular shape of the yurt makes for a very strong structure.
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It is always nice to hear businesses creating their products in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, and the French winery Château Maris is a great example of it. Château Maris is an organic and biodynamic winery, since their cellar was constructed using bricks made of organic hemp and lime. They also installed a green roof and solar panels, meaning that Château Maris is now a net-zero energy building.
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