Telecommuting jobs have been gaining in popularity in recent years, as have coworking offices. But even the latter means that you’re tied up to a desk and have limited time each day to enjoy the world around you. To solve this problem, the company One Wild Life (OWL) from San Diego has come up with an ingenious solution. They have created a mobile co-working office out of a school bus, which they completely refurbished to serve this purpose. (more…)
The recently completed Beijing Greenland Center, built by Chicago’s Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) may not look like a very energy efficient building at first glance, given it’s glazed façade. However, the trapezoidal shape of the windows is said to actually improve the building’s energy performance. The Beijing Greenland Center is 853 ft (260 m) high and has 55 floors. It’s located in the city’s Dawangjing business district and contains offices and 178 of apartments. There is also a multi-story retail zone attached to it. (more…)
Kodasema, a firm from Estonia, is busy designing a tiny prefab home, which according to them can be assemble on-site in only seven hours. The home will be made of concrete, and is expected to cost around $110,000. It will also be made in a way that allows it to easily be disassembled and moved to a new location if needed.
They’re calling this home Koda, and it will measure only 326 sq ft (30.3 sq m). It’s built out of prefabricated sections made of concrete. However, only 317 cubic feet of concrete are needed to build the entire home, so despite using this material instead of a more sustainable alternative, the construction of this home still won’t leave a huge carbon footprint. No foundation is necessary on-site, and the home can be placed on a wide variety of surfaces, including asphalt and gravel, so long as it can provide a level footing. Once it’s assembled it can’t exactly be towed around, but they do claim disassembling the home with a view towards relocating it, only takes about seven hours, though a truck and crane are needed in the process. (more…)
The famous Icehotel, which they build every year in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, will get built for the 27th year in a row this year, since it melts into nothing each year. But this year another Icehotel was also built, and this one is built to last. The so-called Icehotel 365 is designed to remain standing and open all year, and not just during the coldest months. (more…)
Here is another creation by Custom Container Living, the shipping container architecture firm out of Archie, Missouri. This one has a generous floor plan, and is large enough for a family to live in comfortably. (more…)
The vacation home in question is located in the Lake of Bays, Muskoka region and is actually a recently renovated house from the 1960s. The renovation was done by Fourth Pig and Stone’s Throw Design and the end result is a nearly passive home, which boasts of a number of sustainable features and looks amazing inside and out.
As part of the renovation, the home has been wrapped in straw bale for insulation, and it is heated by a wood fired boiler. The latter also provides hot water for both washing and the radiant heating system. There is also a solar hot water heater, which provides hot water and supplements radiant heating. They home also features a high efficiency Energy Recovery Ventilator. (more…)
