A Passive House certification is one of the highest available for energy-efficient homes. And this residence hall in Belfast, Maine demonstrates that, “space heating costs for TerraHaus are less than $300 per year ($30 per student), a big improvement from the two poorly insulated housing units it replaced, each with an annual space heating cost …
Continue reading “The first high performance – ultra energy-efficient – residence hall”
A home profiled in Wired has six very interesting zero-carbon elements, but it’s the last two that fascinate me – thick walls and ultra-efficient windows. Thick walls mean “two 8-inch-thick concrete layers that protect the interior from outside temperature fluctuations. On hot days, the concrete absorbs and retains heat, keeping rooms cool; at night it slowly …
Continue reading “Moving towards 100% thermal insulation for homes”
There are many who dream of owning the smallest home they can find; a strong reaction to those who dream of owning a two-story mini-mansion. Here is a CNN profile of a young couple who did just that – moving their two kids, cat and dog into a 168 square foot home (on 3 acres …
Continue reading “CNN profile of a couple moving from a 1,500 to 168-square foot home”
A sculpture from Austria that takes the domestic setting and flips it on its head: The upside down house was created by Polish architects Irek Glowacki and Marek Rozanski, and was built in the Austrian village of Terfens to serve as a tourist attraction. via Giant Sparrow
My kids adore our Casa Cabana House (below), which has magically survived 5 years of play. The Kidsonroof Rocket would definitely get my son’s imagination going. Here’s your ticket to being superaunt or superuncle! via Swiss Miss
#nerdprom // Thx to Shaun Dakin
Members of the Google Art project and the Google Street View team recently came to the White House to create a new way for people to tour the White House. Take a look at the process that went into creating a 360 degree virtual walk through of the White House public tour. Take a look …
Continue reading “Take the White House Public Tour using Google Street View”
I’ve got a little trip coming up for Amy’s birthday and was browsing around on airbnb. We’re hoping to find a nice little cottage in Santa Barbara for a few days. Anyway, I found their blog and this great post on Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday on February 17, 2012. Doubtless, the dour Victorian author would …
An interesting concept for a beach home is profiled in the LA Times. The house is built into a cliff using “rammed-earth,” concrete slabs, and recycled materials. D’Acosta and Turrent began their two-year construction project by digging a foundation into the cliff, then constructing a perimeter of 3-foot-thick rammed-earth retaining walls. They called the inner …
Continue reading “An eco-house in Esenada, Mexico – built into a seaside cliff”