Five Alternatives Homes That Will Blow Your Mind Not
Your Budget
As
part of the increasing desire to simplify one’s life and live more
sustainably,
there are various trends which have been emerging over recent years. Eco
designed housing which provided better insulation, passive solar design,
and the use of renewables was all the rage back in the late 90’s and early
2000’s. Now things have really ramped up with some cool, practical, and
inexpensive methods of building, demonstrating you don’t need to have loads of
cash to afford something practical, sustainable, and liveable. People are
turning to a whole range of alternative housing options such as container
pallets, straw bale, earth berm, earth bag, recycled materials, and used car
tires as building materials. Here are alternative buildings which will
no doubt change the way people live…
Earthships – Resilient, Self-Sufficient, Functional, and Beautiful
Michael
Reynolds of ‘Earthship Biotecture,’ based in Taos in the U.S., has developed a
model of building over the last forty years which encompasses passive solar
design. His houses are made of both natural and recycled materials (such as
earth-filled tires). His Earthships are designed to function as autonomous
buildings using a combination of thermal mass construction and natural cross
ventilation, assisted by thermal draught (Stack effect), to regulate indoor temperature.
Earthships are generally considered to be off-the-grid homes, minimizing their
reliance on both public utilities and fossil fuels.
Typically
Earthships use materials which are available to the common person.
The concept of embodied-energy is taken seriously by those who build
Earthships. Embodied energy is essentially the energy consumed by all of
the processes associated with the production of a building, from the mining and
processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport, and product
delivery. Using already existing materials means that there is
significantly less energy required in building a structure. Accordingly,
one of the major structural building components of the Earthship is
recycled automobile tires. These are filled with compacted earth to form a
rammed earth brick encased in steel belted rubber. This brick and the resulting
bearing walls it forms is virtually indestructible. Aluminium cans, bottles,
glass, and plastic bottles are also used to create brick like components which
also act as aesthetic features throughout building designs. These bricks create
a cement like matrix that is very strong and very easy to build. Bottles can
create beautiful colored walls that light shines through. (1)
For more on Earthships you can visit: Earthship Biotecture
Tiny Homes – Minimalist, Economical, and Environmentally Friendly
Imagine
living free from rent, mortgage, and utility bills. Imagine living in a
home that generated its own electricity and captured its own water. Imagine you
could build this home yourself for a very affordable price. Now imagine how
your life would be different if you were free from debt. We live in a rapidly
changing world, as economic and environmental forces continuously beg us to
reevaluate our way of living on the earth. The Tiny House Movement is a
sweeping phenomenon in the United States, largely as a result of the recent
economic troubles, which have caused many to lose their homes. (2)
While
the trend over the last decade has been for larger homes, the tiny house
movement is becoming popular among those wishing to be more sustainable and
wanting to live simpler, less consumerist lifestyles. The small house movement
is about reducing the overall size of dwellings to less than 1,000 square feet,
or approximately 93 square metres. Tiny Homes are about living simply and
beautifully, yet still with everything you need. It’s about freedom from debt
and having the economic autonomy to live a bigger life, instead of having a
bigger house.
While
still a relatively small sector, the tiny house market is set to see more
interest over the coming decades. As housing affordability deteriorates along
with economic conditions, more young people will seek alternative ways of
living. Tiny homes can cost the same price as a new car, ranging between
$20,000 to $50,000. With many Americans spending one-third to more than half of
their income on housing, living small offers greater freedom to the alternative
of being tied to a mortgage for thirty to forty years.
For More on Tiny Homes Go to: Living Big in a Tiny House or Tumbleweed Tiny Houses
Earth Bag – Inexpensive, Natural and Strong
Earth
bag construction is relatively inexpensive compared to the traditional brick
and mortar building
most of us have become accustomed to. It is a natural building technique which
can be done quickly with mostly local materials. The technique
requires basic construction materials, such as inorganic material
usually available on site. Moist subsoil which contains an element of
clay, enabling adhesion when tamped, is mixed with either gravel, crushed
rock, or volcanic materials. The walls can be curved or straight and domed with
earth or topped with conventional roofs. Polypropylene bags are
filled with soil or insulation which are then tamped flat. Barbed wire is
layered between bags to prevent slipping as well as adding
to tensile strength. The final plastered walls look just like adobe
structures.
Check out this cool
time lapse video of an earthbag construction being built.
Excerpts taken from Rethink…Your world, Your future.
Article
by Andrew Martin, author of Rethink…Your
world, Your future. and One
~ A Survival Guide for the Future…
Affordable Net-Zero Pre-Fab
Home Is Solar Powered & Constructed In Only 3 Days
by Alanna Ketler.
There’s
a new net-zero, off-grid capable home on the market, and this beauty is
a pre-fabricated house that pops up in just 3 days -they are also designed to
stand the test of time, lasting for centuries. Now, doesn’t this just make a
whole lot more sense?
The
1620 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom home is a great example of how we can
use sustainable forms of energy to suit our every need and modern lifestyle. It
is built to LEED v4 Platinum and net zero energy standards and also
impressively is outfitted with the largest selection of Cradle to Cradle
certified building products ever used in a residential project. Cradle to
Cradle is a name given to products that have a regenerative design, modelling
human industry on nature’s processes, viewing materials as nutrients
circulating in a healthy and safe metabolism.
Who’s Behind This Amazing Invention?
This
lovely abode was constructed by a company called Unity Homes in collaboration
with BUILDER magazine and the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
The home was fully constructed at Unity’s Factory based out of New Hampshire
over the course of just five short weeks. It was then assembled on the floor of
the expo in only three days! The house is based off of Unity’s Zum model and is
comprised by a system of pods and panels that include: sheathing, wiring,
insulation, and finishes. Part of the goal of Unity’s home design is to make
sustainable homes more affordable and it is, currently at around $150 per
square foot, with that price expected to drop.
Watch A Time Lapse Of Unity Home Being Put Together
“We
can totally change the equation of homebuilding,” said Unity Homes Founder Tedd Benson.
“We can build homes that are fossil-fuel free and affordable. We can build
homes in 30 days that are around for 300 years…and we can do it in a way that’s
stress-free…for all of us.”
Considering
how accessible these alternative options for houses are, hopefully over the
next couple of decades we will be seeing a lot more of this! Imagine not having
to even worry about renovations or a power bill for that matter… these homes
are truly worth it, for the obvious economical reasons and certainly for the
environment as well. If you are interested in learning more about off-grid
capable, tiny homes or Earthships,
check out the clickable links! Many people believe that we have to take a step
backward with technology, but if we are able to use it to our advantage and
without leaving an environmental footprint behind, why would we? The future is
friendly.
References:
http://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/
From Collective
Evolution @ http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/12/19/three-alternatives-to-living-that-will-blow-your-mind-not-your-budget/
and http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/12/29/affordable-net-zero-pre-fab-home-is-solar-powered-constructed-in-only-3-days/
America’s First Hemp House Pulls CO2 from the Air!
The gorgeous, eco-friendly home costs (only) $133 per square foot to build
Credit: Push Design
The first house built in America with hemcrete was constructed in Asheville, North Carolina, and the 3,400 square foot Push House boasts a number of eco-friendly features.
Credit:
Push Design
To create a solid – yet breathable – wall system, hemp hurds were mixed with lime and water on-site an poured in-between the exterior supporting studs in lift.
Credit:
Push Design
As USA Today notes, Hempcrete is actually less like concrete and more like infill straw bale, as it is non-structural. The insulating quality is r-2.5 per inch, and it has the unique ability to capture airborne pollutants over time – absorbing carbon when it is grown and in place.
In addition, the material’s high thermal mass helps keep a steady interior temperature, rather than allowing it to fluctuate.
Credit:
Push Design
Credit:
Push Design
The interior walls of this gorgeous, eco-friendly house are made from Purepanel, a unique product made from recycled paper. It consists of a rigid skin with a corrugated paper core, similar to cardboard. (Below)
Credit:
Push Design
Push Design
As CNN reports, the house also features 30 salvaged window frames that have been fitted with high tech glass. They were placed to allow the most daylighting without overheating the space. An open floor plans also allows the light to pervade deep into the home.
That’s not all: The energy-efficient wall system is coupled with a super efficient 21 SEER air-based heat pump to effectively heat and cool the home, reducing utility costs and also the need for expensive equipment. With these installments, this home ends up costing a respectable $133 per square foot to build.
Push Design
Push Design
Some compromises were made, such as introducing petroleum-based foam products into the ceiling and foundation. However, the house is a stellar example of how health, energy and design can co-exist in sync.
Push Design
Push Design
What are your thoughts? Share in the comments section below.
From True Activist @ http://www.trueactivist.com/americas-first-hemp-house-pulls-co2-from-the-air/
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http://nexusilluminati.blogspot.com/search/label/alternative%20lifestyles
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Tiny smart houses are a new interest of mine, nice article.... I can't help but look with shame at our former beautiful prairies around the upper midwest. They've been converted to huge McMansions all the same, huge spaces wasting away at the fragile ecosystem, they pop up like mushrooms, and are very expensive. A debt trap for sure. Move in the house poor and get them on the mortgage wheel for 30-40 years. Talk about a home system based on debt slavery.... Tiny houses can be very practical and as the article states, energy efficient and hence SMART... Young people today would be smart to pool their money and buy one of these pre-fab homes outright, stick it on a relatives parcel of land, agree to pay a percentage of the property tax in return. Place up some solar panels, recycle water run off, and you can live off the grid. More time for family and friends, healthier people and communities, less stress and hence a better overall world....
ReplyDeleteI remember when my mother had a house built back in the 1980's, my idiot step-father designed the house for just the two of them, I wondered, why only two people needed 3,500 square feet? There are a couple rooms they didn't use. It was just an ego thing, a way to say to the world that they are wasteful idiots. I recommend a good book... Thorstein Veblen's Conspicuous Consumption and the Theory of the Leisure Class....
ReplyDeleteThank-you New Illuminati, There is so much positive potential for humans to live more in tune with nature. It is simply astounding that more information about alternative housing remains unknown. I would like to add an alternative home architecture and construction to the list.
ReplyDeleteCob is an earthen building material that is made of clay, sand, straw, and water. It has been used for thousands of years to construct homes and buildings with. It has been used worldwide, but has only just started to pick up interest in the United States.
About 30 percent of the world’s population lives in earthen homes. This is nothing new to the world, but cob is offering new advantages and opportunities to the developed world. Building with earth and other natural materials is becoming a solution to our world’s energy and consumption problems. Cob is dirt cheap, sustainable as a building material, and ecologically friendly.
http://www.thiscobhouse.com/
Click here to learn about 14 characteristics of cob homes.
You can build all kinds of useful and creative things with cob. You can build a cob house, a wood fire oven, a bench, a garden wall, a rocket mass heater, sculptures, and much more.
Thanks - aye, cob is beautiful and works well. We've found that the most durable, ecological and sustainable houses are built from materials like these literally found onsite - clay and stone, and cob as well. It's wise to realise that most houses actually consist of a roof with infill below; when the roof goes, the house begins to automatically decay even when built of stone, so the roof is the most important component! This is one reason why hempcrete - which can remain in place for at least a thousand years with no requirement for steel reinforcement - needs to be considered as possiby the perfect roofing material.
DeleteWe're in the fortunate position of living in a forest with many usable trunks lying around (no need to fell them, but one must leave all hollow wood for native animals!) and many nearby ruins are available for the acquisition of reusable secondhand components - the most viable solution for a particular site depends on its surrounds.
And btw, here's something a builder friend is oft fond of saying:
Q: How can you tell it's an achitect designed house?
A: The roof leaks.
This powder can simply be added to the concrete mixture at the plant to create a powerful moisture barrier in slabs, walls and construction joints. RoofingCorpSydney.com.au
ReplyDeleteMessage: JOIN US IF YOU WANT TO BE OUR BROTHERHOOD The Illuminati contact us 666illuminatiworld @ gmail . com The Illuminati is a defunct secret society formed by a fervent Academic, Adam Weishaupt in Balvaria, 1776. The cult as its name suggests, was a group of intellectuals who came together to instill discipline in themselves, infiltrate government agencies, and create a new world order. However, the original Illuminati was disbanded by the government of Balgaria, when all secret societies were banned, though even before then, strong internal problems were already leading the Illuminati cult to termination. That was the 18th century Illuminati. The 21st and 20th centuries also have an Illuminati sect which in words you are more likely to understand, is supposed to sign you up , pull you into their chain of command, give you enlightenment, and then, power, as you'll be playing sinewy roles in the government. This article tries to bring to light, facts about the modern Illuminati, and also helps the reader to join, and utilize the opportunities availed by the sect, which are enlightenment, enrichment, and empowerment. The Illuminati make people rich, famous and astoundingly powerful. The Illuminati, which means enlightenment, purges your mind of all vestiges of ignorance, backwardness and naivety. It brings you out of the delusions and illusions which you've been subjected to by numerous religious escapades, and when you are relieved of these non-propitious encumbrances, success becomes inevitable. Knowing that many of us do not understand the Illuminati as it is, I'll go ahead to expound on this wonderful phenomenon and am hoping that by the time you get to the last paragraph of this article, you would be on your way to becoming "illuminated". It would do the reader good to note that the Illuminati of the 18th century is not the same with the modern Illuminati. The former was a cult, while the latter is a consciousness. IF YOU WANT TO BE OUR MEMBER YOU CAN email us at: 666illuminatiworld @ gmail . com
ReplyDeleteTiny houses is relatively new and fresh. It started in the USA, after the housing market. Due to the stagnating economy and natural disasters like hurricanes and floods, people started to look for alternative housing options. The need for flexible and affordable housing started to increase by leaps and bounds.
ReplyDeleteMind blowing post. Thanks for this creative idea. Moreover, Visit how dream homes look like in 2021.
ReplyDelete