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Still in love with cob, I’ve been perusing these interesting structures by cobber extraordinaire Miguel Elliott, who recently completed an earthy urban lounge in Chicago.
What a great little meditation hut!
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Just a quick note to share with you the work of Marcus Bruck, specifically his Restarchitektur series (above) and other photographers (below). Pruned calls these ghostly images the urban graffiti of absence, and there’s a home for them in the flickr group the Unconscious Art of Demolition. I especially love the traces of vernacular architecture left on modern buildings, something I occasionally find in my 5 mile radius.
photo via Elias(london) on flickr
photo by janeslondon/flickr
Photo courtesy of cloudcity/flickr
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photo from The Detroit News/David Coates
Michigan is an interesting place right now. To save money, old once-paved rural roads are going back to gravel and they’re paying people to stay in Detroit, where more than 11,000 homes have been foreclosed. Here’s an ABC news segment from March about some artists (Design 99) who are moving in.
photo credit Walter Wasacz
It’s exciting to see community rebirth happening in these times. If I were young, in the midwest and just starting out, this would be a very appealing offer. (Thanks Ran!)
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Last weekend was spent undoing the hard work I put into my trailer renovation project last summer. Researching ways of using ‘green’ materials cheaply and efficiently led us down many paths.
Ultimately we decided we had it right the first time (sort of).
Michael and I ripped out the walls (again) down to the bare fiberglass, scraped the hardened glue off, and are now conducting several adhesive trials this week with some test pieces. This is something we should have done in the first place, of course, but in the past year or so we’ve gained perspective. Enough to be pseudo experts on attaching insulation onto fiberglass (or the willingness at least). Are you on the edge of your seats to find out which adhesive wins?
Originally I would use only the least toxic of all possibilities, but now I’m settling for what works and doesn’t offend my keen sense of smell. I’m eager to do some adventuring this summer with my finished tiny home on wheels, so whatever it takes…
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Many thanks to Jay and Steve at Tumbleweed for sending me a complimentary copy of their latest book, the Small House Book ($36.95). Wow, what an upgrade from the pamphlets! Both Michael and I have spent many hours with this book, and after spending some time deliberating, I have finally come up with my favorite Tumbleweed Tiny House Designs:
1. The Epu. 89 SF + sleeping loft. This is the house that graces the cover of the Small House Book, and the house that Jay (the designer) lives in. I’ve spent some time inside of Jay’s house-on-wheels and I think it is a great space for one person. The optional gothic window really completes the design and increases curb appeal. I might opt for a built-in bench (like the XS-House) instead of the small armchairs. For our situation it would probably make sense to have 2 Epus (his and hers) plus a separate workspace/meeting space/guest house. (Plans $995).
2. The Bodega. 345 SF + 172 sleeping loft. Bet you didn’t expect that, right? While I love the teeny tiny houses, they don’t seem like a good solution for a stationery 2-person household. The Bodega seems “just right” in size for us. In adding the optional attached room on the lower level, this floorplan could even include home office or a spare room for the occasional long-term guest, especially someone who can’t manage a step ladder. I would love to be able to build a straw bale, off-grid version of this design. (Plans $695. This plan is not available on the website, but the Loring is a very similar design.)
3. The Z-Glass. 390 SF. I can’t resist this modern look, and the central living area looks so fun and open (great for window lovers). I can imagine a modified design using 2 or 3 shipping containers (portable, even!). However, for long term 2-person use, I would want to have a separate storage shed/workspace/guest room… perhaps on wheels? (Plans $695)
4. The Whidbey. 444 SF + 250 loft. This stationary design has such a homey feel and I love all of Jay’s designs that include a dining nook. So many windows are definitely a plus. The upstairs loft has an open floorplan and so much potential, especially for an expanding family. (This design is not available on the website, only in the book.)
5. The Enesti. 681 SF. If I were the type of person to plan a family, this would be my choice. This is very similar to the house Michael and I live in right now, and we both feel it is too much space for just the 2 of us. Ben and Sarina Speed built a modified Enesti in Maine where they live with their young son. They use wood heating and have a very cheap electric bill. (more pics - Plans $695)
Making it Happen
If you want to learn how to build one, don’t forget about the Tumbleweed Tiny House workshops where you get one-on-one time with the designer/builder/author himself. Jay will be in NYC in June, Indinapolis in July, and DC in August.
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Sensibly sized cottages facing a common green (Ross Chapin Architects)
Many people are willing to pay more for less, as evidenced by the popularity of Ross Chapin’s small homes in custom designed “boutique” communities. They are selling well in the Northwestern US and getting good press nationwide (articles in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and HGTV).
In issue 6 of the Small Living Journal we interweave the two concepts of living smaller and living in communities because they are fundamentally linked: the smaller your home, the more you take advantage of the community around you. Read more here.
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Today I’ve fallen in love with this little darling. Sorry Eriba Puck, you’ve just been bumped down a notch on my list of superb vintage European trailers (or caravans, as they say).
It’s a Willerby Vogue, coming out of 1950s UK and so rare that only 5 of them seem to exist today. Isn’t he cute?
I ran across the blog of Pete Jolly, who “rescued [this 1957 caravan] from the depths of deepest Norfolk in August 2006″ by way of eBay as a “winter DIY project.”
At 14′7″ in length and 1700 lbs, they manufactured 115 of these fiberglass trailers over a period of 2 years and they didn’t sell, nearly running the business into the ground. That appears to be the company’s first and last attempt at high design.
It took Peter nine months to do a complete restoration of Willerby and resurrect a 20 year slumber.
restoring the floor
You can read the entire process at http://willerby.littleplumstead.com and extensive photos on Peter’s flickr photostream.
window seat
Thanks Peter for sharing your adventure!
dining table
Photo credit Peter Jolly/flickr. Top photo from Willerby Holiday Homes.
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A true natural builder before “natural building” hit the scene, SunRay Kelley is a legend. His large Tolkien-esque buildings, like living organisms rising up out of the earth, have appeared around the country during the past 30 years. The temple at the popular Harbin Hot Springs resort was built by SunRay.
SunRay Kelley, photo from sunraykelley.com
SunRay comes from a logging family in the Pacific Northwest and calls the woods “God’s Hardware Store” where he goes “shopping” for inspiration.
The hermitage photo from sunraykelley.com
On the smaller scale, he has built at least eight 12′-diameter yurts and is hosting interns from April through June build another one this summer.
Sauna photo from sunraykelley.com
Be sure to check out more photos of this dome.
Many thanks to Lloyd Kahn for sending me his most recent book, Builders of the Pacific Coast, where SunRay is featured along with many other builders. Now I have several hours of browsing these whimsical designs ahead of me.
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(Photo credit: container-garden.info)
This art car is demonstrating “more parks less parking” but it is also an excellent example of creativity in container gardening.
Michael and I are so pleased to have a small patch of earth AND a landlord that doesn’t object to us digging it up for our tomato project. But eventually when we’re on the road in our tiny trailer (full time), we won’t be able to enjoy growing our own fresh food… or will we? I’ve been doing a bit of research and it looks like we’ve got a couple of practical options for bohemian travel gardening.
1. Mini-Gardening (growing vegetables in containers)
Container gardening is not something new. You can read plenty of books and articles on the subject, even this one from the 70s or this recent one from Mother Earth News.
Strawberries. (Photo credit: Desertification)
The containers should be light colored, up to 120 quarts capacity with plenty of air holes — the more the better — at least 1/2 inch in diameter. If hanging, the bottom should be lined with something like moss or newspaper to keep soil in. The soil mixture is important, so be sure to read up on it.
What to grow? The best vegetables to start out with in a mini garden are ones that take up little space, like carrots, radishes and lettuce. Also tomatoes and peppers can bear fruit over long periods of time. I want to try cucumbers, green onions, eggplant and herbs.
2. Sprouting
Sprouts are a great food item in the raw food diet. They are rich in digestible energy, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, beneficial enzymes and phytochemicals. Sprouting is a process of soaking, draining and rinsing the seeds to get them to sprout.
Sprouts (Photo credit: Apartment Therapy)
This great website sproutpeople.com gives sprouting advice for travelers. For example, they recommend the hemp sprouting bag for hikers — just attach the bag to the outside of your pack and you’re ready to go. There’s also the Easy Sprout, a plastic travel-size container with a snap-on lid.
Some seeds are easier to sprout than others. Here is a list of the ones that require the least amount of attention:
I am a novice open for advice in gardening on the road. Are you a full time RVer or traveler who maintains a garden? Please write in!
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(Enterprise, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. Photo credit: Crawfordian/flickr)
I’ve written that the average American house is growing in size at the same time the average American household is shrinking. There’s lots of green talk these days (greener this greener that) but we’re running up against a wall: it’s hard to make a bigger house more efficient for fewer people.
Sterile suburban towns and developments were born all around the country for the sake of increasing profit margins.
All this (more! bigger!) stuff makes a bigger impact on our environment. In all of the developed world, buildings consume about 40% of the world’s energy. In the U.S., 70% of all electricity goes towards our buildings and account for almost 40% of all CO2 emissions.
Sooner or later, we’re going to have to learn to share. I’d rather it be sooner, for the sake of my great great grandchildren’s children.
At this unique time in our nation’s history, when we’re operating so far beyond sustainable levels in so many ways, we have the ability to crack down on our increasingly inefficient housing industry. Here are just a few suggestions for the powers that be. Let me know your thoughts.
1. Build smaller homes
Let’s get rid of minimum size standards and implement maximum size standards based on family size. Those who want jumbo size homes in gated communities can go through a little extra hassle and pay some extra cash.
2. Build sensible communities
Combat suburban sprawl and bring the true cost of creating a new development under consideration (road development/maintenance, utilities, etc.). How about high-density, walkable neighborhoods, shared green space and more public transportation?
3. Build more efficiently
Any new construction has to abide by strict energy efficiency standards, both in the building process and in the ongoing energy consumption of the lived-in home.
4. Build it green
How about a carbon neutral home, passive solar design, super insulation, less harmful materials? Let’s set some greener standards in all new housing.
5. Don’t build at all
Share what we already have. Change our zoning laws to retrofit homes for multiple families. Infill neighborhoods.
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On the books it's called camping.
