Comments on: "Everyone can be constructive even in tiny ways"

"Everyone can be constructive even in tiny ways"

nthdegx — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:07:05 -0800

Humble abode: Loftcube // Rucksack House // Micro-Compact Home // Superadobe // Zigzag Cabin // Tree Sphere // Mirador // La Petite Maison du Weekend _ all via.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:58:16 -0800

These are interesting. I spent the weekend living in a comparatively dull, cheap, portable, humble tent - but reading an article about the joys of "glamping" - that would be another way to go.

By: uandt

uandt — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:01:52 -0800

These are all lovely and I could live in all of them. Until I had to take a dump. A home is not a home until you've done basic necessities like eating, sleeping and shitting in it. I googled around for designer outhouses to go with the tiny wood cabins but only found this jet powered one which is totally useless and ugly at the same time.

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:28:21 -0800

These are beautiful but the SuperAdobe strikes me as the design with the most potential impact due to its low cost. I made the mistake of reading a comment by Stewart Brand that walls are something like 18 percent of the cost of a new home, while the rest is composed of wiring, land acquisition and other infrastructure. This has made me less excited about many of these plans for lower cost housing such as straw bale homes, and skeptical of most of the "mortgage porn" that crops up, i.e. the dream of living without a mortgage.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:50:00 -0800

Some of these places look stunning, but... more places from WebUrbanist (stay in a park in Germany; in a concrete pipe; using shared facilities).

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:11:40 -0800

Cool post nthdegx. Thanks!

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:28:54 -0800

Would the SuperAdobe be suitable for a summer place in lower New England?

By: lekvar

lekvar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:26:07 -0800

A few of those have been on the Blue before, and likely will be again because they're really neat. I do notice though that a lot of the new "sub-compact" homes use a lot of glass; It's going to be a pain in the ass to keep the temperature stable, even using insulating windows. The designs are 25% heatsink.

By: Carmody'sPrize

Carmody'sPrize — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:26:46 -0800

ZenMasterThis - Would the SuperAdobe be suitable for a summer place in lower New England? Perfect criticism in the form of a question. There is nothing humble about owning land. Once you can afford a "place", enclosure is not a problem.

By: xod

xod — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:37:55 -0800

Thanks! See also Andrea Zittel.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:48:46 -0800

Fun post. Metafilter loves small houses. Also cats and Obama.

By: adamms222

adamms222 — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:50:06 -0800

Almost all of these seem to achieve bringing claustrophobia to the great outdoors.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:09:20 -0800

Carmody'sPrize: ??? I live in New England and I really was wondering whether the Superadobe was suitable to weathering the seasons were I to build one in the hills of NE Connecticut as a low-cost retreat.

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:59:12 -0800

I've seen the LoftCube before and I've wanted to live there ever since. Or it could be I've always wanted to live in a rooftop dwelling when I first saw Stormshadow retire to his hideout.

By: Carmody'sPrize

Carmody'sPrize — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:27:32 -0800

ZenMasterThis- Oops. I went back and forth over this a few times before I posted. First, I thought it was a serious question. Then, I remembered all the conversations I've been reading on Metafilter for the past few years. Then I thought of my own issues with architectural porn. My bad. The answer to your question is probably not. Your intuition is correct. This is desert climate architecture. You might check out www.rocioromero.com. She has designed a little seasonal prefab she calls "fish camp" that costs around $20,000, though it's not listed on her website. A little Google-Fu will get you to images.

By: Fiasco da Gama

Fiasco da Gama — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:38:25 -0800

Also, shipping container houses.

By: zardoz

zardoz — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:30:08 -0800

Pshaw. Come over to Japan, to central Tokyo, and there are millions of real small living spaces (with varying degrees of quality) with real, live people living in them, not some proof of concept that some architechture firm thought up. Some of those are really cool, though.

By: vytae

vytae — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:39:41 -0800

These Tumbleweed Tiny Houses are still my favorite itty-bitty living spaces, but those were very cool to look at.