Chattel houses were very small houses, built by freed slaves or plantation workers, that could be dismantled quickly and moved in the event they were fired or unable to pay property tax to the plantation owner on whose land the house stood. Examples in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad l Sunday 25 March 2007 marked 200 years to the day that the British Parliament passed an Act to outlaw the slave trade in British colonies. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Mar 9, 2008 - 4 comments

The sub-prime mortgage crisis is giving way in some places to crime ridden McMansion ghettos, perhaps the beginning of a larger long term trend in demographics: "many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and ’70s—slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay."
posted by stbalbach on Feb 29, 2008 - 81 comments

The "D" stands for Demolition. In an attempt at building awareness of Detroit's rotting, decaying neighborhoods(as if one needed further awareness), the Detroit Demolition Disneyland project finds long-abandoned, neglected structures that the city has failed to demolish and paints them with Tiggerific Orange paint.
posted by 40 Watt on Feb 15, 2006 - 36 comments

Houses of the Future - houses made of cardboard, steel and clay.
posted by cmonkey on Nov 23, 2004 - 26 comments

Could this revolutionize architecture? A robot that can "print" a 2,000 sq-ft house in one day without the use of a single human hand. What sort of effects will this have on the future of houses?
posted by christian on Jun 7, 2004 - 37 comments

Loftcube. I saw this in Playboy and had to look it up. [Flash and music].
posted by oflinkey on Apr 10, 2004 - 34 comments

A pole in the ground + an old Plane on top of it = home sweet home. A company in Tennesee is selling old airplanes as homes on ebay. I wonder if the new homeowners ever get tired of eating those little packets of peanuts every night.
posted by mathowie on Jul 19, 2003 - 14 comments

The Modern Modular. Resolution: 4 Architecture is redefining prefab housing with its thoroughly modern-looking modular designs. Their premier design just won the Dwell Home competition sponsored by Dwell Magazine. Nice profile in today's WSJ.
posted by me3dia on May 29, 2003 - 13 comments

Straw Bale Housing. An an energy efficient, alternative architecture.
posted by The Jesse Helms on Apr 10, 2003 - 24 comments

Hot Little Igloos And Tutti-Frutti Toadstools or Living In Your Own I-Pod: Affordable housing gets seriously cute and makes Hobbits or Bubble boys and girls of all of us. The floor plans are versatile and the rentals (from $68 to $110 a week) are enticing. The "idea that governed the whole planning of Dome Park Lane and really became our goal was to provide clean, secure and -- most importantly -- affordable housing for low-income individuals." Are monolithic domes too good to be true or too weird to catch on? I sincerely hope not. [Via Linkfilter].
posted by MiguelCardoso on Dec 26, 2002 - 11 comments

Small house, big ambitions. I've always lived in small houses and flats so this would be the perfect little place for me. As people are progressively continuing to stay single for longer into their lives, are homes like these what they'd be looking for to settle into?
posted by feelinglistless on Sep 28, 2002 - 23 comments

Trash homes a.k.a. earthships sound like the way to go. Now if they would start building them here in Seattle...
posted by folktrash on Aug 12, 2002 - 15 comments