Transformer Furniture: Desk Becomes Bed, Sort Of

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.27.09

If you are going to live with less stuff, it's nice if it serves multiple functions. Here is an interesting looking desk from French designer Florian Jouy that turns into a bed.

Trouble is, when unfolded the bed is so close to the floor (and as hard as the floor) that there is probably not much point. And if the three cushions are soft enough to sleep on, then when stacked up three high they will be impossible to sit on.

Casa 100K Euro by Mario Cucinella

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03. 2.09

The guys building the 100K House in Philadelphia are not having an easy time keeping within budget, so does Mario Cucinella have a hope of building a carbon-neutral home for 100,000 euros?

Given that it is made of concrete, has wind turbines, biomass heating, solar hot water, radiant in-floor heating and ground source heat pumps it looks like a bit of a stretch.

Perhaps there are economies in the prefabricated structure and being multifamily, perhaps the unit is much smaller.

The architect writes:

This research project explores the design of a 100m2 home that is low cost, high quality with zero CO2 emissions and a low environmental impact. A building that brings back the pleasure of living and repays the investment cost with the energy produced. The architectural design integrates photovoltaic panels, solar capture during the winter months, circulation of air in the summer months and other passive environmental strategies that render the residence a bioclimatic machine.

The building cost is kept to a minimum by using light and flexible pre-fabricated building systems: structural elements, integrated services, and mobile elements such as sliding-removable-supple wall panels for internal divisions in the apartments. External walls are made from modular panels. The material changes – glazed or opaque- creating an elevation that is dynamic materially and spatially integrating balconies, terraces and loggias. The structural framework allows a variety of apartment sizes adapting to the different spatial needs of the occupants.

EcoFutures Turn-Key Zero Energy Homes

January 16, 2009 · Print This Article

Turn-key green homes are becoming more widely available across the United States, and Solar Village has announced a new set of energy-efficient home designs that put smart, eco-friendly design within reach of the masses. Turn-key Solar Village Homes feature passive solar design, foil faced rigid foam and Icynene insulation, fiberglass windows with low-E glass, healthy indoor air, a solar hot water system, a 2.5 kW solar pv system with online monitoring, and super efficient HVAC system.

Smaller Houses

Smaller Houses are in for 2009

January 17, 2009 ·

2009 will be the year of downsizing, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Small is productive and beautiful, especially when we’re talking about homes. They’re easy to heat and cool, low maintenance, have a small footprint and force you to buy less junk out of necessity. A web magazine called Small House Style, devoted to everything small-house-related, puts the spotlight on some of the best small house designs.

Small House Style also has a directory of small house plans and builders (including prefabs and kits) and a shop full of books on small house design, architecture, décor & furnishings.

A Living, Biodegradable Mushroom Chair By Shinwei Rhoda Yen

by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 03. 2.09

Mushrooms ate my furniture chair by Shinwei Rhoda Yen (All photos: Design Boom)

What if our furniture were ‘living’ somehow? Well, this clever ‘mushrooms ate my furniture’ chair by designer Shinwei Rhoda Yen has all the right elements – it’s simple, biodegradable and its underside is graced by small mushrooms. One can easily imagine it outdoors as a comfy seat to use while gardening, and as a tool to grow mushrooms (perhaps ones suitable for eating?). Let's take a closeup view of this fantastic chair:

Hey, are those shitake mushrooms?
Closeup of the mushrooms...

The chair’s bottom is already embedded with spores for easy growing, and the straightforward design allows the mushrooms to grow and live on the chair for years, as they feed off the nutrients of the wood. Eventually, the chair will degrade naturally. The chair presents a minimal and intelligent statement about the life-cycles of consumer products, and it’s one that suggests a re-thinking and re-defining versatility and sustainability to include the humblest of life forms as well.

Sustainable Village in Nepal Houses Former Street Children

March 2, 2009 ·

The Pegasus Project built a small sustainable village near Kathmandu, Nepal in the Himalaya mountains where there are over 40 super adobe domes to accommodate 80 children, 10 staff and a small school. The village also has solar panels for hot water and a bio gas plant. The video below shows how the adobe homes are built:

A house made of paper for poor and homeless

A house made of paper for poor and homeless

Friday, 23 January 2009 17:34

Gerd Niemoeller, a design engineer has created the ultimate 'wall paper house' from recycled cardboard and newspapers. These accommodation units provide a fine option for the homeless and poor, as it can be built for less than $5000.

Constructed from an innovative cellulose-based material, the Universal World House is light, cheap, well-insulated, and remarkably strong, making it an incredible asset to developing countries, the homeless, and those displaced by disasters.

It measures 36 square meters, weighs about 800 Kg, can be assembled, is environmentally friendly and earthquake-proof. It comes complete with plumbing, eight built-in single and double beds, and basic facilities. Its versatile structure allows its walls to open up to take advantage of daylight and natural ventilation.

The modular prefab is constructed from Swisscell, a material made from cellulose extracted from recycled newspaper and cardboard. The material is impregnated with resin and formed into honeycomb walls that provide excellent insulation and offer a a great strength-to-weight ratio.

The process is extremely cheap, and machinery can be easily mobilized to other countries, cutting down on the impact of shipping the homes and providing local manufacturing jobs. Niemöller has stated: “From the very beginning, our goal was to create practical, environmentally sustainable, and, most importantly, cheap living quarters for the slums of the Earth.”