House

We've seen plenty of impressive net zero houses in the past, from the motion-controlled CHIP House in California to the budget-priced Sosoljip in South Korea. But one issue that seems predominant in most energy-neutral homes is that they typically take on a design that doesn't suit many suburban areas. That may soon change though with the first Active House, which uses natural lighting and ventilation to reduce its energy consumption while still blending in with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood.  Read More

Alongside the use of sustainable building materials, and innovative energy-saving techniques, another step in reducing a new home’s impact on the environment can be to build upon land once considered undesirable for human habitation. The “Like a Houseboat” property by Shipley Architects ticks all three boxes, with steel stilts enabling the single-family residence to be built upon poor-quality soil once home to a landfill.  Read More

I don't know. You wait all year for a single-room house-shaped tube with wall-to-wall glass at each end to arrive, then two come along at once. First we had Bunkie, a sort of spare-room-in-your-yard with bunk beds craftily squirrelled away in the walls and roof. Now we have Bunkie's spiritual bigger brother, 2by4-architects' Summer House, with its unfolding, and even-more secretive walls.  Read More

The idea of living life on the road in an RV can be appealing. Unfortunately, most RV’s aren’t very environmentally friendly, nor are they self-sufficient. However, the Tricycle House isn’t like most RV’s, as it relies on pedal power to move between destinations, and boasts several pieces of clever folding furniture to provide those much-needed home comforts.  Read More

Modern passive house it may be, but as its name suggests, the showstopper at Equinox House in Bulgaria harkens to ancient times when humans built buildings in veneration to heavenly bodies. A narrow aperture in the roof transforms the house into a solar calendar leading it's designer, Ignatov Architects, to refer to the house as a "celestial instrument."  Read More

Thanks to its tropical climate, Far North Queensland (FNQ), Australia, is a place where residents regularly have to deal with threats from the environment in the form of cyclones, while being mindful of their impact on the environment. One architectural firm has constructed a building that attempts to address both concerns simultaneously. Designed by Charles Wright Architects, the Stamp House in FNQ is a self-sustaining home that's sturdy enough to withstand a Category 5 cyclone.  Read More

It’s no surprise to see the popularity of shipping container homes increase in recent times, especially when architects just keep getting more and more creative with what they can do with them. Adding to the list of innovative shipping container homes is the prefabricated WFH House, which incorporates the use of recycled shipping containers into a modular building system. Designed by Danish architectural studio Arcgency, the home is also coupled with a online personalization system that allows clients to customize their own home, including its layout, size, facade and interior.  Read More

London-based architecture team Softkill Design has entered the race to create the first 3D printed house. Unlike the first plans for 3D-printed houses that emerged at about this time last year, Softkill thinks that the future of 3D printed housing lies in prefabricated components rather than printing houses whole using vast uber-printers on site. By using plastics rather than sand or concrete, Softkill may just have hit upon a concept that actually feels... 3D printery.  Read More

By prioritizing energy minimization, and taking a pragmatic approach to materials and insulation, client Dr. Jung Soik and architect Yang Soo-in of Lifethings were able to construct a net zero energy house, or one that produces more energy than it uses, on a reasonable (if not meager) budget. Upon completion, Dr. Jung had spent US$284,000 on Sosoljip, the house which now stands at a fishing village four hours to the south of Seoul, South Korea.  Read More