This small cabin in a rural area of central Chile uses little energy and has a low carbon footprint. AATA Arquitectos designed the cabin, opting for a two level floor plan to minimize the site impact. The cabin takes the shape of a cube that is 5.4 m (17’9″) on each side.
Architect Jim Carney of Carney Logan Burke Architects designed this small modern house for his wife and himself. It is intended to become their guest house, but they are living in it for now while designing their main house. The architect states that one of the design goals was to “immerse the owners in the experience of the forest both visually and aurally.” The former was accomplished by the large windows in every room, and the latter by siting the house within earshot of a rushing stream.
photo by Rodrigo Avilés
This small 2-story house sits in a deciduous forest on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. It was designed by Parra + Edwards Arquitectos. The house is a simple rectangular box given architectural interest by the patchwork pattern of alternating glass and solid wall.
Supposedly it was named for Apollo 11 because it was conceived to be “like a ship that landed in a forest without touching it at any time and will undertake its departure, leaving the forest intact.” That sounds like pure architectural hubris; no one but an architect would imagine that a house could be built in a formerly untouched forest with no impact. However with the largely transparent lower level, the more solid-walled upper level does appear from some angles to be hovering like a spaceship.
At first glance, most people would not notice anything unusual about this small contemporary house in California. With the ends clad in lap siding, you have to look closely to see that it is constructed from recycled shipping containers. A roof with wide overhangs, a feature not often seen on container houses, further helps to disguise its origins. Leger-Wanaselja Architecture designed the house based on three 40-foot containers. Two are stacked on the left, and a third was cut in half and stacked on the right. The two stacks are joined by a double-height atrium-like space with walls of glass on the front and back.
Lanefab Design/Build recently completed this energy-efficient laneway house with Mid-Century Modern styling. “Laneway house” is the term used in Vancouver, British Columbia for a second small house built in the backyard of an existing house, what would be called an accessory dwelling unit in many cities. Vancouver allows laneway houses to be built on residential lots at least 10 m wide where the back of the lot is serviced by an alley. Most residential lots in Vancouver meet those criteria.
photo by Jesús Martín Ruiz | UPV/EHU eki project
Continuing our coverage of Solar Decathlon Europe 2012, today we take a look at Ekihouse (“sun house”), a small prefabricated house in two modules. Ekihouse is the result of a collaboration between two Basque schools, Universidad del País Vasco and Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. It has a simple floor plan with the kitchen and utilities at one end, the bathroom at the other, and an open loft-like living space in the middle. The living area is enclosed by triple-paned sliding patio doors on the two remaining sides.
© Solar Decathlon Europe
Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 is now in full swing in Madrid, Spain. Solar Decathlon Europe is an offshoot of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon held every second year in Washington, D.C. Interest in the U.S. competition had grown to the point that a European version was started in 2010. The U.S. competition invites international entrants but the cost of travel and shipping a house overseas was prohibitive for many potential teams. A European version allows participation by many more teams.
In the Solar Decathlons, university teams compete in the design, construction and operation of small energy-efficient houses powered by the sun’s energy. The Solar Decathlon Europe’s teams are judged in these ten contests: architecture, engineering and construction, energy efficiency, electrical energy balance, comfort, function, communication / raising social awareness, industrialization / market viability, innovation, and sustainability.
We will be having a look at several of this year’s Solar Decathlon Europe entries. First up is the Odoo House by team Odooproject from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary.
living room to kitchen | photo by Vicenç Prats, STARP Estudi
Architect Roger Sauquet designed this adaptive reuse of an old brick stable in Castellar del Vallés, Spain, not far from Barcelona. The building’s 55 m2 (592 ft2) of floorspace was sufficient for a large living room, an eat-in kitchen with built-in seating, one bedroom and a small office.
