Inhabitat

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We live in rural Az and am most interested in living green in he most possible convenient conventional way. Hard to explain but I’ll try. Find minimal attractive but am strongly attached to traditional toilette fixtures tub/shower, commode, etc… Am I wanting the very thing we are trying to get away from. Most of the manufactured homes appear to be a simple substitute for the tract home surrounding our newest popultion growth areas and at about the same price. Anything I’ve seen that’s what I wish for is too big size wise and cost way out of my budgit. The closest things I;ve seen are Tmbelweed and the Katrina houses. Could you pretty please suggest simmular housing or some that is more fitting for a senior empty nest couple, beside a RV or moble home park ? ugh!

Thanks, richard in Maricopa, AZ surrounding area betweeen two American Indian Reservations

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Hi…

This is a reply to the above listed email of 12/01/06 by Richard Don Redwine.

Dear Richard,

If you don’t mind living in a house that has a modern ‘look’ to it, you may want to check out the ‘Habitat House’ design by some professors and their students at the University of New Mexico ‘School for Architecture and Planning”. This design was one of the winners of the SECCA ‘Home House’ design competition. Click on the link below to connect with the page that lists this design, and then click on the 1st winning entry to see the design itself.

http://www.secca.org/homehouse/winners.html

Basically, the design is a wooden deck supported by concrete piers, topped by 2 shipping containers that have been modified into living spaces, with a large open space between the containers which could be a living room — dining area, and a wooden flat roof with generous overhangs. If you live in a cold weather climate… the outside of the containers could be clad with Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP’s), and if you wanted smooth interior walls you could adhere sheetrock internally.

This house should be able to be built very inexpensively. Used 40′ x 8′ shipping containers cost $2,500.00 or less and the rest of the materials are not very expensive either. Also, an experienced builder could probably build this house without very elaborate plans. That said, getting plans from the designers would still be an excellent idea..

For more info on this design you might want to contact the professors at UNM. They are: Geoffrey Adams, AIA gcadams@unm.edu (505)277-1271 , and Karen J. KIng kjk2@num.edu (505)277-7422
Good luck. Feel free to email me. I’m reachable at: x@earthsmile.com

Richie

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I agree with above.
Great to see the AIA inviting Al Gore and stepping forward.
I live in Tasmania, Australia and was wondering whether Inhabitat
or the AIA will be documenting Al’s keynote speech (and any other
important ones) so us far flung green dreamers can learn from the
convention without having to fly there.

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In reply to the above email 12/01/06 by Richard Don Redwine….

Hi Richard…
We’re working on a few prototypes for an affordable, environmentally conscious house that is to be built from common regionally available supplies. We’re building four of these houses in Boone, North Carolina late Sping ‘07 to see if we can build them for our target budget of $75K (3 bedroom / 2 bath). So far, we have a two story & a one story plan… & option of three roof styles… gable, hip or butterfly. More modern than a Katrina Cottage, but not as minimalist as a shipping container.
Email me at bill@objetdesign.com if you’re interested in seeing what we do.
Cheers… Bill

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Is there an address to which my high school students may write to Mr.Gore? I have a few high school students applying to a university sponsored design workshop to hosted on the ASU campus. They’ve not yet been able to find a published address for him. Anyone with a current address for the former VP?