Solar tiny house designed by Michael Janzen and built by Bill Brooks.

PART I

PART II

PART III

PART IV

Consider the Source

Tory Smith built this little house on wheels for newlyweds Joseph and Aravinda.

Consider the Source

Dee Williams decided to downsize from a 1,500 square foot home to a 84 square foot home after a trip to Guatemala. She built her current home, “The Little House,” herself for about $10,000. With a propane tank for heat and electricity coming from solar panels, Williams cost of living runs extremely low.

Consider the Source

Dan Louche built this tiny retirement house for his mother who was in need of a home.

Consider the Source

SunnyBot is about the size of a large desk lamp and is equipped with an on-board mirror that continuously adjusts to reflect the sun’s rays on a chosen area. It is integrated with a dual-axis microcomputer that’s powered by a row of solar cells and comes with an optional feedback system. The device redirects 7,000 lumens (equal to a single 500 watt halogen lamp) with a range at just over 656 feet.

Consider the Source

Over winter break, Cornell students began building an affordable and environmentally sustainable model house in Nicaragua. The students, who are part of Cornell University Sustainable Design — an organization that promotes sustainability through design — traveled to Nagarote, Nicaragua to build the house. The house will serve not only as a home for a family, but also as a platform to demonstrate ideal eco-friendly housing initiatives, said Kai Keane ’14, one of the students who led the project.

The house and its landscaping — part of the Sustainable Neighborhoods Nicaragua project — are the product of more than three semesters’ worth of research on designing sustainable and affordable housing for low-income Nicaraguan families, according to Keane. The house is scheduled to be completed around mid-February 2013, according to SNN’s press release.

Consider the Source

Wouter Kalis and Corinne de Korver are two Dutch designers who have long been aware of the overall importance of sustainable accommodations throughout the world. Based in Amsterdam, the duo are dedicated to socially-conscious designs that incorporate simple and often recyclable elements, such as their most recent piece, “Social Unit.”  Devised as a solution for aid organizations in Holland, the cupboard bed space is part sleeping compartment, part storage space that fits the basic sustainability criteria: they are compact, inexpensive, durable and easy to maintain. The Social Units are produced entirely from consumer plastic waste such as bottle caps and beer crates, manufactured using woodworking techniques no more complicated than sawing, drilling or cutting.
The design was a response to the conditions of homeless shelters in Amsterdam. Although shelters offer people a single room in the Netherlands, the rooms often are full of broken, chaotic interiors with not enough storage space for all the personal belongings people carry around. The designers decided to help people find their way back into society, and concluded an interior should also be inviting and with positive signals.
They talked to the staff of Salvation Army and were told furniture should be easy to clean and ‘gorilla proof’, really strong. They found this recycled consumer waste plastic, made of bottle caps and beer crates, and that triggered it. They made a design that was functional, durable and green. It’s a modern version of the historical Dutch ‘cupboard bed’, that was traditionally built into a wall to preserve warmth and have some privacy in large families. And, it has a built in psychological side effect: it makes people feel secure and comfortable by giving them their own private space.
Consider the Source

Deciding to live in a tiny house involves making some big lifestyle choices. You’ll need to be happy with minimal belongings — hoarders need not apply. But cozy quarters also offer huge advantages. Tiny houses are far more affordable than standard-size houses. Most owners of tiny homes live mortgage-free. The lower building costs allow many people to pay cash upfront. Monthly costs — such as for heating, cooling and lighting — are relatively low.
Aevia — Consider the Source

Driven by a commitment to reduce energy consumption and built space, there’s a growing trend among the eco-conscious to build tiny homes. A new book, Nano House by Phyllis Richardson (Thames & Hudson), gathers 40 of the best-designed examples from around the world–all of which showcase an appreciation for the efficient use of space, materials, and resources.

Where the eye is upon superfluities, either of quantity or quality, rather than bare necessities, there self-maintenance passes over toward self-gratification, and vanity-wants and pleasure-wants supersede hunger-wants.  —W. G. Sumner and A. G. Keller (1927)