Are you dreaming of spending your summer next to the lake or maybe thinking about going off the grid for a few months? There are some great choices for tiny, economical eco-house options to suit all budgets and lifestyles. Choose from a whimsical treehouse, recycled shipping container pod or a mobile mini house. We have compiled a list of our favorite small green summer housing options.
Rolling Stone Camper
Slovakian architects Tomas Zacek and Igor Zacek have come up with a unique house design that manages to combine a love of travel with environmentally sustainable design. The 25m2 Rolling Stone Camper, designed by Nice Architects Ltd., is based on the traditional Romany Caravans used by nomadic peoples. Designed to accommodate a minimum of two people or a maximum of six in an emergency, each unit has a bedroom with a double bed, small closet, toilet, shower and sink.
Off The Grid Eco Pod
The Canadian Ecopod is designed to be compact, secure and energy efficient. Made from recycled shipping containers and designed to work of the grid (although they can easily be used on the grid), the steel shipping containers come complete with an 80 watt solar panel and 12 volt battery
Sphere Treehouses
Builder and designer Tom Chudleigh, from Free Spirit Spheres Inc., works with the natural world to create his whimsical tree spheres. He explains that the objective of the Free Spirit Sphere Project was to be able to move into the rainforest and have an experience of it – with as little impact as possible. The Sphere Treehouses are only for sleeping, resting and/or meditating as there are no kitchen or bathroom facilities included.
Friggebod or Mini House
Proving that good things really do come in small packages, the Swedish Friggebod or Mini House by architect Jonas Wagell, is a 15m2 shed designed as a small summerhouse. The inside can be customized to fit a sleeping area, bathroom and kitchen - small scale of course.
Tiny Houses
Jay Shafer, owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, has built a successful business providing people with tiny but exquisitely made houses. His company makes tiny homes on wheels that you can pull behind a vehicle or small permanent homes ranging from 6.5-11.2m2. The tiny homes are easy to green with the addition of solar panels, compost toilets and gravity fed greywater systems.
Mobile Mini House
The Mobile Mini House provides small housing options for the modern day traveler or nomad. Originally conceived for traveling telecommuters, the Mobile Mini House was designed for quick and easy set-up by a lone traveler. The innovative expandable mobile home concept opens up when stationary to provide separate areas designed for living-room space, kitchen and office space
The Canadian aerieLOFT
The aerieLOFT from Canadian Breathe Architects is a small sail-like eco-structure, based on the iconic wilderness lean-to structure, but with a few modern and green innovations. Designed to blend into its surroundings, whether it is in your garden or in the wild, the 17 foot (5.2m) high curved structure includes a screened wall, a compact sun porch and a loft in the rafters. The aerieLOFT can be accessorized with a clean-burning EPA-certified compact wood stove, solar panels for lighting, an outdoor passive solar shower, a rainwater catchment system and a composting toilet.
Pink Polka Dot ConHouse System
Imagine a home that is affordable, good for the environment and covered in pink polka dots. Sound too good to be true? Well, the Conhouse 2+ transportation container houses from Slovenia architect Jure Kotnik are designed to be the perfect green lowcost weekend home. The ConHouse system of utilizing small-size housing container units has a 2+ person accommodation weekend house that includes ground plans, carefully selected materials, a well-lit interior and the customized outer appearance of individual units.
The R1: Oval Eco Pod
The R1: Oval eco-friendly garden pod is a design solution to create extra living space in a variety of applications. The super cool eco-pods can be used as a guest room, studio, office, or gazebo space. The garden pod has a variety of eco-options including a grass roof, a choice of rubber flooring, double glazing, insulated, panels to cut down on energy costs, sliding glass door, a concrete foundation, and a number of interior and exterior finishes.
Regards
Marry Davidson
written by hi , January 15, 2010
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written by GirishLaikhra , September 01, 2009