Architecture, Landscape, and Structural Design

[EnderD_503]

I was just reminded of an article I read a while back about this family that decided to dedicate themselves to sustainable living, and built their house into a hill side. I'd seen people do this for sheds or mine entrances in eastern Canada and Germany, but never saw anyone build their house this way (other than in LotR ).







Their website: http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

On that note, my cousin is actually building house with his wife and two young sons way out in the north. A log house with only straw as insolation. We'll see how it goes and may post some pics once they're done. I've always wanted to try building something more in the style of viking longhouses, like up at L'anse aux Meadows (viking ruins in Newfoundland) here in Canada.



Edit: just wanted to say that I'm really loving this thread! Great pics from everyone!

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

I was just reminded of an article I read a while back about this family that decided to dedicate themselves to sustainable living, and built their house into a hill side. I'd seen people do this for sheds or mine entrances in eastern Canada and Germany, but never saw anyone build their house this way (other than in LotR ).







Their website: http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

On that note, my cousin is actually building house with his wife and two young sons way out in the north. A log house with only straw as insolation. We'll see how it goes and may post some pics once they're done. I've always wanted to try building something more in the style of viking longhouses, like up at L'anse aux Meadows (viking ruins in Newfoundland) here in Canada.



Edit: just wanted to say that I'm really loving this thread! Great pics from everyone!

This is amazing ED!!!! Thanks for posting this and the vast wealth of knowledge that you and Apoc and Cyclo-, and Belle offer to this forum thread!!!

You all rock!!!!

~D.

[Leader]

Wow, that woodland home is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing that!

I have been interested in sustainable architecture/homes for many years (along with sacred geometry principles in buildings). My dream is to design a custom built strawbale/cob home. I've seen some very beautiful designs.







Strawbale is strong, energy efficient and can be very low cost (see below). I'd also like to help others who are interested do this as well. Check this out:

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by Cyclopea

Dancing Building. Prague.

Earth House. by Peter Vetsch

Honeycomb Home. Slovenia.

Swiss Underground Home

I'm lovin' this thread too Apoc, and all the wonderful posts!
In terms of what I'll be posting- I'll be posting things I find interesting, not necessarily things I "like" or "approve of". Unless I say so explicitly in the post of course. Might seem an unnecessary caveat in a thread such as this- but one never knows, does one? So I thought it best to make that clear...

I think some of the coolest photos are of things I don't like, becasue they make me think about what the need was for the structure.

Originally Posted by Cyclopea

Hong Kong

Like this, all the teeny apartmentsd crowded in, makes me think of our abundance of space here in the US and how our living spaces differ.

Originally Posted by Mister Bent

I'm intrigued by the "wee house" concept, and think my minimalist tendencies would allow me to live comfortably.

My favorite among the pre-fabricated houses are the LV series by Rocio Romero.

.



One side of the house is effectively glass, which lends itself to creating unity with the landscape, while design elements allow for natural air flow and light. I really like the utilitarian sheet metal siding and clean, simple lines. I don't like the idea of just plopping a box into the landscape, but these units are fairly easily customized to accommodate even challenging sites.

I love the teeny houses, but wonder where my books would go!
I love all the metal

Originally Posted by violaine

http://www.johncaserta.com/khmerarch/


http://www.gluckman.com/Phnom%20Penh%20Architecture.htm

Love the mix of Asian with a bit of French thrown in.
the interesting shapes of the buildings, even the school, are cool.

[Apocalipstic]

I wonder what it looks like inside the dancing building!

[EnderD_503]

The Chapel of Bones in the Royal Church of St. Francis in Evera, Portugal is a pretty amazing structure, too. The story behind its construction is actually very interesting. A friends of mine who lives in Lisbon was telling me that although the idea may be kind of morbid, it's a fascinating and breathtaking structure to visit and really does make one think. Definitely would love to visit one day.







http://www.sacred-destinations.com/p...hapel-of-bones

[Leader]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

The Chapel of Bones in the Royal Church of St. Francis in Evera, Portugal is a pretty amazing structure, too. The story behind its construction is actually very interesting. A friends of mine who lives in Lisbon was telling me that although the idea may be kind of morbid, it's a fascinating and breathtaking structure to visit and really does make one think. Definitely would love to visit one day.







http://www.sacred-destinations.com/p...hapel-of-bones

hauntingly, disturbingly fascinating.

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

The Chapel of Bones in the Royal Church of St. Francis in Evera, Portugal is a pretty amazing structure, too. The story behind its construction is actually very interesting. A friends of mine who lives in Lisbon was telling me that although the idea may be kind of morbid, it's a fascinating and breathtaking structure to visit and really does make one think. Definitely would love to visit one day.







http://www.sacred-destinations.com/p...hapel-of-bones

Wow, ED!!!! Thanks for posting this! This is flippin awesome! I had no idea it even existed - would totally be down for seeing this place, if at all possible, in the future! Just wow!!!! ~D.

[Cyclopea]

Originally Posted by apocalipstic

I wonder what it looks like inside the dancing building!

I should like to see it. I think part of it is a hotel.

[Cyclopea]

The Discomforts of Home

An innovative new housing project outside Tokyo aims to keep residents sharp by throwing them off balance. Duck!

By Kay Itoi

Most people, in choosing a new home, look for comfort: a serene atmosphere, smooth walls and floors, a logical layout. Nonsense, says Shusaku Arakawa, a Japanese artist based in New York. He and his creative partner, poet Madeline Gins, recently unveiled a small apartment complex in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka that is anything but comfortable and calming. "People, particularly old people, shouldn't relax and sit back to help them decline," he insists. "They should be in an environment that stimulates their senses and invigorates their lives."

With that in mind, Arakawa and Gins designed a building of nine apartments known as Reversible Destiny Lofts. Painted in eye-catching blue, pink, red, yellow and other bright colors, the building resembles the indoor playgrounds that attract toddlers at fast-food restaurants. Inside, each apartment features a dining room with a grainy, surfaced floor that slopes erratically, a sunken kitchen and a study with a concave floor. Electric switches are located in unexpected places on the walls so you have to feel around for the right one. A glass door to the veranda is so small you have to bend to crawl out. You constantly lose balance and gather yourself up, grab onto a column and occasionally trip and fall. Even worse, there's no closet space; residents will have to find a way to live there, since the apartment offers only a few solutions. "You'll learn to figure it out," says Arakawa. Ten minutes of stumbling around is enough to send even the healthiest young person over the edge. Arakawa says that's precisely the point. "[The apartment] makes you alert and awakens instincts, so you'll live better, longer and even forever," says the artist.

Completed in October, the apartments are now selling for $763,000 each—about twice as much as a normal apartment in that neighborhood. Arakawa and Gins have received dozens of inquiries and are now in the process of showing and interviewing potential buyers. They have a certain celebrity cachet: Jakucho Setouchi, an 83-year-old popular author and respected Buddhist nun, bought one on the top floor.

Built by Takenaka Corp., a leading Japanese contractor, the apartments actually meet every building-code requirement. The artists are not worried about possible injuries or lawsuits, but make sure each buyer understands "the concept" of the building before he or she signs the contract. This isn't the first time Arakawa and Gins have created seemingly hazardous structures; 10 years ago the pair opened the Site of Reversible Destiny—Yoro Park, a theme park in Gifu, central Japan. The popular tourist spot consists of attractions designed to throw people off balance, made up of warped surfaces and confusing directions. Visitors often fall—but so far nobody has sued.

Arakawa and Gins hope the Reversible Destiny Lofts will catch on outside Japan as well. Each unit is made up of large concrete blocks that can be preassembled, making the Mitaka complex a prototype for mass production. In fact, Arakawa says, they are in talks with interested parties in Paris and New Jersey about building similar complexes. Their ultimate goal: to turn an entire community into a Reversible Destiny town, where people of all ages live, work, study and play in their unsettling buildings. "It will be a revolution," says Arakawa. "This will change the way people live." That is, assuming people don't mind living with sloping floors and no closets.
© 2010 Newsweek, Inc.

http://www.reversibledestiny.org/REV...E_DESTINY.html