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Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

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Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#141

Post by PhasmaFelis »

drivingmissm wrote: post #79
PhasmaFelis wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many, many, many people producing children at well above replacement levels, and we are already well above the carrying capacity of our environment. I have no personal guilt at choosing not to have children.

Actually most advanced societies are not producing enough children to keep the population stable.

Good. There are too many people as it is. Running the birthrate at below replacement levels for a few generations is the only humane way to address that.

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#142

Post by gaius »

nostromo wrote: post #16

I think technology is the enabling factor behind the tiny house movement. Books, CDs, movies, photos, files, paperwork, videogames: all compressed down to the size of a hard drive. So many random gadgets have been replaced by a smart phone, like camera equipment, phones, flashlights, calendars, etc. Now people are ditching TVs as well and just using iPads and laptops to watch video. There are other more subtle things…

But here's the thing: I can if I wish pay £0 for clothes one year and wear what I already own. What happens if I stop paying the rent on my hired clothes? Or anything else. This is also one of the arguments against cloud computing...

And I can't imagine living on takeout to be healthy or economic in the long term... Be wary of extrapolating from being 23 to even 33 let alone 63.

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#143

Post by Yetanfou »

clarkm wrote: post #50
nostromo wrote: post #16

I think technology is the enabling factor behind the tiny house movement. Books, CDs, movies, photos, files, paperwork, videogames: all compressed down to the size of a hard drive. So many random gadgets have been replaced by a smart phone, like camera equipment, phones, flashlights, calendars, etc. Now people are ditching TVs as well and just using iPads and laptops to watch video. There are other more subtle things…

I just finished watching BBS: The Documentary and noticed the same thing. It seemed like everyone they interviewed had an entire room full of old computer equipment. They had boxes of software, walls of hardware manuals, stacks of monitors, cabinets of capacitors and resistors, rows of soldering irons, and at least one fully-equipped workbench. Up until the past decade or so if you wanted to be a serious computer ent…

Someone with 'space on a desk for an apple product' is not really a 'computer enthusiast' just like someone with a mobile phone is not a 'radio amateur'. Yes, the phone contains an advanced radio system, enabling the user to communicate with whomever they want at the flick of a finger. In contrast to a radio amateur the user usually does not know how the thing works other than which buttons to press. The apple user usually knows which buttons to press but show them the nitty-gritty details of how that button press is translated into action on the hardware and their eyes glaze over. A serious computer enthusiast is better off with that wall of hardware, better off with Linux or *BSD than with a closed system, if it is OSX they want to run they're better of with a hackintosh.

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#144

Post by sliverstorm »

SG- wrote: post #123
sliverstorm wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure you went outside plenty, but did you go outside at night? Personally, where I live, when the temperature drops below freezing at night, I stop going outside when it is dark, and as the nights get longer that means at least 14 hours a day indoors.

I go out every night and mostly only at night when it's -20C. I do stay in when it goes below that usually, you just need to get used to it and dress properly. This is just something you need to change yourself and get used to, it won't get any easier if you just ignore the cold.

The problem isn't being cold; I have good clothing and don't mind 40F in the slightest. The issue is I haven't really discovered reasons to even be outside- good activities I can safely enjoy among the ice & snow and in the extra-dark of winter

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#145

Post by 001sky »

mapt wrote: post #134
001sky wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is basically a mobile home, which has no foundation. As such, there is nothing in the design which is not easily re-built to your spec. The design is inherently modular. When you are dealing with a 200sq ft living space, its best to have it tailored to your own needs, and not a random or lowest common-denominator-based spec. The common areas, however take on more importance in a community or non-remote setting a…

"Tailored to your needs" "Not a random or lowest-common-denominator-based spec" So you want it to cost what a 1,200 sqft building would cost, but you want to spend it on architects and custom builders instead of cheap efficient standardized parts & designs. A wheelchair ramp, sure I guess... but the general principle of housing for most of us can't be "Find a way to occupy the unemployed architecture majors of the wo…

No, the house in the article was built for $11,000 dollars. That's the cost of provisioning about 5 square feet of London real estate. You're mis-reading be-tween the lines, by a couple orders of magnitude.

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#146

Post by sliverstorm »

SpacemanSpiff wrote: post #62
dredmorbius wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So ... I saw Katie's "Tire House" post. I've seen and read some of Mike Reynolds' work, but hadn't seen anyone specifically critical of the Earthship design. Is there a specific post which gets into the downsides of the mode of construction or do I have to read her whole blog to find out? http://www.makingthishome.com/2009/05/27/earthship-tour-aka-...

In a nutshell, we encountered two problems (which may or may not be prevalent with all Earthships) 1. Extreme temperature fluctuations. You're essentially living inside a solar collector. In the fall, the sun would blaze in through the windows, and I know you're supposed to have overhangs, shades and air vents and underground air circulation systems, all of which we used. The bottom line is you can't cheat physics. E…

These pushes for housing like Earthships are curious, especially in light of your comments (which mirror my expectations). Not curious by themselves, but curious in what they represent. Humans developed modern housing specifically to combat weather, slow ingress by pests, etc. I wonder if this Earthship (etc) movement represents a shift in where we are living. Ages ago, Europeans & Mediterraneans lived in a lot of unfavorable weather. Do more people live in temperate regions today, for a movement like this to happen? Why would that be the case? Perhaps shipping & the global economy have created a class of peoples that can live wherever they choose, where such a class of people did not exist before?

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#147

Post by allochthon »

I love that she designed and built the house herself, and I love that she did a great job on the interior design. I also like that there's a little bit of yard (perhaps a lot -- hard to tell from the photo).

I like the 200 sq. foot size a little less. My own dream homes (there are two):

1. A small home (> 200 sq. feet) or perhaps unit in a larger condominium complex or communal living space in a denser urban conglomeration. The town/city is not so large that you cannot easily walk or ride a bike through the length of it. Lots of trees and green space. Light rail transportation to nearby urban areas. Not as dense as SF or anywhere near as dense as Manhattan. But not so suburban that you need a car. Building height is kept at or below five stories, and averages two stories. The buildings do not block sunlight. There are places at the edge of the town/city for long-term car storage, but driving is not permitted within it.

2. A nice cabin or ranchouse (~1000-2000 sq. feet?) in the countryside with access to light rail within biking distance.

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#148

Post by ghaff »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #2

Nicely efficient use of space. Reminds me of a motor home (as opposed to a 'mobile home' which tries its best to avoid reminding you it is only 10' wide). I enjoyed the comment that read "I only need 200 sq ft to live in but I need 4000 sq ft for storage." :-)

Storage actually makes a huge difference. I wouldn't be especially into 200 sq. ft. in any case :-) but the difference between a house that has X sq. ft. of finished room with minimal storage--no basement, attic, maybe no garage--and a house that has one or more of those things is huge. To be sure, those spaces attract stuff that should just be unloaded, but it's a big difference.

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#149

Post by wlesieutre »

Yetanfou wrote: post #143
clarkm wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just finished watching BBS: The Documentary and noticed the same thing. It seemed like everyone they interviewed had an entire room full of old computer equipment. They had boxes of software, walls of hardware manuals, stacks of monitors, cabinets of capacitors and resistors, rows of soldering irons, and at least one fully-equipped workbench. Up until the past decade or so if you wanted to be a serious computer ent…

Someone with 'space on a desk for an apple product' is not really a 'computer enthusiast' just like someone with a mobile phone is not a 'radio amateur'. Yes, the phone contains an advanced radio system, enabling the user to communicate with whomever they want at the flick of a finger. In contrast to a radio amateur the user usually does not know how the thing works other than which buttons to press. The apple user u…

Most of the programmers I know use MacBook Pros. Some have hackintosh desktops as a backup, but concede that the hackintosh setups are a pain in the ass compared to an actual Mac. So I'm not sure where you're getting that last part.

Are these people not computer enthusiasts?

Re: Architect's Dream House: Less Than 200 Square Feet

#150

Post by voltagex_ »

nogridbag wrote: post #105
voltagex_ wrote: post #21

I'm in a wheelchair. Brand new houses built with stairs make me sad. I've often thought I'd love to work with an architect to design accessible houses: it's not just for me, anyone with limited mobility or energy would benefit.

Yes I agree. A family member is in a wheelchair/power chair and where I live, it's nearly impossible to find single level homes unless you build new. There home was recently modified with a $16,000 elevator and honestly it's barely accessible. A power chair just makes it into the elevator and there's absolutely no room to turn inside the lift. I wish there was more interest in accessible vehicles as well. Outside of…

For powered (and unpowered chairs) you're looking at a modified van - I'm sorry I can't remember the company that builds them right now.

Please make sure the chair can be anchored correctly and is certified for use in a vehicle.

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