Innovative Homes of the World

[glenn-k]

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glenn kangiser
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     Innovative Homes of The World
« on: Mar 19th, 2005, 11:07pm »       
The Underground Cabin is scheduled to be one of the stops on the innovative homes tour here in May.  Lots of things to do and we had our first cob/alt building workshop here today.  

I thought this would be a good way to bring in different innovative ideas for building.    

My wife found an interesting video of the way they do it on Jonesy's side of the pond in Coober Pedy.  Have a look.  Here is a link to the site.  Jonesy originally posted some more information on this on page 2 of the Indigenous Housing discussion.

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_architecture_extreme/article/0,1797,HGTV_3662_1391284,00.html

To go direct to the video click this one.

http://wms.scripps.com/hgtv/BDRE/ext/wme-s-4.wmv
« Last Edit: Mar 20th, 2005, 11:35am by glenn kangiser »       
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe from Architectural School Lesson


Amanda_931
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #1 on: Mar 20th, 2005, 6:08am »       
Oh, my.  

We're on a list with somebody about to become  

famous famous famous famous famous famous famous famous famous famous famous famous famous famous


not, we hope, infamous.
« Last Edit: Mar 20th, 2005, 6:10am by Amanda_931 »       



glenn kangiser
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #2 on: Mar 20th, 2005, 8:35am »       
As for our place -we're only on a small low key local tour but it looks like Coober Pedy made it around the world.  --We don't want much fame.
     
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe from Architectural School Lesson

[glenn-k]

Here is another interesting way to make a structure and ideas you can use if you peruse the site.  A ferrocement water tank can be made at fairly low cost for rainwater storage.



Here is the site- check out links and gallery:

http://www.ferrocement.net/

author=Amanda_931Would y'all kick me out of here if I duplicated the strawberry house?



Actually, despite my prejudice against concrete, ferrocement done that way sounds a lot more reasonable that some of the plastic water tanks I've been thinking of.

(prejudice: the world is going through almost 2 1/2 tons--two metric tonnes--of concrete per person per year right now.  It's become a pretty major source of greenhouse gasses.  Poly tanks aren't much better, mind you)

author=John Raabe  Are you sure that's not a soccer ball rather than a strawberry - not that it matters much at that scale.

Fantasy buildings are forever popular.

There was a gas station in Seattle made to look like a big cowboy hat and boots. Very popular in the 60's — there was quite a large group of people who rose up recently with money in their hands to save it when the property was redeveloped.

Just for fun.... here is a topic for a treehouse from the old forum
http://www.countryplans.com/bbs/messages/6811.html

author=Amanda_931 The guy who was building for me two years ago knew of (had actually done some repair on?) a treehouse way up in the air, with no permanent connections to the three or four trees it was fastened to--a loop of tractor tires or something to pad the cables to the house.  Periodically they had to tune the cables so the house stayed level.  The idea was no damage to the trees.  Don't know if it really worked that way.  The one he built for me had bolts into trees on one end, mailbox posts on the other.

The hooch is neat.

Marauding elephants would be a bummer, though.

Not many in Puerto Rico.  Good.  Web-site said that it had survived a couple of category three hurricanes, though.

I like their lamps.

[glenn-k]

Nice to see the old hooch tree house again-- I have a 20 foot log here that keeps begging me to stand it up like a hooch pole and make something out of it.  I keep resisting. :-/

Next project will probably be an octopus clay oven with an Native American type round house structure made out of twisted tree limbs, logs etc.  Octopus arms for seating- fire box on the bottom with an oven chamber middle and top or something similar.  Need a project for the ladies who want to come over and learn how to build with cob.

I got the idea while looking at some of the ferrocement structures in Mexico built by Flying Concrete. I like Mexico - If you are stupid enough to fall through a handrail opening it's your own tough luck.  Keeps the gene pool healthy.   Here's their site link and photo.

http://www.geocities.com/flyingconcrete/





Here is another home that is what I consider innovative- in Fresno, CA and was no doubt an influence to me.  I repaired their water well several years ago.  I worked for Baldasare Forestiere's nephews.

As Baldasare put it, "To make something with lots of money that is easy— But to make something out of nothing... now that is something."
http://www.undergroundgardens.com/index.html


Photo link and more info from:
http://historicfresno.org/nrhp/forest.htm

[whitewolf]

Hi,

When you click on the link as is (the first post with the HGtv link, sorry, you updated just before I sent this post) it does not include the second part on the second row. Therefore you need to copy/paste to get to the correct page  (link as is takes you to a generic page)

Check out the other houses listed at the bottom, just for fun.  I'll take the Golf Ball House

Sharon

[glenn-k]

 Amanda_931
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #8 on: Mar 22nd, 2005, 7:20am »       
Steve Kornher's stuff is amazing.  Some of it I think I could live in happily. (I can't say that about your basic McMansion, mind you).  Especially enchanted with the doors and windows.

And I'd love to see the Forestiere gardens.
     

glenn kangiser
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #9 on: Mar 22nd, 2005, 8:58am »       
A couple points -in general the ferrocement is fairly thin -reducing the amount of concrete used as opposed to normal methods.

As to the Underground Gardens, they were truly innovative - Fresno reaches 100 degrees F for long periods and is flat.  How great to drop into a hole in the ground in the old days and be cool.  He would have been one of the only ones that were.

The hardpan he dug by hand with his mule was nearly as hard as concrete.  His underground car tunnel was about 800 feet long.
« Last Edit: Mar 22nd, 2005, 8:59am by glenn kangiser »       
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe from Architectural School Lesson


Amanda_931
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #10 on: Mar 22nd, 2005, 6:10pm »       
Friends going to somewhere near Fresno sometime in the not too distant future have put the Forestiere gardens on their list.

And even people who usually recommend things I hate--and vice versa--loved the Flying Concrete.

I keep hearing that ferrocement is it's own magic material, not all that much like either of the components.

Knew a guy in college who had once worked for somebody who built houses by piling up dirt, putting on the ferrocement roof, then digging out the dirt.  He was enough older than I was that it could have been the late 50's or the  early sixties.

[glenn-k]

Thanks, Sharon -- I think you were talking about th Coober Pedy page--??  I fixed it -- manual copying is not too great - havent found a better way yet.

[whitewolf]

 Thanks Glenn  

Interesting link, thanks for sharing!  I know it is from an old post, but being new it was new to me!

Sharon

[glenn-k]

I came across the town of Masule, Iran in one of my new books.   It is built on a very steep slope.  I consider the houses here innovative because the roofs of one row of houses serve as the street for another row of houses.

This could be used in any hilly area to get storage space near the house and have more yard, garden, etc.



This link is from the MSN Welcome to Iran Group site.  

http://beta.communities.msn.se/welcometoiran


One man Cathedral

Here is a picture story of a man in Spain determined to build his own cathedral despite lack of support and no government permission.

http://www.citynoise.org/article/732


Amanda_931
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #13 on: May 22nd, 2005, 6:03pm »       
There is a website on this (and to no ones surprise they take donations).  All in Spanish.

http://www.aquariusesjusto.com/
     

DavidLeBlanc
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #14 on: May 29th, 2005, 5:27pm »       
Shades of Gaudi!  
     

[glenn-k]

 glenn kangiser
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #15 on: Jun 3rd, 2005, 10:26pm »       
Innovative Homes tour was rescheduled for tomorrow so that is the big day for the Underground Cabin.

It is a benefit for the local Independent Cinema.  54 people have signed up for it so we'll see how many show up here.  We have spent the last 2 weeks making improvements and putting up safety rails etc.  Safety is no accident.  --Then again, I believe people should take a little responsibility for their own actions so am having all visitors sign a hold harmless agreement-- for what it's worth.

« Last Edit: Jun 3rd, 2005, 11:16pm by glenn kangiser »       
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe from Architectural School Lesson


Amanda_931
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #16 on: Jun 4th, 2005, 8:00pm »       
(generally the paper it's written on)

But I hope you had lots of happy people who enjoyed your house.
« Last Edit: Jun 4th, 2005, 8:01pm by Amanda_931 »       


glenn kangiser
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #17 on: Jun 4th, 2005, 10:43pm »       Quote Quote Modify Modify Remove Remove
Probably right, Amanda.  I got safety rails up all around and pretty well didn't worry about it.  Things went fine.  There were over 70 people finally signed up and all had a great time-- some just walked around with their mouths open and stated that they were speechless.  Everyone was pretty impressed -

I just told them it was nothing special - just shows hat you can do with a chain saw, sledge hammer and a nail gun.
     
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe from Architectural School Lesson
glenn kangiser
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     Re: Innovative Homes of The World
« Reply #18 on: Jun 5th, 2005, 11:58pm »       
Here is a link to the site of the McGrath's who were also homeowners on the Mariposa Sixth Street Cinema Innovative Home Tour.  A few early pics of their home and their art.  A two story now with an attic and a fairly flat section with a couple squares of torchdown roofing which Scott was happy to explain the application of.  Two very talented young people.

http://www.sierratel.com/hotworks/
     
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe from Architectural School Lesson

[glenn-k]

My reason for moving this topic here tonight was that a new member to the old forum who lives in Beijing , China contacted me this evening - we had a nice chat--  She is a computer operator doing  building paint design.  I don't know exactly the proper term - her English is fair - my Chinese is non-existant.  She mentioned that it was very cold there -- I checked her weather - she made an understatement--- She said she lives in the city for the job there.
She said our cabin was very beautiful. -- Of course I had to make her look at the pictures.
What fun I have on this forum.  Thanks, John.
Beijing
Elevation:       180 ft / 55 m
[Clear]       
19 °F / -7 °C
Clear
Windchill:       3 °F / -16 °C
Humidity:       21%
Dew Point:       -15 °F / -26 °C
Wind:       22 mph / 36 km/h from the NW
Wind Gust:       34 mph / 54 km/h

Here is a pic of a house in Beijing and a link to some peoples travels there who were kind enough to post their pictures with short explanations.



http://www.myblumberg.com/Asia/Old%20Beijing%202.html

[jwv]

I love the picture from China.  When I see things like that I always try to analyze why I like it.  Of course, the DH thinks that I can find a beautiful old doorknob and in my mind I have a whole house built around it!    But, is it the way the sunshines in that space, or is it the windows of differing sizes or the use of stone and brick?  Then there's the tree and the trellis and a little planting area. It's probably a combination of all these things but I think this is a very inviting space (even tho it looks a little cold in this pic).  That's why I like Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language.  It causes me to think about what makes a space comfortable, inviting, warm.  

In our previous house we had a small sofa in the kitchen area, the TV was also there and that was the most used space in the house (and we didn't watch that much TV).  We decided that we just needed a large kitchen with room to gather and be comfortable and a few small bedrooms.  We started with that idea for our current plan.

Judy

[jraabe]

Hillside houses have always had an attraction for me. Here is an ancient city in Yemen built right down the cliff side.



Yemeni builders have perfected mud brick and rammed earth construction to the point that they can build 8-10 story buildings using nothing but earth with no steel reinforcing.

OK, here is another one, this from Spain.



I think two of the reasons we respond to such hillside towns is the varied and complex relationships between the buildings, and the fact that there are no cars!

(PS to Glenn - thank you for moving some of these treads over here. I have still not gotten any clear information on how to manually move the lost treads - and I'm afraid I might just bomb the whole forum by messing around in testing mode!)

[glenn-k]

I really love the Yemen earthen skyscrapers.  There hasn't been a big enough earthquake to take the older ones down yet.  Here is an article on Yemen architecture telling of failures and successes old and new in their building practices.  

http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/matthews96.htm

The walls in the lower right corner of that picture reminded me of some of the ruins of the ancient native Americans - built around 1125 AD Tuzigoot in the Verde Valley was part of an interesting trip we made a few years ago.  It was built of local materials and I am sure it served quite well until left to return back to nature.



There is a bit of information on it at this site.
http://p.vtourist.com/1480021-Tuzigoot_pueblo-Tuzigoot_National_Monument.jpg

John - I have tried multiple ways of getting the information switched - even perused the online help and manual-- I have yet to find a better way to do this.  I saw warnings of messing things up so it looks like it's not easy.