The Home Blog

Portland Architecture

Brian Libby is keeping track of architecture and general changes around my old stomping grounds, Portland Oregon. Of particular interest is this recent cover story in USA Today he linked to. Portland has finally developed the abandoned industrial area south of downtown. And since they did it with a green philosophy, Brian gives them a well deserved pat on the back.

Bainbridge Island Eco-Craftsman

Out on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle WA, a lovely Eco-Craftsman was recently up on the market. That's a lovely part of the country and a great place to be green.

The materials used in the construction and finish of the Eco-House were chosen to create a beautiful home that is environmentally friendly, low-maintenance, allergy safe and will last for generations.

The house's web site is full of beautiful pictures of the house and its architecture. I wouldn't mind living there for sure. Alas, it's too late for me or you to stake your claim on this one. It sold for $720,000. But the architect appears to be in the process of building at least one more similar home. (via Hewn and Hammered)

The Blaferships: Home Construction Blog

The Blaferships are building their dreamhome and lucky for us they've decided to chronicle the progress on a blog. The home is going up in a subdivision outside of Jacksonville, FL. It's an interesting look at what a family of six goes through to get things done.

Solar a Key Component for Home Reconstruction

TreeHugger has a great story on how Habitat for Humanity has begun to integrate Solar Energy Collection Panels into their new homes. This is a great idea for any reconstruction that is to take place along the gulf-coast after Hurricane Katrina and Rita.

If we tax payers are going to footing the bill for part of this reconstruction, I feel we should at least get sustainable energy policy out of the deal. Plus it will reduce bills for the home owners. A win for all, if you ask me.

Futuro House on BoingBoing

For the ultimate in home kitsch be sure to visit the Futuro House a fiberglass and polyester dream home.

Vertical Farming -- Tomorrow's major metro development?

The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes, a wide variety of herbs, and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another 3 billion people. An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient (cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world's urban centers. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

Every so often I encounter a design idea that just blows me away. The 'Living Tower' from Vertical Farm does just that. Conceived by Frechman  Pierre Sartoux, the 'Living Tower' shows the future of urban skyscraper farming.

Where can I invest in this idea?

Recycled Ferry Houseboat

Growing up in Portland Oregon afforded me the chance to see how life on a houseboat works. Although I've never lived in one, I always wanted to. That is until I saw a 100 year flood pick up and carry those million dollar floating dreams down river to their doom.

I do find this converted Ferry Houseboat to be a new vision and with it my old dreams have been rekindled.

The Boulter House

Alas, I've neglected this site and missed FLW's birthday too. While I organize photos from my trip to Talesin West, please check out this marvelous restoration project on The Boulter House in Cincinnati, Ohio.

OMD: Office of Mobile Design

In my continual hunt for an affordable manufactured house that can withstand the hurricane force winds that we 'might' get in Central Florida I found this amazing website. They've recently announced the launch of a prefab substainable living house. Looks great for guest houses, school rooms, etc.

Sure, it's not hurricane proof but who wouldn't want to buy from someone who has their own t-shirts for sale and who builds prefab houses with dataports for the iPod built right in (warning large PDF file).

Euro Prefab!

Manufactured homes seem to be making a comeback in the realm of the Euro. This story talks about the German market warming up to new designs for 'off the rack' homes including some by famous architects such as Matteo Thun and Frank Gehry.

I'm waiting for someone to take this to the next level and design and sell prefab communities. Design habitable, workable, playful mini-cities. Each two to three blocks long with Two to three story buildings. Shops on ground one, homes and offices above. Small towns and cities could drop a couple of these into locations they want to improve economic foundations and living density. Connect them via mass transit and you have a pre-defined loop of growth.