PARASITE House
Photo courtesy of www.nbm.org
The P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E., which stands for Prototype for Advanced Ready-Made Amphibious Small-Scale Individual Temporary Ecological Dwelling (phew!) is a verbosely named structure that attaches to pre-existing, abandoned structures. The sustainably-built prefabricated homes would turn blighted areas into usable ones and limit urban sprawl.
Lightweight Concrete House
Photo courtesy of greenhomebuilding.com
Concrete is usually associated with boring, grey buildings, but it is actually an earth-friendly building material that can be poured to make creative structures, as this house, built by sculptor/builder Steve Kornher, shows. Lightweight concrete needs less steel structural reinforcement than traditional building materials and is a good insulator, helping to cut back on heating costs. Concrete is often made from natural, local materials.
A Yurt to Call Home
Photo courtesy of www.coloradoyurt.com
If we really wanted to minimize our home’s impact on the earth, we’d all be living out of tents. As much fun as tents are for a camping trip, tents aren’t really made to house the masses (where would you put the flat screen TV?). A happy compromise is a yurt. Yurts are like big tents, but are much more durable, insulating, and can be pimped out with hardwood floors, fireplaces, TVs—you name it. Yurts are constructed with minimal materials, create little disruption to the surrounding ecosystem, and facilitate natural lighting and heating.
Green Roof Strawbale Home
Photo courtesy of www.roofmeadow.com
Roofs aren’t traditional places to grow a garden, but growing green on top of buildings has several advantages: it can prevent storm water runoff and pollution, conserve energy, extend the life of the roof, and it looks cool. This house, located in Wrightsville, PA, has a living roof and is constructed of strawbale and cob walls—renewable, biodegradable, construction materials that help insulate. It’s green inside and out.
That Roundhouse
Photo courtesy of www.thatroundhouse.info
That roundhouse, located in Wales, doesn’t just look earth-friendly, it really is. It was constructed using a wood frame, cobwood and recycled window walls, and a straw-insulated turf roof. Solar power and wind turbine are used for electricity; there is a compost toilet, and reed beds to clean greywater.
Updated September 29, 2008
