Sustainable Home Design
Tiny stone mediterranean country home
When Pascual Alberola and his partner went looking for a weekend house near their home in Valencia (Spain), they wanted to avoid the built-up Mediterranean coastline. While exploring a sheltered valley just an hour and a half south of their city, they stumbled upon a plot of land on a protected hillside zoned for agricultural use.
The land is covered in cherry trees, the views of the Mediterranean are spectacular and neighbors here are sparse, but the largest building they could legally build on their plot was an agricultural tool shed, a "casa de aperros". So they called on architects Enproyecto Arquitectura to create a shelter within the maximum permitted size of 25 square meters (269 square feet) and build them a tool shed as a home.
"El refugio en La Vall de Laguar" (the refuge in the Laguar Valley) is arguably one of the most stunning tool sheds ever built, but the small, stone structure doesn't call attention to itself. Its local stone walls- built in the "dry" method (without concrete)- mimic the stone containing walls of the surrounding fields. Most of the windows, except for the large openings providing a view of the sea, are tiny. So from a distance, the home resembles yet another of the boulders dotting the mountainside.
Living large: A look inside the tiny house movement
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/culture/living-large-a-look-inside-the-t... Given the state of the current economy, a growing number of Americans with ordinary lives are choosing to scale down — way down. They call themselves the "tiny house" movement. Need to Know visited one of the movement's proponents, Dee Williams, at her small home in Olympia, Washington. Williams says that the downsized living arrangements bring her a sense of contentment. Need to Know airs Fridays on PBS. Watch full-length episodes of Need to Know at http://video.pbs.org/program/1458405365/
Sustainable Small Home Design in 320 square feet
Two years ago, Debra and her family lived in a nearly 2000 square foot home on an acre and a half of land. Then her husband lost his job and they began to work 4 jobs between them to pay the mortgage, until one day they remembered they had a choice. Before having their son, Debra and her husband Gary had spent 9 years living in very tiny homes in South America. Living small hadn't felt like a sacrifice, but a way to stay focused on what is important. They decided they wanted to get back to that. They stopped working so hard, sold or gave away all of their extra stuff and began looking for the perfect tiny home. Debra had always liked the Mississippi shotgun style homes, and one day, while browsing craigslist, they noticed an ad for a local Arkansas company custom building tiny homes for a price that could mean an end to house payments. Six weeks and $15,000 later they had their own fully paid-off dwelling. Today, Debra, her husband and 13-year-old son live in a 320-square foot home that is not a sacrifice, but exactly what they need.
Small Sustainable Alaska Cabin
Dale Clemens cabin and surrounding area. Elevation 1750 feet