#ecological construction

I never had a green thumb, but I just love these homes built inside greenhouses. They’re so beautiful, take a look at these 2 styles in Sweden. 

According to the manufacturer, it will be warm and energy-efficient thru the harshest winter. So, it would be summer all year inside. 

The house part is so sunny, light, and airy.

Isn’t it gorgeous, lit up at night? 

This style has more traditional house than greenhouse, but it’s still energy efficient and solar powered. 

You can see that the home is not fully encased in glass. 

Upstairs is a 100 square meter glazed roof terrace with light in all directions plus  views of the lake, exposed beams and space for large parties.

The roof terrace is an extra room to use only from March to October.

Here you can grow and be self-sufficient in both fruit and vegetables. Glazing provides a Mediterranean climate and a long outdoor season.

It has a modern kitchen and dining room on the 2nd floor.

In the large dining area there’s a view down to the lake and nature.

Downstairs there are additional living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and storage.

This property is right on the lake. I like the first one better, which one do you like?

I may seem really enthusiastic about building an ecological house, but it's not that easy.

Truth is, most of the time, it's hard. Hardcore hard. Especially when you don't have money. We built our house almost on our own with a little help from our friends.

In our case, the creator of the concept is not an architect nor a specialist in construction. Which added to the hardcore hard (I don't want to develop here, if you have questions I have an ask box)

Don't forget that most of the pictures of beautiful ecological houses you see are mostly made by professionals for rich people.

For common people, it's really expensive (either save a lot of money or give all of your time instead of *working*, and cry because of financial problems that come within) and it's not as dreamy as it seems.

Of course, you'll have the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile, but you'll have to deal with frustration, fear and anger.

If you want to build this kind of housing, be prepared. Have the best equipment you can afford. Accept to live in precarious conditions for an unknown time. Accept that people you thought were your friends are not. Be ready to live disappointment, delays and delusion.

You can't be perfect : if you're poor, you'll have to compromise about the materials. Don't feel guilty about it, you're doing more than most of people do.

In the same vein, some people will try to bring you down. Don't listen to them. You do this thing for you, it's going to be your home. As long as you're happy with it, outsiders don't have a word to say (except when this is a constructive thing about ecology and it can improve what you're doing…).

Save yourself, be gentle, listen to your body and your mind, take breathers or else you could end being hurt and/or bitter.

Just remember that it's going to be long. Very long. Very very long. Don't be in a hurry.

Now, the most excruciating thing to do : work yourself to the bone and forget everything else.

Building a house can be exhilarating at first, because the whole structure goes fast to be built. But when you come to electricity, water and inside stuff, it seems really long and disappointing. That's normal. Keep track of your progress, you'll be surprised.

Truth is, when you'll get to the point where you can add comfort, you'll feel so good that you'll know it was all worth it.

Did You Know?

That just in the U.S., construction of buildings produces nearly 40% of the nations carbon dioxide output?

What about the fact that through efficiently using natural resources, green building saves money and the environment.

LEED-certified buildings conserve more water, consume less energy, and have saved 80 millions tons of waste from entering landfills.

Did you know that benefits of ecological design include minimizing your carbon footprint, energy savings, conservation of water, food security, and more?

Things that you might learn while reading this post:

1.       What is a LEED-certified building?

2.       All about permaculture and how to integrate it in everything that you do.

3.       Why I am going to build a tiny home.

4.       Types of ecologically designed and green homes.

Being in the LEED:

      LEED-certified is a term being used a lot more frequently around the construction business, sustainability community, environmental green building and ecologically designed structures. When a building is constructed using LEED-certified materials, it makes a much smaller impact on the environment. By utilizing natural resources efficiently, these buildings are 100% more sustainable and ecologically conscious.  

      This summer I spent 3 months living in a tent on the Hamakua Coast of the big island in Hawaii. I was intern on a sustainable permaculture farm. There was one intern, we’ll call him Yams, he was actually 19-years-old and LEED-certified. So it goes beyond just a building. LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”. It is one of the leading green building practices/programs that is globally implemented. The United States Green Council created this program in order to issue nation wide assistance in the development on their homes. This was a great idea to help positively influence the community on their journey towards effectively using resources as well as lowering their environmental impacts that human action has on the environment

      On the U.S. Green Council website (http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/) it states that LEED, “is changing the way we think about how buildings and communities are planned, constructed, maintained and operated. Leaders around the world have made LEED the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings, with around 1.85 million square feet being certified daily.” 

      If you are interested in becoming LEED-certified you can do one of 3 things: 

You can become a LEED Green Associate and take the GA exam that will test you out for the basics of Green Building Rating Systems. (Note: You must 18+ years and it cost $250)

Once becoming a LEED GA, you can pursue becoming a LEED AP.  (Note: You can take the GA exam and the AP exam at the same time, this will save you time and money). You can receive a Green Associates through the LEED program in order to focus on a specific area, such as interior design and home building or construction. There are 5 sets of AP certifications: BD+C, O+M, ID+C, ND, and HOMES. 

Not the most credible site, I know, but it has been verified:

BD+C: Building Design and Construction. Plans and builds green structures in any sector-- commercial, home, healthcare, educational, etc.

O+M: Operations and Management. LEED O+Ms update existing structures to be more sustainable, resourceful, and efficient.

ID+C: Interior Design and Construction. Design and build indoor home and commercial spaces to make them more healthy, efficient and productive.

ND: Neighborhood Development. Designs, plans, and develops large living spaces as walk-able, comfortable neighborhoods.Homes: Specializes in designing healthy, durable homes with minimal waste and efficient energy consumption.[7]    

http://www.wikihow.com/Become-LEED-Certified

And the third thing you can do with a LEED is simply get a project certified by someone who is LEED-certified. You will need to know whether or not your project is eligible and be familiar with the type of project certification you will need addressed (view the 5 types above). If you are doing a renovation for instance, you will need a LEED-certified specialist who is trained in that specific realm of green building. You will then receive a “LEED-score”, like a credit score or a rating. The scale goes from 40-100. You need at least 40 credits. (Note: this is all new to me as well, so if you would like to get more credible details from a specialist and not a college senior go check out the website below.) 

http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/

Permaculture 101:

Permaculture is “the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient.”

The idea of permaculture was termed by a man named David Holmgren and his professor Bil Mollison in the late 1970s. They came up with 12 principles of permaculture. 

Here is a graph that was presented to me in a New College class called “Sustainable Landscape Management and Design”.

The main goals for permaculture are caring for the planet and caring for people. Sounds like a great goal to me!

I will be incorporating the principles of permaculture in the next blog post so if you’re interested stay tuned to check that out.

Benefits of Living Tiny:

      This coming spring I will be moving to Hawaii to pursue a career and a life of sustainability and greater purpose. I have been customizing and designing the blueprints for a tiny home the last couple years and I have made a plan and solidified my choice of giving up everything in order to live almost fully off the grid. One of the most intriguing concepts to me is the idea of being able to self-sustain while living in virtually 200 sq ft of space with my partner and my cat Norah Jones. 

       I currently live in a small 2-bedroom apartment with entirely too much material possessions. After living in a tent the entire summer with no power or cell service, I quickly realized how much stress was minimized with the decrease of things surrounding me. When I arrived back in the continental US, for several days I just felt cluttered, overwhelmed, and anxious. I thought I would be relieved to be surrounded by all my stuff once again. Instead, I wished that I didn’t carry so much baggage, literally, that I don’t even need to survive. 

       Now, as I sit here in this small quaint study room of my college typing this, I am happy to say that getting rid of everything is one of the better choices I have decided to make in my life so far. Some of the reasons I want to give up this fast-paced material possessed world are:

I can travel anywhere in my tiny home. 

I will be able to afford a home that is completely custom and designed with me in mind. Tiny homes cost anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000 dollars to construct. Being a recent college graduate I will obvious not be spending a great deal on the build in the beginning. 

It will be easy to move. If I decide to buy land to put it on, that would be awesome. However, if I decide I am getting bored of the view or location, I can always just hitch my tiny home to my vehicle and move.

Tiny homes can be entirely environmentally friendly. You can use up-cycled and recycled materials, unique re-purposed salvaged products, and you can customize your energy input and output.

One of the biggest features that lured me into wanting to live in this specifically designed home is that it can be fully off the grid and energy efficient. By installed solar arrays, water catchment systems, composting toilets, and wind generators. You can be fully self-sustained. 

Living tiny also means that you have a tinier amount of stuff. De-cluttering and organizing your home life will also help to de-clutter and de-stress the rest of your life. Thus, spending less time and money cleaning in a smaller space. This also includes spending less on furniture and decorations, which you can change up more often!

Overall, the most appealing aspect to me is having the ability to lower my carbon-footprint and maximize the time I spend outdoors. If that is something that also sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to check out some of the Tiny home shows that are online and on television!

Living with Ecological Design in Mind:

      Some other trending alternatives (at least all I could come up with or have seen on HGTV) for living small, green, and environmentally friendly are as follows:

Bus conversions- Many people have been renovating old school buses, Volkswagen vans, and even greyhounds into tiny movable living quarters.

Cob houses- Cob is a really awesome form of natural building with natural materials you find anywhere you are. In some areas, based on the composition of the soil, people use hay, clay, sand, or dirt to form these intricate structures with your bare hands and feet. (Note: Building worth looking into! I will post a picture in the near future.)

Vardo tiny homes- This type of home may seem unfamiliar to you, however you have probably seen one in a movie. Vardo homes are essentially wagons; they used to be pulled by horses and now are commonly pulled by cars. Think old British gypsies in a wagon filled with tapestry’s and sensual hypnotic spells. 

RV living- These days more and more people are purchasing RVs to travel the world and live anywhere their wheels will carry them. Just don’t pull a Sheila from the show Shameless on Showtime. 

Tiny trailer homes- The popular tumbleweed homes from HGTV and DIY are becoming more appealing throughout the US.

Shipping containers- A great way to up-cycle!

Houseboats- A floating quaint dream.

Yurts- Yurts are a very cool type of ecological designed homes that you can customize any way that you’d like. In Hawaii this summer, the core members who live on the farm year around reside in a yurt. These awesome little buildings are similar to a tent. Just a very large, extremely nice tent. You can redesign the rooms in a yurt at anytime to change things up. They can also be taken down and moved to a different location with moderate ease. 

A-frame cabins- These types of cabins are built geometrically to maximize small spaces and still provide an authentic cabin feel.

Tree houses- If you have not checked out the show “Treehouse Masters” on Discovery Channel you should definitely check it out. It is a family friendly show that I believe is enjoyable for the whole family. There is also a show on HGTV called “Treehouse” and a show on DIY called “The Treehouse Guys”.

References:

https://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/courses/postgraduate-courses/ecological-design-thinking

http://www.usgbc.org/articles/green-building-facts

http://www.thegreenhouse.in/ecological-design.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/living-tiny-home-benefits-drawbacks/story?id=17742823

http://www.sustainableecovillages.net/benefits.php

https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/html/about.html

http://www.usgbc.org/LEED/