Strangely Sustainable: Houses That Will Save The Planet By Lookin' Strange

Here at Nuvo, we try to keep up to date with the latest in ethical

, environmentally friendly practices. However, there's a lot of 'green' fads" going on right now. From green automobiles and groceries, to environmentally friendly cell phones, everyone's got their own plan to save the world. A great way to begin to make a difference is to make houses a lot more energy efficient. Sometimes, though... the plan to save the world can end up getting a little... strange.

Glass Bottle House

What would you do with 500, 000 empty embalming fluid bottles? When presented with this dilemma David H. Brown decided to build himself a house. When he retired from the funeral business in 1952, after 35 years of (presumably) hoarding large, square bottles, he began work on this whimsical project.

Why is it Sustainable?

Well, the house itself ended up being incredibly energy-efficient; it only needs heating from a single, small heater in the winter and doesn't need air conditioning at all in the summer. And, at 1,200 square feet of floor space, it's also a pretty good size. The walls are built with a single thickness of bottles, which are short and stubby. Strips of wood are placed between the bottlenecks, and strengthened with cement and wire, which supports the inner lining of cedar boards, which are nailed on perpendicularly. All of this creates a strong, weatherproof, and unique home. Judging from the pictures, if you can get over the somewhat icky origin of the bottles themselves, it looks like a pretty good place to live.

Straw Bale Houses

Houses made out of straw bales are nothing new. In fact, humans have been making homes of straw since before the beginning of recorded history. However, recently the technique is getting a second look. New and improved methods allow for the construction of a safe, cheap, robust, attractive and efficient home. Unless, of course, you suffer from hay fever.

Why is it Sustainable?

Because the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says so. In a recent study the CMHC had some positive things to say about the energy efficiency of Straw Bale Houses:

"The straw bale houses used over 20 per cent less space heating energy when compared to the modelled conventional houses. Some of this may be due to underventilation of the straw bale houses and a small tendency for the model to overpredict energy consumption in the conventional houses. However, the size of the savings and the consistency (9 of 11 houses) indicate that the straw bale houses in this survey require significantly less space heating energy than comparable conventional houses."

Also, no fibreglass insulation means fewer chemicals used. With the additional of wall surfacing done with an earth/clay render you have a house built entirely out of products derived from your average farmer's field and is a great deal more efficient than a house made commercially.

Foam Domes

It's impossible to argue with it, the Japanese are responsible for a lot of weird. They have some of the weirdest housing developments in the world, and this is one of them. Right now you can buy yourself a convenient kit that will allow you and a handful of your friends to put together a 146 square foot dome made completely out of fully expanded polysterene foam. It's not only waterproof, rot-proof, and termite-proof, it's also extremely resistant to earthquakes, hurricanes and typhoons. Apparently, The Future of Housing looks like a hybrid between an igloo, and an ice cream cake.

Why is it Sustainable?

Well, for starters, you can build a home without killing any trees. They are also fantastically energy-efficient and durable. However, the largest part of what makes them sustainable is the cost. A single kit will sell for around $30,000. Think about it, you can buy yourself a multi-dome complex for less than a third of the usual cost of a house in Canada. You just have to be all right with the concept of living in a giant, pink igloo.

by: Jonathan Meier

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