Casa Kike – 16,000 books and a grand piano
Beachfront  Cahuita  Costa Rica  – Gianni Botsford Architects Year Built:   2007 Surely, one of the toughest gigs an architect must face would be designing a home for his father. But in this instance, Keith Botsford, a writer, gave free rein when he decided to retire from Boston, USA to Costa Rica. The over-riding requirement […]
Eco-friendly natural home built for $250
A $250 home may sound too good to be true, but the owner-builder of this house has proven that it can be done! And it’s not even a tiny home, but a spacious house with a loft in it… :) Retired Oxfordshire art teacher Michael Buck was able to build this inspiring home by following a simple principle […]
A simple two container home
Shipping containers can offer very affordable accommodation and are great for remote locations. Even though they are technically a box, they can be converted in an infinite number of ways. The ownerâs plan is to build a cabin or shelter made from shipping containers. One which they can use during the weekend, but that should […]
Alone on an island – a summer home
Bohuslän, Sweden – Mikael Bergquist Architects Ltd Photography:   Mikael Olsson Here’s a quick quizz… how many islands are there in Sweden? a) 221 b) 2210 c) 22,100 d) 221,000 You’ll find the answer below the album but a clue is lots! Most of them are uninhabited for much of the year, but many are summer holiday havens […]
Amida House – Interesting on many levels
Gotenba, Shizuoka  Japan  –  Kochi Architect’s Studio Built area:   115.5 m2  (1,247 sq. ft.) Year Built:   2011 Photography:    Daici Ano This is one of the more ‘out there’ designs we have come across.  There are nine distinct levels in this small home.  While our initial reaction was muted, our enthusiasm grew as we read […]
Shantikuthi Earthbag Spiral House
Nagano, Japan – Michi-kun Year Built:   2011 Here’s another inspiring earthbag construction for fans of natural homes out there! This earthbag house is not actually a ‘house’, but a garden playroom. It was built by permaculturist and carpenter Michi-kun with the help of 20 volunteers in the Peace Permaculture Garden in Nagano, Japan. It’s called a spiral house […]
The Hackney Gingerbread House
Hackney  London  –  Laura Dewe Mathews Built:   2012 Area:   80 m2  (864 sq. ft.) It’s always interesting seeing what an architect designs and builds for themselves.  In this instance, it’s a one bed, home built on the site of, and using some of the structure of, an old box factory. The […]
Off-the-Grid Strawbale Cabin
Nevada City, California – Arkin Tilt Architects Built area: 872 sq. ft. Â (81 m2) Photography: Eric Millette Off-the-grid in every sense, this home, is a great example of sustainability. Heating, cooling, all power and even the water are generated or pumped on-site. It’s a vacation home for a young, active family. From the architect: Located […]
Joseph Dupuis’s self-sufficient shipping container cabin built for just $20,000
Ottawa, Canada – Joseph Dupuis Floor Area: 355 sq. ft. Photography: Japhet Alvarez It may look like it’s simply a storage unit from the outside, but these three shipping containers enclose an impressive interior that might just suit your taste! Due to his desire to escape the city for a more peaceful and simpler environment, 29-year old engineer and renewable energy researcher Joseph […]
Pallet House
Mallarauco, Melipilla, Chile  –  CristiĂĄn IrarrĂĄzaval Andrews Site area:  Large acreage Built area:  120m2  (1,296sf) Year Built:  2007 The project called for farm accommodation that would be used only a few days each week. Budget was a major consideration as was the remoteness of the location which would typically add to costs. An existing, […]