I’m looking forward to your posts, Alec!

And I also want to thank Erin for writing about this and by extension, alerting me (a space geek) to the project. Given that it looks like a lunar module I ended up writing a piece about this project on my own blog, Pars3c. Here’s the link for anyone interested.

Earlier this year I worked with two professional declutterers, for six weeks, removing every single item from our 2600 sq. ft. home. I knew I was on the right track when they asked, not once, but three times, “Are you sure you want to get rid of this? It’s really nice?” (Each time my reply was, “Yep. It is nice, and it’ll look just as lovely in someone else’s home.”)

RazMaTaz

They’ve been living in beautiful, minimalist structures for centuries, and in the process produced some of the greatest architecture known to man (example: Katsura Rikyu).

Im glad that this has stirred up some debate! In fact, the house will be insulated using thin and flexible roofing insulation (not glass-fibre or anything like that!). I treated the wood to allow it to be waterproof while maintaining some of its natural breathability. It has solar panels on the roof, and I am developing a wind turbine made from old washing machines, that anyone can find on the street. In september, it will be situated on a community garden in the heart of the city. Here I will build a composting toilet and also grow vegetables. Water, unfortunately, I will have to ship in using barrels, but that will enable me to keep a more watchful eye on consumption. I have built a shower inside, using an orchard pump, so that it uses no electricity. I have a small gas burner for cooking, and potentially heating also.

Because the space is so small, it heats up very quickly just with bodyheat, and the fact that the interior is subdivided into sections restricts some of the airflow, allowing certain areas to be heated individually.

Sure, people could probably break into it, but people break into cars and houses anyway. And I might get trouble from drunks, but if I spent all my time worrying about a tiny segment of society, I would never have done the project. Im putting my faith in the general public and the community I am living in to be responsible. Some people may not be, but I would rather account for the better people, who care about these projects, than those who are ignorant or unkind.

Society has existed for millions of years without brick-built houses with central heating and swimming pools. Im not sure that we, as a race, are any happier now that we have these things. This house is only unusual in todays society. That doesnt mean that it is inherently flawed.

This said, Ill keep the blog posted with the pros and cons as I find them…

Thanks for your kind interest,

Alec

One can do without electricity; but not without basic sanitation. If you don’t have a water source, a means to heat the water and a means to dispose of waste (human and otherwise) then it is not viable.

(the reason I’ve been thinking about this is, doing all my errands on a bike I run into the problem of having to drag everything in with me every time I go anywhere, because unlike a car trunk, a bike trailer is not a theft-deterrent. It makes multiple errands, esp. with a child, very difficult.)