“Built for only US$17,000 this young couple’s incredible tiny house is packed with unique and interesting design elements. The entire build was carried out as a DIY project using mainly reclaimed materials, as the couple saved up for each new phase of the construction.
low cost
Weaving Studio Plan
In the early 1970’s I was commissioned to design and build a small weaving studio on property located along the coast in Bolinas, California. The client was a weaving apprentice with my sister, who was living on rented property with her family. There was room on that property to place a small studio separated from the main house, and that is where she wanted me to build the studio. Obviously it would be foolish to place a permanent structure on rented property, so I suggested that I design it in such a way that it could fairly easily be dismantled and moved elsewhere if necessary. She liked the idea, so that is what I did.
Earthbag Eco Home in Morocco
“Eco-dome Morocco is an ambition that draws both in the basic design of the American-Iranian architect Nader Khalili and the rich Moroccan heritage in earth-based construction. This perfect combination is our main source of inspiration to give our buildings a new architectural and structural sense: buildings that respect the environment, adapt to the environment but mostly emanate from the environment; And because it is believed that human comfort lies in its return to nature, Eco-dôme Maroc is there to ensure this first step.”
More Earthbag Houses in Malawi
We’ve published several blog posts about earthbag houses in Malawai over the years. The big news in this most recent story is an NGO has created a fund for ongoing construction of earthbag houses in flood prone areas. They’ve realized a certain number of houses built of light weight materials are destroyed every year by floods, so now they have created a fund to rebuild some of them with earthbags.
Budget Micro Cabin Built with Recycled Materials & Green Roof
“Wintergreen Studios built this eclectic tiny hobbit house / cordwood cabin with a green roof using mostly reclaimed, recycled and local materials, including old cedar fence rails found on the land, ceiling rafters from a local woodlot, recycled glass and mirrors in the walls, and the windows, door and wood stove are reclaimed as well. The slate floor is from an architectural salvage depot in Vermont.”
DIY Gabion Walls
“Here is a quick tutorial of how I build my own gabion walls from standard concrete remesh and galvanized wire. They are simple to build and can be filled with most types of large stones, rock, or concrete chunks. These are commonly available materials and often can be found free on craigslist.”