This House is an entry to a 2009 competition to design a house for 2 on 20 square feet of land. The house is made of operable panels suspended from a wood and metal superstructure. The panels are made from 3 layers. The solid outer layer can be made of any durable material. The next layer is waterproof and can be made from any plastic, including my idea of just ironing together layer upon layer of plastic bags. I saw someone make dresses this way and thought it would be an inexpensive way to waterproof a house. Obviously it is a bit whimsical and still to be tested. The last layer is for insulation. I figure you could actually sow together scraps of insulation, or put them in a bag. That way you can add insulation in the winter + just ditch it in the summer. The panels hang on wire-core rope
cleated to the superstructure. Brackets allow them tilt and turn like those European windows that America still doesn't know about.Because the panels turn vertically + horizontally, both windows and doors can be opened by the residents anywhere in the wall.The major element on the interior is a hanging garden which treats the
waste of the house. It encloses the bathroom. These gardens are very
efficient. Large one's, such as the one at Oberlin College treat
upwards of 40 gallons per day.The rest of the furniture consists of a bathroom / kitchen set, a fold
up bed / bureau and a workshop with machines powered by a flywheel in
turn driven by the residents' commuting bicycles. I added the workshop
to allow the occupants to make a living from their residence by
manufacturing. I guess it's just trying to get back to an old world
idea of cottage industry. I wanted the residents to be able to customize, or remake everything in the house.