Home Energy Score

Cars have miles-per-gallon ratings, neighborhoods have walkability rankings, and people have carbon footprint calculators. What's up with homes then? Why isn't there be a comparable, affordable way to size up your home's energy performance? Well, now there is. The Department of Energy just released a program called the Home Energy Score that shows the energy efficency of a home on......read more

Cargo Container Housing Trend Heats Up

The steel shipping container, invented half a century ago, is the linchpin of global trade, used to transport everything from electronics to cars to wheat.  Designers and architects recognized the conversion potential of cargo containers early on, but only now are the steel structures beginning to fulfill their promise as building blocks. The "cargotecture" trend is hot, hot, hot. In......read more

Tiny Houses with Footprints to Match

How much space does a human need? According to Derek Diedricksen, not a helluva lot. The family backyard of the carpenter and young father is dotted with tiny structures — the biggest of which measures a paltry 24 square feet — that serve as sleeping cabins and hangout zones. Built from scavenged materials, the little buildings are imaginative excercises in "micro-architecture." What......read more

Martin Azua's Basic House

From the files of intriguing and forward-thinking product design comes Basic House from Spanish designer Martin Azua. Made of metal-coated polyester, Basic House can be folded down to pocket size and expands large enough to serve as a small shelter.  "Our habitat has turned into a space of consumption in which an unlimited number of products satisfy a series of needs......read more