Tag Archives: sustainable architecture

GroHome in San Antonio

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Michael Janzen

I got a tip from one of my readers, Wayne. If you’re near San Antonio, Texas you might be curious to know that you have a high tech tiny house open to the public in your neck of the woods. … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement | Tagged 2007, Event, GroHome, Pliny Fisk, San Antonio, Solar Decathlon team, sustainable architecture, texas, Texas A&M, tiny house | 2 Comments

Affordable & Earthquake Resistant Earthbag Homes

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Michael Janzen

The more I learn about earthbag homes the more they seem to be one of the most sustainable and safe ways of building a home. The most recent evidence is a small earthbag home that survived the recent earthquakes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged earthbag, Earthbag Building Blog, earthen home, haiti, sun house, sustainable architecture | 1 Comment

Thermal Mass vs Insulation

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Michael Janzen

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to write more on specific tiny house design considerations. This first post is about two things that often get confused, thermal mass and insulation. Both can help regulate the temperature inside a home … Continue reading →

Posted in How To | Tagged alternative energy, insulation, passive solar, solar, sustainable architecture, thermal mass | 12 Comments

The Small House by A1 Architects

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Michael Janzen

A1 Architects recently presented some small space designs at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. Few of their designs are what I’d call tiny houses but it’s nice to see so many fresh ideas all in one … Continue reading →

Posted in Design Concept | Tagged A1 Architects, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, Prague, small house, sustainable architecture | 7 Comments

Free Green House Plans

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I first learned of Free Green when they published three tiny house plans. At 1,160 square feet this latest plan is not tiny but is a very nice example of their work so I wanted to share it with you. … Continue reading →

Posted in Plans | Tagged cabin, free green, green, modern, modern cabin, sustainable architecture | Leave a comment

Small Earthbag Home For $1000

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Michael Janzen

I’m especially partial to low-cost housing solutions that push the envelope and demonstrate that a home doesn’t have to be expensive and extravagant to provide it’s owner security and happiness. Owen Geiger recently posted an article on the Earthbag Building … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Method | Tagged earthbag, Earthbag Building Blog, low-cost housing, owen geiger, reclaimed, recycled, sustainable architecture | 4 Comments

Gungadin’s Tumbleweed Fencl

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Tonight I ran across the story of a fellow in Flint, Michigan that is building a Tumbleweed Fencl. The Fencl is an 8′ by 19′ tiny house on a trailer designed by Jay Shafer. The interior square footage is just … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged fencl, flint, Gungadin, house plans, michigan, sustainable architecture, tiny house, tumbleweed | 2 Comments

World Hands Project – Pallet Houses in Mexico

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Michael Janzen

While the World Hands Project is currently going through internal re-organization I was happy to find that during past workshops they’ve helped people down in Mexico build some simple homes from shipping pallets. Instead of using some kind of manufactured insulation … Continue reading →

Posted in Humanitarian | Tagged cob, Humanitarian, mexico, pallet house, pallets, shipping pallets, sustainable architecture, Workshops, world hands project | 5 Comments

Tiny Prefab – eBook & Plans

Posted on October 4, 2009 by Michael Janzen

Last night I put the finishing touches on a 65 page house plan ebook. It’s called Tiny Prefab, A Do-It-Yourself Prefab Building System and contains the plans and instructions for creating tiny prefab structures that are easy to build from … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged book, diy, do it yourself, ebook, michael janzen, panelized, panels, Plans, prefab, sips, sustainable, sustainable architecture, tiny prefab | 6 Comments

Tiny Prefab Plans

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Michael Janzen

You might have noticed that I’ve not been posting much the past two weeks. I’ve been working every night on this panelized prefab design and finally have the free plans ready for you to see. The ebook version of the … Continue reading →